Natural Hazards and Earth System Science www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net 1561-8633 1684-9981 9 1 2009 10.5194/nhess-9-211-2009 http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/9/211/2009/ http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/9/211/2009/nhess-9-211-2009.html http://www.nat-hazards-earth-syst-sci.net/9/211/2009/nhess-9-211-2009.pdf 211 216 2009-02-19 A non-extensive approach to risk assessment F. Vallianatos fvallian@chania.teicrete.gr Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Geophysics and Seismology Laboratory, 3 Romanou str., Chania, 73133, Crete, Greece We analytically estimate the risk function of natural hazards (earthquakes, rockfalls, forestfires, landslides) by means of a non-extensive approach which is based on implementing the Tsallis entropy for the estimation of the probability density function (PDF) and introducing a phenomenological exponential expression for the damage function. 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