Social perception and response to the drought process: a case study of the drought during 2009–2010 in the Qianxi’nan Prefecture of Guizhou Province

Studies carried out on the drought process, which can be classed as a gradual disaster, can help us to understand the disaster mechanism and offer strategies for disaster prevention. This paper uses the example of the drought in the Qianxi??nan Prefecture of Guizhou Province from July 2009 to May 2010. Data have been collected from government gazetteers, meteorological monitoring data, and field surveys to build up a sequence of meteorological drought indices. The categorization of the victims?? perception of drought impact, and the stages of drought responses of different subjects (government, social organizations, and the public), has also been examined by the same way. By contrasting the differences between the metrological drought indices, and victims?? perception of drought impact, researchers explored the drought cognition features of victims, social response features, and dynamic relationships between drought development and social responses. The results were as follows: The drought evolution process could be divided into 6 phases, and victims?? perception of drought impact could be divided into 7 phases. They were consistent in time period, and the victims?? perception of drought was subjective and based on their direct experiences. Their response has the characteristics of long term and concentration on a time. The responses of government and social organizations obviously fell behind those of victims, but they were effective and intensive in both timescale and effort. As the drought developed, responses shifted from individual to social responses and from practical to economic, political, and technological responses. On the basis of the results, the author has suggested methods of preparing stakeholders against possible drought risks.     

Supply-chain impacts of Sichuan earthquake: a case study using disaster input–output analysis

Natural Hazards - With the development of interregional trade, a potential disaster that happens in one place could cause enormous economic losses in distant areas. Timely and comprehensive...     

Farmers’ response to agricultural drought in paddy field of southern China: a case study of temporal dimensions of resilience

Seasonal water scarcity in southern China has been an issue of concern for many years. The increased frequency of low precipitation in the growing season of rice created a flurry of discussions in the academic and policy arenas. These events severely disrupted the supply of irrigation water for agriculture in paddy field areas and posed a substantial threat to farmers’ livelihoods. Within a broader context of accessing farmers’ resilience to agricultural drought, this paper focuses on the response mechanisms and adaptive strategies adopted by farming households in three types of areas (Plain, Hill, Mountain) in Dingcheng, Hunan Province. With the increasing drought frequency and the pressure from the demand for livelihood improvement, farmers’ response mechanisms have evolved, expanding from short-term adjustments to long-term adaptations, and switching focus from securing reliable water sources to improving irrigation efficiency and diversifying both on- and off- farm productions. The three types of geographic units have different resilience profiles and have developed diverse patterns of adaptive processes that update the conceptual model of Disaster Resilience of “Loss-Response” of Location. It presents a temporal dimension to the study of resilience, which is largely missing from the current literature and provides insights into how to enhance farmers’ response capacities in the face of agricultural drought in southern China.     

An evaluation of residents’ perceptions of the creation of a geopark: a case study on the geopark in Mt. Huaying Grand Canyon, Sichuan Province, China

In recent years, geoparks (a geoheritage effort to protect geological features) have been vigorously promoted in China and abroad. The evaluation of a geopark is important for geopark development. However, current evaluation methods focus on geoheritage and their values, and often ignore residents’ situations, even though community participation is essential to the sustainable development of geoparks. In this paper, the Mt. Huaying Grand Canyon Geological Park was selected as a study area to evaluate resident’s perceptions of the park. Perception impact factors were selected from the perspective of the park residents. Quantitative evaluation models, based on data from questionnaires, were created using the hierarchy process model and expert evaluation method. The results showed that the following factors influenced residents’ perceptions, listed from the most significant to the least: residents’ understanding of geoheritage, participation level in commercial activities, participation level in planning decisions, satisfaction level regarding benefit distribution and level of participation willingness. It was found that residents’ level of understanding of geoheritage and their participation level in planning decisions were the main reasons for poorer perceptions of geoheritage. The keys to improving residents’ perceptions of geoheritage are to change the management system, implement people-centered policies and to establish a government-led management mode that encourages community participation and involves private business contracts.     

Factors affecting earthquake recovery: the Yao’an earthquake of China

Households vary in their ability to deal with disasters, and this may lead to different recovery results. Aiming to examine this differentiation, this paper studied the 2009 Yao??an earthquake in China. Surveys of 200 destroyed rural households were conducted in field investigations and follow-ups at 1?month, 1?year, and 1.5?years after the earthquake. The results showed a clear difference in recovery, the households observably being classified into five groups. These are the O group, which has different recovery time and economic cost from the other four; and the special group, comprising E _L T _O and E _O T _L (vulnerable during recovery); E _H T _O (strong during recovery); and E _L T _S (neither vulnerable nor strong). Logistic regression analysis revealed that differentiation in recovery patterns arose from the combined effect of demographic factors and external assistance provided to households. Lower income is the root cause of vulnerability in some households during the recovery process. However, other factors cause recovery differences between the two vulnerable groups, causing the economic recovery cost of the E _L T _O group to be lower, and the recovery time of the E _O T _L group to be longer. There was consensus that external assistance had an impact on all households. The more provided and the earlier it arrived, the lower the cost for recovery and the shorter the recovery time. This study shows that research on group differentiation of recovery is useful in understanding post-earthquake recovery processes and calls for taking group differentiation considerations into account in post-disaster recovery resource allocation practices.     

Numerical simulation of groundwater under complex karst conditions and the prediction of roadway gushing in a coal mine: a case study in the Guang’an Longtan Reservoir in Sichuan Province,China

Numerical simulation of groundwater in karst areas has long been restricted by the difficulty of generalizing the hydrogeological conditions of reservoirs and of determining the relevant parameters due to the anisotropy and discontinuity of the karst water-bearing media in these areas. In this study, we used the Guang’an Longtan Coal mine in Sichuan as an example, and generalized the complex hydrogeological conditions in the reservoir area. A finite element numerical flow model was used to simulate current and future scenarios of roadway gushing at the bottom of the coal mine at pile number 1 + 700 m. The results show that the roadway section corresponding to valleys has a gushing quantity of 4323.8–4551.25 m³/d before impoundment. Modeled water inflow after impoundment increased to 1.6 times the water inflow before impoundment, which threatens the impoundment as well as the roadway’s normal operation. Therefore, roadway processing measures are needed to guarantee the safety of the impoundment and of the mining operation.     

Metamorphism of the Basement of the Qilian Fold Belt in the Minhe-Ledu Area, Qinghai Province, NW China

The basement of the central Qilian fold belt exposed along the Minhe-Ledu highway consists of psammitic schists, metabasitic rocks, and crystalline limestone. Migmatitic rocks occur sporadically among psammitic schist and metabasitic rocks. The mineral assemblage of psammitic schist is muscovite + biotite + feldspar + quartz ± tourmaline ± titanite ± sillimanite and that of metabasitic rocks is amphibole + plagioclase + biotite ± apatite ± magnetite ± pyroxene ± garnet ± quartz. The migmatitic rock consists of leucosome and restite of various volume proportions; the former consists of muscovite + alkaline feldspar + quartz ± garnet ± plagioclase while the latter is either fragments of psammitic schist or those of metabasitic rock. The crystalline limestone consists of calcite that has been partly replaced by olivine. The olivine was subsequently altered to serpentine. Weak deformations as indicated by cleavages and fractures were imposed prominently on the psammitic schists, occasionally on me     

Identifying key environmental and building features affecting the outcome of a seismic event: a case study of the “921” earthquake

Natural Hazards - Major earthquakes in a given location are unpredictable, infrequent, and often fatal. Using data from a previous earthquake disaster, this study explores the relationship between...     

The effects of transportation network failure on people’s accessibility to hurricane disaster relief goods: a modeling approach and application to a Florida case study

Following the catastrophic and devastating Atlantic Hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005, there has been increased interest in formulating planning directives and policy aimed at minimizing the societal impacts of future storms. Not all populations will evacuate an area forecast to be affected by a hurricane, so emergency managers must plan for these people who remain behind. Such planning includes making food, water, ice, and other provisions available at strategic locations throughout an affected area. Recent research has tackled problems related to humanitarian and relief goods distribution with respect to hurricanes. Experience shows that the torrential rains and heavy winds associated with hurricanes can severely damage transportation network infrastructure rendering it unusable. Scanning the literature on hurricane disaster relief provision, there are no studies that expressly consider the potential damage that may be caused to a transportation network by strong storms. This paper examines the impacts of simulated network failures on hurricane disaster relief planning strategies, using a smaller Florida City as an example. A relief distribution protocol is assumed where goods distribution points are set up in pre-determined locations following the passage of a storm. Simulation results reveal that modest disruptions to the transportation network produce marked changes in the number and spatial configuration of relief facilities. At the same time, the transportation network appears to be robust and is able to support relief service provision even at elevated levels of hypothesized disruption.     

Spatial–temporal differences in disaster perception and response among new media users and the influence factors: a case study of the Shouguang Flood in Shandong province

Natural Hazards - When human beings cannot avoid extreme climate disasters, it is widely accepted to take measures to address climate change. Research on ordinary people’s perception of...     

Assessing the vulnerability of social–environmental system from the perspective of hazard,sensitivity, and resilience: a case study of Beijing,China

Despite a recent increase in the number of vulnerability analyses there has been relatively little discussion of vulnerability assessment of social–environment system, especially when they face multiple hazards. In this study, we developed an applicable and convenient method to assess vulnerability of social–environment system at a regional scale. Vulnerability is quantified by measuring three critical elements (i.e. hazards, sensitivity, and resilience) through some key variables. The results showed that vulnerability is high in Miaofeng Mountain in Mengtougou District, the hills of Pinggu County and the riparian zones of the lower courses of the Beiyun and Yongding Rivers; but low in the city of Beijing and the southwestern part of the Fangshan District. Areas of very high, high, medium, and low-vulnerability account for 6.19, 25.48, 33.06, and 35.27% of the total area, respectively. The degree of vulnerability decreases in a northwest direction in mountainous areas and declines from watercourses to riparian zones along a lateral direction in the plain. Some adaptive strategies are also proposed.     

Ethnic groups’ response to the 26 December 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh, Indonesia

The 26 December 2004 earthquake and tsunami unfairly hit the different ethnic groups of Aceh, Indonesia. About 170,000 Acehnese and Minangkabau people died in the Northern tip of Sumatra while only 44 Simeulue people passed away in the neighbouring Simeulue island located near the earthquake epicentre. Such a difference in the death toll does not lie in the nature of the hazard but in different human behaviours and ethnic contexts. The present study draws on a contextual framework of analysis where people’s behaviour in the face of natural hazards is deeply influenced by the cultural, social, economic and political context. Questionnaire-based surveys among affected communities, key informant interviews and literature reviews show that the people of Simeulue detected the tsunami very early and then escaped to the mountains. On the other hand, Acehnese and Minangkabau people, respectively in the cities of Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, did not anticipate the phenomenon and were thus caught by the waves. The different behaviours of the victims have been commanded by the existence or the absence of a disaster subculture among affected communities as well as by their capacity to protect themselves in facing the tsunami. People’s behaviours and the capacity to protect oneself can be further tracked down to a deep tangle of intricate factors which include the armed conflict that has been affecting the province since the 1970s, the historical and cultural heritage and the national political economy system. This paper finally argues that the uneven impact of the 26 December 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh lies in the different daily life conditions of the ethnic groups struck by the disaster.     

Pareto’s law and sample size: a case study of China’s urban system 1984–2008

While Pareto’s law has been widely supported by empirical evidence in urban studies, past studies have focused on finding best fits for city rank-size distribution. A main concern with Pareto’s law is the truncation of sample selection, for which few studies have examined it directly. This study tests three existing threshold methods (number threshold, size threshold, and urban population percentage threshold) using China’s city system as a case study. In addition, this study proposes a new method based upon the percentage threshold of the total number of cities. A systematic analysis is applied to examine the relationship between Pareto exponent and sample size using different threshold methods. The results show that Pareto exponent is sensitive to sample size and the truncation point. Including only large cities is problematic because a slight change in the truncation point will yield quite different results of Pareto exponent. In addition, the new method, the percentage threshold of the total number of cities method, presents an advantage over previous methods, in that this method yields a consistent set of results over a wide range of thresholds. Finally, when using this new method with China’s city system, the Pareto exponent presents a turning point in 1996, representing China’s transition from a planned economy to a more market oriented economy during that period.     

Mesozoic and Cenozoic structural deformation in the NW Tarim Basin,China: a case study of the Piqiang–Selibuya Fault

The Piqiang–Selibuya Fault is the most significant fault in the NW Tarim Basin, China. It has attracted increasing attention because of the discovery of a series of oil (gas) fields in and around the fault zone. The structural characteristics and evolution of the Piqiang–Selibuya Fault remain controversial. Field geological surveys and seismic data interpretation reveal that the fault has experienced three stages of activity. The thicknesses of the Permian and Miocene strata on opposing sides of the fault are clearly different, and these reveal that the fault has experienced two stages of significant thrusting. The first stage took place at the end of the Triassic and was associated with the Qiangtang Block amalgamated to the south margin of Eurasia. The second stage occurred at the end of the Miocene and might have been caused by the northwards overthrusting of the Pamir. These two stages of thrusting led to the lower–middle Cambrian detachment layer in the eastern part of the Keping thrust belt being 2 km shallower than in the western part. Since the Pliocene, the southern Tien Shan orogenic belt has been reactivated and thrust towards the interior of the Tarim Basin, and a series of ENE–WSW-trending thrust sheets have formed in the Keping thrust belt. Because of the different depth of the detachment layer on the opposing sides of the Piqiang–Selibuya Fault, the number and spacing of thrust sheets formed to the east of the fault differ from those to the west. This dissimilar deformation led to the strike–slip displacement on the Piqiang–Selibuya Fault. The three stages of fault activity record three important tectonic events in the NW Tarim Basin. Qualitative analysis of this activity helps us better understand the influence of the far-field effect of the collisions that occurred on the southern margin of the Eurasia plate on the structural deformation of the NW Tarim Basin.     

Evaluation of water quality and protection strategies of water resources in arid–semiarid climates: a case study in the Yuxi River Valley of Northern Shaanxi Province, China

Water resource structure is one of the most important factors that constrain the economic development in arid–semiarid areas. Sustainable use of water requires a thorough understanding of the local geology and hydrology and developing of effective protection strategies. Discussed in this paper is a study on the phreatic water quality of the Yuxi River Valley of Shaanxi Province, China. The Yuxi River Valley passes through the Shaanbei energy base, which demands large quantities of high-quality water. A total of 129 water samples were collected in 4,938 km² in a recent study to delineate the areas with water suitable for drinking, industrial, and agricultural usage and areas with poor quality. The study indicates that the poor quality of water contains high concentrations of NH⁴⁺ and NO₂⁻¹, indicating possible contamination by waste disposal in the nearby cities and towns. A series of strategies are proposed to protect the water in the Yuxi River Valley, including proper treatment and recycling of the waste water in the cities and towns, strict control of the waste-water discharge from any new factories and mines, and prevention of groundwater contamination by wastes containing heavy metals.     

Assessing macroeconomic recovery after a natural hazard based on ARIMA—a case study of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China

In this research the autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA) was adopted to estimate GDP growth for assessing macroeconomic recovery from a natural hazard. ARIMA is a powerful tool for predicting future macroeconomic situations based on macroeconomic data and trends before a disaster. This research examined the economic recovery of severely affected counties 6 years after the Wenchuan Earthquake by comparing the simulated regional GDP values from 2008 to 2014 with actual regional GDP data following the disaster. A macroeconomic recovery ratio model was built to assess economic resilience of the affected counties. Although the GDP of the 10 most severely affected counties grew rapidly after the earthquake, in only one county—Pengzhou City—it recovered to the pre-disaster level under a no hazard scenario. The gaps in economic recovery between the severely affected counties were significant. Areas with competitive industries and locational advantage exhibited the highest rates of recovery. Therefore, industrial structure and relative location of the affected areas to traffic nodes and economic centers should be considered in pre-disaster assistance decisions and development plans in the future.     

Deep Tectonophysical Process of the Uplift of the Northern Qinghai--Tibet Plateau--Evidence from the Integrated Geological--Geophysical Profile from Golmud to the Tanggula Mountains, Qinghai Province, China

The tectonic activities occurring since the Cenozoic in the northern part of theQinghai-Tibet Plateau (the region from the East Kunlun Mountains to the Tanggula Mountains)were probably caused by the intense intraplate deformation propagation after the collision be-tween the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate. Their main expressions include the substantial up-lifting of the plateau, alternation of horizontal extension and compression under the verticalgreatest principal stress σ_1, occurrence of rift-type volcanic activity, formation of thebasin-range system, and successive eastward extrusion of blocks resulting from large-scalestrike-slip faulting. Geophysical exploration and experiments have revealed that there exist close-ly alternating horizontal high-velocity and low-velocity layers as well as lithospheric faults of aleft-lateral strike-slip sense in the lower part of the lithosphere (the lower crust and lithosphericmantle, 60-120 km deep). Based on an integrated study of the geological-geophysical data avail-able, the authors have proposed a model of deep-seated mantle diapir and the associatedtectonophysical process as the dynamic source for the uplift of the northern part of theQinghai-Tibet Plateau.     

The evolving pattern of NGOs’ participating in post-disaster community reconstruction in China: cases study on the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and the 2013 Lushan earthquake

This article presents the difference in patterns of NGOs’ post-disaster reconstruction between the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and the 2013 Lushan earthquake based on a case study of the One Foundation. The comparative studies of the One Foundation’s activities during the two responses illustrate that the organizational strategy gradually shifted from “resource-based” to “learning-based”. Their approach evolved from the providing of resources to the providing of knowledge, as they transformed both aid providers and recipients into collaborative learners, changed a resource-delivery organization into a learning organization and shaped a decentralized partnership of organizations into a mutual learning ecosystem in which knowledge flowed in multiple directions. This example of the One Foundation illustrates the potential future directions of NGOs' participation in disaster response in China.