Measures for groundwater security during and after the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake (1995) and the Great East Japan earthquake (2011), Japan

Many big earthquakes have occurred in the tectonic regions of the world, especially in Japan. Earthquakes often cause damage to crucial life services such as water, gas and electricity supply systems and even the sewage system in urban and rural areas. The most severe problem for people affected by earthquakes is access to water for their drinking/cooking and toilet flushing. Securing safe water for daily life in an earthquake emergency requires the establishment of countermeasures, especially in a mega city like Tokyo. This paper described some examples of groundwater use in earthquake emergencies, with reference to reports, books and newspapers published in Japan. The consensus is that groundwater, as a source of water, plays a major role in earthquake emergencies, especially where the accessibility of wells coincides with the emergency need. It is also important to introduce a registration system for citizen-owned and company wells that can form the basis of a cooperative during a disaster; such a registration system was implemented by many Japanese local governments after the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995 and the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, and is one of the most effective countermeasures for groundwater use in an earthquake emergency. Emphasis is also placed the importance of establishing of a continuous monitoring system of groundwater conditions for both quantity and quality during non-emergency periods.     

Governance of disaster emergency wells in three cities in Japan affected by earthquakes

Concern has grown regarding how public and private sectors should make effective use of local groundwater to alleviate negative impacts of water-supply cutoff following an earthquake event, which can be regarded as an emergency groundwater governance problem. Existing literature on groundwater governance, however, is based on the tacit assumption of groundwater utilization under normal social conditions, and scant consideration has been given to the role of groundwater following occurrence of a natural disaster. This study conducted questionnaire surveys to reveal how groundwater was used in three cities (Kumamoto, Sapporo, and Sendai) in Japan struck by large earthquakes between 2010 and 2020. Results revealed substantial differences between these cities in terms of groundwater utilization following earthquake occurrence. The time between the restoration of the electricity supply and restoration of the waterworks, and the social capital accumulated by local governments, are indicated as possible reasons for such differences. Analysis also identified policy challenges for improved groundwater governance in an emergency: (1) establishment of a strategy for emergency water supply through combined use of groundwater and other water sources, (2) enhancement of methods for timely inspection of groundwater quality following occurrence of a disaster, (3) maintenance of records of the number of registered disaster emergency wells (DEWs), (4) creation of methods for publicizing locational information on DEWs with adequate regard for the privacy of well owners, and (5) recognition of the importance of making DEWs part of overall disaster preparedness.

     

Evaluation of groundwater supply capacity for agricultural drought emergency relief of Hebei Plain

Drought is the uppermost natural disaster in the Hebei Plain, which during the past 20 years showed a trend of frequency increasing, range extension, longer duration and severer damage. In the Hebei Plain, as a major grain producing area, the agricultural drought emergency relief can only rely on groundwater exploitation. Thus the work to conduct evaluation of groundwater supply capacity for agricultural drought emergency relief of Hebei Plain is of great significance for disaster prevention and relief. In this paper, with the method of analytic hierarchy process, the evaluation index system with reference to 3 aspects and 7 indexes (the former including groundwater resources, groundwater exploitation technical conditions and water supply facilities) and the ArcGIS Desktop ArcMAP software, the work to assess the shallow groundwater supply capacity for agricultural drought emergency relief in the Hebei Plain was carried out.     

Participatory exclusion – Cyclone Sidr and its aftermath

‘Nature does not discriminate, but humans do’ – this deliberately echoed sentiment in an area affected by Cyclone Sidr problematizes the practice of resource distribution in post-disaster situations. While relief and rehabilitation services have the objective of ‘building back better’, the possibility of elite-capture of resource distribution channels, jeopardizes both humanitarian initiatives as well as future development. This paper explores the political economy of post-Sidr interventions from an ethnographic account. The paper establishes links between power networks and access to resources in the study area, finding that marginality is a production of ongoing disaster interventions which favour the relatively well-off over the structurally poor. Ultimately, humanitarian assistance channels resources through established power networks, thus reinforcing them and producing uneven resilience among different social strata. This paper offers important insights for redesigning the distribution of humanitarian assistance.     

Failure of rural schemes in South Africa to provide potable water

The impact of water-borne disease in South Africa is significant. An estimated 43,000 deaths per annum, including 20% of deaths in the 1-5 years age group, are directly attributable to diarrhoeal diseases. Drinking water quality provision in many rural areas is substandard. This paper describes the results of sampling drinking water supplies in rural communities in the Western and Eastern Cape, South Africa. The majority of samples collected failed microbial drinking water quality standards. Overall, schemes dependent on groundwater provided a worse quality water at point of use than surface-water-dependant schemes. This is thought to be the result of pump breakdown, deterioration of the storage and reticulation system, and insufficient monitoring and management of the schemes. Importantly, it is shown that the implementation of well-considered, community accepted drinking-water quality management procedures can effectively change an unacceptable water quality to one that satisfies drinking-water specifications.     

Environmental disasters in social context: toward a preventive and precautionary approach

The paper examines relations between natural hazards and social conditions in disaster, and problems of their integration in disaster management. This must be done against a background of ever-increasing numbers of disasters. The initiating roles and impacts of environmental hazards are acknowledged. However, expanding losses are not explained by increased geophysical risks. To the extent that scientific knowledge or engineering and planning skills are involved, the problems seem more one of (in)effective deployment than major deficiencies. Social analyses suggest the scope of today’s disasters follows primarily from greater concentrations of vulnerable people, exposed in dangerous situations, and lacking adequate protections. Firstly, the question of disaster causality is revisited as a problem of damage diagnostics. A basis is developed from the findings of formal disaster inquiries. Despite their limitations, well-conducted inquiries offer unusually comprehensive anatomies of the social and physical conditions of disasters. They demonstrate and trace out the interplay of environmental, societal, technological, and institutional components of emergencies. In the examples described, environmental hazards are investigated in great detail. Nevertheless, societal preconditions are shown to be more critical. Inadequacies in emergency preparedness, performance, and post-disaster response are highlighted, and for those most at risk. The conclusions present major challenges for the agent-specific view of disasters, and for disaster management preoccupied with natural forces, uncertainty, and emergency responses. Rather, a view of disaster causality emerges emphasizing avoidable failures of preventive, protective, and intervention measures. Evidence is cited to show this is increasingly relevant in so-called natural disasters lacking such inquiries. The discussion considers the relevance of a preventive and precautionary approach in this context. The histories of accident, disease, fire, and crime prevention support arguments for greater attention to context-specific environmental and societal aspects of risk. Aligning disaster management more closely with preventive priorities depends upon a much greater focus on people, places, and livelihoods most at risk, reversing the social processes that put them at risk. It requires listening to their voices and concerns, recognizing and bolstering their resilience. Much more can and should be done to disseminate the protections, from building regulations to insurance, that actually do save so many others in the disasters that happen. As such, the case for greater attention to issues of governance and social justice is strengthened.     

Household response to cyclone and induced surge in coastal Bangladesh: coping strategies and explanatory variables

The purpose of this research is to explore indigenous coping strategies and identify underlying demographic, socio-economic and other relevant variables that influence the adoption of coping strategies in three distinct cyclone-prone coastal villages of Bangladesh. The study finds that cyclones and induced surges are a recurrent phenomenon in coastal Bangladesh; hence people are used to adjusting their lifestyle and adopting their own coping strategies intelligently. Adoption of a particular set of coping strategies depends not only on the magnitude, intensity and potential impacts of the cyclone and induced surge, but also age, gender, social class, dissemination of early warning information, locational exposure, external assistance, social protection and informal risk sharing mechanisms within the community. Indigenous cyclone disaster prevention and mitigation strategies significantly minimize the vulnerability of the people. Under extreme situations, when such disasters surpass the shock-bearing capacity of the victims, informal risk sharing mechanisms through social bonding and social safety-nets become vital for short-term survival and long-term livelihood security. Therefore, proper monitoring and understanding of local indigenous coping strategies are essential in order to target the most vulnerable groups exposed to disasters. Additionally, proper dissemination of early warning and government and non-government partnerships for relief and rehabilitation activities should be prioritized to ensure pro-poor disaster management activities. The study also recommends effective monitoring of the impact of aid to ensure corrective measures to avoid the development of relief dependency by disaster victims.     

Improving information access for emergency response in disasters

During disasters, many researchers highlight the efficiency of the various information techniques that are used for emergency response. However, only a few information systems consider on-site and off-site information requirements synchronously. The results achieved by the emergency responders will not be as effective as they should be, since the emergency responders cannot access necessary information. Therefore, this study proposed an approach for dealing with three problems associated with emergency situations, i.e., inadequate escape guidelines for people, incomplete geographical information for relief workers, and insufficient on-site information for disaster managers. In a simulated scenario, when serious debris flows occurred, this study tested the approach. The test results showed that the people rapidly finished self-evacuation, the relief workers effectively completed their on-site relief work, and the disaster managers successfully managed the on-site activities regarding the people and relief workers. Overall, the recommended approach improved information access for emergency response and provided a useful reference for similar applications in disaster management.     

Unnoticed but important: revealing the hidden contribution of community-based religious institution of the mosque in disasters

The role of community-based religious institutions has been largely undocumented, underestimated and overshadowed in the disaster studies literature. This paper explores the role of the mosque, a community-based religious institution, in disaster management by documenting and analysing its role in rural settings in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. The study examines the role of the mosque in relation to key actors from the state, civil society and private sector during response, relief, recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation phases of the Pakistan earthquake. Using qualitative research methods and a case study design, this article analyses primary data collected through 5 months of fieldwork (in 2009 and 2010). The findings demonstrate the multifaceted and distinct contribution of the mosque in cultural, economic, social and political aspects of the lives of the earthquake-affected communities. Possible challenges to engagement with the mosque, both gender inclusiveness and political controversy around its role, are also raised. This research suggests that state, civil society and private sector actors involved in disaster management need to understand complex relationships involving people and their religious institutions, and their impact on the social dimension of recovery. The findings of the study contribute to the scarce knowledge about the role of community-based religious institutions including churches, mosques, synagogues and temples and call for engagement: that is, acknowledging and valuing their role for building a synergy between secular and religious efforts for disaster risk reduction and post-disaster recovery.     

近30年来降水量变化和人类活动对北京潮白河冲洪积扇地下水动态的影响

对北京潮白河冲洪积扇分布区30年来降水量、地表径流量、地下水水位和地下水储存量进行了时间序列分析。结果表明: 过去30年中,区域地下水动态发生了明显变化,特点是1998年以来,地下水位和地下水储存量迅速下降与减少。1998年以来,年降水量为以往多年平均值的76％左右。在储存量变化的影响因素中,降水量减少导致的补给量减少约占24％,人类活动,如工农业地下水开采、应急水源地地下水开采和地表水体入渗减少等因素约占76％。由于未来气候变化的不确定性,在南水北调的水进京后仍可能出现连续枯水年,因此,以丰水年降水进行水源涵养存在较大风险。对于已经处于严重超采状况的潮白河冲洪积扇来说,为了满足未来供水的需要,应急水源地从现在起应减少开采量或停采以逐步恢复地下水储存量。     

南水北调进京后怀柔应急水源地地下水资源涵养研究

怀柔应急水源地作为北京最大的应急地下水源地,在连续10多年的干旱期间,为保障城市供水安全做出了巨大贡献。文章在总结怀柔应急水源地10年供水历程的基础上,评价了连续干旱和应急开采条件下区域水资源的变化;结合南水北调进京的契机,从"资源人工回补"和供水系统"热备运行"两方面开展当地地下水资源涵养研究工作,以保障怀柔应急水源地可持续"应急供水"能力,为应对南水北调供水过程中的突发事件,做好水资源战备储备。     

An analysis on disasters management system in China

This paper introduced the principle, institutional framework, and legal construction of Chinese disaster management system, and operating mechanisms of disaster management departments in pre-disaster, response and post-disaster phases were also demonstrated. Although China has basically built the disaster management system, formed national emergency plan system, and gained achievements in some aspects, the disasters management system is still a segmental model and is not an integrated management system. This article analyzes problems of Chinese disaster management system, and puts forward some suggestions for improving and optimizing this system. This can make Chinese disaster management system better respond and handle to disasters risk, and reduce the social and economic losses of disasters caused.     

Source inversion and numerical simulation of 2017 <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis><Subscript>w</Subscript> 8.1 Mexico earthquake tsunami

Post-disaster social recovery remains the least understood of the disaster phases despite increased risks of extreme events leading to disasters due to climate change. This paper contributes to advance this knowledge by focusing on the disaster recovery process of the Australian coastal town of Cardwell which was affected by category 4/5 Tropical Cyclone Yasi in 2011. Drawing on empirical data collected through semi-structured interviews with Cardwell residents post-Yasi, it examines issues related to social recovery in the first year of the disaster and 2 years later. Key findings discuss the role played by community members, volunteers and state actors in Cardwell’s post-disaster social recovery, especially with respect to how current disaster risk management trends based on self-reliance and shared responsibility unfolded in the recovery phase. Lessons learnt concerning disaster recovery governance are then extracted to inform policy implementation for disaster risk management to support social recovery and enhance disaster resilience in the light of climate change.     

广州市花都区地下水应急水源地研究

广州市花都区地下水资源较丰富,根据地下水的赋存条件,地下水类型划分为松散岩类孔隙水、碳酸盐岩裂隙岩溶水、红层孔隙裂隙水、层状岩类裂隙水及块状岩类裂隙水。其中供水意义较大的地下水类型为松散岩类孔隙水和碳酸盐岩裂隙溶洞水。依据应急水源地圈定依据,圈定四处地下水应急水源地,对潜在供水能力、水质及地下水开采风险进行评价。结果显示:各应急水源地地下水水质总体良好,经相应处理后可满足应急供水水质需求,地地下水开采风险主要有地质灾害风险、地下水污染风险及开采技术风险。应急状态下,各水源地地下水总允许开采资源为72 119.13 m^3/d,可满足花都区63.86%常住人口的应急供水。     

甘肃省城市应急供水水源地规划研究

依据近年来从事项目所收集的资料,结合前人的研究成果,为甘肃省62个城市规划了66处城市供水应急水源地。其中：地下水水源地51处,占规划应急水源地的77.27%;地表水水源地15处,占规划应急水源地的22.73%;同时指出应进一步开展城市供水应急水源地勘查工作,评价应急开采量或可供水量,提高城市应对突发事件的保障水平。     

宁阳县城区地下水应急后备水源地研究

开展城市应急后备水源地调查研究,对于提高加强城市地下水资源储备,提高城市在特枯年或连续干旱年及污染事件突发时的供水能力,提高饮用水安全保证程度,构建水资源战略储备及保障体系,保障城市供水安全具有重要现实意义。着重研究分析宁阳县地下水富水地段,充分挖掘现有地下水水源地的资源潜力,提出应急供水水源地位置及概算了可供水量。     

干旱监测与评价技术的发展及其科学挑战

由于气候变暖及人类活动加剧,干旱灾害对全球粮食、水资源和生态安全及人类可持续发展的威胁日益突出,对干旱决策服务和应急管理能力提出了严峻挑战,干旱监测预警、影响评估及应急管理等方面的技术水平亟待进一步提高.在系统总结以往研究成果基础上,阐述了对干旱气候、干旱和干旱灾害的科学认识,归纳了干旱气候、干旱和干旱灾害的成因及其主...     

Emergency Plan for Water Supply in Consecutive Droughts and Sustainable Water Resources Management in Beijing

Beijing, the capital city of China, has suffered from acute water shortage, with only 300 m3/a of water resources available per capita. In addition, Beijing has experienced a prolonged period of consecutive droughts from 1999 to 2010. Water crisis has constrained the socio-economic development of Beijing. Meanwhile, the national "South-to-North Water Transfer"(STNWT) project, which is expected to provide some relief to the water crisis in Beijing, is still under development. In order to ensure the security of water supply in Beijing before the completion of the STNWT project, several measures have been implemented to cope with droughts, including pumping groundwater from emergency well fields,water saving, recycling of water, rain and flood water harvesting, and the diversion of water from neighboring rivers and groundwater basins. Groundwater from four emergency well fields contributes the most to the public and domestic water supplies in Beijing, supplying a total volume of 1.8×10~9 m~3.The water crisis is supposed to be mitigated by the completion of the STNWT project. After the completion of this project, more sustainable management of water resources will be implemented,including the use of aquifers as groundwater reservoirs and conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater resources.     

超采对北京市潮白河冲洪积扇中上部地区地下水质的影响

潮白河冲洪积扇中上游地区作为北京市最主要地表水和地下水供给区,在城市供水中的作用举足轻重。由于多年连续超采,地下水位持续下降,1999-2013年地下水位下降最大达45 m;应急水源地地区地下水硬度年均上升2.6%,密云十里堡地区地下水硬度和硝酸盐氮超标。通过分析潮白河冲洪积扇区域地下水开发利用、地下水位和水质变化情况以及地下水位变化对地下水水质的影响,认为：超量开采导致的地下水水位下降是引起该区域地下水水质恶化的主要原因之一,控制地下水超量开采和地表水污染,并利用南水北调的水进京之机回灌和停采以涵养地下水,是恢复区域水资源和水环境的良好途径。     

Improved water resource management for a highly complex environment using three-dimensional groundwater modelling

A three-dimensional groundwater model was used to improve water resource management for a study area in north-west Switzerland, where drinking-water production is close to former landfills and industrial areas. To avoid drinking-water contamination, artificial groundwater recharge with surface water is used to create a hydraulic barrier between the contaminated sites and drinking-water extraction wells. The model was used for simulating existing and proposed water management strategies as a tool to ensure the utmost security for drinking water. A systematic evaluation of the flow direction between existing observation points using a developed three-point estimation method for a large number of scenarios was carried out. It is demonstrated that systematically applying the developed methodology helps to identify vulnerable locations which are sensitive to changing boundary conditions such as those arising from changes to artificial groundwater recharge rates. At these locations, additional investigations and protection are required. The presented integrated approach, using the groundwater flow direction between observation points, can be easily transferred to a variety of hydrological settings to systematically evaluate groundwater modelling scenarios.