Spatially enabled bushfire recovery

Over the last decade growth in spatial information use for disaster management has been considerable. Maps and spatial data are now recognized as critical elements in each of the four phases of disaster management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The use of spatial information to support the phases of mitigation, preparedness and response to bushfires is widely understood. Less attention, however, has been given to the role of spatial information in the recovery. Moreover, the application of the spatially enabled society concept to bushfire recovery has not been explored. This paper explores the role that spatial information plays and could play in the recovery phase of a bushfire disaster. The bushfires in Victoria, Australia that took place during February 2009 are used as the primary case study. It is found that: Spatial information for recovery requires a pre-existing infrastructure; Spatial capacity must be developed across agencies dealing with recovery; Spatially enabled address and parcel information are the key dataset required to support all recovery tasks; Spatial integration of bushfire datasets (spread and intensity) require linking with planning regimes, and Spatial information that is volunteered could be incorporated into recovery activities.     

Disaster Management and Community Planning, and Public Participation: How to Achieve Sustainable Hazard Mitigation

The paper offers first a brief historical overview of disaster management planning. Second, it reviews Australian and American research findings and show that they urge the field of disaster management to shift its focus from response and recovery to sustainable hazard mitigation. It is argued that in order for this shift to occur, it is necessary to integrate disaster management and community planning. Current practice seldom reflects such a synthesis, and this is one of the reasons why hazard awareness is absent from local decision-making processes. Third, it is asserted that if mitigative strategies are to be successfully implemented, then the disaster management process must incorporate public participation at the local decision-making level. The paper concludes with a case study of California's Portola Valley, which demonstrates that when public participation is integrated into disaster management planning and community planning, the result is sustainable hazard mitigation.     

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.     

Using the SyNaRMa system as a disaster management tool

Natural disasters have a considerable effect in human, infrastructure and economy. In the case of a, e.g., catastrophic earthquake that happens and affects the urban environment, immediate and efficient actions are required that ensure the minimization of the damage and loss of human lives. Local and national authorities should respond in order to meet the above objective. Nowadays, one of the most appropriate tools for this purpose is the web-based geographic information systems (GIS). Such a system, named SyNaRMa (Information System for Natural Risk Management in the Mediterranean), has been developed in the frame of an INTERREG IIIB ArchiMED project (2006?C2008). The present paper aims at addressing the role of the SyNaRMa system as a tool for facilitating disaster management. It is argued that the development of a web-based GIS can assist disaster management agencies to improve the quality of their decision making and increase efficiency and effectiveness in all levels of disaster management activities. This research is primarily based on the findings of the abovementioned project that resulted in the development of an information system for natural risk management in the Mediterranean that can facilitate sharing, access and usage of spatial data in disaster management, i.e., preparedness, response and recovery activities.     

Effects of the use of the surface spectrum of a specific region on seismic performances of R/C structures

Category 5 tropical cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu in March 2015, affecting thousands of people. Three months after the event, this study compared the responses from both external aid agencies and the disaster-affected communities to identify convergences, duplications and gaps. The research relies on 13 interviews with aid agencies and eight focus group discussions with participatory activities at local community level. While aid agencies actively responded during and after Pam, local people too responded to the event with strategies based on livelihoods diversification, food security techniques, traditional knowledge and cooperation intra- and inter-communities. The study emphasizes the need for an integrative approach where disaster responses from the top-down integrate that from the bottom-up. Aid agencies should build on the livelihood mechanisms developed at local level so responses and recovery can be more effective, socioculturally acceptable and may lead to sustainable outcomes of disaster risk reduction including climate change adaptation.     

Bridging the gaps: the role of local government capability and the management of a natural disaster in Bantul, Indonesia

This paper examines local government capability in managing pre-, during and post-natural disaster in Indonesia. The case study is the Bantul local government which had experience in managing the 2006 earthquake. Bantul is located in the most densely populated area of Java, where 1,500 people per square km square, and the earthquake destroyed domestic industries that had become the main resource of the Bantul local government. The capability of local government and the requirement to manage a disaster are very important issues for exploring the important role of local government in mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery disaster management activities, particularly in regard to the characteristics of local government in developing countries. In this paper, capability of local government in managing a disaster is defined as a function of institutions, human resources, policy for effective implementation, financial, technical resources and leadership. The capability requirement of each stage of disaster management has also been explained from the point of view of state and non-state actors and institutions. Finally, the paper integrates the capability requirement and reality in order to bridge these gaps.     

Japan’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Jishu-bosai-soshiki</Emphasis> community activities: analysis of its role in participatory community disaster risk management

Jishu-bosai-soshiki, or Jishubo for short, with a literal meaning of “autonomous organization for disaster reduction”, is a neighborhood association for disaster preparedness and rescue activity. In this paper, the role of Jishubo in the context of participatory disaster management in Japan is discussed. Although the formation of Jishubo is not legally mandated, local governments exercise a great deal of persuasion on the inhabitants of their community to organize and participate in disaster management activities. Therefore, participants in Jishubo activities tend to be guided and mobilized with a soft touch by local governments rather than being truly self-motivated, with the objective of reducing disaster risks in their residential areas. There have been several studies on community participatory management conducted in a number of countries, including New Zealand, the USA and Europe, which will serve as a reference in our study. However interesting, the cultural comparison of the “Western” and “Japanese” approaches to community disaster management, is beyond the scope of this paper, the aim of which is to determine a case of community disaster management in Japan. This paper addresses the background behind the development of Jishubo and discusses the uniqueness and limits of this softly mobilized participatory movement in Japan. Based on a case study in Kishiwada City, Osaka, the motivations driving people to participate in disaster management activities organized for Jishubo members is examined. In conclusion, we derive some policy implications and suggest possible approaches for improving the effectiveness of Jishubo and increasing the motivation of people to participate. We also propose that the roles of administrative bodies in Japan, such as non-profit organizations, be better incorporated into community’s participatory disaster reduction activities.     

Disaster education for landslide risk reduction: an experience in a public school in Rio de Janeiro State,Brazil

Public policies for reducing the disaster risk associated with landslides in Brazil, based almost solely on the implementation of engineering works to stabilise hillsides, have proved ineffective, with this type of disaster becoming more common and more severe. There is therefore an urgent need to form a culture that encourages the public to participate directly in disaster management and develops community capacity, which requires a broad disaster education programme on formal, non-formal and informal levels. Given the recent approach to the topic, this study aims to contribute to the development of a disaster education methodology for landslides, based on an experience that was coordinated by the authors within formal education. The experience was implemented in a state school in the city of Niterói (Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil) which is recurrently affected by disasters associated with landslides. The issue of disasters associated with landslides was addressed in a one-semester course, using the theory of meaningful learning and a range of pedagogical tools in both theory and practical classes, for a total period of 16 h. The educational activities were preceded by a landslide risk perception survey and teacher training. The study concluded that the course promoted interactive and participatory learning, a connection to the real problem in the field and an affective relationship with the issue.     

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.     

Landslide susceptibility assessment along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea,Iran

China is a disaster-prone country, and these disasters have diverse characteristics, a wide scope of distribution, high frequency, and large losses. China has advanced community-based disaster management (CBDM) capacity. Community is the bottom unit of the society, and CBDM is the foundation of the entire society’s disaster management system. A series of domestic major emergency incidents and disasters and international disaster reduction activities have promoted the formation of the CBDM concept, the implementation of capacity building activities, and the improvement of policy and laws. Thus far, the CBDM system has been preliminarily formed in China, and relevant rules and regulations have been promulgated and implemented. Furthermore, disaster reduction activities, such as the construction of the national comprehensive disaster reduction community and national safe community, have been promoted nationwide. As a result, China’s disaster-resistance capacity has largely improved. However, it is only in the initial phase of CBDM implementation, which remains plagued by several challenges and problems, such as the deficiency of community resident participation, management organizations, disaster risk assessment methods, NGO development, and safety culture cultivation.     

Pedaling disaster: citizen bicyclists in disaster response—Innovative solution or unnecessary effort?

Citizens have historically become involved in response to disasters by helping both themselves and others. Recently, the idea has emerged of individuals providing this assistance in the response period using bicycles. Community events have been organized by bicycling enthusiasts in US cities to demonstrate how bicycles could potentially be of use in disaster situations. Yet, there has been no empirical research around the idea of citizen bicyclists in disaster response. This study explored the potential use of bicycles and their citizen riders in disaster events in the USA—specifically considering what role, if any, citizen bicyclists could play in such scenarios. Data were initially collected through 21 in-depth, telephone interviews with emergency management officials and bicycling advocates from bicycle-friendly cities in ten different states. Grounded theory was used to conceptualize the overall research design and analyze the data. Based on theoretical and snowball sampling, an additional six interviews were completed with individuals who had requisite knowledge and experiences applicable to the research question. Participants indicated that there are a variety of tasks and activities citizen bicyclists could undertake in disaster response; however, it would have to be an event of significant scope and magnitude for bicycle usage to be widespread—an unlikely occurrence for many jurisdictions. Concerns about training and integration with the formal emergency management structure were also identified. Implications for potential citizen bicyclists—and citizen responders more broadly—are discussed.     

Earthquake loss estimation of residential buildings in Pakistan

Pakistan is an earthquake-prone region due to its tectonic setting resulting in high hazard with moderate-to-strong ground motions and vulnerability of structures and infrastructures, leading to the loss of lives and livelihood, property damage and economic losses. Earthquake-related disaster in Pakistan is a regular and serious threat to the community; however, the country lack tools for earthquake risk reduction through early warning (pre-earthquake planning), rapid response (prompt response at locations of high risk) and pre-financing earthquake risk (property insurance against disaster). This paper presents models for physical damageability assessment and socioeconomic loss estimation of structures in Pakistan for earthquake-induced ground motions, derived using state-of-the-art earthquake loss estimation methodologies. The methodologies are being calibrated with the site-specific materials and structures response, whereas the derived models are tested and validated against recent observed earthquakes in the region. The models can be used to develop damage scenario for earthquakes (assess damaged and collapsed structures, casualties and homeless) and estimate economic losses, i.e., cost of repair and reconstruction (for a single earthquake event as well as all possible earthquakes). The models can provide help on policy- and decision-making toward earthquake risk mitigation and disaster risk reduction in Pakistan.     

Integrated Community-Based Disaster Management Program in Taiwan: A Case Study of Shang-An Village

Taiwan has long made efforts to increase community emergency response capability, due to its vulnerability to earthquakes, typhoons, landslides and debris flows. Not until recent major natural disasters, such as the 1999 Chi–Chi Earthquake, Typhoon Toraji and Typhoon Nari, has the government reformed its policy toward empowering the community to take actions in hazard mitigation, emergency preparedness and emergency response. A new initiatve, Integrated Community-Based Disaster Management Program (ICBDM), was launched in 2001 by the Executive Yuan to achieve the goal of strengthening community resistance. The paper, taking Shang-An Village as an example, describes Taiwan’s new community-based disaster management program. Through a participatory process, community residents have learned how to analyze vulnerable conditions, discover problems, develop solutions and establish an organization to implement disaster management tasks. Further, basic response training courses and a disaster scenario were held in order to improve their emergency response capability. Based on the case study, a phased process, including initiation, assessment, planning and practice, is generalized.     

Partnership approach to disaster management in Bangladesh: a critical policy assessment

The geographic location of Bangladesh at the confluence of the three mighty river systems of the world renders her one of the most vulnerable places to natural disasters. Human-induced climate change exacerbates the problem. This study shows that the Government of Bangladesh has already established a multi-layered institutional mechanism for disaster management, with formal recognition of the role of various stakeholders. Historically, NGOs and other informal support mechanisms in the country also have made significant contributions during and after disaster recovery. Despite the presence of some strengths, such as long experience in disaster response and recovery, the people’s resilience, and donor support, the current management strategies suffer from a host of policy and institutional weaknesses. Most prominent is the absence of a functioning partnership among the stakeholders within these formal set-ups. What is lacking is the development and embodiment of a culture of collective decision-making in planning, in resource sharing, and in implementing disaster management policies and programs in an integrated and transparent way. The paper suggests a partnership framework to implement prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery phases of disaster management.     

A geo-ontology-based approach to decision-making in emergency management of meteorological disasters

Ontology as a kind of method for knowledge representation is able to provide semantic integration for decision support in emergency management activities of meteorological disasters. We examine a meteorological disaster system as composed of four components: disastrous meteorological events, hazard-inducing environments, hazard-bearing bodies, and emergency management. The geospatial characteristics of these components can be represented with geographical ontology (geo-ontology). In this paper, we propose an ontology representation of domain knowledge of a meteorological disaster system descending from an adapted geospatial foundation ontology, designed to formally conceptualize the domain terms and establish relationships between those concepts. The class hierarchy and relationships of the proposed ontology are implemented finally at top level, domain level/task level, and application level. The potential application of the ontology is illustrated with a case study of prediction of secondary disasters and evacuation decision of a typhoon event. The multi-level ontology model can provide semantic support for before-, during-, after-event emergency management activities such as risk assessment, resource preparedness, and emergency response where the formed concepts and their relationships can be incorporated into reasoning sentences of these decision processes. Furthermore, the ontology model is realized with a universally used intermediate language OWL, which enables it to be used in popular environments. This work will underlie the semantic integration among human beings, between heterogeneous systems and between human beings and systems, enable spatial semantic reasoning, and will be useful in guiding advanced decision support in emergency management of meteorological disasters.     

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.     

A Probabilistic Modelling System for Assessing Flood Risks

In order to be economically viable, flood disaster mitigation should be based on a comprehensive assessment of the flood risk. This requires the estimation of the flood hazard (i.e. runoff and associated probability) and the consequences of flooding (i.e. property damage, damage to persons, etc.). Within the “German Research Network Natural Disasters” project, the working group on “Flood Risk Analysis” investigated the complete flood disaster chain from the triggering event down to its various consequences. The working group developed complex, spatially distributed models representing the relevant meteorological, hydrological, hydraulic, geo-technical, and socio-economic processes. In order to assess flood risk these complex deterministic models were complemented by a simple probabilistic model. The latter model consists of modules each representing one process of the flood disaster chain. Each module is a simple parameterisation of the corresponding more complex model. This ensures that the two approaches (simple probabilistic and complex deterministic) are compatible at all steps of the flood disaster chain. The simple stochastic approach allows a large number of simulation runs in a Monte Carlo framework thus providing the basis for a probabilistic risk assessment. Using the proposed model, the flood risk including an estimation of the flood damage was quantified for an example area at the river Rhine. Additionally, the important influence of upstream levee breaches on the flood risk at the lower reaches was assessed. The proposed model concept is useful for the integrated assessment of flood risks in flood prone areas, for cost-benefit assessment and risk-based design of flood protection measures and as a decision support tool for flood management.     

重大地质灾害应急响应技术支撑体系研究

地质灾害应急响应是一种涉及因素多、技术含量高、时间要求紧、工作任务重和社会影响大的危机事件管理行为,也是一种跨阶段、高要求、大集成、快反应和求实效的非常规防灾减灾行动。针对重大地质灾害的应急响应,为了探索减小地质风险和在风险下生存的途径,必须创建一个有灾害意识、有充分准备的政府或社区应急管理技术支撑体系。技术体系包括人才团队、技术装备、理论方法等方面。人才团队要求科学技术素养深厚,工作高效实用;技术装备要求简单、快速并有效;理论方法追求支撑防灾减灾决策的"满意解"或"有用解"。技术支撑具体针对地质灾害"险情应急"和"灾情应急"2种类型,前者突出预测预警与应急处置的防灾方法,后者重在成因分析与减灾行动。工作程序上划分为响应启动、调查评价、监测预警、会商定性、防控论证、决策指挥、实施检验和总结完善8个阶段。技术路线包括地质环境信息获取、分析研判、预测预警、模拟仿真、技术方案论证、风险评估与决策支持6个步骤。为了促进地质灾害应急响应从经验走向科学,从感性判断走向理性量化,尽快提升和加强对重大地质灾害应急管理的技术支撑能力,立足于国家层面的决策需求初步提出了重大地质灾害应急响应的科学技术工作框架体系。     

European space agency’s strategic contribution to seismology

The impacts of disaster events such as earthquakes on economic and human lives are increasing every year, in particular due to the growing urbanization. Until recently, stakeholders involved in disaster risk management focused their efforts mainly on the response phase, immediately after the crisis. Following the recommendations of several recent studies and in order to minimize the increasing impacts of natural disasters, decision-makers and major stakeholders have showed an increasing interest in mitigation activities. Earth Observation (EO) data from space could bring a significant added value to the various phases of the seismic risk management cycle from the mitigation and preparedness phases. Space agencies need to better contribute to the management of geohazards in response to the growing request from the community of users (e.g. seismologists, insurance companies, urban planners). To foster the use of EO remote sensing data, satellite data providers have to take the appropriate measures to remove the policy and technical barriers related to the data access. They have also to increase the awareness of the community of users on the potential benefits that could be gained from the use of EO satellite data. This paper will provide examples of areas where EO remote sensing data from space could bring an added value to the current management of risks and crisis related to earthquakes. Then, the paper will describe the strategic measures undertaken by the European Space Agency in an international framework, to foster the use of satellite data by the various relevant stakeholders.     

How Accurate are Disaster Loss Data? The Case of U.S. Flood Damage

Policy makers need accurate disaster loss data for decisions about disaster assistance, policy evaluation, and scientific research priorities. But loss estimation is difficult in a disaster situation, and initial loss estimates are seldom evaluated in comparison with actual costs. This paper uses the example of historical flood damage data in the U.S. to evaluate disaster loss data. It evaluates the accuracy of historical flood damage estimates from two federal agencies. The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) has compiled annual flood loss estimates for each state since 1955. Comparison of the NWS data with similar estimates from five state emergency management agencies reveals substantial disagreement between estimates from different sources. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began in the 1990s to systematically collect damage estimates and cost data associated with its disaster assistance programs. Comparison of early damage estimates with actual expenditures in a California flood disaster reveals large errors in some estimates for individual counties, but no statistically significant tendency to underestimate or overestimate. Positive and negative errors tend to average out and the total damage estimate for the state approximates the final expenditures. Both comparisons indicate that damage estimates for small events or local jurisdictions often are extremely inaccurate. On the other hand, estimates aggregated over large areas or long time periods appear to be reasonably reliable; that is, this study finds that independent estimates for events with losses greater than $500 million disagree by less than 40. The paper suggests ways of interpreting and using such loss estimates to reduce the likelihood of misinterpretation.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.