Disaster risk reduction legislations: Is there a move from events to processes?

Disaster research and scholarship is now advocating a shift from focusing on the hazard event to processes that generate vulnerability and loss of resilience to disasters. Disaster legislations are among prominent instruments that can highlight the tensions as well as challenges that are being encountered towards this change in focus. Using textual analysis, this paper presents a study that investigated whether five post-2002 disaster legislations have shifted emphasis from the hazard to the vulnerability and resilience paradigms. The five examples illustrate that while there is a slight change, at least in rhetoric, from response to a prevention focus, disaster legislations largely promote a centralised institutional framework, with inadequate resource commitments and limited participation from vulnerable communities. Consequently, while generalisations simply cannot be made without a wider analysis of many more examples from different countries, the five disaster legislations appear to re-emphasise the response focus with less attention on the processes that reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience. The conclusion is that while the rhetoric has changed, the disaster legislations have not significantly moved from the hazard to vulnerability and resilience focus suggesting that reduction of losses and damages to disasters remains a big challenge     

The Ground Deformation Disaster in the City of Tianjin Associated with the Tangshan Earthquake

In this paper,a study of the principal characteristics of the ground deformation disasters in the city of Tianjin caused by the Tangshan earthquake is based on the results from the recent remeasurements of the geodetic controlling network of Tianjin and from on-site investigations after the earthquake.These results show that only the ground deformation in the Ninghe and Hangu areas near the epicenter reflect directly the co-seismic crustal stress,while the serious ground deformation and the engineering earthquake damages in the urban districts of Tianjin are controlled to a great extent by the local engineering geological structures,showing a kind of secondary disaster.Several suggestions are also proposed in the paper concerning the counter-measures for reducing the earthquake damage in big cities.     

浙江台风（热带风暴）灾害的若干特点

对１９４９－１９９２年的气象、水文和灾害资料分析，浙江台风灾害具有以下几个特点：１．登陆或严重影响浙江的台风日期与天文大潮期相遇机率高，沿海地区潮灾严重；２．台风大风是浙江沿海城市台风灾害危害的主因之一，且其危害具有连锁反应倾向；３．台风灾害对浙江农业的危害一般是直接和继发性灾害叠加而成的；４．台风灾害区的地理分布具有明显的山脉走向性；５．台风重灾年在年际分布上具有阶段性。     

全球增暖下我国旱涝灾害可能情景的初步研究

在全球变暖的情况下,我国东南沿海、西南、西北、内蒙古和东北部分地区,洪涝灾害可能增加;而黄河中游以南和华北平原干旱可能增加.这一变化特征与本世纪暖期降水分布变化,以及与CO_2倍增情况下气候模似结果基本一致.     

浙江台风(热带风暴)灾害的若干特点

对1949-1992年的气象、水文和灾害资料分析,浙江台风灾害具有以下几个特点:1.登陆或严重影响浙江的台风日期与天文大潮期相遇机率高,沿海地区潮灾严重;2.台风大风是浙江沿海城市台风灾害危害的主因之一,且其危害具有连锁反应倾向;3.台风灾害对浙江农业的危害一般是直接和继发性灾害叠加而成的;4.台风灾害区的地理分布具有明显的山脉走向性;5.台风重灾年在年际分布上具有阶段性.     

长江上游(宜宾—宜昌)干流两岸山地城镇滑坡灾害及防治

本文概要介绍长江上游宜宾—宜昌干流两岸山地城镇座落的自然环境,重点论述山地城镇滑坡灾害,最后提出了区域防灾战略的新途迳。     

我国天山山区公路山地灾害及其防治

天山山区公路山地灾害主要出现于海拔>3000米的现代冰缘区,遭山地灾害威胁较严重的是独山子—库车公路和乌鲁木齐—库尔勒公路。较突出的山地灾害是雪崩、风吹雪、自然积雪、泥石流与石冰川,其次是倒石堆、热融滑塌和热融掏蚀。该区公路山地灾害防治应采取预防为主、防治结合的原则,此外应加强灾害预报。     

开展灾害学研究 保障人类生存与发展

灾害是人类面临的最严重的威胁。本文简要列述了各类灾害对国民经济建设和人类生存的危害性,论述了灾害的分类和体系特征,探讨了灾害形成的科学机理,强调了开展多学科、大体系研究的重要意义。同时结合国土环境遥感调查,提出了开展灾害学研究、监测防御、减灾抗祸的对策和建议,以期发挥现代地球科学理论与遥感技术的潜力,为促进灾害学的研究、保障人类更好地生存与发展作出贡献。     

论减轻自然灾害工作

本文概述自然灾害的各类及其危害性，分析自然灾害的共同特点，讨论减轻灾害的意义，文中指出提高防灾意识，加强灾害预防预报，制定减灾计划，建立减灾工作体系，开展群众防灾教育和培养专业及业余防灾人员是当前减灾工作的主要任务。