Earthquake drills and simulations in community-based training and preparedness programmes

The San Francisco, California, bay area is subject to continuous seismic risk. One particular response has been the development of community-based training programmes designed to teach residents basic emergency response skills. Citizens are taught emergency medical techniques, search and rescue, fire suppression and other fundamental response skills. Current estimates in the Bay Area place the number of programmes at more than 100. Many programmes now include an annual community drill to reinforce the training and to evaluate the programme. The study described here is based on an evaluation of an effort initiated by BayNET (Bay Area Neighborhood Emergency Training), a voluntary association of communities with community-based disaster preparedness programmes. In April 1996, BayNET asked all of its members to hold a community earthquake drill. After the drill, a mail survey was conducted of all programme managers. The survey examined the structure and administration of the programmes, training efforts and other related components. This paper describes the typology of drill formats that communities used, the role of the simulation in the city's preparedness efforts, the qualitative costs and benefits, as well as an assessment of the drill based on survey respondents.     

溧阳市社区居民防震减灾科学素质调查研究

为了解溧阳地震四十年来该地居民防震减灾科学素质情况,通过问卷调查的方式对社区居民的个人基本信息、防震减灾科学知识理解、知识需求和偏好,以及对江苏省防震减灾科普宣教工作的评价进行调研。采用SPSS软件进行数据处理。结果表明,溧阳市社区居民防震减灾科学知识水平处于中等偏上水平,但对地震预报信息发布和相关法律法规认知方面还有欠缺;防震减灾知识需求强烈且务实,最想了解的是自救互救知识,偏好科普讲座和应急演练活动;对我省防震减灾科普宣传工作的评价为中等偏上,在评价过程中,最主要的影响因子是防震减灾科普知识实用性、宣传品质和渠道。本次调查为今后开展溧阳市社区防震减灾科普宣传工作提供了理论依据。     

综合应急救援能力描述理论架构及提升内容研究

基于代数这一数学工具,该文创新建立综合应急救援能力描述理论架构,包括面向自然灾害、事故灾难、公共卫生、社会安全等灾种建立的救援灾害轴,面向村、社区、街道(镇)、区(县、市)、市、省等区域建立的救援区域轴,面向准备、响应、处置、保障、善后等时间建立的救援时间轴,由此构成综合应急救援能力描述三维坐标系;在此基础上,抽象出应急救援能力途径通用表达式模型。研究出综合应急救援能力提升内容,包括综合应急救援能力提升内容的通用表达式,以及应急救援能力提升内容的通用表格;基于这些研究成果,就可根据实际的救援灾害轴、救援区域轴、救援时间轴等实际情况,得出具体的综合应急救援能力提升内容。     

城市公共安全规划与灾害应急管理的集成研究

随着城市公共安全理论研究与应用的不断深入,对于安全规划与灾害应急管理的孤立研究已渐露弊端.探讨了研究城市公共安全规划与灾害应急管理的融合模式,剖析了城市公共安全规划的空间范围与应变管理空间需求之间的关系,提出了以整合观和可持续发展观构建城市公共安全规划,以空间观构建城市应急管理机制的设想.在此基础上,根据有效服务范围和资源量,提出了城市各类防救灾设施的规划标准与建构模式,以建立城市救灾单元区域.     

应对河南省特大洪涝灾害救援药品保障目录的研究与实践

为提高中国救援队救援任务中的药品保障效率,建立洪涝灾害救援药品保障目录.查阅洪涝灾害医学及救援相关文献270余篇,统计分析洪涝灾害疾病谱及发生率.根据不同疾病类型的发生比例,采用决策分析法,确定洪涝灾害救援药品保障目录,搭建国内药品紧急响应平台.研究结果为:消化系统疾病、呼吸系统疾病及皮肤科疾病占据疾病谱前三位.参照疾...     

Collaborative emergency management: better community organising, better public preparedness and response

Community coordination requires communication and planning of precautions to take when faced with a severe threat of disaster. The unique case of the four Florida hurricanes of 2004--Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne--is used here to assess community responses to repeated threats of hurricanes. The paper examines how effectiveness in coordinating community disaster response efforts affects future public preparedness. The findings suggest that pre-season planning, open communication between emergency managers and elected officials, and the use of technology all had a significant impact on community responses. The repeated threat scenario indicates that emergency managers must work vigilantly to keep residents informed of the seriousness of a situation. The study describes how emergency managers in Florida countered public complacency during four hurricanes in six weeks. The strategies identified as useful by public managers in the context of hurricanes are applicable to other natural and man-made disasters.     

政府部门的应急响应能力在城市防灾减灾中的作用

城市是人口、经济密集的地区,城市自身的特点决定了抢险救灾必须快速果断,当城市发生灾害时,当地政府部门是抢险救灾的主力军,在这一过程中,政府部门对灾害的应急反应能力成了救灾、减灾成功与否的决定性因素.文章探讨了政府部门的应急响应能力的组成及其在城市防灾减灾中的重要性.政府部门的灾害应急能力主要从应急反应、应急指挥、应急救援、应急信息的发布和应急避难五个方面体现出来.     

Impact of psychological risk factors on disaster rescue operations: the case of Italian volunteers

This paper reports on research into the characteristics of emergency rescue workers, with a focus on psychological distress. We present the results of a study of volunteers from the Italian national civil protection programme. A questionnaire was administered to 2,576 subjects from all over Italy. Most respondents were men, mostly unemployed, whose average level of education was higher than that among most Italian volunteers. Many were poorly endowed with basic skills, with large differences according to geography. Many expected to convert their volunteer activities into permanent jobs. Using this data, we employed a logistical regression model to analyse the risk of low, moderate and severe psychological distress symptoms, including anxiety and panic attacks, during rescue operations. The results indicate that some rescuers are particularly vulnerable to distress. The highest risk factors pertained to volunteers from southern Italy whose training is inadequate, who have little experience of emergency work and who play subordinate roles in small teams that lack psychological support services.     

灾害救助评估理论方法研究与展望

灾害救助评估是一种辅助决策工具,收集和分析灾害及灾害救助信息,为灾害救助活动的决策、规划和控制提供有效的信息支持,其内涵主要包括4个方面:①评估灾害对社会产生的影响;②灾害应急抢险需求与方案优化;③救助资源可获得性;④促进和加速灾后恢复与区域发展的可行性。灾害救助过程包括规划、数据收集与调查、分析与解读、趋势预测、辅助决策、灾害监测等6个环节。灾害救助评估内容按照灾害救助阶段总体分为应急快速评估和灾后详细评估两大类。其中,应急快速评估主要侧重于灾情和应急救助需求,是灾害救助评估的传统研究领域,为应急抢险和受灾人口基本生活保障提供信息支持;灾后详细评估则主要用于全面分析灾害对社会、经济、生态环境系统造成的损失和影响,为灾后恢复与重建提供辅助决策支持。     

日美地震灾害紧急对应对中国灾害应急体制建立的启示

通过对美国1994年洛杉矶北岭地震反1995年日本阪神大地震时日美政府的地震灾害紧急应对过程,尤其是地震后的24小时内政府的初期对应,分析了日美地震灾害应急体制的特征,并就如何建立和完善中国灾害应急体系做了探讨。日美政府之所以在大地震发生时能有效地进行了紧急应对,在于健全的灾害应急体制。中国正处于经济和社会高度发展时期,面对各种各样的灾害和事故,要真正将灾害的损失降低到最低程度,必须尽快建立和健全以灾害应急规划体系、防灾情报系统、应急救灾指挥系统和专业化灾害援助队伍体系等为主的灾害应急管理体制。     

土木工程专业人员在地震应急救援中的作用和参与机制

从我国地震应急救援志愿者队伍现状出发,剖析了我国应急救援存在的土木工程专业技术人员匮乏、志愿者普遍缺乏系统培训及队伍建设缺乏长效机制等主要问题。具体阐述了土木工程专业人员在地震应急救援中的专业优势,提出了建立土木工程专业人员参与地震应急救援长效机制,以填补当前土木工程专业性志愿救援队伍的空白,完善地震应急救援力量的社会参与体系,推动中国志愿者服务体系的健康快速发展。     

长三角区域性应急救援体系的建设

区域性应急救援体系建设是区域一体化的必然要求，也是一个全新的研究课题。以长江三角洲地区为例，对当前区域性应急救援体系建设过程中出现的主要问题进行了分析，并从法制、体制和机制等方面提出了对策。     

基于交通的城市突发事件分级及响应措施研究

突发事件分级是事故信息报送和分级处置的依据,在分析已有的突发事件分级标准的基础上,考虑突发事件救援的交通保障,从突发事件的紧急程度和交通的便捷程度两个方面,提出了突发事件分级标准及相应的交通响应措施。     

面向突发灾害事件的应急效能评估方法

通常在面临突发灾害情况下,难以迅速确定最佳救援方案,其中的重要原因是缺乏有效的决策支持。为此,提出了突发事件应急效能的概念,并建立了一个基于效用聚合的突发事件应急预案的效能评估方法。最后,以一个大地震灾害的想定为例,应用提出的应急灾害效能评估方法,对多个应急预案进行了评估,评估结果合理可行。     

Implementation of a medical command and control team in Switzerland

In case of a major incident or disaster, the advance medical rescue command needs to manage several essential tasks simultaneously. These include the rapid deployment of ambulance, police, fire and evacuation services, and their coordinated activity, as well as triage and emergency medical care on site. The structure of such a medical rescue command is crucial for the successful outcome of medical evacuation at major incidents. However, little data has been published on the nature and structure of the command itself. This study presents a flexible approach to command structure, with two command heads: one emergency physician and one experienced paramedic. This approach is especially suitable for Switzerland, whose federal system allows for different structures in each canton. This article examines the development of these structures and their efficiency, adaptability and limitations with respect to major incident response in the French‐speaking part of the country.     

Residents' preparedness and response to the Kalamazoo Tornado

A survey was conducted of individuals residing directly in the path of the tornado that hit Kalamazoo, Michigan, on 13th May 1980. The residents' tornado preparedness and response were examined in an effort to evaluate the city's emergency warning system. The system was adequate for people on the east side of the city and lacking for west side residents. Other factors pertaining to the storm event and human response were also evaluated.     

How near is near? The distance perceptions of residents of a nuclear emergency planning zone

This paper reports the results of a study conducted within the emergency planning zone (EPZ) of the Nine Mile Point (NMP) nuclear complex located in Oswego County, New York. An EPZ is the area in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant for which detailed plans are implemented for the management of emergencies and for the communication of the risks of nuclear energy production. EPZs are subdivided into emergency response planning areas (ERPAs) according to distance from the plant. This study aimed at discovering how residents of the NMP EPZ perceived distance to the nuclear plant. Distance was conceptualized in five different and complementary ways: estimated straight line distance, estimated driving distance, actual straight distance, actual driving distance and perceived distance. The results indicate that people living at a very short distance from the nuclear plant perceive and estimate distance differently than people living farther away. These results have policy implications and suggest alternative and potentially more efficient ways to redesign ERPAs. Fundamental geographic variables and concepts such as distance, location, proximity and their associated human perceptions are important human dimensions of risk analysis. These results should be of interest to nuclear emergency planners and are probably applicable to many other hazard planning activities.     

Development of urban planning guidelines for improving emergency response capacities in seismic areas of Iran

This paper presents the results of research carried out to improve emergency response activities in earthquake-prone areas of Iran. The research concentrated on emergency response operations, emergency medical care, emergency transportation, and evacuation—the most important issues after an earthquake with regard to saving the lives of victims. For each topic, some guidelines and criteria are presented for enhancing emergency response activities, based on evaluations of experience of strong earthquakes that have occurred over the past two decades in Iran, notably Manjil (1990), Bam (2003), Firouz Abad-Kojour (2004), Zarand (2005) and Broujerd (2006). These guidelines and criteria are applicable to other national contexts, especially countries with similar seismic and social conditions as Iran. The results of this study should be incorporated into comprehensive plans to ensure sustainable development or reconstruction of cities as well as to augment the efficiency of emergency response after an earthquake.     

Disaster threat: Preparedness and potential response of the lowest income quartile

For a community to manage hazards successfully, those who are responsible for planning and implementing responses to a disaster threat situation must understand the social and economic realities of populations at risk. A random sample survey of residents in the vicinity of a US Army chemical weapons storage depot in Alabama confirms that those in the lowest quartile of household income (i.e., less than US $25,000 in 1999) differ in important ways from the rest of the sample. Using economic status as a grouping variable resultedin identifying a concentration of individuals with special needs. This group differed significantly from the remainder of the sample as to demographic and attitudinal characteristics, hazard knowledge and concerns, emergency preparedness, and emergency decision-making and their likelihood of taking protective actions. Respondents in the lowest income quartile reported greater restrictions in physical abilities, fewer community contacts, a heightened concern about area hazards, and limited resources for taking preparedness and response actions.     

委任消防部队参与院前急救的措施

就现行体制下,分析了消防部队参与灾难和事故时危重伤员的院前医护急救的可行性和好处,提出了消防部队参与院前医护急救的模式,并探讨了消防部队参与院前医护急救所需要解决的技能培训、人员编制、装备配置和经费保障等问题.