Cyclone shelters and their locational suitability: an empirical analysis from coastal Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the poorest and the most disaster‐prone countries in Asia; it is important, therefore, to know how its disaster reduction strategies are organised and planned. Cyclone shelters comprise a widely acceptable form of infrastructural support for disaster management in Bangladesh. This paper attempts to analyse empirically their use during cyclones in a sample study area along the southwest coastal belt of the country. It shows how the location of a cyclone shelter can determine the social power structure in coastal Bangladesh. The results reveal that the establishment of cyclone shelters in the studied communities is determined by neither a right‐based nor a demand‐based planning approach; rather, their creation is dependent on the socio‐political affluence of local‐level decision‐makers. The paper goes on to demonstrate that socially vulnerable households (defined, for example, by income or housing conditions) are afforded disproportionately less access to cyclone shelters as compared to less socially vulnerable households.     

Mitigating flood risk and enhancing community resilience to natural disasters: plan quality matters

In response to increasingly frequent and severe flooding events, tracking the explanatory elements of integrative planning effort can provide useful assessment of initiatives that foster improved community disaster resiliency. In this research, we address the effect of local hazard mitigation plan quality on mitigating disaster risk with an emphasis on the relationship between plan quality and community resilience. Using content analysis and principles of plan quality metrics, we evaluate local hazard mitigation plans to determine how well they support disaster risk reduction. Analytically, these metrics and relevant controls were incorporated into both a log-linear two-stage least squares model and a quantile regression model to explain flood loss at the county level for the US Mississippi River Basin. Findings suggest that better plan quality and high levels of community resilience result in reducing disaster losses.     

农村灾害避难场所布局规划评价研究——以四川省小鱼洞镇为例

灾害避难场所不仅在灾中或灾后能为农村灾民提供一个临时安置或生存场所,而且更是农村整合其有限资源开展防灾减灾工作的平台,在农村社区减灾中工作发挥着重要的作用,然而相关研究工作较少。以四川省彭州市小鱼洞镇为例,通过对政府既定的避难场所进行安全性、通达性、收容性、生活性等分析,综合评价这些避难场所的布局合理性。以期为该区避难所的进一步建设提供科学依据,也为农村灾害避难所的规划和评价提供参考实例。     

Public orders and personal opinions: household strategies for hurricane risk assessment

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between household evacuation decisions and official emergency management practices in light of recent increases in the availability and diversity of hurricane-related information. While we focus on Hurricane Floyd in South Carolina, we incorporate findings of our longitudinal research effort covering the last four years and six post-1995 hurricane threats to the state. While only 64% of residents in the mandatory evacuation zone complied with the Hurricane Floyd evacuation order, over 80% agreed that calling an evacuation was an appropriate precautionary response given the uncertainties of the storm. Longitudinal surveys indicate that Horry County residents have developed a fairly robust strategy in making evacuation decisions. This “hurricane savvy” population depends more heavily on individuals' assessments of risks than on official orders. Individual assessment practices differ from official orders in that greater weight is given to household circumstances and preferences, the diligent monitoring of a variety of information sources, and the incorporation of past experiences into the decision-making process. Surveys indicate differences between the general public and officials in terms of priorities and preferences about hurricane evacuations. The public demands more information about the hurricane threat. Officials place more emphasis on planning evacuation routes and public safety measures.     

城市避难场所相关研究进展与展望

在阅读大量国内外文献基础上,对避难场所相关概念进行归纳总结,梳理避难场所相关研究的脉络,分析避难场所相关研究的演变与发展。重点对评价和选址两大研究主题进行深入探讨与归纳总结。已有研究成果较为丰富,但仍存在不足之处。目前,避难场所相关概念较多,尚无共识。已有研究对象多局限于绿地,而对城市中其他能够保障居民灾时安全的开敞空间挖掘不够。空间布局研究较为零散,方法有待更新,评价结果难以深入到城市内部空间结构,且忽略了居民避难行为的影响力。未来应①着力探索高效、规范的识别方法,明确城市中能真正保障居民灾时安全的避难空间;②强化灾害行为学研究,基于居民灾时行为特征进行避难空间评价与选址;③探讨避难空间在大城市蔓延与土地利用系统变化过程中的空间布局、演变特征与驱动力。     

Predictors for people's response to a tornado warning: Arkansas, 1 March 1997

On 1 March 1997, powerful tornadoes touched down in Arkansas (USA) on a Saturday afternoon. Twenty-six fatalities and 400 non-fatal injuries were reported. We performed a population-based cross-sectional study to determine factors associated with appropriate responses to tornado warnings. Of 146 survey participants, 140 (96 per cent) knew the difference between 'tornado watch' and 'tornado warning' and were aware of when the warning was announced. Of those 140 participants, 64 (45.7 per cent) responded to the warning by seeking shelter, and 58 (90.6 per cent) of those 64 acted within five minutes of hearing the warning. Four factors were positively associated with those seeking shelter: having graduated from high school (OR = 4.2, 95 per cent CI = 1.1-15.5); having a basement in one's house (OR = 3.8, 95 per cent exact CI = 1.1-17.1); hearing a siren (OR = 4.4, 95 per cent CI = 1.3-18.9); and having prepared a household plan of response when tornadoes occur (OR = 2.6, 95 per cent CI = 1.1-6.3). On the basis of these findings, we recommend: first, that people who live in tornadoprone areas have a personal plan of action to help them respond immediately to warnings; second, public-health education officials in areas with frequent tornadic activity should do more to educate the public about what they can do to protect themselves from a tornado; and third, that emergency-management officials planning protection measures for vulnerable communities should consider that most people have limited time (our study documented five minutes) in which to respond to a tornado warning. Thus, shelters in tornado-prone areas should be quickly accessible by residents.     

Recovery after disaster: achieving sustainable development, mitigation and equity

This paper reviews key findings and raises issues that are not fully addressed by the predominant disaster recovery literature. Achievement of equity, mitigation and sustainable development, particularly through local participation in redevelopment planning and institutional cooperation, is the central issue of the review. Previous research and past assumptions about the process by which communities rebuild after a disaster are reviewed. A conceptual model for understanding local disaster recovery efforts is then presented. The conceptual and practical significance of this model is then demonstrated by presenting case studies of local recovery experiences. Finally, conclusions on the current understanding of disaster redevelopment planning, as well as implications for public policy and future research are offered.     

Food aid and development in southern Sudan: implications of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for response planning

In the post-Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) era a greater impact on the unacceptably high prevalence of child malnutrition is more likely to come from additional investment and attention to education, health, hygiene, sanitation and childcare practices than from expanded food aid interventions. The negligible impact of food aid on malnutrition, although most commonly challenged on the quality of needs assessments, is equally attributable to the timing of deliveries, and a dysfunctional distribution system. Comparatively few resources have been allocated to strengthen skills for assessing, analysing and understanding community priorities, local economies, and social safety nets. A more thoughtful allocation of scarce funds could have more impact if a range of alternative responses was considered. Participation in and commitment to a more independent livelihoods analytical forum would improve communication with the new government, local leaders and other partners, as well as providing a platform for reaching consensus on both humanitarian and development planning over the next five years.     

Health Assessment of the 1985 Flood Disaster in Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico, during October 1985, tropical storm Isabel caused widespread flooding, landslides, and collapsing of bridges. A maximum of 180 persons died, including an estimated 127 at a landslide where the majority (78%) of deaths resulted from traumatic injury. Approximately 3,000 homes were damaged with 4,400 persons temporarily displaced into 44 shelters. A shelter surveillance system was established to monitor 19 acute and chronic conditions in 28 shelters during a 5-week period. Trend analysis trends of selected reportable communicable diseases in the general community revealed no changes attributable to the disaster in the 12 most severely affected municipalities. In these municipalities, the number of persons using the scheduled outpatient clinics after the disaster decreased significantly, but the mean daily number of emergency room visits did not show significant change. Analysis of surveillance data showed that no infectious disease outbreaks had occurred in the shelters. The post-impact health consequences resulting from this widespread flooding were minimal. Even so, disease surveillance remains essential for efficacious resource allocation and prevention strategies.     

城市防震减灾规划影响因素分析--以福清市为例

简要介绍了我国城市防震减灾规划的发展现状，并以福清市为例，详细介绍了该市土地利用、道路路网及避震疏散场地等防震减灾规划的主要内容和影响因素。最后，总结了上述3种防震减灾规划影响因素的要点，为城市防震减灾规划提供参考。     

Community resilience and urban planning in tsunami-prone settlements in Chile

Urban planning can serve to minimise the effects of a tsunami and enhance community resilience. This study explores to what extent urban planning has addressed tsunami resilience in four villages on Chile's South Pacific coast, each of which was struck by tsunamis in 1960, 2010, and 2015. Through a detailed policy review and semi-structured interviews with residents, this paper analyses whether tsunami mitigation policies were incorporated into regional and local planning tools. It finds that although the government proposed relocation to tsunami-safe areas after the tsunami of 1960, urban development continued mainly in tsunami inundation zones—in the context of weak local planning frameworks and in the absence of community participation. In only one of the four case studies did participatory planning bring about the relocation of an entire village to a safe location. This paper concludes that incorporating participatory risk zone planning into urban planning enhances tsunami resilience.     

Preparedness for emergency response: guidelines for the emergency planning process

Especially since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, governments worldwide have invested considerable resources in the writing of terrorism emergency response plans. Particularly in the United States, the federal government has created new homeland security organisations and urged state and local governments to draw up plans. This emphasis on the written plan tends to draw attention away from the process of planning itself and the original objective of achieving community emergency preparedness. This paper reviews the concepts of community preparedness and emergency planning, and their relationships with training, exercises and the written plan. A series of 10 planning process guidelines are presented that draw upon the preparedness literature for natural and technological disasters, and can be applied to any environmental threat.     

Beyond the community: integrating local and scientific knowledge in the formal development approval process in Jamaica

Community-based disaster risk management methods routinely include capture of local knowledge which is used to inform community-level risk reduction programmes and development plans. In Jamaica, development planning at the national level has relied historically on scientific knowledge, usually to the exclusion of local knowledge. However, community disaster risk management plans reviewed for this paper show that communities have very clear ideas on the threat posed by hazards, resources at risk from the hazards and ways of reducing the risk. Communities also appreciate the value of cultural and historical sites and are willing to sacrifice development in order to protect and preserve these sites. Such knowledge is valuable for informing risk-sensitive development planning, and should be captured within the formal development approval system. A model is proposed in which community and scientific knowledge can be integrated into the formal development approval process at the national level. The model includes integrating community representatives in technical committee reviews, capturing local knowledge through community consultations and subjecting community knowledge to validation prior to its use. Successful implementation of this model should result in more accurate field assessments for risk-sensitive development planning as local knowledge provides current, site-specific information. Better risk-sensitive development planning will ultimately lead to reduced exposure to hazards and reduction in losses from the impact of hazards for Jamaica.     

城镇防灾避难场所规划研究

城镇防灾避难场所是城镇灾后应急避难、救援、恢复重建的重要组成部分,也是城镇平时功能的主要构成部分。首先按照应对灾害的主要类型,将避难场所分为气象型避难场所和地质型避难场所,相对应的为建筑型避难场所与场地型避难场所。继而与城市规划中的用地性质相关联,从防灾避难的角度将城镇用地划分为"靶区""防灾避难据点"与"防灾避难通道"。总结城镇防灾避难空间结构的组成要素、组构原则与组成方式,并以三种模式进行模型化构建。进而概括了城镇防灾避难场所的规划要点、规划内容与技术路线,并以深圳防灾避难场所规划加以佐证。得出了结论:防灾避难场所是城镇整体空间不可分割的一部分;城镇防灾避难空间规划应从城镇整体空间结构出发,合理规划防灾避难场所与防灾避难通道,优化用地功能与规模,提升城镇整体的防灾避难能力。     

Special needs hurricane shelters and the ageing population: development of a methodology and a case study application

Recent experience of hurricanes, particularly in the southeast United States, has heightened awareness of the multifaceted nature of and the challenges to effective disaster relief planning. One key element of this planning is providing adequate shelter at secure locations for people who evacuate. Some of these individuals will have ‘special needs’, yet there is little research on the relationship with shelter space. This study designed a geographic information systems‐based network optimisation methodology for the siting of special needs hurricane relief shelters, with a focus on the transportation component. It sought to find new locations for shelters that maximise accessibility by vulnerable populations, given capacity constraints, concentrating on the ageing population. The framework was implemented in a medium‐sized metropolitan statistical area in the state of Florida where data suggest a possible deficit in special needs shelter space. The study analysed options for increasing special needs shelter capacity, while considering potential uncertainties in transportation network availability.     

Of timelines and timeliness: lessons from Typhoon Haiyan in early disaster response

Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on 8 November 2013 with maximum sustained winds of 235 kilometres per hour, adversely affecting at least 11 million people and displacing some 673,000 in the central regions of the country. The disaster clearly overwhelmed the Philippine government despite its seemingly well‐crafted disaster management plan. Using timelines of different organisations, this paper identifies gaps in the government's response, mainly due to its failure in coordinating and managing relief operations, which adversely affected its effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of critical goods and services following the disaster. The paper also demonstrates how non‐governmental organisations (NGOs), the United Nations, foreign governments and other organisations provided assistance, mainly through aid niching, to cover the government's shortcomings. The paper recommends a paradigm shift in the government's disaster response by integrating collaborative arrangements between government agencies and NGOs, and giving local governments the lead role, with the national government as support, in disaster planning and response.     

A cluster-based decision support system for estimating earthquake damage and casualties

This paper describes a Decision Support System for Disaster Management (DSS-DM) to aid operational and strategic planning and policy-making for disaster mitigation and preparedness in a less-developed infrastructural context. Such contexts require a more flexible and robust system for fast prediction of damage and losses. The proposed system is specifically designed for earthquake scenarios, estimating the extent of human losses and injuries, as well as the need for temporary shelters. The DSS-DM uses a scenario approach to calculate the aforementioned parameters at the district and sub-district level at different earthquake intensities. The following system modules have been created: clusters (buildings) with respect to use; buildings with respect to construction typology; and estimations of damage to clusters, human losses and injuries, and the need for shelters. The paper not only examines the components of the DSS-DM, but also looks at its application in Besiktas municipality in the city of Istanbul, Turkey.     

居民灾害应对能力评价及影响因素研究

基于灾害应对能力现有理论基础,构建基于"认知-响应-备灾"的KRP模型,采用熵值法评估区域居民灾害应对能力;采用二分法,将受访者分为高、低水平灾害应对能力组,运用对比分析法和回归分析法,结合居民个体特征探讨灾害应对能力影响机制。结果发现:(1)区域居民的灾害应对能力处于中低水平,日常备灾能力是影响居民灾害应对能力的关键因素;(2)居民灾害应对能力呈现个体差异性,学历、年龄等因素对个体差异性影响较大,其它个体特征因素影响较小;(3)高、低水平组居民的灾害应对能力整体水平及其构成要素存在显著的群体差异特征,其能力差距的主要影响因素是日常备灾能力,其中住宅防灾和应急物资准备情况为关键影响因子。最后基于以上分析结果,为我国宏观防灾规划管理和居民灾害教育提供政策建议,有助于区域居民灾害应对能力及综合防灾减灾能力的提升。     

Comparing reactions to two severe tornadoes in one Oklahoma community

The authors compared the effect of the 3 May 1999 F5 and 8 May 2003 F3 tornadoes on the community of Moore, Oklahoma, by canvassing damaged areas after both tornadoes and surveying residents. Significantly more 1999 than 2003 residents reported property damage and injuries. Television and tornado sirens were the most common warnings each year, however, more 1999 residents received and responded to television warnings. Importantly, storm shelters were used more frequently in 2003. Fifty-one per cent of residents who experienced both tornadoes took the same amount of protective action in 2003 as they had in 1999; 22% took less; and 27% took more. Residents who took less action said that the reason for doing so was inadequate warning and shelter. First-hand experience of tornadoes prompts people to heed warnings when adequate notification is received and to take effective protective action when adequate shelter is available.     

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.