The use of newspaper data in historical earthquake studies

Studies of historical British earthquakes are an essential component of assessing seismic hazard in the U.K.; such studies rely heavily on macroseismic data obtained from printed newspapers. This paper discusses the ways in which newspapers have reported British earthquakes and the nature and limitations of the data that may be acquired from this source. Historical changes in the press as a source of macroseismic data are discussed. It is suggested that an understanding of the background and nature of newspaper data is an important component in the process of revaluating historical earthquakes from such data.     

菏泽5.9级地震极震区、构造背景和发震构造的初探

本文根据菏泽震区41个自然村实测宏观地震烈度和24个自然村震害指数资料对比,表明菏泽5.9级地震极震区的宏观烈度与震害指数的符合率达80％,并根据震害的宏观烈度资料,确定菏泽5.9级地震宏观震中为前刘庄和后刘庄一带,震中烈度为Ⅷ度,震害指数(j)W分别是0.2、0.22。极震区宏观烈度Ⅶ度至Ⅶ度弱,震害指数大于或等于0.1,小于0.3。文中指出极震区等烈度线形态具有东西和北东分布的两重方向展布特征,认为此形态特征主要受控于菏泽震区的地震构造。据等烈度线形态、地震活动的空间分布、震区表层和深部构造资料等表明,菏泽震区具有特定的地壳结构和不均一的介质块体孕震构造条件,并指出聊考断裂带与菏泽断裂带的复合部位是菏泽4次强、中强地震的发震构造。     

苍山5.2级地震的宏观烈度特征

以实地考察资料为基础,确定了１９９５年９月２０日苍山５２级地震宏观震中,地震等震线、发震构造,并对地震趋势进行了预测。研究结果表明,苍山５２级地震的宏观震中位于苍山县沂堂乡台井和塞子一带（北纬３４°５８５′,东经１１８°０８′）;工程地质和地形地貌条件,构造环境和震源破裂是影响地震烈度分布的主要因素;其发震构造系共轭破裂,北西向为主破裂,北东向为辅助破裂;研究认为本次地震发生在一条规模较小的北西向断层上,未来相当长一段时间内沿这条断层不会再发生５级以上地震。     

The Pyrenees earthquake of 1660: Effects in France

Until 1975 or so, scientists' knowledge of the major earthquake of 1660 in the Pyrenees (in Bigorre) was largely restricted to the meagre information repeated in the classical catalogues. Useful material published in local learned journals was mostly unknown, and has only been unearthed and interpreted since 1976, when two year's work of analysis was started for the "Projet Sismo-tectonique" in France. During and since that project, further routine work necessary for the revision of the historical seismicity of France, has brought to light a new wealth of information from archive sources. This new knowledge, at least from the French side, is used as the basis for a brief macroseismic review of the event north of the Pyrenees, putting forward proposals for the isoseismal lines. Emphasis is placed on the number and quality of the sources, some of which are quoted for evidence of major rockfalls in the meizoseismal region and the wide extent of the felt area, as far north as Salnt-Maixent in Poitou.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Drought and Hunger in Africa. Denying Famine a Future , edited by M.H. Glantz.
Mallet's macroseismic survey of the Neapolitan earthquake of 16th December 1857 , edited by E. Guidoboni and G. Ferrari.
Behaviour and Poverty in Bangladesh , by Clarence Maloney.     

"How near were we to Ruine": the effects in England of the earthquake of 8th September 1692

This paper attempts to Illustrate some of the advantages and disadvantages of using contemporary evidence in the study of historical seismicity. The event considered here is doubly significant—it was a large event by British standards, as well as arguably the best documented earthquake to have occurred before the mid-eighteenth century. At a time when an interdisciplinary approach to historical seismicity is still in its infancy this paper identifies those areas where the available sources can assist in the evaluation of early macroseismic data.     

常熟—太仓5.1级地震宏观烈度特征

1990年2月10日江苏常熟—太仓间发生5.1级地震,宏观震中位于太仓县沙溪乡,东径121°04′,北纬31°35′。震中烈度为Ⅵ度,其面积达23平方公里,高烈度值的点沿沙溪乡洞泾至胜利大队,呈北西西向分布,衰减慢,北东方向烈度衰减较快。烈度值分布具有不均匀性特征,出现烈度异常点和异常区,这次地震极震区等烈度线分布的方向和范围,与北西向新生代断陷盆地及控制盆地发育的边界断裂十分一致。     

Information sources for flash flood warnings in Denver, CO and Austin, TX

This research examines sources of information for flash floods in two large metropolitan areas, Denver, CO, and Austin, TX. Previous research has noted that information delivery systems for weather forecasts are geared toward the cultural majority and suggests that inadequate warnings are a primary contributor to deaths and injuries from hazards. This investigation used chi-square analysis to determine the prime warning source preferences and preferred time of day for receiving different media. Results indicate that successful warning messages need to be targeted toward specific sub-populations if the warning is to be received, understood, and responded to properly.     

Digital disparities and vulnerability: mobile phone use,information behaviour,and disaster preparedness in Southeast Asia

This paper proposes an ecological view to investigate how disparities in mobile technology use reflect vulnerabilities in communities vis‐à‐vis disaster preparedness. Data (n=1,603) were collected through a multi‐country survey conducted equally in rural and urban areas of Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Vietnam, where mobile technology has become a dominant and ubiquitous communication and information medium. The findings show that smartphone users' routinised use of mobile technology and their risk perception are significantly associated with disaster preparedness behaviour indirectly through disaster‐related information sharing. In addition to disaster‐specific social support, smartphone users' disaster‐related information repertoires are another strong influencing factor. In contrast, non‐smartphone users are likely to rely solely on receipt of disaster‐specific social support as the motivator of disaster preparedness. The results also reveal demographic and rural–urban differences in disaster information behaviour and preparedness. Given the increasing shift from basic mobile phone models to smartphones, the theoretical and policy‐oriented implications of digital disparities and vulnerability are discussed.     

Information sources for flash flood warnings in Denver,CO and Austin,TX

This research examines sources of information for flash floods in two large metropolitan areas, Denver, CO, and Austin, TX. Previous research has noted that information delivery systems for weather forecasts are geared toward the cultural majority and suggests that inadequate warnings are a primary contributor to deaths and injuries from hazards. This investigation used chi-square analysis to determine the prime warning source preferences and preferred time of day for receiving different media. Results indicate that successful warning messages need to be targeted toward specific sub-populations if the warning is to be received, understood, and responded to properly.     

Trust,but verify: social media models for disaster management

A lack of trust in the information exchanged via social media may significantly hinder decisionmaking by community members and emergency services during disasters. The need for timely information at such times, though, challenges traditional ways of establishing trust. This paper, building on a multi‐year research project that combined social media data analysis and participant observation within an emergency management organisation and in‐depth engagement with stakeholders across the sector, pinpoints and examines assumptions governing trust and trusting relationships in social media disaster management. It assesses three models for using social media in disaster management—information gathering, quasi‐journalistic verification, and crowdsourcing—in relation to the guardianship of trust to highlight the verification process for content and source and to identify the role of power and responsibilities. The conclusions contain important implications for emergency management organisations seeking to enhance their mechanisms for incorporating user‐generated information from social media sources in their disaster response efforts.     

'All hazards approach' to disaster management: the role of information and knowledge management, Boyd's OODA Loop, and network-centricity

The ever-increasing complexity of disasters demands utilisation of knowledge that exists outside domains traditionally drawn upon in disaster management. To be operationally useful, such knowledge must he extracted, combined with information generated by the disaster itself, and transformed into actionable knowledge. The process, though, is hampered by existing, business-oriented approaches to knowledge management, by technical issues related to access to relevant, multi-domain information/knowledge, and by executive decision-making processes based predominantly on historical knowledge. Consequently, as shown by many recent incidents, the management of large-scale (mega) disasters is often inefficient and exceedingly costly. This paper demonstrates that the integration of modified information and knowledge management into the concepts of network-centric operations and network-enabled capabilities, and the employment of Boyd's OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act) Loop-based decision-making in unpredictable and dynamically changing environments, may address some of these problems.     

震害信息遥感获取技术历史、现状和趋势

回顾了基于遥感进行的震害信息获取技术的发展历史,总结了各个遥感技术发展阶段所采用的震害识别技术,对震害识别技术进行了分类,给出了每种分类方法的划分标准和原则,并对每一种震害识别方法的特点进行了分析和评价,指出了其各自的技术关键、优势和不足.根据现行各种识别技术的特点,结合遥感技术发展状况和地震灾害的特点,分析了震害信息获取技术的发展趋势.     

Snow-avalanche hazards, Southern Glacier National Park, Montana: The nature of local knowledge and individual responses

A survey was conducted of well-educated residents of East Glacier Park, Montana, who are frequently isolated by snow avalanches. It showed that people in this area do not alter driving habits during times of avalanche danger, are not aware of the local avalanche warning system, and have not efficiently garnered information about the avalanche hazard.     

Risk communication and risk perception: lessons from the 2011 floods in Brisbane,Australia

Risk communication and risk perception are critical factors in disaster management. Governments at all levels play a part in communicating risk, whereas the perception of risk entails active roles by community participants, including potential and actual victims of disasters. This paper discusses these matters in relation to the floods in Brisbane, Australia, in 2011. The findings are based on interviews with representatives of households whose dwellings or business premises were fully or partially inundated by the waters. The research shows how important it is to recognise the problems of institutional fragmentation in terms of communication and the active engagement of recipients in understanding and interpreting flood risk information (especially for slow‐onset riverine flooding, such as that suffered by Brisbane). Locally targeted information on risk is of vital importance in avoiding the misinterpretation of warning information in relation to environmental cues and in promoting adequate responses. The paper concludes with some recommendations.     

开拓地震科技信息工作新领域——兼论地震系统开发信息网络建设

本文论述了地震科技信息工作开拓科技经济信息服务新领域,对于适应地震系统深化体制改革的必要位与紧迫性;论证了地震系统开发信息网络建设的可行性,并论述了建网的操作性问题。     

Incident, accident, catastrophe: cyanide on the Danube

It has been described as the worst disaster since Chernobyl. In January 2000, a retaining wall failed at the Aurul gold processing plant in Romania, releasing a wave of cyanide and heavy metals that moved quickly from one river to the next through Romania, Hungary, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, killing tens of thousands of fish and other forms of wildlife and poisoning drinking-water supplies. This paper examines how and why the chemical spill at Baia Mare occurred and how responses to it emerged from circumstances at the global, local and immediate levels. The spill demonstrates the importance of the flow of information in framing and interpreting disasters, suggesting that such an event can go unnoticed or be viewed as catastrophic, depending on the political, historical and personal struggles that lead to its publicity. The paper offers a framework for understanding why the spill was alternately perceived as an incident, an accident and a catastrophe based on changing perceptions of culpability.     

四川阿坝州主要地质灾害特点及防御对策

根据四川阿坝地区的地质灾害资料, 对主要的地质灾害特点进行了归纳和分析, 并对减轻地质灾害, 保护自然环境等提出了建议和对策     

Evaluation of a population mobility,mortality, and birth surveillance system in South Kivu,Democratic Republic of the Congo

Prospective, community-based surveillance systems for measuring birth, death, and population movement rates may have advantages over the ‘gold-standard’ retrospective household survey in humanitarian contexts. A community-based, monthly surveillance system was established in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, in partnership with a local implementing partner and the national ministry of health. Data were collected on the occurrence of births, deaths, arrivals, and departures over the course of one year, and a retrospective survey was conducted at the end of the period to validate the information. Discrepancies between the two approaches were resolved by a third visit to the households with discordant records. The study found that the surveillance system was superior in terms of its specificity and sensitivity in measuring crude mortality and birth rates as compared to the survey, demonstrating the method's potential to measure accurately important population-level health metrics in an insecure setting in a timely, community-acceptable manner.     

Facebook and Twitter,communication and shelter,and the 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado

This paper represents one of the first attempts to analyse the many ways in which Facebook and Twitter were used during a tornado disaster. Comparisons between five randomly selected campus samples and a city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, sample revealed that campus samples used Facebook and Twitter significantly more both before and after the tornado, but Facebook usage was not significantly different after the event. Furthermore, differences in social media usage and other forms of communication before the tornado were found for age, education, and years lived in Tuscaloosa. Generally, age and education were inversely proportionate to social media usage. Influences on shelter‐seeking actions varied between social media users and three random samples of non‐social media users; however, it appears that social media respondents were likely to be using a smartphone simultaneously to access warning polygon information, to receive text message alerts, and to listen or respond to environmental cues.