Disaster safety nets for developing countries: Extending public—private partnerships

In developed countries, public—private partnerships involving insurance companies and governments often provide security against the human and economic losses of disasters. These partnerships, however, are neither available nor affordable in most highly exposed developing countries. In this paper we examine recent innovations in financial risk management that extend traditional public—private partnerships to include NGOs, international financial institutions and other donors. Importantly, these partnerships provide secure financial arrangements to low-income communities before disasters strike and thus relieve the uncertainty and anxiety of depending on ad hoc post-disaster aid for recovery and even survival. We examine three examples of extended partnerships: the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool; the Andhra Pradesh microinsurance program and an index-based weather derivative for farmers facing drought in Malawi.     

分形论与自然灾害研究—地震,洪涝灾害中的分形研究

在多种概念和方法相互撞击和汇合中诞生的分形论，提示了现实世界中具有深刻理论意义和广泛现实基础的幂指数律，给自然灾害研究提供了新的方法和途径。本文在初步介绍分形论有关基本概念的基础上，回顾了分形论在地震、洪涝灾害中的一些应用和新近进展，展示了分形论在自然灾害研究中的前景。     

有效防灾减灾体系新构建——从灾害共同体走向责任共同体和伦理共同体

中国幅员辽阔,人口众多,灾害多发,因此自然灾害问题对中国来说无疑具有更为重要的意义。结合对自然灾害的科学研究、应对管理以及深层的伦理思考,我们已经形成了灾害共同体,并且,在应对自然灾害上正在逐渐走向责任共同体和伦理共同体。     

Deconstruction of destruction stories: narrative,inequality, and disasters

A commonly‐held belief is that natural disasters do not discriminate. This paper, though, poses the following theoretical question: what does the elision of race, class, and gender in the news media say about disasters in the neoliberal era? It draws on the author's analysis of two prominent newspapers—The New York Times and USA Today—and their coverage of the recovery process after devastating tornadoes in two towns in the United States (Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Joplin, Missouri) in 2011. The study asserts that the narrative of the news media is one with which people are familiar and that it fits into larger ‘formula stories’. It utilises theoretical treatments of narrative to demonstrate how differences are erased and how they lead to complicity in hegemonic representations. Critical theory is used to elucidate why this occurs, and the paper sources Goldberg (2002) in suggesting that the news media employs ‘fantasies of homogenisation’ when representing post‐disaster communities.     

Time in a bottle: challenges to disaster studies in Latin America and the Caribbean

LA RED (Network of Social Studies on the Prevention of Disasters in Latin America) has become the most influential group analysing disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its contributions have paved the way for a new way of understanding disasters, disaster risk, and their management, concerning: (i) that disasters are not natural, but socially constructed; (ii) the inherent nexus between disaster risk, development, and the environment; (iii) the significance of small‐ and medium‐sized disasters and extensive and intensive risks; (iv) disaster risk management at the local level; and (v) integrated disaster risk research and the need for forensic investigations of disasters. As a result of this unification of challenges, intellectual communities of connected individuals were formed. Nonetheless, a focus on territorial management, exposure, and vulnerability remains a challenge for academia. In addition, the labyrinths of disaster risk governance must be disentangled by other stakeholders, such as national authorities, policymakers, and practitioners.     

The displaced poor and resettlement policies in bangladesh

Bangladesh is a land of natural disasters. Every year the country is affected by flood, riverbank erosion, drought, coastal cyclone and tornado. Riverbank erosion alone displaces an estimated one million people annually. Based on research carried out in Bangladesh in 1984–85, this paper critically examines resettlement options of the displaced poor in the light of existing policies for developing more effective short and long-term resettlement and development strategies .     

Towards a politics of disaster response: presidential disaster instructions in China, 1998–2012

China's disaster management system contains no law‐based presidential disaster declarations; however, the national leader's instructions (pishi in Chinese) play a similar role to disaster declarations, which increase the intensity of disaster relief. This raises the question of what affects presidential disaster instructions within an authoritarian regime. This research shows that China's disaster politics depend on a crisis threshold system for operation and that the public and social features of disasters are at the core of this system. China's political cycle has no significant impact on disaster politics. A change in the emergency management system has a significant bearing on presidential disaster instructions, reflecting the strong influence of the concept of rule of law and benefiting the sustainable development of the emergency management system. In terms of disaster politics research, unlocking the black box of China's disaster politics and increasing the number of comparative political studies will benefit the development of empirical and theoretical study.     

Conducting research on disaster mental health in developing countries: a proposed model

The psychological consequences of disasters are known to be significant, but research efforts in developing countries have been sporadic. This paper reports a successful collaborative project conducted in Armero, Colombia, and in Ecuador. It outlines its origins, summarizes its findings, and identifies the essential ingredients that were responsible for its positive outcome. It is recommended that these guidelines be adhered to for the development of similar projects elsewhere, to ensure a significant impact on advancing the field, policy-making, delivering appropriate mental health care, and training of providers.     

国有大型企业灾害和事故损失分析方法研究——以某大型企业集团统计数据为例

我国的企业灾害和事故每年均造成了较为严重的人员伤亡和经济损失．因此控制企业、特别是大型企业的灾害和事故是十分重要的。对灾害和事故损失的定量分析是评估企业风险程度和确定其风险管理方式的基础。在定量分析的方法中，统计学方法仅适用于单坝灾害损失分析，而模糊物元方法则适用于多项灾害损大的综合分析．在模糊物元方法的分析角度方面，政府更多地是从社会角度评估企业的损失，而缺少补偿考虑的损失评估往往会造成评估值的偏差。企业作为独立经营的实体．更多地是从可持续经营角度评估损失，以补偿为核心的损失定量评估对企业较为适宜，以此为基础得出的损失数据和损大模型更有助于企州；确定适当的风险管理措施。     

城市综合承灾能力评价

不同的灾害对城市的作用方式和城市的受灾反应都是不同的,但其不同点系存在于某些特定方面,而从宏观和本质上来看,城市对灾害的反应是有很大共性的,找出并掌握这些共性,也就抓住了城市综合灾害管理的核心和实质.鉴于以往在城市灾害研究中涉及的定义、研究内容和范围的不明确,首先进行了分析比较,给出了明确的划分,并提出用"承灾能力"来"统摄"全局,按照面对灾害作用下的逻辑和时间顺序,通过对城市功能的分析,提出由防灾能力、抗灾能力、救灾能力和恢复能力作为城市承灾能力的组成部分,并按照城市的社会、经济、环境三大功能分别设置了各种能力的评价指标.通过数据搜集和分析,先后应用层次分析法和区间数的模糊可变识别方法得出了全国省会城市和包括4个直辖市在内的共29个城市2003年的城市承灾能力对比结果.结果表明,目前国内大城市的综合承灾能力普遍较弱,亟待加强防灾减灾建设.     

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.     

Disaster safety nets for developing countries: Extending public–private partnerships

In developed countries, public–private partnerships involving insurance companies and governments often provide security against the human and economic losses of disasters. These partnerships, however, are neither available nor affordable in most highly exposed developing countries. In this paper we examine recent innovations in financial risk management that extend traditional public–private partnerships to include NGOs, international financial institutions and other donors. Importantly, these partnerships provide secure financial arrangements to low-income communities before disasters strike and thus relieve the uncertainty and anxiety of depending on ad hoc post-disaster aid for recovery and even survival. We examine three examples of extended partnerships: the Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool; the Andhra Pradesh microinsurance program and an index-based weather derivative for farmers facing drought in Malawi.     

Business closure and relocation: a comparative analysis of the Loma Prieta earthquake and Hurricane Andrew

The occurrence of a number of large‐scale disasters or catastrophes in recent years, including the Indian Ocean tsunami (2004), the Kashmir earthquake (2005), Hurricane Katrina (2005) and Hurricane Ike (2008), have raised our awareness regarding the devastating effects of disasters on human populations and the importance of developing mitigation and preparedness strategies to limit the consequences of such events. However, there is still a dearth of social science research focusing on the socio‐economic impact of disasters on businesses in the United States. This paper contributes to this research literature by focusing on the impact of disasters on business closure and relocation through the use of multivariate logistic regression models, specifically focusing on the Loma Prieta earthquake (1989) and Hurricane Andrew (1992). Using a multivariate model, we examine how physical damage to the infrastructure, lifeline disruption and business characteristics, among others, impact business closure and relocation following major disasters.     

Making a technological choice for disaster management and poverty alleviation in India

The right mix of policy, institutional arrangements and use of technology provides the framework for a country's approach to disaster mitigation. Worldwide, there has been a shift away from a strictly 'top-down' approach relying on government alone, to a combination of 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches. The aim is to enhance the indigenous coping mechanisms of vulnerable communities; draw on their cooperative spirit and energy; and empower them through appropriate information and contextual knowledge to mitigate natural disasters. In light of this, the paper examines India's use of space technology in its disaster management efforts. Poverty alleviation and disaster management are almost inseparable in many parts of the country, as vulnerability to natural disasters is closely aligned with poverty. Addressing these issues together requires integrated knowledge systems. The paper examines how knowledge inputs from space technology have strengthened the national resolve to combat natural disasters in conjunction with alleviating rural poverty.     

The future of disasters studies: new disasters and the case of the Horn of Africa

Past disasters have been well studied, but the challenge of using the findings to improve the management of future events remains a daunting task. This paper argues that there are new and complex disasters of which the state itself has become the main source, as reflected in the Horn of Africa. This region is characterised by increasing vulnerability owing to the alarming decline of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism. These new disasters are less researched because of the hazard of conducting fieldwork in such environments. However, there is mounting evidence to highlight the possibility of performing research in these settings, but not by employing traditional methods; rather, these tools may need to be customised for use. One key policy implication here is that donors may need to invest more money in analysing these new disasters and they may need to consider building and strengthening genuine partnerships between Northern and Southern research institutions     

Towards guidelines for post‐disaster vulnerability reduction in informal settlements

Although the development community has long recognised that securing land tenure and improving housing design can benefit significantly informal settlement residents, there is little research on these issues in communities exposed to natural disasters and hazards. Informal settlements often are located on land left vacant because of inherent risks, such as floodplains, and there is a long history worldwide of disasters affecting informal settlements. This research tackles the following questions: how can informal settlement vulnerabilities be reduced in a post‐disaster setting?; and what are the key issues to address in post‐disaster reconstruction? The main purpose of the paper is to develop a set of initial guidelines for post‐disaster risk reduction in informal settlements, stressing connections to tenure and housing/community design in the reconstruction process. The paper examines disaster and reconstruction responses in two disaster‐affected regions—Jimani, Dominican Republic, and Vargas State, Venezuela—where informal settlements have been hit particularly hard.     

Devastating earthquakes facilitating civil societies in developing countries: across-national analysis

ABSTRACT

Developing countries, which often have emerging or fledgling civil societies, are vulnerable to disasters, and especially devastating earthquakes. The long-term influence of devastating earthquakes on civil societies in developing countries is a critical research topic while receives relatively little attention. From a comprehensive literature review, this study identified four key areas of the civil society: civic participation, voluntary organizations, social capital, and democratic governance, and then examined four devastating earthquakes in India, Iran, Pakistan and China in the first decade of the twenty-first century as case studies, to identify the effects these earthquakes had on these four areas. It was found that from a long-term perspective, while the earthquakes strengthened the civil society, they had beneficial but limited effects. We argue that by promoting local community participation, facilitating extensive non-government organization (NGO) cooperation, and streamlining state-civil society relationships, an enabling environment can be developed to further sustain the advances made by a civil society after a disaster.     

自然灾害综合研究的回顾与展望

回顾了20世纪90年代以来,我国在自然灾害综合研究方面所做的工作和取得的成果以及所获得的新认识,包括将研究由单类推向综合。提出自然灾害系统和灾害科学体系的新观念,探索自然灾害综合预报,加强灾害社会属性的研究;提出分区减灾、分级减灾的对策,倡导开展减灾系统工程,将减灾纳入可持续发展系列建立减灾管理系统,推动减灾社会化与产业化等。对21世纪自然灾害综合研究进行了展望,认为其基本指导思想应为从自然灾害系统研究扩展为环境-灾害系统研究。同时提出了减灾能力评估、综合区划、灾后重建统筹规划等所面临的重大问题。     

Gauging the societal impacts of natural disasters using a capability approach

There is a widely acknowledged need for a single composite index that provides a comprehensive picture of the societal impact of disasters. A composite index combines and logically organizes important information policy‐makers need to allocate resources for the recovery from natural disasters; it can also inform hazard mitigation strategies. This paper develops a Disaster Impact Index (DII) to gauge the societal impact of disasters on the basis of the changes in individuals’ capabilities. The DII can be interpreted as the disaster impact per capita. Capabilities are dimensions of individual well‐being and refer to the genuine opportunities individuals have to achieve valuable states and activities (such as being adequately nourished or being mobile). After discussing the steps required to construct the DII, this article computes and compares the DIIs for two earthquakes of similar magnitude in two societies at different levels of development and of two disasters (earthquake and wind storm) in the same society.     

Organisational learning and self-adaptation in dynamic disaster environments

This paper examines the problems associated with inter-organisational learning and adaptation in the dynamic environments that characterise disasters. The research uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate whether organisational learning took place during and in the time in between five disaster response operations in Turkey. The availability of information and its exchange and distribution within and among organisational actors determine whether self-adaptation happens in the course of a disaster response operation. Organisational flexibility supported by an appropriate information infrastructure creates conditions conducive to essential interaction and permits the flow of information. The study found that no significant organisational learning occurred within Turkish disaster management following the earthquakes in Erzincan (1992), Dinar (1995) and Ceyhan (1998). By contrast, the 'symmetry-breaking' Marmara earthquake of 1999 initiated a 'double loop' learning process that led to change in the organisational, technical and cultural aspects of Turkish disaster management, as revealed by the Duzce earthquake response operations.