People's risk perception of glacial lake outburst flooding: a case of Tsho Rolpa Lake,Nepal

Previous research indicates that people's perception of risk from a particular hazard positively influences their adoption of effective mitigation strategies and responses. This research investigates the risk perceptions of people living downstream from Tsho Rolpa Glacial Lake of Nepal. Field surveys revealed that people living beneath the Tsho Rolpa glacial lake possess a low risk perception despite the probability of a glacial lake outburst at their location. Further investigation reveals that many individuals have made no adjustments in response to the potential disaster. The low risk perception on the part of the riverine population is chiefly attributed to the cry-wolf effect of the 1997 evacuation that followed an inaccurate prediction of a Tsho Rolpa outburst. Previous remediation structures were kept in place, but appear to have created a false sense of security among those at risk. This overconfidence in the rudimentary efforts employed thus far is illustrated by the fact that many residents have moved their infrastructure even closer to the river channel in recent years. Partial mitigation efforts have muted people's perceptions of the environmental risk and have therefore increased the vulnerability of the communities to a probable outburst flood.     

Conflict-related mortality: an analysis of 37 datasets

Mortality rates are among the main indicators of the human impact of armed conflict and many surveys have assessed this impact both for targeting and evaluating humanitarian aid programmes. Almost no epidemiological analysis such as calculating relative risk was performed nor were reference values clearly described. Here the aim is to review published mortality rates for a better understanding of age-specific mortality in armed conflict. Published mortality rates from conflict situations were collected and pre-conflict reference rates composed. We calculated the relative risk of dying in conflict compared to pre-conflict for children under 5 and people older than five years old. Although limited by reporting inadequacies, the results confirm the high vulnerability of children < 5 but identify a higher relative risk of dying among the > or = 5 year olds. Although not entirely new, this observation is not fully understood. Further systematic epidemiological research is needed to estimate and understand the impact of armed conflict on mortality.     

Risk factors for mortality during the 2002 landslides in Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia

This study examines health effects resulting from landslides in Chuuk during Tropical Storm Chata'an in July 2002, and suggests strategies to prevent future mortality. In August 2002, we conducted a cross-sectional survey to identify risk factors for mortality during landslides, which included 52 survivors and 40 surrogates for 43 decedents to identify risk factors for death. Findings suggest that 1) females had a higher mortality rate from this event than males, and 2) children aged 5–14 years had a 10-fold increase in mortality when compared with annual mortality rates from all causes. Awareness of landslides occurring elsewhere and knowledge of natural warning signs were significantly associated with lower risks of death; being outside during landslides was not associated with reduced mortality. In Chuuk, improving communication systems during tropical storms and increasing knowledge of natural warnings can reduce the risk for mortality during landslides.     

Local‐level governance of risk and resilience in Nepal

This paper explores the circumstances in which communities may effectively reduce risks. It draws on the example of two ‘Risk and Resilience Committees’ (RRCs) that were established in Nepal as part of an action research project: one in Panchkhal in the central region, operating as a community‐based organisation (CBO); and the other in Dhankuta in the eastern region, embedded in municipal government. In‐depth interviews were conducted with RRC members. Wider community preferences for risk reduction were examined through a questionnaire survey. In Dhankuta, the RRC obtained further funding, developed strong upward and downward institutional links, and applied a ‘disaster risk reduction lens’ to existing local government responsibilities. In Panchkhal, RRC activities have been limited by funding and have focused on the strengthening of livelihoods. It may be concluded tentatively that community‐based disaster risk reduction activities are more successful when they are institutionally embedded in local government structures.     

An analysis of the causes and circumstances of flood disaster deaths

The objective of this paper is to investigate and to improve understanding of the causes and circumstances of flood disaster deaths. A standardised method of classifying flood deaths is proposed and the difficulties associated with comparing and assessing existing information on flood deaths are discussed. Thirteen flood cases from Europe and the United States, resulting in 247 flood disaster fatalities, were analysed and taken as indicative of flood disaster deaths. Approximately two-thirds of the deaths occurred through drowning. Thus, a substantial number of flood disaster fatalities are not related to drowning. Furthermore, males are highly vulnerable to dying in floods and unnecessary risk-taking behaviour contributes significantly to flood disaster deaths. Based on these results, recommendations are made to prevent loss of life in floods. To provide a more solid basis for the formulation of prevention strategies, better systematic recording of flood fatalities is suggested, especially those caused by different types of floods in all countries.     

Earthquake mortality in Pakistan

A strong earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, hit northern Pakistan on 8 October 2005, causing massive destruction, including an official death toll of 73,276. Four cross-sectional surveys were performed in late 2005 to assess mortality before the event, on the day, and subsequently. Two surveys were community-based and two were situated in camps for internally displaced persons. Crude mortality rates were low in the 3.5 months preceding the earthquake (less than 0.1 deaths per 10,000 per day) and slightly higher in the six-to-eight weeks after the earthquake (ranging from 0.10–0.43 per 10,000 per day). On 8 October 2005, approximately two per cent of the population in one community survey died and around five per cent in the other three surveys. Children less than five years and adults more than or equal to 50 years tended to have a higher risk of mortality on the day of the disaster. These results corroborate the high mortality caused by the earthquake.     

Cross-sectional survey methods to assess retrospectively mortality in humanitarian emergencies

Since the rates and causes of mortality are critical indicators of the overall health of a population, it is important to evaluate mortality even where no complete vital statistics reporting exists. Such settings include humanitarian emergencies. Experience in cross-sectional survey methods to assess retrospectively crude, age-specific, and maternal mortality in stable settings has been gained over the past 40 years, and methods appropriate to humanitarian emergencies have been developed. In humanitarian emergencies, crude and age-specific mortality can be gauged using methods based on the enumeration of individuals resident in randomly selected households—frequently referred to as a household census. Under-five mortality can also be assessed through a modified prior birth history method in which a representative sample of reproductive-aged women are questioned about dates of child births and deaths. Maternal mortality can be appraised via the initial identification of maternal deaths in the study population and a subsequent investigation to determine the cause of each death.     

城市洪水风险图编制研究——以福州为例

洪水风险图是标识区域洪涝成因、量级、特性、危及对象及应急对策等风险信息分布特征的一系列图的总称,当前已成为国内外城市防洪减灾工作中重要的非工程类措施之一。针对我国对洪水风险图的多元化需求,从不同服务目的出发对洪水风险图编制工作进行研究。提出了洪水风险图分层编制技术,将洪水风险图划分为实际洪水淹没图、洪水风险预测图和水灾风险评价信息等3个层次,并根据分层设计原则对编制不同类型洪水风险图所需的既往洪水信息、洪水风险预测信息、水灾风险评价信息做了详细论述。提出将洪涝仿真模拟技术应用于城市洪水风险图编制工作之中,针对洪水风险图的应用目的合理选定计算模型的初始条件、边界条件与运行控制方式等,经模拟计算获取编制洪水风险图所需的洪水风险信息。     

洞庭湖地区洪水灾害风险评估

综合当前国内外学者的理论及方法,以灾害风险系统是致灾因子、孕灾环境和承灾体共同作用的系统为基础,对洞庭湖地区进行洪水灾害风险评估,其中致灾因子用暴雨及以上降雨的加权频次来描述,孕灾环境用地形和河网密度来描述,承灾体脆弱性用内在脆弱性和抗灾救灾能力来描述。首先,对区域洪水致灾因子危险性进行评估;其次,对孕灾环境危险性进行评估;再次,对承灾体脆弱性进行评估;最后,对三者进行叠加分析得出洞庭湖地区洪水灾害风险区划图。其中,沿长江地区、湘江入湖地区和澧水河入湖地区洪水灾害风险高;其次是沿洞庭湖周围地区风险较高;洞庭湖地区边缘风险较低。     

中国洪水灾害风险区划及其成因分析

洪水灾害风险区划是洪水风险管理的基本依据.长期以来,受数据收集以及分辨率的影响,中国一直缺乏可以指导相关部门进行洪水风险控制及洪水保险的洪灾风险区划.本文利用地理信息系统软件的空间分析模块,基于高分辨率（90m）的全国降雨、地形坡度、河流湖泊缓冲区、人均GDP、人口密度、道路密度和耕地密度等影响水灾发生的风险因子图,采用水灾成因分析法和经验系数法,得到洪水的潜在危险区和经济易损区,进而得到中国洪水灾害风险区划.在此基础上,采用逐步回归法,逐步剔除各影响因子后,对引发洪灾的主要外在驱动力进行了分析.     

Impact of drought‐related vaccination on livestock mortality in pastoralist areas of Ethiopia

Under a national Livestock Policy Forum in Ethiopia the impact of livestock vaccination during drought was assessed in order to inform the development of a best‐practice guideline. For each of the different types of vaccine used during drought years there was no significant difference in livestock mortality, for any species, in vaccinated compared with non‐vaccinated herds. The limited impact of vaccination on livestock mortality was attributed to weaknesses in the design and implementation of vaccination programmes, including use of inappropriate vaccines, low vaccination coverage, problems with vaccine dosing, incorrect timing of vaccination and problems with vaccine storage. If these weaknesses could be overcome vaccination could be a useful means to protect livestock assets, with considerable benefit‐cost ratios. Vaccination should be conducted as a standard preventive measure during normal years, and programme design should be informed by participatory epidemiological studies.     

潖江蓄滞洪区洪灾风险分析及避难转移安置研究

以潖江蓄滞洪区洪灾避难转移安置为研究对象,利用Mike21技术,建立潖江蓄滞洪区洪水演进数值模型,模拟北江遭遇300年一遇洪水时,在潖江口泄洪,潖江蓄滞洪区内洪水演进,分析潖江蓄滞洪区洪灾风险.通过实地调查,结合历史洪水情况,利用潖江蓄滞洪区DEM数据、Google地图及最快避难转移安置时间分析法,详细设计了潖江蓄滞洪区内各行政村落遭遇洪灾时避难转移与人员安置,为潖江蓄滞洪区启用预案科学编制及防洪减灾提供科学依据.     

Tsunami mortality and displacement in Aceh province, Indonesia

A survey of 388 Indonesian households displaced by the December 2004 tsunami was conducted in Aceh province in February 2005. Of tsunami-displaced households in Aceh Barat and Nagan Raya districts, 61.8 per cent reported one or more family members as dead or missing due to the tsunami, with an overall mortality rate of 13.9 per cent (95% confidence interval (CI): 12.4-15.4). Risk of death was greatest in the youngest and oldest age groups, and among females. Overall, 36 per cent of tsunami-displaced households indicated an intention to return to their original community within three months, and displaced households residing in host communities were 2.2 (95% CI: 1.2-2.8) times more likely to state an intention to return to their original villages or another community as those residing in camps. The tsunami recovery effort should focus on strategies that facilitate either prompt return or permanent, voluntary relocation for those displaced.     

南水北调中线工程渡槽的综合防洪风险分析

远距离输水工程沿途往往要跨越众多河系,交叉建筑物极易受到洪水的冲击,这就需要对其防洪风险给出定量的评估。以可靠度理论为基础,根据渠道所穿越的各条河流的水文、气象、地质、工程结构的随机特征给出了引水工程交叉建筑物的综合防洪风险计算方法;并以南水北调中线工程河北省段3座渡槽为例对该方法进行了验证。结果表明:南水北调中线工程河北省段渡槽的综合防洪风险小于万分之一。     

上海市水灾风险分析

利用1949-1990年上海市郊水灾历史灾情资料,分析其时空分布特征显示,自1949年以来,水灾受灾指数和相应粮食减产率呈阶段性下降,尤其自1977年水利控制片贯彻实施后,二者呈大幅度下降。各区县中,综合考虑水灾频次和受灾面积两个因素,得出南汇灾情最为严峻。最终,针对历史灾情资料缺乏、小样本数据使用传统统计模型进行风险分析精度不高的特点,基于信息扩散原理,利用正态信息扩散技术将单一的样本观测值变为一模糊集的模糊数学方法,对各区县受灾指数进行了风险分析,结果显示:南汇、浦东在受灾指数较低时,超越概率较高,即风险较高;崇明、金山在任一受灾指数下,风险都显示最高,受灾指数达0.8的超越概率为0.03345和0.01243,分别达到30年一遇和100年一遇。     

广东省水旱灾害风险分析与农业可持续发展

水旱灾害历来是威胁严重的自然灾害,它制约着广东省农业生产和社会经济发展.本文分析了广东省水旱灾害的特点及成因,根据1950～2002年的资料,应用信息扩散方法对广东省的水旱灾害进行了风险评估,勾画出广东省水旱灾受灾率概率分布曲线图,提出了广东省农业减灾的措施:合理调整农业布局和作物种植结构,采取趋利避害的农业措施,推行有效的防灾技术,改善农业生态环境,增强防灾减灾意识,提高防灾减灾水平.     

我国社会可接受地震人员死亡率的研究

在分析地震的特点及我国目前抗震设防中存在问题的基础上,提出了社会可接受地震人员死亡率的概念,介绍了确定可接受地震人员死亡率的方法及需要考虑的因素。同时通过对其它自然灾害和人为灾害死亡率的统计,以问卷调查的形式咨询了熟悉防震减灾工作的有关专家和政府管理部门等业内人士的意见,在此基础上,给出了较合理的社会可接受地震人员死亡率的建议值,为在抗震设防标准研究中定量考虑和控制地震人员伤亡提供了依据。     

The impact of heat waves on daily mortality in Belgrade (Serbia) during summer

In this paper, we are dealing with two extreme events in temperature and population – heat wave and mortality. Our aim is to assess the relation between high temperatures and daily mortality counts during the summer months in the period 2000–2010 in Belgrade (Serbia). In order to establish this connection, we used Poisson regression and two different measures of heat wave: Warm Spell Duration Index (WSDI) and apparent temperature (T _app). As mean daily temperature increases over 90th, 95th and 99th percentiles, average number of deaths increases for 15.3% (p?<?.01), 22.4% (p?<?.05) and 32.0% (insignificant for p?<?.1). We tested three different thresholds (90th, 95th, 99th) for WSDI and T _app in order to separate the hottest heat-wave episodes. On average, mortality is higher than expected for 13.4%, 16.7% and 28.3% (90th, 95th and 99th percentiles for WSDI) and 16.1%, 17.3% and 32.5% (90th, 95th and 99th percentiles for T _app). Estimated mortality excess with heat-wave indices is in accordance with regression output, meaning that WSDI and T _app are good tools for heat-wave identification. During the most severe episode in July 2007, absolute temperature maximum (43.6°C) and daily maximum mortality counts (94 dead) were recorded in the same day (24 July 2007).     

基于GIS的上海市嘉定区暴雨积涝灾害风险区划研究

根据2006-2012年上海嘉定区9个气象站点的小时降水资料,结合嘉定区的社会经济与自然地理要素,构建一个集致灾因子、孕灾环境、承灾体及防灾减灾能力为一体的区域暴雨积涝风险评价模型。通过GIS技术实现各指标的栅格化,并利用指数模型对各因子基于500 m×500 m栅格的基本单元进行计算,编制嘉定区的暴雨积涝灾害风险区划图,构成嘉定区五个等级的风险,分别为高、次高、中等、次低和低。区划结果表明嘉定区的暴雨积涝灾害危险性指数从中心向外围成递减的趋势,且嘉定镇、新城和工业南区相对风险较高,华亭、徐行、南航和江桥风险相对较低。经嘉定区历年暴雨积涝灾情资料、典型暴雨积涝案例和专家的验证,均表明风险区划的结果和实际灾情符合度较高,对嘉定暴雨积涝的防灾减灾具有重要的现实指导意义。