The public health system response to the 2008 Sichuan province earthquake: a literature review and interviews

This paper describes and analyses the public health system response to the deadly earthquake in Sichuan province, China, in May 2008. Drawing on an experiential learning project consisting of a literature review and field research, including a series of interviews with medical and public health professionals, policy‐makers and first responders, a conceptual framework was developed to describe the response. This approach emphasises the pre‐existing preparedness level of the medical and public health systems, as well as social, economic and geo‐political factors that had an impact on mitigation efforts. This framework was used to conduct post‐disaster analyses addressing major response issues and examining methods employed during the public health response to the disaster. This framework could be used to describe and analyse the emergency response to other disasters.     

A pattern of disasters and victims

Two three-dimensional conceptual models are presented that should help those concerned with disasters and disaster victims to integrate the numerous studies on the topic. The first, concerning disasters, involves matters ecological, technological and social scientific. It covers the elements earth, air, fire, water/liquid, and people. It includes the time dimensions of preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation. The second introduces a six-fold classification of victims, together with dimensions to cover the methods and kinds of delivery of different interventions that might be made available to help them. The suggestion is that, were the appropriately noted victim model placed within the larger disaster model according to the types of disaster study being examined, there might be useful academic, political, and professional implications.     

Aberfan and the management of trauma

This paper is a case study of the management of post-disaster trauma in 1960s Britain. It explores the traumatic aftermath of the 1966 Aberfan disaster (where 116 children and 28 adults were killed when a colliery spoil heap collapsed on top of a school in a small Welsh mining community) which had a devastating impact on the village. The professional and voluntary services made available to help the bereaved, survivors and wider community are documented and assessed. The paper demonstrates how limited finance and the popular and professional contemporary understanding of trauma and disasters hindered those services, and how the actions of government and media had a negative impact on the community's recovery. This case study of disaster management in the 1960s illustrates many of the pitfalls that continue to haunt the response to man-made tragedies in the UK.     

Disaster journalism: fostering citizen and community disaster mitigation,preparedness, response,recovery, and resilience across the disaster cycle

Natural and human‐caused disasters pose a significant risk to the health and well‐being of people. Journalists and news organisations can fulfil multiple roles related to disasters, ranging from providing warnings, assessing disaster mitigation and preparedness, and reporting on what occurs, to aiding long‐term recovery and fostering disaster resilience. This paper considers these possible functions of disaster journalism and draws on semi‐structured interviews with 24 journalists in the United States to understand better their approach to the discipline. A thematic analysis was employed, which resulted in the identification of five main themes and accompanying subthemes: (i) examining disaster mitigation and preparedness; (ii) facilitating recovery; (iii) self‐care and care of journalists; (iv) continued spread of social media; and (v) disaster journalism ethics. The paper concludes that disaster journalism done poorly can result in harm, but done well, it can be an essential instrument with respect to public disaster planning, management, response, and recovery.     

Women's experiences across disasters: a study of two towns in Texas,United States

Gender, although gaining attention, remains under-researched in disaster risk reduction protocols and response and recovery efforts. This study examines women's experiences of two disasters in small towns in the United States, utilising qualitative interviews with residents of Granbury and West, Texas, during the first year of disaster recovery. Granbury was struck by an EF-4 tornado on 15 May 2013, whereas an explosion occurred at a local fertiliser facility in West on 17 April 2013. The paper explores how women's experiences of inter-gender power dynamics in decision-making, the prioritisation of childcare, and women's participation in the community affect their post-disaster recovery. Previous research highlights different forms of human response and recovery vis-à-vis ‘natural’ and technological disasters, with less attention paid to gender differences. The results point to the persistent, and similar, effect of gender stratification on women's experiences across different types of disasters in the US and the continued importance of gender-sensitive disaster policies and programmes.     

Measuring vulnerability to natural hazards: a macro framework

The measurement of vulnerability—defined here as the asymmetric response of disaster occurrences to hazardous events—signifies a key step towards effective disaster risk reduction and the promotion of a culture of disaster resilience. One of the reasons for not being able to do the same in a wider context is related to conceptual, definitional, and operational issues. This paper presents an operationally feasible framework for conducting this task and measures revealed macro vulnerability as a function of disaster risk and hazard probability. The probabilities of hazard and its perceived disaster risk were obtained from past data and from probability distributions. In this paper, the corresponding analytical framework is constructed using the case study of floods in Assam, India. The proposed indicator will help policymakers to draw on available macro‐level data to identify the regions that are vulnerable to disasters, where micro‐level disaster vulnerability assessments could be performed in greater detail.     

The growing role of web‐based geospatial technology in disaster response and support

This paper examines changes in disaster response and relief efforts and recent web‐based geospatial technological developments through an evaluation of the experiences of the Center for Geographic Analysis, Harvard University, of the Sichuan (2008) and Haiti (2010) earthquake responses. This paper outlines how conventional GIS (geographic information systems) disaster responses by governmental agencies and relief response organisations and the means for geospatial data‐sharing have been transformed into a more dynamic, more transparent, and decentralised form with a wide participation. It begins by reviewing briefly at historical changes in the employment of geospatial technologies in major devastating disasters, including the Sichuan and Haiti earthquakes (case studies for our geospatial portal project). It goes on to assess changes in the available dataset type and in geospatial disaster responders, as well as the impact of geospatial technological changes on disaster relief effort. Finally, the paper discusses lessons learned from recent responses and offers some thoughts for future development.     

Farmers' perceptions of implementation of climate variability disaster preparedness strategies in Central Uganda

This paper examines smallholder farmers' perceptions of the implementation of climate change disaster preparedness strategies in Mpigi district in Central Uganda. Furthermore, existing community early actions against climate change disasters were investigated. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions at the community level. Using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16, data obtained through semi-structured interviews were subjected to quantitative analysis to generate percentages for several variables and cross-tabulation analyses between selected variables. Farmers perceived prolonged droughts, increased pests and diseases outbreaks in crops and livestock as a consequence of climate change as the major climate change disasters. They considered the implementation of climate change disaster preparedness at community and village level as inadequate. This triggered implementation of various early actions by farmers as responses to climate change disasters. These actions constitute an informal community-based early warning system against climate change disasters.     

A survey of international urban search-and-rescue teams following the Ji Ji earthquake

On 21 September 1999, the Ji Ji earthquake killed 2,347 people. In the immediate aftermath the international community, mobilised rapidly and sent urban search-and-rescue (US&R) teams to the scene. This paper will present an annotated survey of the expertise and standard of equipment of international US&R teams following that earthquake which could serve as a blueprint for the establishment of US&R teams elsewhere at risk from earthquakes.     

Friends and family vs. government: who does the public rely on more to prepare for natural disasters?

This paper examines what organizations and groups individuals rely on to help prepare for natural disasters and how reliance differs vis-à-vis demographic characteristics. Using data gathered from 2,008 individuals employed in the United States, the results revealed that individuals are significantly more likely to rely on friends and family than government organizations at the local, state, and federal level. The findings also suggest that this reliance varies across demographic groups. For example, data from the present study suggest that women and minority groups as well as individuals who are older and less educated are significantly more likely to rely on organizations to help prepare for natural disasters. This study contributes to the disaster management and risk communication literatures by offering key insights into the organizations and groups the American public in general, and certain demographic groups in particular, rely on when it comes to preparing for natural disasters. Knowledge about the organizations and groups that individuals rely on to help prepare for natural disasters can help policymakers and practitioners target those organizations as conduits to deliver critical preparedness information, as well as other information related to disaster mitigation, response, and recovery.     

Squatters' nightmare: the political economy of disasters and disaster response in zambia

Despite the frequency with which disasters occur, very few if any third world countries have developed elaborate disaster mitigation networks. Most commonly, governments in these countries focus their attention on disaster relief rather than disaster mitigation and preparedness. It is the contention of this paper that apart from the political and economic instability which will result from government apathy, lack of sensitivity to the question of disasters and disaster preparedness will result in untold suffering for the millions of our people who live on the urban margins and who are the most exposed to the dangers of disasters. This paper is about disasters and disaster response in Zambia.     

Beyond performance and protocols: early responders' experiences of multiple accountability demands in the response to the 2015 Nepal earthquake

Critics have long questioned the push for professionalised and performance‐driven accountability in the humanitarian sector, yet the matter is largely treated as a ‘back office’ issue of standards, guidelines, and processes. Scant attention is paid to the accountability demands experienced by early responders to disasters. Set in the contested climate of the emergency response to the earthquake in Nepal on 25 April 2015, and drawing on interviews with 15 early responders, this paper reveals three forms of accountability demands: (i) accountability as compliance; (ii) accountability as the object of government regulation; and (iii) accountability as public opposition and interrogation. Beyond the performance‐centric, non‐governmental organisation‐driven understanding of accountability, early responders to the earthquake experienced multidirectional accountability demands, not only from donors and beneficiaries, but also from the national government and wider public. Engaging with public criticism is a significant feature of early responders' responsibility that warrants further consideration by the humanitarian community.     

Disaster Management and Government Intervention in PNG: The Case of Lae

This paper describes government intervention in two flood disasters in Lae before and after the establishment of the Papua New Guinea disaster management body. It first describes the objectives behind the establishment of this, and second, it examines the organisational response to the 1983 and 1992 disasters in Lae. Disaster response in terms of relief operations is generally prompt and spontaneous but can at best be described as haphazard, unsystematic and often uncoordinated. Both national and provincial disaster committees are, in many aspects, ill equipped in terms of capabilities, skills and resources. Many disaster operations are unable to ensure an immediate return of the victim's lives to normality – the ultimate objective of any disaster management.     

淮河流域洪涝灾害分析模型研究

本文对淮河流域及流域内苏、鲁、豫、皖四省的洪涝灾害进行定量分析,建立了灾度分析模型.该方法突破了以往对灾害等级进行评估的思路,借助于Matlab软件方便快捷地计算出灾害损失的灾度,特别适用于大范围内大样本的灾度分析.     

近代淮河流域自然灾害与人口的变动

近代淮河流域,灾害的多发性,对农村社会造成严重危机,尤其对农村人口的变动带来了深远的影响.该文借助人口学的相关理论与方法,运用历史文献对自然灾害打击下的近代淮河流域的农村人口数量的变动、迁移以及人口素质的变化进行考察和分析.研究认为:在灾害的打击下,农村人口数量发生变动,特别是一些大的灾荒造成的人口死亡率较高,这些严重...     

城市自然灾害的社会因素及防治对策研究

以社会、经济意义作标准,抑减自然灾害的重点应在城市、因而研究城市自然灾害的社会因素是当务之急.本文列出并分析了十大社会因素,它们是:1)城市地生态;2)城市的灾害文化背景;3)政策导向的正负效应;4)城市规划与建设;5)城市公共设施状况;6)人口和财富的集中程度;7)城市资源的开发利用;8)科技对城市减灾的贡献率;9)防灾减灾的误区;10)灾害应急.本文还认为以上十大因素对城市自然灾害的作用至少包括五个方面,它们是:1)诱发作用;2)放大作用;3)连接灾害链;4)承受灾害;5)抑减灾害.在以上基础上,本文提出了充分利用城市社会因素抗灾减灾的八条对策,即1)建立统一管理城市自然灾害工作的综合性政府机构势在必行;2)强化防灾减灾的背景工作;3)防灾减灾工作的立法;4)认清和摆正发展与灾害的关系;5)尊重科学、尊重知识,建立一套灾害顾问系统;6)建立一支快速救灾的专业队伍;7)加强保险事业与灾害研究和抑减工作的联系;8)城市间的协凋必须要有全局对策.     

基于综合灾害风险防范模式的台风灾害防御效益评价研究初探

以综合灾害风险防范模式作为理论基础,从中国气象防灾减灾工作机制的特点出发,结合当前的社会学和经济学研究方法,构建包含气象服务水平评价、灾害防御行为评价的防灾减灾综合效益评价指标体系,涵盖从前期预报预警,到后期灾害应对的3个一级指标,8个二级指标和17个三级指标;并基于社会学调查的技术方法,实时跟踪2017-2018年登...     

农村家庭认知与响应地震灾害的特点及其家庭际差异——以2007年云南宁洱6.4级地震灾区为例

以2007年云南宁洱6.4级地震灾区为例,通过现场访谈和问卷调查,分析了该地区农村家庭认知与响应地震灾害的特点及其家庭际的差异性。结果表明:当地农村家庭认知与响应地震灾害的水平尚不理想,综合防震减灾能力较弱;家庭对地震灾害知识和防震减灾技能的掌握程度,显著地影响着其在震时及震后的响应行为和态度,其中防震减灾技能的影响更显著;经济收入和教育背景不同的家庭,其地震灾害的认知水平和响应能力也呈现出明显的差异性,其中受教育程度的影响更明显,且可能是最根本的影响因素;家庭人口总数与家庭地震灾害认知与响应的综合能力呈显著的负相关关系,但这种影响也叠加了家庭经济文化因素的影响;对研究区而言,加强防震减灾实用技能和震时如何有效应对地震影响方面的教育,具有更重要的现实意义。     

中国综合减灾发展趋势研究

综合减灾的"综合"是各灾种、 各阶段和各环节的综合,是资源和手段的综合,也是信息技术和科学技术的综合.通过对中国知网数据和《灾害学》期刊论文数据的定性与定量分析可知:从灾种来看,综合减灾研究的是地质灾害、地震灾害和气象灾害;从过程研究来看,每一种灾害的研究都是全过程综合性研究;从阶段性研究来看,灾前风险研究和灾后经验教...     

Study on Middle and Short Term Forecast and Assessment Technology on Atmosphere Hydrosphere Disasters

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