The barriers to environmental sustainability in post‐disaster settings: a case study of transitional shelter implementation in Haiti

Disaster recovery operations that do not account for environmental sustainability (ES) risk exacerbating the impact of the disaster and hindering long‐term recovery efforts. Yet aid agencies do not always consider ES. This research is a case study of the recovery that followed the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Using timber and concrete procurement as proxies for broader post‐disaster operations, research examined perceptions of ES as well as attempts at and barriers to incorporating it into programming. Identified barriers can be grouped into two categories: (1) prioritisations and perceptions within the disaster response sector that resulted in limited enthusiasm for incorporating ES into programming, and (2) structural and organisational barriers within the disaster response framework that impeded ES attempts and served as a further disincentive to incorporating ES into programming. As a result of those barriers, incorporation of ES was sporadic and inconsistent and often depended on the capacity and motivation of specific implementers.     

The adoption of a Climate Disaster Resilience Index in Chennai,India

Results derived from the Climate Disaster Resilience Index (CDRI)—consisting of five dimensions (economic, institutional, natural, physical, and social), 25 parameters, and 125 variables—reflect the abilities of people and institutions to respond to potential climate‐related disasters in Chennai, India. The findings of this assessment, applied in the 10 administrative zones of the city, reveal that communities living in the northern and older parts of Chennai have lower overall resilience as compared to the flourishing areas (vis‐à‐vis economic growth and population) along the urban fringes. The higher resilience of communities along the urban fringes suggests that urbanisation may not necessarily lead to a deterioration of basic urban services, such as electricity, housing, and water. This indication is confirmed by a strong statistical correlation between physical resilience and population growth in Chennai. The identification of the resilience of different urban areas of Chennai has the potential to support future planning decisions on the city's scheduled expansion.     

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.     

基于灾害风险评估的山地城市固定避难场所布局优化研究——以东川区为例

研究以各区域灾害风险评估系数作为权重系数,对山地小城市各区域避难场所进行优化布局。首先,通过风险值=危险性*脆弱性/抗灾救灾能力机理表达式构建灾害风险评估指标体系,并以模糊综合评价法得出灾害风险评估数值,在此基础上通过多目标选址优化模型来构建山地城市避难场所的优化模型,其中灾害风险评估系数作为影响布局的权重因素纳入其中。最后,以东川区为研究对象,对其固定避难场所进行优化布局研究,结果表明:东川区城区固定避灾场所数量可在接近最优解的情况下达到效果最优。     

What happened to the Second World? Earthquakes and postsocialism in Kazakhstan

There is an assumption that with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Second World ceased to exist. Yet the demise of the Communist bloc as a geopolitical reality did not mean that it stopped exerting a defining influence over how people think and behave. This article examines how the postsocialist state in Kazakhstan deals with potential crises such as earthquakes and the extent to which the Soviet legacy still shapes intellectual debates, state structures, and civil society organisations in in that country. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews, this paper re-examines the Second World in its historical context and re-establishes it as a conceptual framework for considering disaster risk reduction in the former Soviet bloc. It argues that it is essential to pay attention to this legacy in Kazakhstan both in policy and practice if earthquake risk reduction is to be made more effective.     

Hurricane Harvey and Greater Houston households: comparing pre-event preparedness with post-event health effects,event exposures,and recovery

Most disaster studies rely on convenience sampling and ‘after-only’ designs to assess impacts. This paper, focusing on Hurricane Harvey (2017) and leveraging a pre-/post-event sample of Greater Houston households (n=71) in the United States, establishes baselines for disaster preparedness and home structure flood hazard mitigation, explores household-level ramifications, and examines how preparedness and mitigation relate to health effects, event exposures, and recovery. Between 70 and 80 per cent of participants instituted preparedness measures. Mitigation actions varied: six per cent had interior drainage systems and 83 per cent had elevated indoor heating/cooling components. Sixty per cent reported home damage. One-half highlighted allergies and two-thirds indicated some level of post-traumatic stress (PTS). Three-quarters worried about family members/friends. The results of generalised linear models revealed that greater pre- event mitigation was associated with fewer physical health problems and adverse experiences, lower PTS, and faster recovery. The study design exposed the broad benefits of home structure flood hazard mitigation for households after Harvey.     

Listing for change? Exploring the politics of relief lists in Bangladesh after Cyclone Sidr

Ideal notions of efficient aid are challenged continuously by realities on the ground in the wake of major disasters, such as dire needs, limited resources, and opportunism. This paper demonstrates how ‘relief lists’ can be productive entry points for a systematic inquiry into the pervasive politics of disaster assistance. Through an analysis of qualitative data collected during the five years after Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh on 15 November 2007, it examines how relief lists featured in both physical and phantom forms and then developed beyond their transparency-making aims, becoming elevated sites of struggle for post-disaster resources. Three list processes, selected to indicate the temporal, material, and spatial dynamics of relief encounters, are assessed in depth. Although recipients of cyclone relief appreciated its value, the paper argues that list politics also stimulated structures of vulnerability, including inequality. Gradually, relief, as governed after Sidr, also served to restore the differential vulnerability of the country's coastal poor.     

太湖流域主要城市洪涝灾害生态风险评价

太湖流域有上海，苏州，无锡，常州，镇江，杭州，嘉兴，湖州八个大中城市，是我国产业最集中，工农业最发达的地区之一，但该地区洪涝灾害频繁，这不仅制约了流域中各城市经济的发展，还严重威胁到该地区城市的生存平衡，本文根据生存风险评价原理，结合太湖流域的自然特点，提出成因分析法的指标模型。并通过分析太湖流域八个大中城市的汛期降雨量和地形地貌因子对洪涝灾害生态风险的影响度，得出各个城市洪涝灾害的生态风险度，最后还根据各城市风险度的大小及其主导因素的不同，提出了如何管理洪涝灾害生态风险的建议。     

湖南怀化地区96.7城市特大洪涝灾害成因分析

湖南省怀化地区地形以山地为主,该地区１９９６年７月发生了城市特大洪涝灾害,本文概述了该地区９６．７城市洪涝灾情,并以区域灾害系统论为指导,从孕灾环境、致害因子、承灾能力和人类活动的不利影响等方面,对这次灾害的成因进行了分析,认为其主要成因是：（１）易洪涝的山丘区环境;（２）９６．７降雨强度大、覆盖面广、持续时间长的异常雨情和高洪峰水位、流量的异常水情;（３）城市防洪标准低、水利水电工程防洪效益差和抗洪害意识不强等原因造成的城市防洪能力低;（４）砍伐森林、人为侵占河道和大型水库超常规蓄水等人类活动造成的不利影响。     

湖北省暴雨灾害及防御对策初探

本文对湖北省暴雨灾害的时空分布、经济损失连锁反映特征作了分析,提出抗灾教灾和防御对策的应急措施和长远规划。