Showing papers on "Natural disaster published in 1992"

After a California earthquake : attitude and behavior change

Abstract: Shortly before the Loma Prieta earthquake devastated areas of Northern California in 1989, Risa Palm and her associates had surveyed 2,500 homeowners in the area about their perception of risk from earthquakes. After the quake they surveyed the homeowners again and found that their perception of risk had increased but that most respondents were fatalistic and continued to ignore self-protective measures; those who personally experienced damage were more likely to buy insurance. A rare opportunity to analyze behavior change directly before and after a natural disaster, this survey has implications for policy makers, insurance officials, and those concerned with risk management.

Environmental management and urban vulnerability

Abstract: Many metropolitan areas throughout the world are susceptible to disasters that seriously disrupt the process of economic development and cause unparalleled social upheaval. This conference provided an opportunity for experts in the environment, hazards, and urban development fields to gather and discuss issues concerning the relationship between environmental degradation and disaster vulnerability in cities, as well as effective, environment-based strategies for managing risk. Because both natural and human systems are affected by extreme events, the Bank must continue its support for improving the capacity of cities to deal with disaster and for reducing the negative impacts of natural and technological hazards through specific policies and operations. Between 1985 and 1991, the Bank directly contributed about three percent of its total lending for recovery from emergencies. Special attention is being devoted to the need for strengthening institutional frameworks and reforming policy. In cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UNCHS/Habitat), the Environment Department has begun work on a project to establish adequate institutional frameworks for dealing with the impacts of environmental degradation and natural or manmade disasters in cities.

Natural hazards and disasters in Latin America

Abstract: Natural hazards and disasters occur widely throughout the world. Disasters can be costly both in terms of human lives and property and ecosystem disruption. Higher death tolls in developing nations may be the result of poverty, rapid population growth, urbanization, and inadequate communication facilities. The purpose of this study is to show patterns of major catastrophic events in Latin America so that their impacts can be evaluated and compared. Latin America was selected because of the variety of recent events commanding wide attention: earthquakes in Mexico, volcanic eruptions in Colombia, hurricanes and floods in Haiti, and drought and mudflows in Brazil. Spatial and temporal aspects of natural disasters are presented in nine tables and 21 maps. The tables give selected disaster data by country for volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, and atmospheric disturbances from the 16th century to 1989. Most data is derived from disasters occurring during the 20th century and include number of events, people killed, people affected, and U.S.$ damage. Maps show environmental settings for disasters and allow detailed comparison among countries. Floods account for the greatest number of major events in the most countries, earthquakes cause the most deaths and damage, while droughts affect the most people. Peru surpasses all others in susceptibility to major disasters. Assessment of vulnerability to hazards, improved economic opportunities, and an increased social and political concern for poor people should help reduce future losses from natural disasters in Latin America.

Disasters and the Small Dwelling : Perspectives for the UN IDNDR

Abstract: Introduction * Conferences on 'Disasters and Small Dwelling' Opening Speech * Disasters and the Small Dwelling - Process, Realism and Knowledge: Towards an Agenda for the IDNDR * Review of Twelve Years' Experience of Disasters and Small Dwellings * The Global Vulnerability * Materials and Construction Techniques for Disaster Protection * Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Notes on the Decade of the 1990s * Problems in Post-Disaster Resettlement: Cross Cultural Perspectives * The Socio-Cultural and Behavioural Context of Disasters and Small Dwellings * A View of the Role of NGOs in Natural Disaster Work * Cross Cultural Disaster Planning: The Alice Springs Flood * Disasters and Housing Policy for Rural Bangladesh * Choice of Technique: Housing Provision by NGOs the 1988 Floods in Bangladesh * Floods in Bangladesh: Vulnerability and Mitigation Related to Human Settlement * Earthquake Reconstruction for Future Protection * Hazards, Mitigation and Housing Recovery: Watsonville and San Francisco One Year Later * the Reconstruction of Kalamata City after the 1986 Earthquake: Some Issues on the Process of Temporary Housing * Disaster Aid Equity First * Introducing Disaster Mitigation in a Political Vacuum: the Experiences of the Reconstruction Plan Following the Alto Mayo Earthquake, Peru, 1990. Wind effects on the Tongan 'Hurricane House' * Disaster Resistant Construction for Small Dwellings in Solomon Islands * Occupant Behaviour * Rebuilding of Fao City, Iraq: A Case of Central Government Post-war Reconstruction * La Zurua: A Unique experience in the Integral Urban Development of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic * Housing in El Salvador: A Case Study * Mitigation Program Selection and Evaluation: Assessing Effectiveness * Assessment of the Iranian Earthquake 10 June 1990: A Field report * Conclusions * Index

Crisis Management in Tourist Destinations

Abstract: Whether natural or caused by people, disasters have been and continue to be a part of life that communities must deal with. Tourism destinations are especially vulnerable to disaster occurrences due to their economic dependence on visitors and the need to maintain a positive image of attractiveness and safety for continued success. The past decade has witnessed numerous natural disasters in tourist destinations around the world; therefore, community leaders, local governments, and major industries need to be prepared for the worst. The 1989 Hurricane Hugo experience in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was managed by a local non-profit organization comprised of volunteer community and industry leaders. The Hugo experience demonstrated the need to have a plan of action to follow after disaster occurrences. Telephone interviews were conducted with tourism leaders around the country and written inquiries were made to locate a tourism crisis management plan. The lack of information led to the development of the Myrtle Beach Tourism Crisis Management Manual, to assist the travel and tourism industry respond to and manage natural disasters in an effective manner.

In the eyes of the beholder: technological and naturalistic interpretations of a disaster:

Abstract: An assumption shared by most literature on calamities is that blame assignation occurs in technological but not natural disaster situations. In this study of a major urban flood, 65% of the sample assigned responsibility for the disaster to human agents and technological failures. Those who attributed economic and psychological losses to human agency believed that natural disasters are controllable and that it is the responsibility of government to control nature through the use of technology and regulation. If natural disasters are increasingly being interpreted in technological terms, collective responses are likely to call for technological means to assess and minimize risks.

The Importance of Thinking of Disasters as Social Phenomena

Abstract: The conception of disaster, especially the attributed source of the occasion, has changed over time. For most of history it has been traditional to view certain sudden and extraordinary physical disturbances with significant negative effects as “Acts of God” (even outside of Western Culture, a religious framework of a similar nature has been used). Whether it is volcanic eruptions or hurricanes/cyclones, the source of the disaster agent was seen as in the supernatural domain. In more recent time, and with the spread of a more secular and nonreligious ideologies, there was a shift to the term “natural” disaster, substituting nature for the supernatural. So earthquakes are the result of plate dynamics, or floods the consequences of rainfall and drainage capabilities. But in either case the supernatural or nature, the imagery is that something external and beyond the realm of human victims was responsible for whatever happened.

The scientific basis of disaster medicine

Abstract: While sharing the most elemental cause — the thermal factor — burns and fire disasters have long been considered separately, on the one hand as a purely clinical medical problem, and on the other as a societal, environmental problem. It is becoming increasingly evident that there is close interrelationship between the two at all levels — prevention, response, care, management and rehabilitation — and such rapprochement cannot but strengthen the efficiency and efficacy of all concerned. This paper proposes a scientific basis for disaster medicine, in which more burn surgeons are becoming involved.

A collaborative model of a county crisis intervention team: the Lake County experience.

Abstract: A model is introduced for the classification of crisis intervention and disaster services as being clinic-based, ad hoc, school-oriented, disaster service based and integrative. An example is presented of an integrative-collaborative model that was developed in Lake County, Ohio to cope with situations of suicide, accidental death or natural disaster when they occur in rural areas and small towns. The Community Crisis Intervention Team (CCIT) was developed with characteristics specific to a collaborative model. The distinctive qualities of the CCIT are identified and discussed within the context of a case study of a postvention in a school setting following adolescent suicide.

Natural Disasters: From the Black Plague to the Eruption of Mt. Pinatubo

Abstract: From the Black Plague to the recent volcanic eruption in the Philipines, this comprehensive volume offers a world-wide survey of natural disasters through history. The book encompasses a range of events, including landslides, avalanches, earthquakes, droughts, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms, typhoons and volvanic eruptions. Organized according to type of disaster, each entry provides basic facts about each disaster and insights into its background and its ultimate impact on man and the environment.

Symbolic Planning and Disaster Preparedness in Developing Countries: The Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu

Abstract: In developing countries vulnerable to natural disasters, disaster planning is being encouraged and facilitated by donors. This is done in order to promote self-reliance as well as to mitigate the effects of disasters and lessen the need for a high degree of external emergency response assistance. This paper examines the development of disaster plans among the Southwest Pacific Island countries and pays particular attention to Vanuatu as a case study. The example used is the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu's Disaster Guideline, which was written without direct external input. An examination of the history of Vanuatu and the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu points to the cultural significance of symbols. It is argued that, rather than promoting self-reliance, disaster planning has fostered a dependency relationship between donors and recipients in the Pacific Islands, albeit in a different form than during the period of colonial domination. The tendency to impose First World disaster planning strategies without significant regard for indigenous cultures has led to counter-disaster products, such as disaster plans, being regarded more as symbols than as practical tools. It is argued that in order for disaster planning to become more than just symbolic, donors and their disaster managers must be prepared to adapt their programs to local conditions, involve the indigenous people in all steps of disaster planning, and commit themselves to long-term programs.

Natural Hazards within the West Indies

Abstract: Earthquakes, volcanoes, and hurricanes, together with high population densities and poverty, make the West Indies one of the most vulnerable areas to natural hazards in the world. This paper summarizes the effects and consequences of historic natural disasters within the region and reviews the causes and distribution of these three natural hazards. Suggestions are provided for teachers wishing to utilize information about Columbus or Caribbean geography to introduce their students to a wide array of geographic concepts and questions in physical, environmental, historical, and social geography.

Coping with Disaster: Florence after The Black Death

Abstract: Ever since it first took its place in the universe, our planet has been shaped by the impact of successive natural disasters. Geological evidence gives proof of the ravages of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and major changes in climatic conditions in periods long before human life was evident. As humans spread across the earth, accounts of such events were transmitted from generation to generation, firstly by oral means, and then by the written records that enable us now to review the events of the past. Biblical accounts of the Great Flood and of famines are but examples of such records which may have their basis in oral tradition, or in actual events. This paper, however, does not focus on disasters which arise from seismic or other physical disturbances to the earth, or from its climatic conditions, but upon another form of natural disaster that is represented by epidemic disease. In his Plagues and Peoples, William McNeill (1976) describes the effect that epidemic diseases had on the shaping and decline of early community groups. Many diseases which now hold no fear for modern society were likely to be fatal in early communities. As a result, epidemic disease played a significant role in the decline of some community groups, and even civilisations. In the main, these epidemic diseases were described by translators of chronicles or other literature as 'pestilence' or 'plague' so that some caution needs to be exercised in interpreting such records for the identification of any specific disease. The natural disasters with which this paper is concerned are the visitations of bubonic plague in its various forms during a relatively short period in European history.

Status of hazard mitigation studies

Abstract: This year has been one of the most costly years ever recorded for natural disasters. Researchers now studying these events are trying to better understand their evolution and impact to help minimize losses from future disasters. In “Rapid Response to Natural Hazard Mitigation,” a special Union session at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, researchers studying natural hazards will discuss the current status of hazard mitigation and reveal how new technologies are being applied to earthquake, tsunami, and volcanic monitoring programs to reduce future losses.

Disaster mitigation in the Caribbean using expert systems

Abstract: The emergence of expert systems technology has created much excitement in most fields of engineering around the world and one of the more promising application areas for this emerging technology is in the area of disaster mitigation. In this paper, therefore several prototype Knowledge-Based Expert Systems (KBES) utilizing a commercially available expert system tool INSIGHT 2+ are described which demonstrate how this technology could be used by practising engineers in the area of natural disaster mitigation in the Caribbean. Since building codes already represent knowledge in a codified but usually ill-structured form, they lend themselves readily for the application of expert systems technology. Accordingly the recently published Caribbean Uniform Building Code (CUBiC) has been utilized to develop the knowledge bases for two of the prototypical systems in respect of hurricane and earthquake loads. The paper concludes with a discussion of the anticipated benefits from such an approach which include a computer assisted “expert” consultation for the assessment and evaluation of existing essential building facilities such as hospitals which should remain functional after a major natural disaster such as an earthquake or hurricane.

Defining disaster relief: disaster victims and disaster relief administration in the case of Mt. Unzen's eruption

Abstract: The eruption of Mt. Unzen, from November 1990 to June 1991, brought on one of the worst volcanic disasters in Japan. Never before in post-war Japanese history has a natural disaster forced so many people to live as evacuees for so long. Two questionnaire surveys were carried out, the first in August 1991 and the second in February 1992. Conclusions drawn from these indicate that material assistance is important, but even more significant is the adoption of far-sighted policies to help evacuees adapt to their new disaster-caused situation. This would seem to be the biggest lesson to be learned from how today's affluent Japanese society dealt with the disaster.

Lessons from the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps' Experience in the Organization of International Medical Disaster Relief Forces

Abstract: Natural and man-made disasters continue to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Natural disasters include earthquakes, storms such as hurricanes, floods, fires, drought. Man-made disasters include fires, explosions, chemical and radioactive releases, major transportation accidents, terrorism, and war. The effects of disaster include injury, death, damage to infrastructure, environmental exposure, population movement, and increased incidence of communicable diseases.

Half a Century of Natural Disasters in the Pacific Basin: Historical Perspectives on the Future

Abstract: This paper briefly explores and comments on three interrelated themes: the natural riskiness of the Pacific Basin; recent changes in patterns of disaster; and trends in society and environment that may affect the potential for future disasters. Losses of life due to disasters appear to be declining in recent decades throughout much of the region except in Latin America and Southeast Asia, where they may be increasing. Environmental and societal changes in the Basin are likely to produce new types of disaster potential that may modify historical patterns of disaster.

A Strategy for Planning and Protecting Immovable Heritage: Lessons From Natural Disaster Planning

Abstract: Immovable cultural properties, whether buildings, archeological sites, museums or libraries, are at substantial risk in the event of armed conflict. In many ways, natural disasters pose many of the same threats to such structures as does war. Earthquakes impose horizontal loads on structures, their weak direction, tornadoes and hurricanes impose large substantial over pressures on walls and roves, just as ground shock and air blast from explosions do. Fire spreads when there is both fuel and ignition, regardless of whether the ignition is purposeful or accidental. A clear message from the natural hazards literature is that you cannot do anything during the emergency period that you have not carefully thought through before the emergency. This paper reviews approaches to protection of cultural properties and the existing Hague Convention. It is proposed that a concerted effort be mounted by the professional conservation community to: 1) prepare guides on how to identify and document cultural properties important to the community; 2) descriptive manuals on how to protect cultural properties using easily available materials and techniques; 3) distributed them to the local communities likely to be impacted; and 4) provide limited technical resource teams to stabilize or repair after hostilities.

The impact of natural hazards on the health sector in the Caribbean: Implications for health sector planning

Abstract: In the last decade significant initiatives have been taken in the health sector with the view to better manage and respond to natural disaster emergencies. However, the recent hurricane disasters related to Hugo and Gilbert have highlighted many areas of health sector emergency planning still to be adressed. This paper briefly summarises the impact of recent natural disaster on the health sector in the Caribbean and comments on the performance of the sector during the emergencies. An effort is then made to detail what are the policy and programming issues to be tackled, if desired improvements are to be achieved.

"Bushfires Unite; Floods Divide": The Cultural Context of Disasters

Abstract: Towards the end of my 1987 year of fieldwork in the Forbes district, central western New South Wales, I jokingly commented that I needed a bushfire or a flood to see how social relations really operated. In August, 1990, while experiencing the peak of the winter's flooding on the property where I now live, I was reminded of my previous comment and asked what insights the floods had given me. While I pondered, a long time resident of the district who had experienced the three major floods of the latter half of the 20th century (1952, 1974 and 1990) commented: 'Bushfires bring people together; floods divide them.' Not yet having experienced a local bushfire, I was nevertheless impressed by this aphorism and its apparent suitability to some aspects of what I had seen. When invited to contribute to this conference, I consulted my newspaper file 'natural disasters' which consisted almost entirely of clippings covering the 1983 bushfires of South Australia and Victoria, and the aptness of the saying reverberated. My decision to take the maxim as the theme for this paper was clinched when I read Poiner's (1985) paper on bushfires where again the imagery of a unified community in the face of the destructive threat of fire resounds strongly. Yet flooding can be just as awesome and costly as fire. Why is an opposing imagery evoked for floods?

Analyses of Special Hazards and Flooding Problems in Tropical Island Environments

Abstract: Robert C MacArthur!, MASCE, Douglas L Hamilton, MASCE, Michael D Harvey3, MASCE and Hudson W Kekaula, MASCE Data and results summarized in this paper show that development of urban projects and design of flood control works in tropical island catchments must consider clear water flooding as well as special hazards such as landslides, flow bulking, high sediment concentrations, mud and debris flows and flow avulsions The needs for and methods to estimate peak flows, event volumes and the potential extent and depths of flooding during severe storm events in urbanizing tropical environments are described Introduction During the period from 1965 to 1985, floods were the number one cause of deaths and property damage by natural disasters in the United States (Rubin, et aI, 1986) Deaths and property losses from floods exceeded those caused by other natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, landslides and volcanoes These facts surprise many because floods are not usually thought to be significant causes of destruction and loss of life This lack of public awareness of the potential dangers of floods is itself a problem Rapidly urbanizing tropical island communities, such as Honolulu, Hawaii, are especially susceptible to flooding problems because of the rate at which urbanization is occurring, the lack of long-term continuous rainfall and runoff records to document past occurrences and the capability of severe tropical storms to produce high intensity, large volume rainfall events in relatively isolated catchments Traditional clear water hydraulic design procedures for flood control works can lead to undersizing of debris retention facilities by 10 to 100 times and flood conveyance channels by 3 to 10 times depending on event sequencing, the severity of the storm event and geomorphic characteristics of the basin The New Year's Eve Floods of 1987 in Southeast Oahu are good examples of events that weren't predicted to be excessively large or damaging However, within a 24 hour period it caused an estimated $35 million in damages to suburban areas Flood damages resulted from intense localized rainfall (exceeding 22 inches in some areas) Neither the meteorological lVice President Resource Consultants & Engrs • 1477 Drew Ave, Suite No107, Davis, CA 95616, UsA 2 Senior Project Engineer, 15991 Red Hill Avenue Suite 200, Tustin, CA 92680, USA 3 Vice President Resource Consultants & Engrs, PO Q Fort Collins, CO 80522, USA 4 Project Manager, US Army Corps of Engineers Pacific Ocean Division Building T-1 Fort Shafter HI 96858, USA 1061 Published in Hydraulic Engineering: Saving a Threatened Resource—In Search of Solutions: Proceedings of the Hydraulic Engineering sessions at Water Forum ’92 Baltimore, Maryland, August 2–6, 1992 Published by American Society of Civil Engineers 1062 HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING tracking capabilities nor the present flood control facilities proved adequate to predict or control the flooding Post flood investigations indicated that excessive runoff was accompanied by landslides and debris flows that all contributed to the failure of the flood control and drainage systems (Dracup, et ai, 1991)

Emergency medicine's involvement in disaster medicine

Abstract: Disasters may be classified as 'simple' or 'compound'. A 'simple' disaster is one in which the usual arrangements for casualty management are overstretched but the infrastructure, such as roads, power, water supply, hospitals, etc., remains intact. A 'compound' disaster occurs when the infrastructure is also deranged and commonly is associated with natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and tsunami, military conflict and major chemical or nuclear accidents. Emergency medicine can make a most effective contribution to simple disasters such as major road, rail and air crashes, building collapse and fire. In these instances good disaster planning, communications, transportation and triage can enable the emergency physician and his colleagues in anaesthesia, surgery, radiology, pathology, nursing, etc. to rise to the occasion with organized help for the surrounding area. In compound disasters emergency medicine has a significant but less dominant role to play, depending on the nature of the catastrophe. In major famine or flood and bacteriological viral disease epidemics, the skills of emergency medicine are rarely appropriate. However, in traumatic events such as e.arthquakes and volcanic eruptions, experience has shown that emergency medicine and allied specialties can have a significant part to play (Safar, 1976; Klein et al, 1989). The success of their intervention will depend on a number of factors over and above their normal clinical skills. These factors include: