Showing papers on "Natural disaster published in 2011"

Pre-Positioning of Emergency Items for CARE International

Abstract: Each year, about 500 natural disasters kill approximately 70,000 people and affect more than 200 million people worldwide. In the aftermath of such events, large quantities of supplies are needed to provide relief aid to the affected. CARE International is one of the largest humanitarian organizations that provide relief aid to disaster survivors. The most vital issues in disaster response are agility in mobilizing supplies and effectiveness in distributing them. To improve disaster response, a research group from Georgia Institute of Technology collaborated with CARE to develop a model to evaluate the effect that pre-positioning relief items would have on CARE's average relief-aid emergency response time. The model's results helped CARE managers to determine a desired configuration for the organization's pre-positioning network. Based on the results of our study and other factors, CARE has pre-positioned relief supplies in three facilities around the world.

Epidemics After Natural Disasters

Abstract: Epidemics of infectious disease are rare following natural disasters, especially in developed countries. Observations from previous natural disasters suggest that skin, diarrheal, and respiratory infections are the most common infectious diseases in survivors. The etiologies of disease outbreaks are usually predictable, reflecting infectious diseases endemic in the affected area before the disaster. Injury and soft tissue infections are expected during the first few days after a disaster. In contrast, airborne, water-borne, and food-borne diseases are anticipated for up to one month after a disaster. A feared consequence of natural disasters is the potential exposure to dead bodies, both human and animal. No evidence exists that exposure to bodies after a disaster leads to infectious disease epidemics. To be discussed are specific epidemics that have followed earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and drought. Preventative public health and safety measures aimed at attenuation of such epidemics will be reviewed.

Behavioral Model to Understand Household-Level Hurricane Evacuation Decision Making

Abstract: Hurricanes are one of the most costly natural disasters in the United States and have increased in frequency in the last few years. The critical role of evacuation, particularly for the vulnerable communities, has been realized from some disastrous evacuation experiences in recent hurricanes (for example, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005). Therefore, a thorough understanding of the determinants of evacuation behavior is needed to protect the loss of lives, especially in the vulnerable communities. However, a household’s decision-making process under a hurricane risk is a very complex process influenced by many factors. This paper presents a model of household hurricane evacuation behavior accounting for households’ heterogeneous behavior in decision making by using original data from Hurricane Ivan. It develops a mixed logit (also known as random-parameters logit) model of hurricane evacuation decision, where random parameters reflect the heterogeneous responses of households caused by a hurricane. We report several factors consistent with some of the previous findings, which are important for understanding household-level evacuation decision making. We also explain the varied influences of some of the determining variables on the hurricane evacuation decision.

Why Near-Miss Events Can Decrease an Individual's Protective Response to Hurricanes

Abstract: Prior research shows that when people perceive the risk of some hazardous event to be low, they are unlikely to engage in mitigation activities for the potential hazard. We believe one factor that can lower inappropriately (from a normative perspective) people's perception of the risk of a hazard is information about prior near-miss events. A near-miss occurs when an event (such as a hurricane), which had some nontrivial probability of ending in disaster (loss of life, property damage), does not because good fortune intervenes. People appear to mistake such good fortune as an indicator of resiliency. In our first study, people with near-miss information were less likely to purchase flood insurance, and this was shown for both participants from the general population and individuals with specific interests in risk and natural disasters. In our second study, we consider a different mitigation decision, that is, to evacuate from a hurricane, and vary the level of statistical probability of hurricane damage. We still found a strong effect for near-miss information. Our research thus shows how people who have experienced a similar situation but escape damage because of chance will make decisions consistent with a perception that the situation is less risky than those without the past experience. We end by discussing the implications for risk communication.

There is no such thing as a natural disaster

Abstract: When, in January 2011, two thirds of Queensland and significant areas of New South Wales and Victoria (in other words, much of eastern Australia) disappeared under flood waters, a catastrophe soon followed in February by the widespread havoc wrought by a huge force 5cyclone that ploughed into a 700-­‐kilometre stretch of the Queensland coast, both of these events were publicly framed as 'natural disasters'. This is hardly surprising. While some American evangelicals and Islamic fundamentalists might seek to discern divine agency in such catastrophes (albeit with varying diagnoses of the human ills that could have provoked such heavenly wrath), self-­respecting moderns are rightly reticent about attributing moral significance to the periodically unruly behaviour of earth and sky. For all that, though, the designation of the Queensland floods and Cyclone Yasi as 'natural disasters' was profoundly misleading, given that the intensity of both the precipitation event and subsequent cyclonic winds was directly related to the unprecedented warmth of the La Nina-affected oceans that are already heating up as a consequence of industrial modernity's rapidly rising CO2 emissions. In this paper, I propose to sketch the historical background to the emergence of the modern concept of natural disaster, which replaced earlier theocentric notions of divine intervention, before proceeding to consider how climate change is prompting a reconsideration of biblical witness to the complex entanglement of human, nonhuman and divine agencies in the aetiology of environmental catastrophe.

New Orleans business recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Abstract: Summary. We analyse decisions to reopen in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina made by business establishments on major business thoroughfares in New Orleans by using a spatial probit methodology. Our approach allows for interdependence between decisions to reopen by one establishment and those of its neighbours. There is a large literature on the role that is played by spatial dependence in firm location decisions, and we find evidence of strong dependence in decisions by firms to reopen in the aftermath of a natural disaster such as Hurricane Katrina. This interdependence has important statistical implications for how we analyse business recovery after disasters, as well as government aid programmes.

Intelligent disaster management system based on cloud-enabled vehicular networks

Abstract: The importance of emergency response systems cannot be overemphasized today due to the many manmade and natural disasters in the recent years such as September 2001 and the recent Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster. The overall cost of the Japan disaster alone is estimated to have exceeded 300 billion USD. Transportation and telecommunications play a critical role in disaster response and management in order to minimize loss of human life, economic cost and disruptions. Our research is concerned with developing emergency response systems for disasters of various scales with a focus on transportation systems which exploit ICT developments. In this paper, we leverage Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) including VANETs (Vehicular Ad hoc Networks), mobile and Cloud computing technologies to propose an intelligent disaster management system. The system is intelligent because it is able to gather information from multiple sources and locations, including from the point of incident, and is able to make effective strategies and decisions, and propagate the information to vehicles and other nodes in real-time. The effectiveness of our system is demonstrated through modelling the impact of a disaster on a real city transport environment and comparing it with the case where our disaster management system was in place. We report great benefits derived from the adoption of our proposed system in terms of improved and balanced traffic flow and smooth evacuation.

Access to Credit, Natural Disasters, and Relationship Lending

Abstract: This paper analyzes the effect of unpredictable aggregate shocks on loan demand and access to credit by combining client-level information from an Ecuadorian microfinance institution with geophysical data on natural disasters, more specifically volcanic eruptions. The results of this 'natural experiment' show that while credit demand increases due to volcanic activity, access to credit is restricted. Yet, we also find that bank-borrower relationships can lower these lending restrictions and that clients who are known to the institution are about equally likely to be approved for loans after volcanic eruptions occurred.

Community-based scenario modelling and disaster risk assessment of urban rainstorm waterlogging

Abstract: Scenario modelling and the risk assessment of natural disasters is one of the hotspots in disaster research. However, up until now, urban natural disaster risk assessments lack common procedures and programmes. This paper selects rainstorm waterlogging as a disaster to research, which is one of the most frequently occurring hazards for most cities in China. As an example, we used a small-scale integrated methodology to assess risks relating to rainstorm waterlogging hazards in the Jing’an District of Shanghai. Based on the basic concept of disaster risk, this paper applies scenario modelling to express the risk of small-scale urban rainstorm waterlogging disasters in different return periods. Through this analysis of vulnerability and exposure, we simulate different disaster scenarios and propose a comprehensive analysis method and procedure for small-scale urban storm waterlogging disaster risk assessments. A grid-based Geographical Information System (GIS) approach, including an urban terrain model, an urban rainfall model and an urban drainage model, was applied to simulate inundation area and depth. Stage-damage curves for residential buildings and contents were then generated by the loss data of waterlogging from field surveys, which were further applied to analyse vulnerability, exposure and loss assessment. Finally, the exceedance probability curve for disaster damage was constructed using the damage of each simulated event and the respective exceedance probabilities. A framework was also developed for coupling the waterlogging risk with the risk planning and management through the exceedance probability curve and annual average waterlogging loss. This is a new exploration for small-scale urban natural disaster scenario simulation and risk assessment.

Landscape ecology and urban biodiversity in tropical Indonesian cities

Abstract: Indonesia has recently been faced with a number of great problems: poverty, natural disasters such as tsunami, earthquakes, flooding and typhoons, volcanic eruptions, loss of biodiversity, decreasing water quality and quantity, increased pollution, and aesthetic degradation of the landscape. These disturbances have been caused by rapid changes in land use and land cover, deforestation, the application of monoculture farming systems in commercial agriculture, urbanization, industrialization, and other types of infrastructure development. The government, urban communities and companies have promoted some programs to ameliorate the problem of environmental degradation. The government has ratified law no. 26/2007 as a commitment to sustainability; this law ensures that cities are obliged to provide green open spaces covering a minimum of 30% of urbanized areas. Many metropolitan cities have feverishly enacted policies to promote greening programs, such as those applied in Jakarta. However, a new town—Sentul City—has engaged in policies that aim to create a well-designed eco-city with urban greenery and ecological networks. This new policy is supposed to herald a better future for urban quality. It is expected that green spaces will provide environmental services: water resource management, biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and landscape beauty.

Earthquakes : an epidemiological perspective on patterns and trends

Abstract: The unpredictable nature of earthquakes and the vast impact they can have makes them one of the most lethal kinds of natural disaster. Earthquakes have claimed an average of 27,000 lives a year since 1990, according to the data on reported deaths compiled by the EM-DAT International Disaster Database, which is maintained by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) at the Catholic University in Louvain, Belgium. The consequences of earthquake disasters vary around the globe, depending on the region and its economic development. Data shows that the number of earthquakes causing significant human and economic loss has increased since the 1970s, endorsing research into individual risk patterns which can provide important information for community-based preparedness programmes. Epidemiological analysis of earthquake impact data can be useful for evaluating impact patterns over space and time. However, the lack of standard definitions of exposure to risk of death or injury from earthquakes is an ongoing methodological obstacle and contributes to inaccuracies in calculations of rates and ratios for comparison purposes. Standardised definitions of deaths and injuries from disasters would improve understanding of earthquake-related risks.

Resilience, vulnerability and adaptive capacity of an inland rural town prone to flooding: a climate change adaptation case study of Charleville, Queensland, Australia

Abstract: Australia is currently experiencing climate change effects in the form of higher temperatures and more frequent extreme events, such as floods. Floods are its costliest form of natural disaster accounting for losses estimated at over $300 million per annum. This article presents an historical case study of climate adaptation of an Australian town that is subject to frequent flooding. Charleville is a small, inland rural town in Queensland situated on an extensive flood plain, with no significant elevated areas available for relocation. The study aimed to gain an understanding of the vulnerability, resilience and adaptive capacity of this community by studying the 2008 flood event. Structured questionnaires were administered in personal interviews in February 2010 to householders and businesses affected by the 2008 flood, and to institutional personnel servicing the region (n = 91). Data were analysed using appropriate quantitative and qualitative techniques. Charleville was found to be staunchly resilient, with high levels of organisation and cooperation, and well-developed and functioning social and institutional networks. The community is committed to remaining in the town despite the prospect of continued future flooding. Its main vulnerabilities included low levels of insurance cover (32% residents, 43% businesses had cover) and limited monitoring data to warn of impending flooding. Detailed flood modelling and additional river height gauging stations are needed to enable more targeted evacuations. Further mitigation works (e.g., investigate desilting Bradley’s Gully and carry out an engineering assessment) and more affordable insurance products are needed. Regular information on how residents can prepare for floods and the roles different organisations play are suggested. A key finding was that residents believe they have a personal responsibility for preparation and personal mitigation activities, and these activities contribute substantially to Charleville’s ability to respond to and cope with flood events. More research into the psychological impacts of floods is recommended. Charleville is a valuable representation of climate change adaptation and how communities facing natural disasters should organise and operate.

The Economics of Natural Disasters

Abstract: This review discusses the ways in which countries are affected by natural disasters, depending on their socioeconomic characteristics, their level of development, and their inherent levels of natural disaster risk. We also explore various aspects of ex ante disaster mitigation such as improvements in natural disaster risk information and natural disaster insurance markets, as well as ex post responses to natural disaster in the form of postdisaster aid and long-run growth prospects. By highlighting some of the recent findings in this literature, we synthesize what we know about the economics of natural disasters and identify research areas of interest for future work.

Natural Disasters: Triggers of Political Instability?

Abstract: This study engages with the question: Do different types of natural disasters—droughts, earthquakes, floods, storms, and others—trigger political instability? It revisits an ongoing debate over the...

Development of a Mechanism for Typhoon- and Flood-risk Assessment and Disaster Management in the Hotel Industry – A Case Study of the Hualien Area

Abstract: Taiwan is located both in the circum-Pacific seismic zone and sub-tropical regions. The special geographical and environmental characteristics of this location make the area prone to natural disasters triggered by earthquakes and typhoons. In recent years, there have been more than 200 recorded earthquakes and an average of 4.6 typhoons every year. Typhoons and floods have had a huge negative impact on the hotel industry almost every time they occur. For example, Typhoons Nari, Toraji (2001), Sinlaku (2008) and Morakot (2009) caused tremendous damage to the local hotel industry. Understanding the characteristics of such damage and its possible impact on the industry are very important for catastrophe risk management. Based on these concerns, the present study considers the damage characteristics in relation to Taiwan's hotel industry. Using modern conceptualizations of risk management, the characteristics of natural catastrophe risks are analyzed, and then integrated with relevant national and internation...

Cultural values and indigenous knowledge of climate change and disaster prediction in Rajasthan, India

Abstract: This paper provides a case study in which Indigenous knowledge and traditional stories relating to cloud formation, lightning, wind direction, rains, drought, disaster prediction, response, mitigation, and effects of weather on crops are applied in a contemporary context by the tribal peoples of Rajasthan, India. The state of Rajasthan falls in an area of high climate sensitivity, maximum vulnerability and low adaptive capacity. The study documents how individuals in these tribal communities (including Bhil, Meena, Banjara, Kathodi, Rabaris, Sansi and Kanjar ) perceive and manage natural disasters and extreme weather events, including their strategies for early detection of coming events and for coping with these events, as well as their perceptions of their short and long term impacts on biodiversity.

Community Resilience in Natural Disasters

Abstract: Introduction Indonesia D.Pelupessy, D.Bretherton & A.Ride Pakistan A.Bedar, D.Bretherton & A.Ride Solomon Islands A.Ride & D.Bretherton Kenya S.Knoll, V.Roos, D.Bretherton & A.Ride Myanmar W.Poussard & J.Hayter Community Resilience in Natural Disasters D.Bretherton & A.Ride

Using ground based radar interferometry during emergency: the case of the A3 motorway (Calabria Region, Italy) threatened by a landslide

Abstract: . The rapid assessment of the evolution of the phenomena which occur during an emergency, along with an all weather and h24 monitoring capability, are probably the main characteristics of a system aimed at optimizing intervention in natural disasters, such as landslide collapses. A few techniques are able to provide all these features remotely, hence assuring safe conditions to operators. This paper reports on an application of the GB-InSAR (Ground-Based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) technique to monitor a landslide threatening an infrastructure, the A3 motorway in the Calabria Region (Southern Italy), in emergency conditions. Here, it is evaluated how well this technique is able to satisfy these requirements. On 30 January 2009, a mass movement never detected before and located near Santa Trada viaduct caused the closure of that sector of the A3 motorway. The prompt installation of a GB-InSAR permitted to follow and to understand the temporal evolution of the landslide until the end of the emergency and then safely reopen of the motorway. The main steps of the GB-InSAR interferometry data interpretation used in managing this emergency are described and discussed here. In detail, data collected through a continuous acquisition have permitted the division of the unstable area into three smaller zones characterized by different extents of displacement.

Disaster in Bangladesh and management with advanced information system

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to document a case study of a disaster in Bangladesh and the role of an information management system for disaster management planning.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a methodology that considers perceptions or constructions – including the role of information systems – to be dependent on the social and cultural structures, which is helpful in reducing destruction in disaster‐prone areas.Findings – Advances in information technology in the form of the internet, geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, satellite communication, etc. are beneficial in many aspects of the planning and implementation of hazard reduction arrangements.Research limitations/implications – Natural disasters strike countries, both developed and developing, cause enormous destruction and create human suffering, and have negative impacts on national economies. Bangladesh suffers regularly and frequently from disasters like floods, cyclone storms, tidal surges, river bank erosion and ...

Toward a Resilience Model for the Hospitality & Tourism Industry

Abstract: The present research examines the impact of natural disasters on hospitality industry jobs and attempts to model job resilience after the industry experiences a disaster. While disasters are increasing at an unparalleled velocity, the hospitality industry has yet to fully appreciate their impact, reach, and consequences. Because the industry is a critical source of domestic economic activity, it is important to understand what happens to industry jobs post disaster and the mechanisms by which industry resilience is achieved. Using systems theory and a capital stock approach, our prior research supports our hypothesis: changes in hospitality industry jobs as a result of experiencing a natural disaster are a function of community resilience. Our regression results suggest characteristics such as creating and maintaining social networks of shared norms and values in a community help explain more changes in industry jobs than does the consequence of anatural disaster. This new model of resilience builds on co...

Do Local Elites Capture Natural Disaster Reconstruction Funds

Abstract: This paper examines the allocation of natural disaster reconstruction funds among cyclone victims in rural Fiji. During post-emergency periods, when good information about cyclone damage is available, do local elites, a powerful minority, capture housing construction materials? With effective targeting in both receipt and the amount received, local elites do not capture larger benefits. More severely affected victims are not early recipients, though, because the supply of reconstruction funds is limited during early periods. This invites early capture: Traditional kin elites receive benefits earlier than others in recipient villages.

Information Acquisition, Perception, Preference, and Convergence by Gulf Coast Residents in the Aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina Crisis

Abstract: On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated communities along the Gulf Coast, especially in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Rushing floodwaters breached inadequate levee systems, flooding parts of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Although New Orleans garnered most of the national media attention because of flooding following the storm, the coastline of Mississippi suffered even greater damage from the storm's wind and powerful storm surge. The cities of Waveland and Bay St. Louis were practically reduced to rubble while Pascagoula, Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach and Pass Christian suffered extreme damage, especially near the waterfront. The ferocious storm, which made landfall around the Waveland/Bay St. Louis area, had sustained winds of 120 mph, gusts up to 135 mph and an incredible storm surge of 28 feet. Forty-seven Mississippi counties were declared to be in a state of emergency, and about 800,000 residents across the state experienced power outages. Because of its 450-mile width, Hurricane Katrina caused damage for hundreds of miles in every direction (Knabb, Rhome, & Brown, 2006). The destruction, both physical and emotional, experienced by New Orleans residents is well-documented. The Mississippi Coast, however, was greatly underrepresented in the media coverage following the devastation (Scurfield, 2006). This opinion was expressed vividly by Dave Vincent, news director at WLOX in Biloxi: "People around the country ... can tell you about New Orleans, but most of them wouldn't have any idea about the Mississippi Gulf Coast being hit by a hurricane" (as cited in Sylvester, 2008, p. 106). In this study, we retrace Hurricane Katrina victims' information-seeking and uncertainty-reduction strategies as they sought to make practical decisions about what they should do in response to the hurricane. In particular, we focus our analysis on the role of media in helping the Mississippi residents engage in practical reasoning to determine appropriate actions during the recovery. We focus on Mississippi communities because, although they experienced extreme damage, they did not receive the degree of national media and federal agency attention given to Louisiana victims (Littlefield & Quenette, 2007). The fact that New Orleans's devastation overshadowed Mississippi's more extensive property damage created a situation in which Mississippi residents were forced to exercise considerably more effort to gather information than would normally have been the case. The communication constraints experienced by Mississippi residents provide an unusual and enlightening case for examining how natural disaster victims actively seek data on which to base decisions during a crisis recovery period. After crises such as hurricanes or tornados, residents seek advice about what actions they can take to "restore some sense of control over an uncertain and threatening situation" (Seeger, 2006, p. 242). In these cases, formulating warranted conclusions based on provisional and incomplete data really is a matter of life and death. Messages from media outlets and government agencies, focusing largely on self-efficacy or self-protection and recovery, serve as arguments that structure the reality of the crisis for survivors. In other words, the data provided by key sources and the warrants linking that data to recommended actions for self-protection and recovery guide survivors throughout a crisis. Arguments that resonate with crisis survivors have a tremendous influence upon how they perceive and respond to the crisis. Understanding the public's sentiments and their sources of influence after a crisis can serve as "the basis for adapting messages to the public's dynamic needs and for addressing public concerns" (Seeger, 2006, p. 239). Thus, an argumentation perspective enhances out understanding of crisis communication and contributes to the development of best practices for crisis responders. …

Hospital stockpiling for disaster planning

Abstract: In response to the increasing threat of terrorist attacks and natural disasters, governmental and private organizations worldwide have invested significant resources in disaster planning activities. This article addresses joint inventory stockpiling of medical supplies for groups of hospitals prior to a disaster. Specifically, the problem of determining the stockpile quantity of a medical item at several hospitals is considered. It is assumed that demand is uncertain and driven by the characteristics of a variety of disaster scenarios. Furthermore, it is assumed that hospitals have mutual aid agreements for inventory sharing in the event of a disaster. Each hospital's desire to minimize its stockpiling cost together with the potential to borrow from other stockpiles creates individual incentives well represented in a game-theoretic framework. This problem is modeled as a non-cooperative strategic game, the existence of a Nash equilibrium is proved, and the equilibrium solutions are analyzed. A centralized...

GIS mapping of tsunami vulnerability: Case study of the Jembrana regency in Bali, Indonesia

Abstract: The coastal zone is a precious area that sustains many people and various ecosystems of high biological and economic importance. However, ecosystems and human settlements in coastal regions can be vulnerable to natural disasters such as tsunamis. Around Indonesia, seismic activity under the Indian Ocean has caused frequent earthquakes and tsunamis. In this paper, we describe a GIS-based multi-criteria analysis of tsunami vulnerability for the Jembrana Regency in Bali, Indonesia. We used multiple geospatial variables of topographic elevation and slope, topographic relation to tsunami direction, coastal proximity, and coastal shape. We also incorporated expert knowledge by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to construct a weighting scheme for the geospatial variables. In order to examine tsunami vulnerability in relation to land use, we overlaid an official land-use map on the tsunami vulnerability map. Buildings as well as residential and agricultural areas were found to be particularly at risk in our study area. GIS-based analyses can aid in a wide range of disaster assessment and facilitate regional planning for management and mitigation of natural disasters such as tsunamis. We expect that the tsunami vulnerability map presented here will contribute to preliminary tsunami mitigation and management efforts in the Jembrana Regency.

Social supremacy and its role in local level disaster mitigation planning in Bangladesh

Abstract: Purpose – This paper aims to discuss issues related to disaster mitigation planning provisions in Bangladesh, one of the most disaster‐prone countries in Asia. It seeks to concentrate on the issues related to the role of local groups in establishing cyclone shelters.Design/methodology/approach – In February 2008, a field study was conducted in the Southwest coastal region of Bangladesh. Combining the most recent empirical data, the location of cyclone shelters and the social supremacy structure are explored in this paper. Vulnerability due to infrastructure is defined here on the basis of available infrastructural facilities i.e. cyclone shelters, by using catchment area analysis in the geographical information system (GIS) software ArcGIS. The paper bases its argument on the assumption that the location of an infrastructure item like a cyclone shelter is dependent on the influential and motivational power of local elites and not on the necessity of the deprived people. Vulnerability, from this perspectiv...

Human Response to Extreme Events: a review of three post-tsunami disaster case studies

Abstract: Investigating survivors' behaviour prior to, during and after a disaster provides emergency management agencies with greater understanding of the complexities which influence public response. This information can then be used to develop better community-based disaster risk-reduction strategies. In this paper, we review three post-tsunami disaster case studies: the Indian Ocean tsunami (IOT) on 26 December 2004, the Java tsunami on 17 July 2006 and the South Pacific tsunami on 29 September 2009. The 2004 IOT and 2006 Java tsunami surveys involved delayed-response post-disaster research using video interviewing. The 2009 South Pacific tsunami entailed rapid-response post-disaster research using questionnaire interviews. We highlight the major outcomes of each case study and, based on these, make recommendations for improving tsunami education programs in Australia. These include educating the public about tsunami risk, natural warning signs of tsunamis and regionally specific behavioural response. ...

School disaster planning for children with disabilities a critical review of the literature

Abstract: Human systems have to adapt to climate change and the natural disasters predicted to increase in frequency as a result. These disasters have both direct and indirect health effects. Certain groups, the poor, the elderly, children and those with disabilities are set to be more seriously impacted by disasters because of their greater inherent vulnerability. Adaptation to the health impacts of disasters requires the cooperation and input from all sectors of government and civil society, including schools. This critical literature review examined the body of peer reviewed literature published in English addressing school disaster planning policies with a particular focus on children with disabilities. Results show that children and youth with disabilities are especially vulnerable to disasters because of socioeconomic and health factors inherent to disabilities. While schools in the U.S. have policies to deal with disasters, these policies are neither comprehensive nor inclusive. The empirical evidence base from which they are developed is severely limited. No publications were identified that represent the current disaster planning of schools in countries like Australia, the UK or Canada. Recommendations for future research are outlined to bridge knowledge gaps and help establish appropriate and inclusive school disaster policies for children with disabilities.

Dual Disasters: Humanitarian Aid After the 2004 Tsunami

Abstract: The 2004 tsunami was massive in every respect: the earthquake that preceded it was one of the largest ever recorded, the number of people killed or displaced is estimated at well over a million, and the international community donated billions of dollars to the relief effort. In some cases the tsunami struck regions already embroiled in other kinds of catastrophes - violent conflict and poverty. The tsunami's presence not only wreaked havoc as a natural disaster, but it left an enduring mark on the political dynamics and power struggles of these places. Dual Disasters describes what happens when "man-made" and "natural" disasters meet. Focusing specifically on Indonesia and Sri Lanka, countries that had complex emergencies long before the tsunami arrived, Hyndman shows how the storm's arrival shifted the goals of international aid, altered relations between and within states and accelerated or slowed peacebuilding efforts. With updated comments on the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the book guides readers deftly through the multifaceted forces at work in modern humanitarian disasters.