scholarly journals The characteristics of the Mocoa compound disaster event, Colombia

Landslides ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1223-1232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deqiang Cheng ◽  
Yifei Cui ◽  
Fenghuan Su ◽  
Yang Jia ◽  
Clarence Edward Choi
Keyword(s):  
Compound Disaster ◽  
Disaster Event

Protecting Disaster Rescue and Recovery Workers

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dori B. Reissman ◽  
Maryann M. D’Alessandro ◽  
Lisa Delaney ◽  
John Piacentino
Keyword(s):  
Safety Management ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Medical Evaluation ◽  
Worker Education ◽  
Protection Strategies ◽  
Training Worker ◽  
Protective Strategies ◽  
Disaster Event ◽  
And Control ◽  
Diverse Groups

This chapter describes disaster worker protection strategies and health surveillance activities in terms of temporal phases to address disaster safety management before, during, and after a disaster event. The protective strategies discussed in the chapter integrate assessments of on-scene hazards and health or safety impacts and require pre-event planning and coordination across multiple entities. The chapter also addresses the integration of physical, psychological and behavioral health approaches. The chapter addresses the complexities of hazard assessment and control, worker education and training, worker illness and injury surveillance, and access to healthcare services, along with a box on community preparedness. These activities are performed by diverse groups of occupational and environmental health professionals. Various illustrative examples are presented to describe how basic concepts of protection and medical evaluation are applied in specific situations. The U.S. federal system for protecting disaster rescue and recovery workers is described in detail.

scholarly journals Spatial impact and triggering conditions of the exceptional hydro-geomorphological event of December 1909 in Iberia

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Pereira ◽  
A. M. Ramos ◽  
J. L. Zêzere ◽  
R. M. Trigo ◽  
J. M. Vaquero
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Extreme Event ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Meteorological Conditions ◽  
Pressure System ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Disaster Event

Abstract. According to the DISASTER database the 20–28 December 1909 event was the hydro-geomorphologic event with the highest number of flood and landslide cases that occurred in Portugal in the period 1865–2010 (Zêzere et al., 2014). This event also caused important social impacts over the Spanish territory, especially in the Douro Basin, having triggered the highest floods in more than 100 years at the river's mouth in the city of Oporto. This work has a dual purpose: (i) to characterize the spatial distribution and social impacts of the December 1909 hydro-geomorphologic DISASTER event over Portugal and Spain; (ii) to analyse the meteorological conditions that triggered the event and the spatial distribution of the precipitation anomalies. Social impacts that occurred in Portugal were obtained from the Disaster database (Zêzere et al., 2014) whereas the data collection for Spain was supported by the systematic analysis of Spanish daily newspapers. In addition, the meteorological conditions that triggered the event are analysed using the 20th Century Reanalysis data set from NOAA and precipitation data from Iberian meteorological stations. The Iberian Peninsula was spatially affected during this event along the SW-NE direction spanning from Lisbon, Santarém, Oporto, and Guarda (in Portugal), to Salamanca, Valladolid, Zamora, Orense, León, and Palencia (in Spain). In Iberia, 134 DISASTER cases were recorded (130 flood cases; 4 landslides cases) having caused 89 casualties (57 due to floods and 32 due to landslides) and a further total of 3876 affected people, including fatalities, injured, missing, evacuated, and homeless people. This event was associated with outstanding precipitation registered at Guarda (Portugal) on 22 December 1909 and unusual meteorological conditions characterized by the presence of a deep low-pressure system located over the NW Iberian Peninsula with a stationary frontal system striking the western Iberian Peninsula. The presence of an upper-level jet (250 hPa) and low-level jet (900 hPa) located SW–NE oriented towards Iberia along with upper-level divergence and lower-level convergence favoured large-scale precipitation. Finally, associated with these features it is possible to state that this extreme event was clearly associated with the presence of an elongated Atmospheric River, crossing the entire northern Atlantic Basin and providing a continuous supply of moisture that contributed to enhance precipitation. This work contributes to a comprehensive and systematic synoptic evaluation of the second most deadly hydro-geomorphologic DISASTER event that has occurred in Portugal since 1865 and will help to better understand the meteorological system that was responsible for triggering the event.

scholarly journals Stop going around in circles: towards a reconceptualisation of disaster risk management phases

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Bosher ◽  
Ksenia Chmutina ◽  
Dewald van Niekerk
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Disaster Risk Management ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
End Point ◽  
Management Concept ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
Disaster Event

PurposeThe way that disasters are managed, or indeed mis-managed, is often represented diagrammatically as a “disaster cycle”. The cyclical aspects of the disaster (risk) management concept, comprised of numerous operational phases, have, in recent years, been criticised for conceptualising and representing disasters in an overly simplistic way that typically starts with a disaster “event” – and subsequently leads onto yet another disaster. Such cyclical thinking has been proven to not be very useful for the complexities associated with understanding disasters and their risks. This paper aims to present an alternative conceptualisation of the Disaster Risk Management phases, in a way that can better factor in the underlying root causes that create differential levels of vulnerability.Design/methodology/approachThis is a conceptual paper developed, through a review of the literature and discussions between the authors, as a counterpoint to the pervasive “disaster cycle”.FindingsThe “Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Helix” is presented as an alternative way of conceptualising the DRM phases. The helictical conceptualisation of DRM phases presented in this paper is intentionally presented to start a discussion (rather than as an end point) on how best to move away from the constraints of the “disaster cycle”.Originality/valueIt is envisaged that the helictical conceptualisation of DRM can be suitably malleable to include important factors such as temporal considerations and the underlying root causes that create differential levels of vulnerability. It is, thus, the intention that the DRM Helix can provide a catalyst for exciting discussions and future adaptations of the diagram that can better capture the dynamic (non-cyclical) nature of disasters and their root causes.

scholarly journals Ebola Outbreak Response: The Role of Information Resources and the National Library of Medicine

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia B. Love ◽  
Stacey J. Arnesen ◽  
Steven J. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Resources ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Outbreak Response ◽  
National Library ◽  
Online Data ◽  
Journal Literature ◽  
The Us ◽  
Variation Database ◽  
Disaster Event

AbstractThe US National Library of Medicine (NLM) offers Internet-based, no-cost resources useful for responding to the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak. Resources for health professionals, planners, responders, and researchers include PubMed, Disaster Lit, the Web page “Ebola Outbreak 2014: Information Resources,” and the Virus Variation database of sequences for Ebolavirus. In cooperation with participating publishers, NLM offers free access to full-text articles from over 650 biomedical journals and 4000 online reference books through the Emergency Access Initiative. At the start of a prolonged disaster event or disease outbreak, the documents and information of most immediate use may not be in the peer-reviewed biomedical journal literature. To maintain current awareness may require using any of the following: news outlets; social media; preliminary online data, maps, and situation reports; and documents published by nongovernmental organizations, international associations, and government agencies. Similar to the pattern of interest shown in the news and social media, use of NLM Ebola-related resources is also increasing since the start of the outbreak was first reported in March 2014 (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-4)

Conduct a Scout Survey (Step 6)

2019 ◽  
pp. 111-114
Author(s):  
Edmund M. Ricci ◽  
Ernesto A. Pretto ◽  
Knut Ole Sundnes
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Data Collection Period ◽  
Local Officials ◽  
Collection Period ◽  
Disaster Event

We strongly recommend that a ‘scout survey’ of the disaster site be implemented prior to the initiation of the principal study, in order to obtain the types of detailed information required to prepare a research plan and a plan for working with a full research team during the data collection period. The scout survey step requires that one or two researchers go to the disaster site within two or three weeks following the disaster to prepare for a larger team visit, which would initiate work within two to three months post disaster. ‘Scout team’ visits are an essential mechanism for developing and/or revising the data collection instruments, for securing collaboration of local officials who will facilitate the study, for identifying key informants and members of the stakeholder group, and for obtaining background information needed for the sample design. We believe it is essential that the initial data collection be completed as soon as possible after the disaster event ends, in order to minimize memory loss. It is also of great importance that the primary data collection phase be conducted efficiently, within a period of approximately seven to ten days, although additional data may be added subsequent to the primary data collection period as the need for it becomes apparent. It is also likely that a data gathering effort, such as a survey involving large numbers of individuals, may continue after the main data collection team members have returned to their home institutions. The amount of thorough and detailed planning required to achieve the 7–10 day goal virtually mandates a pre-visit by a scout team.

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness of European Hospital Pharmacists: A Survey

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Laurence Schumacher ◽  
Pascal Bonnabry ◽  
Nicolas Widmer
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Internal Standard ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Hospital Pharmacists ◽  
Hospital Pharmacies ◽  
Standard Operating ◽  
Disaster Event ◽  
Post Disaster

ABSTRACT Objective: This study was focused on reviewing the emergency and disaster preparedness of European hospital pharmacists. Methods: An online survey based on International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) guidelines for natural disasters was sent to European hospital pharmacies, with the support of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists. Additional questions were added about the characteristics of respondents, as well as preparedness and experience of manmade disasters. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results. Results: Hospital pharmacists in France (20%) and Spain (19%) returned most of the 306 questionnaires completed in 27 countries. Half of the respondents had analyzed their regional disaster risk, but 65% had never practiced emergency drills. Fifteen percent of respondents had experienced at least 1 major emergency or disaster event in the last 5 years. Fifty-six percent of those respondents who experienced a disaster subsequently created and promoted internal standard operating procedures (SOPs) for future emergencies, versus 23% for those who had not experienced disasters. Among pharmacists having experienced disasters, 40% organized a post-disaster debriefing to improve their future response. Conclusions: Results highlighted that most European hospital pharmacists were not fully compliant with FIP guidelines. However, respondents who had experienced disasters were more likely to create and promote SOPs for future disasters. Further worldwide analysis and benchmarking are necessary, and FIP guidelines should be more strongly promoted.

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