scholarly journals Retracing Realistic Disaster Scenarios from Archival Sources: A Key Tool for Disaster Risk Reduction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bashir Ahmad ◽  
Akhtar Alam ◽  
M. Sultan Bhat ◽  
Khurshid Ahmad Bhat ◽  
Jeelani Inaam ul Haq ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Related Risk ◽  
Political Economic

AbstractDisaster scenarios are constructed by integrating natural hazard phenomena and social science sources of information. We profiled 51 natural hazard events of nineteenth century Kashmir that provide insights into the impacts of varying degree of severity that spread through the socioeconomic and political systems, influenced adaptation, and increased the consequences of the resulting disasters. The root cause of these disasters was embedded in the social, natural, and political economic systems of their time, where vulnerabilities overlapped and interacted periodically with successive colonial regimes and acted as tipping points. The combined effect of successive colonial regimes, inept administration, rigid political economy, and natural hazards made the situation go from bad to worse and reduced Kashmir to the depths of distress and subjugation. Over the arc of the nineteenth century, a series of disasters led the Kashmiri population to learn how to live with disasters and minimize risk, bringing about the evolution of social and environmental knowledge. Understanding the natural hazard vulnerability of the Kashmir Valley through archival narratives can help in scenario building to translate findings into formats that reduce related risk now as it did then. The resulting information can be useful for regional design, planning, and policy responses to promote disaster risk reduction.

Multiple-hazards and their interactions in urban low-to-middle income countries: a case study from Nairobi

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce D. Malamud ◽  
Emmah Mwangi ◽  
Joel Gill ◽  
Ekbal Hussain ◽  
Faith Taylor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Soil Subsidence ◽  
Ground Collapse

<p>Global policy frameworks, such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, increasingly advocate for multi-hazard approaches across different spatial scales. However, management approaches on the ground are still informed by siloed approaches based on one single natural hazard (e.g. flood, earthquake, snowstorm). However, locations are rarely subjected to a single natural hazard but rather prone to more than one. These different hazards and their interactions (e.g. one natural hazard triggering or increasing the probability of one or more natural hazards), together with exposure and vulnerability, shape the disaster landscape of a given region and associated disaster impact.  Here, as part of the UK GCRF funded research grant “Tomorrow’s Cities” we first map out the single natural hazardscape for Nairobi using evidence collected through peer-reviewed literature, grey literature, social media and newspapers. We find the following hazard groups and hazard types present in Nairobi: (i) geophysical (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides), (ii) hydrological (floods and droughts), (iii) shallow earth processes (regional subsidence, ground collapse, soil subsidence, ground heave), (iv) atmospheric hazards (storm, hail, lightning, extreme heat, extreme cold), (v) biophysical (urban fires), and vi) space hazards (geomatic storms, and impact events). The breadth of single natural hazards that can potentially impact Nairobi is much larger than normally considered by individual hazard managers that work in Nairobi. We then use a global hazard matrix to identify possible hazard interactions, focusing on the following interaction mechanisms: (i) hazard triggering secondary hazard, (ii) hazards amplifying the possibility of the secondary hazard occurring.  We identify 67 possible interactions, as well as some of the interaction cascade typologies that are typical for Nairobi (e.g. a storm triggers and increases the probability of a flood which in turn increases the probability of a flood). Our results indicate a breadth of natural hazards and their interactions in Nairobi, and emphasise a need for a multi-hazard approach to disaster risk reduction.</p>

Natural Hazards and Their Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dewald van Niekerk ◽  
Livhuwani David Nemakonde
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Hazard Management ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Sub Saharan

The sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region, along with the rest of the African continent, is prone to a wide variety of natural hazards. Most of these hazards and the associated disasters are relatively silent and insidious, encroaching on life and livelihoods, increasing social, economic, and environmental vulnerability even to moderate events. With the majority of SSA’s disasters being of hydrometeorological origin, climate change through an increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events is likely to exacerbate the situation. Whereas a number of countries in SSA face significant governance challenges to effectively respond to disasters and manage risk reduction measures, considerable progress has been made since the early 2000s in terms of policies, strategies, and/or institutional mechanisms to advance disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management. As such, most countries in SSA have developed/reviewed policies, strategies, and plans and put in place institutions with dedicated staffs and resources for natural hazard management. However, the lack of financial backing, limited skills, lack of coordination among sectors, weak political leadership, inadequate communication, and shallow natural hazard risk assessment, hinders effective natural hazard management in SSA. The focus here is on the governance of natural hazards in the sub-Saharan Africa region, and an outline of SSA’s natural hazard profile is presented. Climate change is increasing the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events, thus influencing the occurrence of natural hazards in this region. Also emphasized are good practices in natural hazard governance, and SSA’s success stories are described. Finally, recommendations on governance arrangements for effective implementation of disaster risk reduction initiatives and measures are provided.

A Burning Problem: Social Dynamics of Disaster Risk Reduction through Wildfire Mitigation

2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Charnley ◽  
Melissa R. Poe ◽  
Alan A. Ager ◽  
Thomas A. Spies ◽  
Emily K. Platt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Fire Hazard ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Hazard Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazard Mitigation ◽  
The Social

Disasters result from hazards affecting vulnerable people. Most disasters research by anthropologists focuses on vulnerability; this article focuses on natural hazards. We use the case of wildfire mitigation on United States Forest Service lands in the northwestern United States to examine social, political, and economic variables at multiple scales that influence fire hazard and risk reduction treatments and their effectiveness. Variables highlighted include policy direction to prioritize wildfire risk reduction in the wildland-urban interface, laws and policies that make treating fuels in some national forest land management allocations challenging, social and political constraints on using prescribed fire, agency budget and target pressures, and integrating fire hazard reduction into forest management projects having multiple objectives. These variables compromise the effectiveness of wildfire mitigation treatments. Understanding the social dynamics of natural hazard mitigation is important because they affect its outcomes, creating differential exposure to natural hazards—one component of social vulnerability. Interdisciplinary research to identify how the social dynamics of natural hazard mitigation influence hazard reduction outcomes can contribute to more informed and effective approaches to disaster risk reduction.

scholarly journals Brief communication: Strengthening coherence between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction through policies, methods and practices in Europe

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Mysiak ◽  
Sergio Castellari ◽  
Blaz Kurnik ◽  
Rob Swart ◽  
Patrick Pringle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Climate Risk Management

Abstract. Reducing natural hazard risks and adapting to climate change are ever more important policy goals. Sound climate risk management will lessen the impacts of disaster risks and contribute to boosting resilience. Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction have to some extent been mainstreamed into international and national policies but it is important to ensure that the resulting efforts are consistent and mutually supportive. The EEA report »Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in Europe: enhancing coherence of the knowledge base, policies and practices« identifies several ways how the coherence between CCA and DRR can be promoted.

Natural Hazards Governance in Algeria

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Djillali Benouar
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Risk Governance ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
The Government

Natural hazard governance has become complicated. This is because many recent disasters had the biggest impact in urban areas with a large concentration of people heavily dependent on infrastructure and services. The rapid urbanization, population increase, development of critical engineering works, industrialization of cities with modern types of buildings, and the concentration of population living in hazardous areas are matter of growing concern, as they are likely to contribute to heavier loss of life and increasing economic losses in future disaster damage. The El-Asnam (formerly Orléansville) earthquake of October 10, 1980 (Ms 7.4) raised the awareness of both the Algerian government and the civil society of the need for disaster risk reduction policy. Since then, disaster risk reduction has been on the agenda of the government programs, and concrete measures have been undertaken in organization, legislation, institutions, training, education, communication, and information. The government has made significant efforts to improve the natural hazard governance. It has made a substantial impact on academic research and higher education in some disciplines of engineering and natural science in the country’s largest universities. Risk governance for natural hazard in Algeria will be seen here in light of the implementation mechanisms, the main achievements and progress, the new legal and regulatory tools and mechanisms, and cooperation aspects. In conclusion there will be a discussion about global evaluation and perspectives.

scholarly journals Exposure to natural hazard events unassociated with policy change for improved disaster risk reduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Nohrstedt ◽  
Maurizio Mazzoleni ◽  
Charles F. Parker ◽  
Giuliano Di Baldassarre
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Event Frequency ◽  
The World ◽  
Robust Result

AbstractNatural hazard events provide opportunities for policy change to enhance disaster risk reduction (DRR), yet it remains unclear whether these events actually fulfill this transformative role around the world. Here, we investigate relationships between the frequency (number of events) and severity (fatalities, economic losses, and affected people) of natural hazards and DRR policy change in 85 countries over eight years. Our results show that frequency and severity factors are generally unassociated with improved DRR policy when controlling for income-levels, differences in starting policy values, and hazard event types. This is a robust result that accounts for event frequency and different hazard severity indicators, four baseline periods estimating hazard impacts, and multiple policy indicators. Although we show that natural hazards are unassociated with improved DRR policy globally, the study unveils variability in policy progress between countries experiencing similar levels of hazard frequency and severity.

scholarly journals Sustaining a Transformative Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy: Grandmothers’ Telling and Singing Tsunami Stories for over 100 Years Saving Lives on Simeulue Island

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (21) ◽  
pp. 7764
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Sutton ◽  
Douglas Paton ◽  
Petra Buergelt ◽  
Saut Sagala ◽  
Ella Meilianda
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Transformational Change ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Transformative Change

As projections about the number and scale of natural hazard events and their impact on human populations grow, increasing attention is being paid to developing effective means for preparing for and mitigating those impacts. At the same time there is an emerging understanding that gradual and incremental changes in disaster risk reduction (DRR) will not adequately meet the future needs of vulnerable populations. Transformational changes have been identified as a necessary requirement to avoid ongoing large-scale losses of life and property and models have been proposed to recalibrate DRR strategies to achieve transformative changes. One cited example of a transformative change in DRR is that of Simeulue Island. Simeulue Island suffered two tsunamis approximately 100 years apart (1907, 2004) with markedly different impacts. This paper looks in detail at the cognitive and developmental mechanisms Simeulue co-opted to sustain the transformational change throughout the 20th century. Information from interviews and observation identified the role of grandmothers have in the effective communication of risk as well as motivating appropriate action to save lives. The possibility of similarly overlooked, local, and pre-existing community capacities for transformative change in DRR is then discussed.

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