Examining the Potential Impacts of Social Vulnerability on Damage Levels in Areas Affected by Hurricane Harvey

Author(s):  
Hui-Peng Liew ◽  
Nathan Eidem

Abstract To our knowledge, this is one of the pioneering studies that examined the associations between changes in different dimensions of social vulnerability from 2000 to 2016 on damage levels resulting from Hurricane Harvey. The empirical work was based on data obtained from the FEMA Modeled Building Damage Assessments Harvey 20170829 and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)’s Geospatial Research, Analysis & Services Program (GRASP). Results from linear mixed effects modeling and the spatial error and CAR models suggested that damage level was determined by certain aspects of social vulnerability; the level of damage increased with inundation depth, population aging, and the proportion of minority population. Efforts to promote resilience in natural disasters should focus on individuals living in areas characterized by increases in population aging and minority population. Results also revealed that certain processes associated with economic growth and urban development might affect an area’s resilience and susceptibility to natural disasters and the processes associated with disaster response and mitigation.

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Comunello ◽  
Lorenza Parisi ◽  
Valentino Lauciani ◽  
Federica Magnoni ◽  
Emanuele Casarotti

The main goal of this paper is analysing how user’s location, relative to the epicenter of an earthquake, affects the different tweeting strategies adopted. For this purpose, we analyze a dataset of tweets that were generated around the 2012 Emilia earthquakes and that are geolocalized in Italy. In our analysis, we rely on existing literature on social media and natural disasters, considering literature exploring interactions and influence on Twitter, and literature focusing on the role of geolocalized user-generated information in disaster response.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cobi Alison Smith

Crowdsourcing and open licensing allow more people to participate in research and humanitarian activities. Open data, such as geographic information shared through OpenStreetMap and image datasets from disasters, can be useful for disaster response and recovery work. This chapter shares a real-world case study of humanitarian-driven imagery analysis, using open-source crowdsourcing technology. Shared philosophies in open technologies and digital humanities, including remixing and the wisdom of the crowd, are reflected in this case study.


Author(s):  
Nrangwesthi Widyaningrum ◽  
Muhammad Sarip Kodar ◽  
Risma Suryani Purwanto ◽  
Agung Priambodo

Indonesia has the most complete types of disasters in the world such as floods, landslides, tidal waves, tornadoes, drought, forest and land fires, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, liquefaction and many more. Natural disasters that occur in Indonesia often just happen and it is not predictable when it will happen. This causes problems in handling natural disasters. Natural disaster management is not a matter of BNPB or BPBD, one important element is the involvement of the Indonesian National Army (TNI). One of Indonesia's regions that are vulnerable to natural disasters is Lampung Province. This research will describe how the role of the TNI in the case study in Korem 043 / Gatam in helping to overcome natural disasters in Lampung Province. The research method used in this research is qualitative research with a literature study approach. The role of the TNI in disaster management in Lampung Province is inseparable from the duties and functions of the TNI that have been mandated in Law Number 34 of 2004. Korem 043 / Gatam has taken strategic steps both from the pre-disaster, disaster response, and post-disaster phases . TNI involvement in the process of disaster management does not stand alone, but cooperates and synergizes with local governments.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Moradi ◽  
Simintaj Sharififar ◽  
Seyyed- Javad Hosseini Shokouh

Abstract Background: Healthcare centers, as the primary organizations involved in the occurrence of unexpected events, require to identify significant and influential motivational factors in the creation of willingness and, consequently, the ability of health personnel and staff (nurses) to respond to critical situations as the main organizational assets. This study was designed with the aim to determine the factors affecting the willingness and ability of nurses to deal with various disasters in Tehran hospitals.Methods: This research is a cross-sectional study. The instrument used is a researcher-made questionnaire, which consists of three parts of demographic information, evaluation of the level of nurses' willingness and ability to respond to various disasters, and obstacles to continuing to work in disasters.Results: A total of 308 questionnaires were completed. 39.3% of participants were female, and 60.7% of them were male. The level of willingness and ability of participants to continue working in crisis indicates that the highest willingness and ability are associated with natural disasters (floods, earthquakes), and the lowest willingness and ability are related to participating in response to the disease epidemic. The prioritization of the participants in this study in connection with the most critical barriers to responding to the crisis demonstrated that caring for children in natural disasters and Mass Casualty Incident, concern for family health in chemical disasters, fear of contamination in nuclear disasters, and fear of Infection in epidemic of diseases are among the most important obstacles. In examining the factors influencing the willingness and ability of research units to participate in disaster response raised, the factors of gender, age, marital status, and health level of individuals affected the level of willingness and ability of individuals. Besides, the components of income level, care for the elderly, and care for the disabled have only been influential on the willingness of people to participate in disaster response.Conclusion: The professional preparation of health care personnel to perform their duties in critical conditions is essential. Hence, preventive measures to minimize the risk and strengthen the ethical obligations of employees in this profession in crises will be beneficial.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mar Llorente-Marrón ◽  
Montserrat Díaz-Fernández ◽  
Paz Méndez-Rodríguez ◽  
Rosario González Arias

The study of vulnerability constitutes a central axis in research work on sustainability. Social vulnerability (SV) analyzes differences in human capacity to prepare, respond and recover from the impact of a natural hazard. Although disasters threaten all the people who suffer from them, they do not affect all members of society in the same way. Social and economic inequalities make certain groups more vulnerable. Factors such as age, sex, social class and ethnic identity increase vulnerability to a natural disaster. Ten years after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, this work deepens the relationship between natural disasters, SV and gender, exploring the unequal distribution of the SV in the face of a seismic risk. The source of statistical information has been obtained from the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), developed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Multicriteria decision techniques (TOPSIS) and the differences in differences (DID) technique are used to analyze variations in gender inequality in SV as a result of the catastrophic event. The results obtained reinforce the idea of the negative impact of the disaster on the SV. Additionally, an intensification of the negative effects is observed when the household is headed by a woman, increasing the gap in SV between households headed by women and the rest of the households. The conclusions obtained show additional evidence of the negative effects caused by natural disasters on women, and important implications for disaster risk management are derived that should not be ignored.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s4-s5
Author(s):  
Matteo Paganini ◽  
Luca Ragazzoni ◽  
Fabio Rossitto ◽  
Aurora Vecchiato ◽  
Rita Bonfini ◽  
...  

Introduction:After Action Reports analyze events and recommend actions to facilitate preparedness and response to future similar disasters. However, there is no consensus among the templates developed to collect data during disasters and little is known about how to report hospital responses.Aim:The hypothesis was that the use of a new assessment tool for hospital response to natural disasters facilitates the systematic collection of data and the delivery of a scientific report after the event.Methods:A data collection tool, focused on hospital response to natural disasters, was created modifying the “Utstein-Style Template for Uniform Data Reporting of Acute Medical Response in Disasters”,1 and tested the reaction of the hospitals involved in the response to the Central Italy earthquake on August 24th, 2016.Results:Four hospitals were included. The completion rate of the tool was of 97.10%. A total of 613 patients accessed the four emergency departments, most of them in Rieti hospital (178; 29.04%). Three hundred and thirty – six patients were classified as earthquake-related (54.81%), most of which with trauma injuries (260; 77.38%).Discussion:The new reporting tool proved to be easy to use and allowed to retrospectively reconstruct most (97.10%) of the actions implemented by hospital responders. Details about activation, patient fluxes, times, and actions undertaken were easily reconstructed throughout in-field interviews of hospital managers and patients’ charts. Patients were uniformly distributed across the four hospitals, and the hospital capabilities were able to cope with this mass influx of casualties. The Modified Utstein Template for Hospital Disaster Response Reporting is a valid tool for hospital disaster management reporting. This template could be used for a better comprehension of hospital disaster reaction, debriefing activities, and revisions.


2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Luis M. Pinet-Peralta, PhD ◽  
Rick Bissell, PhD ◽  
Katrina Hein, BSc, MSc ◽  
David Prakash, MSc

Every year, natural hazards kill and injure hundreds of people and also have significant social, economic, and political effects on society. However, not all disasters or crises are the focus of state, regional, or national efforts to mitigate their effects. In this article, the authors use Wilson’s policy typology to describe the unintended consequences that disaster legislation has had on the distribution of costs and benefits of disaster relief programs in the United States. The data provide evidence that the concentration of disaster relief programs for natural disasters is not based on need and that interest groups commonly drive disaster policies to benefit those with the greatest risk for losses rather than those in greatest need. Policymakers can use this information to examine both intended and unintended consequences of disaster response and recovery policies and can orient the limited resources available toward those who are least capable of recovering from natural disasters.


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