scholarly journals StEER: A Community-Centered Approach to Assessing the Performance of the Built Environment after Natural Hazard Events

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Kijewski-Correa ◽  
David B. Roueche ◽  
Khalid M. Mosalam ◽  
David O. Prevatt ◽  
Ian Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Performance Study ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Engineering Research ◽  
The Impact

Since its founding in 2018, the Structural Extreme Events Reconnaissance (StEER) Network has worked to deepen the capacity of the Natural Hazards Engineering (NHE) community for coordinated and standardized assessments of the performance of the built environment following natural hazard events. This paper positions StEER within the field of engineering reconnaissance and the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI), outlining its organizational model for coordinated community-led responses to wind, seismic, and coastal hazard events. The paper’s examination of StEER’s event response workflow, engaging a range of hardware and delivering a suite of products, demonstrates StEER’s contributions in the areas of: workflow and data standardization, data reliability to enable field-observation-driven research & development, efficiency in data collection and dissemination to speed knowledge sharing, near-real- time open data access for enhanced coordination and transparency, and flexibility in collaboration modes to reduce the “overhead” associated with reconnaissance and foster broad NHE community engagement in event responses as part of field and virtual assessment structural teams (FAST/VAST). StEER’s creation of efficient systems to deliver well-documented, reliable data suitable for diverse re-uses as well as rapidly disseminated synopses of the impact of natural hazard events on the built environment provide a distinctive complement to existing post-event reconnaissance initiatives. The implementation of these policies, protocols and workflows is then demonstrated with case studies from five events illustrating StEER’s different field response strategies: the Nashville, Tennessee Tornadoes (2020) – a Hazard Gradient Survey; the Palu Earthquake and Tsunami in Indonesia (2018) – a Representative Performance Study; the Puerto Rico Earthquakes (2019/2020) – using Targeted Case Studies; Hurricane Laura (2020) – leveraging Rapid Surveys to enable virtual assessments; and Hurricane Dorian (2019) in the Bahamas – a Phased Multi-Hazard Investigation. The use of these strategies has enabled StEER to respond to 36 natural hazard events, involving over 150 different individuals to produce 45 published reports/briefings, over 5000 publicly available app-based structural assessments, and over 1600 km (1000 mi) of street-level panoramic imagery in its first 2years of operation.

United Arab Emirates

2011 ◽  
pp. 65-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamdan Al Ghasyah Dhanhani ◽  
Angus Duncan ◽  
David Chester
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Tropical Storms ◽  
Clear Delineation ◽  
The Impact

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has more exposure to natural hazards than has been previously recognized. In the last 20 years the UAE has been subject to earthquakes, landslides, floods and tropical storms. This chapter examines the structure and procedures for management of natural disasters in the UAE, in particular issues of governance, accountability and communication within states that are part of a federal system. The study involved interviews with officials at both federal and emirate levels and case studies are presented of the impact of recent natural hazard events. Two emirates were selected for more detailed examination, Fujairah the most hazard prone and a rural emirate and Dubai which is a highly urbanized emirate which has undergone rapid development. There is now increasing awareness of natural hazards in the UAR and progress is being made at regional and federal levels. There needs to be a clear delineation between regional and federal roles and an understanding of the need for effective channels of information to relevant agencies.

Impact of natural hazards on the evolving COVID-19 pandemic: cases from Greece

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Mavrouli ◽  
Spyridon Mavroulis ◽  
Efthymios Lekkas
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Local Population ◽  
World Health ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Hydrological Hazards ◽  
Eastern Aegean ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Post Disaster

<p>The first confirmed COVID-19 case was reported in December 2019. Over the first months of 2020, the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus was spread worldwide resulting in the declaration on March 11, 2020 of a global COVID-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization. The evolving pandemic has resulted in over 1900000 fatalities worldwide (as of January 8, 2021), while all sectors of the everyday life has been affected in numerous and varied ways. Natural hazards did not stop for the novel coronavirus. When the natural hazards cross the path of an evolving pandemic, compound emergencies emerge and are characterized by various effects and new unprecedented challenges.</p><p>Greece was no exception. Geological, hydrological and meteorological hazards took place in several parts of the country and they affected the local population, the natural and the built environment including buildings, infrastructures and lifelines. Among the most destructive effects in terms of human and economic losses was the March 21, 2020, Mw=5.7, Epirus (northwestern Greece) earthquake, the August 9, 2020, Evia (central Greece) flood, the September 17, 2020, Ianos medicane and the October 30, 2020, Mw=7.0, Samos (Eastern Aegean Sea) earthquake.</p><p>In order to identify the potential impact of the aforementioned disasters on the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in the disaster-affected areas, the officially reported laboratory-confirmed daily COVID-19 cases for the pre- and post- disaster periods from the disaster-affected areas were used. The impact of disasters in the evolution of the pandemic in the studied disaster-affected areas comprises increasing and decreasing trends and stability of the COVID-19 cases during the post-disaster period. More specifically, the geological and the hydrological hazards and the induced disasters negligibly affected the evolution of pandemic in the affected areas, while the hydrometeorological hazards resulted in increasing trends of the post-disaster reported COVID-19 cases in various affected areas.</p><p>The detected trends are strongly associated with the pre-existing viral load and infection rate in the disaster-affected areas, to the emergency response actions adapted to adopt provisional measures for the mitigation and elimination of COVID-19 consequences, to demographic features of the affected areas and to the intensity of the induced disasters and their effects on the local population (fatalities and injuries), the natural environment (primary and secondary environmental effects) and the built environment (structural damage to buildings, infrastructures and lifelines).</p>

scholarly journals Natural Hazards and the press in the western Mediterranean region

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 81-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Llasat-Botija ◽  
M. C. Llasat ◽  
L. López
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Western Mediterranean ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Press Coverage ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Press ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. This study analyses press articles published between 1982 and 2005 in an attempt to describe the social perception of natural hazards in Catalonia. The articles included in the database have been classified according to different types of risk. In addition, the study examines the evolution of each type of risk in the press coverage during the study period. Finally, the results have been compared to data provided by insurance companies with respect to compensations paid out for damages. Conclusions show that floods are the most important natural hazard in the region, but that the number of headlines for each event is greater in the case of snowfalls and forest fires. Factors such as the season of the year, the proximity of the affected region to the capital, the topical issues at the time, and the presence of other important news must be considered when the impact in the press is analysed.

scholarly journals IMPACT OF SPATIAL PLANNING FOR THE COST AND VALUE OPTIMIZATION IN BUILT ENVIRONMENT AGAINST NATURAL HAZARDS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A.C.D. Jayalath ◽  
◽  
P.A.P.V.D.S. Disaratna ◽  
K.T. Withanage ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Public Money ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact

Spatial planning is managing the environmental, social and economic dimensions of development. Today the built environment suffers from a lot of natural hazards, resulted due to poor concentration over the environmental, social and economic aspects. Magnitudes and frequencies of these natural hazards has shifted from bad to worst in the recent past. Therefore, economic cost of these hazards has increased, and governments has been compelled to spend large amounts of public money to overcome these impacts on the built environment. Thus, in Sri Lankan context, these circumstances warrant the need to have a sustainable and realistic approach for the spatial planning in the built environment. Hence, the aim of this research was to enhance the cost and value efficiency in built environment against natural hazards through proper spatial planning in Sri Lankan context. Research was conducted mainly based on a questionnaire survey following the mixed research approach. Study identified the impact of poor spatial planning in the built environment in Sri Lankan context and study imparted set of guidelines to ensure effective spatial planning in the built environment in order to minimize the impact of adverse natural hazards. Finally, study concluded that, in order to establish a paradigm shift emphasizing the importance of effective spatial planning in the built environment, it is essential to have a clear understanding on natural process and other socio-economic concerns of the country.

Inventory and preliminary assessment of natural hazards in Kigezi highlands, South Western Uganda

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violet Kanyiginya ◽  
Ronald Twongyirwe ◽  
Grace Kagoro ◽  
David Mubiru ◽  
Matthieu Kervyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Satellite Image ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Landscape Characteristics ◽  
Western Uganda ◽  
The Impact

<p>Uganda is regularly affected by multiple natural hazards, including floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides and windstorms. This is due to a combination of natural biophysical factors such as steep topography, intense rainfall, variability of dry and rain seasons and high weathering rates. In addition, high population density, deforestation and other human-induced land use changes, and high poverty levels are believed to have an influence on the patterns of natural hazards and their impacts in the region. Despite this, there are limited studies that assess where and when natural hazards occur in Uganda, and a dearth of information on the processes involved. In addition, drivers and earth/landscape characteristics controlling the occurrence of natural hazards in the country remain poorly understood despite the high need for effective disaster risk reduction. Here, we present the ongoing methodological research framework and the first results of a study whose main objective is to understand the spatial and temporal occurrence of natural hazards that affect the Kigezi Highlands of south western Uganda and their interactions. To this end, the study is undertaking a comprehensive regional hazard inventory consisting of satellite image analysis, field surveys and exploration of literature and archives. Historical aerial photos and interviews with the elderly are important tools to analyze the impact of multi-decadal human-induced land use changes on natural hazard occurrences. Meanwhile, a network of 15 geo-observers, i.e. citizens of local communities distributed across representative landscapes of the study area, was established in December 2019. Trained at using smartphone technology, they collect information (processes and impacts) on seven different natural hazards (droughts, earthquakes, floods, hailstorms, landslides, lightning, and windstorms) whenever they occur.  During the first 12 months, 204 natural hazard events with accurate timing information have been reported by the geo-observers. Combined to field survey, these recent events have been associated mainly with the occurrence of > 3000 shallow landslides and 30 floods, frequently in co-occurrence and triggered by heavy rainfall. Additional inventory from Google Earth and Planet imagery covering a region much larger than that of the geo-observer network and a time window of more than 10 years shows an extra 230 landslide and flood occurrences, while archives and literature indicate 226 natural hazard events over the last 30 years. The preliminary results already demonstrate the value of citizen-science in producing highly detailed natural hazard inventory. A combination of different inventory methods improves the level of accuracy in understanding the spatial-temporal distribution of natural hazards.</p>

Imitation of Life and the Depiction of Suburban Space

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria L. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
General Context ◽  
American City ◽  
Color Line ◽  
World War ◽  
The Impact

After some discussion of the impact of the automobile on the shape of the twentieth-century American city, Chapter 4 ("Imitation of Life and the Depiction of Suburban Space") contrasts John Stahl's 1934 adaptation with Sirk's 1959 cinematic version of Fanny Hurst's best-selling 1933 novel. Among other things, this comparison shows how the director has inscribed the "color line" that divided African-Americans from whites after World War II into Lora Meredith's leafy suburb in the later remake. The historically informed interpretation of the built environment that supports this conclusion also establishes the general context for the final section of this book, which consists of two architectural case studies that are each devoted to one particularly significant film.

The Impact of Natural Hazards on Older Adult Health: Lessons Learned From Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Elizabeth L. Andrade ◽  
Megan Jula ◽  
Carlos E. Rodriguez-Diaz ◽  
Lauren Lapointe ◽  
Mark C. Edberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Preparedness Planning ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objective: With natural hazards increasing in frequency and severity and global population aging, preparedness efforts must evolve to address older adults’ risks in disasters. This study elucidates potential contributors to the elevated older adult mortality risk following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico through an examination of community stakeholder preparedness, response, and recovery experiences. Methods: In April 2018, qualitative interviews (n = 22) were conducted with stakeholders in 7 Puerto Rican municipalities. Interview transcripts were deductively and inductively coded and analyzed to identify salient topics and themes representing participant response patterns. Results: The hurricane’s detrimental impact on older adult health emerged as a prominent finding. Through 6 months post-hurricane, many older adults experienced unmet needs that contributed to declining physical and emotional health, inadequate non-communicable disease management, social isolation, financial strain, and excess morbidity and mortality. These needs were predominantly consequences of lengthy public service gaps, unsafe living conditions, interrupted health care, and the incongruence between preparedness and event severity. Conclusions: In a landscape of increasing natural hazard frequency and magnitude, a pattern of older adult risk has become increasingly clear. Study findings compel practitioners to engage in natural hazard preparedness planning, research, and policy-making that considers the multiple facets of older adult well-being.

California’s Natural Hazard Zonation Policies for Land-Use Planning and Development

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles R. Real ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Emergency Operation ◽  
Critical Function ◽  
General Plan ◽  
The Impact

California has established state-level policies that utilize knowledge of where natural hazards are more likely to occur to enhance the effectiveness of landuse planning as a tool for risk mitigation. These policies set minimum standards for local government, and range from State designation of regulatory natural hazard zones to requirements that cities and counties include a Safety Element in their General Plan that evaluates their exposure to earthquakes, wildfires, floods, and other natural hazards, and to prepare a federal Local Mitigation Plan to reduce the risk. Such requirements placed on local government are enforced by potential liability for losses for failure to act, and the potential ineligibility for disaster relief funds should a catastrophic event occur. Building codes have been the primary means of mitigating the impact of natural hazards, but continued growth into high-risk terrain and repetitive losses have focused attention to the merits of avoiding harm’s way by means of prudent land-use decisions. Restricting land use can be difficult under the pressures of growth and development. California code exploits knowledge that the cost to adequately protect public safety can influence the type of development that is feasible when considering occupancy (high/low density residential, manufacturing, parkland, etc.) and critical function, such as the need to maintain essential services (police, fire, hospitals, emergency operation centers, etc.). Experience in California demonstrates that a combination of education, outreach, and mutually supporting policies that are linked to state-designated natural hazard zones can form an effective framework for enhancing the role of land-use planning in reducing future losses from natural disasters.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document