scholarly journals Snow-Disaster Risk Zoning and Assessment in Heilongjiang Province

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 14010
Author(s):  
Hao Li ◽  
Wenshuang Xi ◽  
Lijuan Zhang ◽  
Shuying Zang

Heilongjiang Province is located in the northeast region of China, with the country’s highest latitude. It has long and cold winters, and a temperate monsoon climate. Its unique geographic location and climatic conditions make it the second largest stable snow-covered region in China. The winter snow period starts in October and ends in April of the following year. Therefore, the long-term accumulation of snow causes road obstructions and low-temperature frost damage, which seriously affects local economic development and human safety. This study adopts snow parameters (e.g., snow depth and snow-cover period), natural environmental factors (e.g., elevation and slope), and socioeconomic factors (e.g., gross domestic product and light index). On the basis of the disaster risk assessment theory, we constructed a disaster risk index from four aspects (i.e., disaster risk, susceptibility, vulnerability, and disaster prevention and mitigation). Then, we performed snow-disaster risk zoning and an assessment in Heilongjiang Province. The main findings are as follows: the snow-disaster risk in the northern and eastern regions of Heilongjiang Province was high; the central and northern regions were highly sensitive to disasters; the main urban areas were highly vulnerable; and the economically developed regions had strong disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities. Overall, the spatial distribution of the snow-disaster risk followed a decreasing trend from east to west. High-risk areas were distributed in the east and northwest (covering 34.3% of the entire Heilongjiang Province area); medium-risk areas were distributed in the north and center (accounting for 45.2% of the entire Heilongjiang Province area); and low-risk areas were concentrated in the west (constituting 20.5% of the entire Heilongjiang Province area).

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-337
Author(s):  
Richard Sadler ◽  
Dayne Walling ◽  
Zac Buchalski ◽  
Alan Harris

Urban areas differ greatly in their exposure to economic change, their trajectory toward recovery and growth, and the extent to which development and equity are paired. Some of this differentiation can be explained by regional dynamics, policies, and migration flows that influence the composition of economic activity, land use, and population characteristics. Simultaneously, the fortunes of center cities are known to often correlate with metropolitan characteristics, yet the interaction of socio-spatial conditions with multi-level governance and development processes—particularly with respect to how prosperity is shared across municipal lines and is distributed among communities—is under-researched. In this article, we use a GIS-based and quantitative approach to characterize such patterns and evaluate regional differences among 117 mid-sized metropolitan areas in the Eastern US with a population between 250,000 and 2,500,000. Our analysis rests on initial GIS-based inquiries to define city, urbanized area, county, and core-based statistical area-level measures of municipal fragmentation, geographic sprawl, racial segregation, economic inequality, and overall poverty. These five characteristics are combined to propose a prosperity risk index for each region. Further, indicators of economic performance such as job and population growth are inverted to create an economic vulnerability index. An interaction model is run to determine relationships among the indices to highlight both the regional differences in these characteristics that became noticeably significant in the analysis and the linkages of spatial patterns of economic growth and social equity. Analyzing these multi-scalar regional dynamics illuminates the socio-spatial patterns that deserve attention in urban economic development theory and, subsequently, offers a framework for evaluating public policy and development practices. We likewise offer two comparisons of outliers as a means of illustrating potential directions urban areas can take toward economic development. These findings are valuable for local economic development practitioners who may be seeking further contextual/comparative information on urban regions, or for others interested in understanding the dynamics behind urban planning that may drive regional competitiveness and prosperity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 41-48
Author(s):  
Rumana Sultana ◽  
S Rafiqul Alam Rumi ◽  
MA Hanif Sheikh

Assessment of hazard characteristics, exposure, vulnerability, resilience and risk at a local scale is an important tool for identifying the capacities of households and local communities to adapt with climate change induced flood. Repeated floods with different magnitudes under variable climatic conditions are great catastrophe for the people living in flood prone regions specifically in Islands. People, infrastructure and economy are highly exposed to flood and that results in devastating flood disaster. In the Padma river Islands frequent flooding makes the life and livelihoods of people vulnerable and this vulnerability is conditioned by different factors such as people’s physical, social, economic and environmental condition. The higher is the level of vulnerability the higher is the level of flood risk. Hence, people’s resilience can minimize the negative impacts of flood disaster. A composite risk index (related to the probability of occurrence of the event, magnitude of the event, quantity and cost of the element at risk, vulnerability and resilience) was prepared to realize the climate change induced flood disaster risk. Some adaptive strategies are explored to adapt with climate change induced flood risk. Finally, Local Scale Disaster Risk Model (LSDR) was proposed to present the framework of climate change induced flood disaster risk and adaption at a local scale. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jles.v8i0.20138 J. Life Earth Sci., Vol. 8: 41-48, 2013


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Ignacio Agustin Gatti ◽  
Takashi Oguchi

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Floods frequently cause disasters worldwide. In Argentina, almost half of disasters are related to floods (Celis &amp; Herzer, 2003). During the period 1944 to 2005, 41 major floods occurred in urban areas in the country (Argentina Red Cross, 2010) with more than 13 million people affected. Luján (34°33′S, 59°07′W) is a city of about 110,000 people, situated 21 m above the mean sea level in a relatively plain area. It suffered from 21 floods between 1967 and 2018 with a result of about 14,600 evacuees and 3 dead people. The main cause of the floods is the overflow of the Luján River, which has an average flow of 5.37&amp;thinsp;m<sup>3</sup>/s (INA, 2007).</p><p> The National Disaster Risk Assessment guidelines (UNDP, 2010; UNSIDR, 2018) outline the use of qualitative or quantitative approaches to determinate the acceptable level of risk. Risk has been associated with a potential loss with different levels of certainty (Crichton, 1999; WMO, 2013), and it could be defined as a combination of hazard, exposure and vulnerability (Akhtar et al, 2018; Behanzin, 2015; Armeneakis et al., 2017; UNISDR, 2017) (Figure 1). If one of those elements is missing, risk is not defined. The hazard is related to the potential danger that the natural phenomenon has, which is inherent to the event itself, and it would be inundation scenarios in this study. Vulnerability has been defined by Cardona et al. (2012) as a propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected. That definition includes the characteristics of a person or a group, and their situation that influences their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist, and recover from the adverse effects of physical events (Natenzon et al., 2005; González, 2009). The perspectives selected in the present work focus on working with social vulnerability which is linked to socio-economical population conditions and the possibility of these being affected. Spatial distribution of exposure (elements at risk) in proximity to a hazard is a significant factor of disaster risk (UNISDR, 2017). Some researchers (González et al., 1998; Villagrán De León, 2001; Moel et al., 2009) defined “exposure” as what can be affected by a flood such as buildings, land use, and population, the latter of which is a significant factor of disaster risk (UNISDR, 2017). Flood risk maps play an important role in decision-making, planning and implementing flood management options (WMO, 2013).</p><p> Geographical Information Systems (GIS) enable us to perform a spatial analysis of the elements of risk (hazard, vulnerability, and exposure) for Luján City. By creating categories from the selection of some indicators, it is possible to define which area is more likely to be impacted by a flood, which population and which infrastructure are more exposed, and who is more vulnerable. A final flood risk index is created with five categories based on risk values from 0 (lowest) to 1 (highest) (Figure 2).</p><p> Hazard analysis is made by using a 5-m Digital Elevation Model (DEM), rainfall data, land use information, drainage system (sewers and streams) and historical flood maps. Sources of vulnerability and exposure indicators are data from the last National Argentinian Census in the year 2010.</p><p> Although it is impossible to totally eliminate the flood risk, it is possible to mitigate some consequences. Findings from this study illustrate that some areas of higher flood risk coincide with areas of high flood hazard, more exposed, and more vulnerable. This methodology helps to develop disaster risk management strategies for settlements frequently flooded.</p>


Author(s):  
А.В. Терешкин ◽  
А.Л. Калмыкова ◽  
Т.А. Андрушко

Вертикальное озеленение с участием различных видов лиан в современных условиях имеет важное эстетическое и санитарно-гигиеническое значение. Особо актуально решение вопросов обогащения флоры городских территорий лианами в степных районах в связи с бедным видовым составом и резким ухудшением экологической ситуации. Объектами исследований являлись 7 видов лиан, различных жизненных форм (однолетние, многолетние), произрастающие в населенных пунктах Саратовской области (Аткарск, Саратов). Цель исследований – изучение эколого-биологических особенностей и мелиоративных свойств лиан и выявление перспектив их использования в вертикальном озеленении селитебных территорий Саратовской области. В ходе исследования видового состава, были выявлены наиболее популярные виды однолетних лиан: ипомея красно-голубая (Ipomea tricolor (L.) Roth) и ипомея пурпурная (Ipomea purpurea (L.) Roth), горошек душистый (Lathyrus edoratus L.), настурция (Tropacolum peregrinum L.) и фасоль огненно-красная (Phaseolus coccineus). Большинство (70%) из них произрастают в местах ограниченного пользования. Изученные виды лиан в исследуемых регионах достигают средних природных показателей (при наличии надлежащего ухода), обладают хорошими показателями жизненного состояния, обильно цветут и плодоносят. При воздействии токсикантами различной концентрации на листовые пластинки лиан установлено их степень устойчивости. Выявлено, что однолетние лианы лучше использовать в декоративных целях, а не в санитарно-гигиенических. Сравнительная оценка однолетних видов с многолетними лианами (девичий виноград пятилисточковый и клематис тангутский) показывает устойчивость многолетних видов (в среднем на 3 балла - 40%). Разработаны варианты декоративных композиций с участием травянистых лиан. По степени декоративности выделены однолетние лианы – Ipomea tricolor, I. purpurea (37 – 41 балл), средней степенью отличаются – Lathyrus edoratus (33 балла), Tropacolum peregrinum (30 баллов) и Phaseolus coccineus (20 – 27 баллов). Преимущество многолетних лиан заключается в их устойчивости к резким изменениям климатических условий (на 40 %) по сравнению с однолетними формами. Поэтому они более предпочтительны для озеленения городской среды. Для усиления декоративного эффекта в сезонном аспекте рекомендуются сочетать расширение видового и формового разнообразия растений (многолетние и однолетние лианы, древесно-кустарниковая, цветочная растительность). Установлено, что природно-климатические условия зоны степи и лесостепи в пределах Саратовской области являются достаточно благоприятными для нормального роста и развития древесно-кустарниковой растительности, в том числе травянистых лиан. Таким образом, обоснованное применение древесных лиан в комплексе с традиционными видами насаждений позволит создать комфортные условия проживания населения, регулировать оптимальный температурный баланс и создавать благоприятные микроклиматические условия. Vertical gardening with different types of vines in modern conditions is important aesthetic and sanitary-hygienic value. It is especially important to address the issues of enrichment of the flora of urban areas with vines in the steppe regions due to poor species composition and a sharp deterioration of the ecological situation. The objects of research were 7 species of lianas, various life forms (annual, perennial), growing in the settlements of the Saratov region (Atkarsk, Saratov). The aim of the research is to study the ecological and biological features and reclamation properties of vines and identify the prospects for their use in vertical gardening residential areas of the Saratov region. In the study, species composition was the most popular species of annual vines: morning glory red-blue (Ipomea tricolor (L.) Roth) and purple morning glory (Ipomea purpurea (L.) Roth), the fragrant pea (Lathyrus edoratus L.), nasturtium (Tropacolum peregrinum L.) and runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus). Most (70%) of them grow in restricted areas. Studied species of vines in the study regions reach average natural performance (with proper care), have good indicators of vital condition, bloom abundantly and bear fruit. When exposed to toxicants of different concentrations on the leaf blades of vines established their degree of stability. It was revealed that the annual vines are better used for decorative purposes, and not in the sanitary-hygienic. A comparative assessment of annual species with perennial vines (maiden grapes and clematis Tangut) shows the stability of perennial species (an average of 3 points-40%). The options and decorative compositions with the participation of herbaceous vines. According to the degree of decoration of the allocated annual vine – Ipomea tricolor, I. purpurea (37 – 41 points), the average degree of differ – Lathyrus edoratus (33 points), Tropacolum peregrinum (30 points) and Phaseolus coccineus (20 to 27 points). The advantage of perennial vines is their resistance to sudden changes in climatic conditions (40 %) compared to annual forms. Therefore, they are more preferable for greening the urban environment. To enhance the decorative effect in the seasonal aspect, it is recommended to combine the expansion of species and form diversity of plants (perennial and annual lianas, tree and shrub, floral vegetation). It is established that the climatic conditions of the steppe and forest-steppe zone within the Saratov region are quite favorable for the normal growth and development of tree and shrub vegetation, including herbaceous lianas. Thus, the reasonable use of wood vines in combination with traditional types of plantings will create comfortable living conditions for the population, regulate the optimal temperature balance and create favorable microclimatic conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chukwuedozie K. Ajaero ◽  
Nicole De Wet-Billings ◽  
Chiemezie Atama ◽  
Prince Agwu ◽  
Eberechukwu J. Eze

Abstract Background The socioeconomic conditions of different environments manifest in varying experiences of illnesses. Even as migrants do transit across these different environments for various reasons, including settlement, they are bound to have peculiar experiences of diseases, which could be traced to lifestyle, gender, adaptation, and reactions to specific social, economic, psychological and climatic conditions. Paying attention to such unique scenarios, our study examines the prevalence and contextual correlates of non-communicable diseases among inter-provincial migrants and non-migrants in South Africa. Methods Data was from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), waves 5 of 2017, which comprised of 28,055 respondents aged 15–64 years made up of 22,849 inter-provincial non-migrants and 5206 inter-provincial migrants. A composite dependent/outcome variable of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) was generated for the study and data analysis involved descriptive statistics, chi Square analysis and multilevel logistic regression analysis. Results More migrants (19.81%) than non-migrants (16.69%) reported prevalence of NCDs. With the exception of household size for migrants and smoking for non-migrants, the prevalence of NCDs showed significant differences in all the community, behavioral, and individual variables. The factors in the full model, which significantly increased odds of NCDs among the migrants and the non-migrants, were older populations, the non-Blacks, and those with higher education levels. On the one hand, being married, having a household with 4–6 persons, and being residents of urban areas significantly increased odds of NCDs among the migrant population. While on the other, living in coastal provinces, being a female, and belonging to the category of those who earn more than 10,000 Rands were significantly associated with increased odds of NCDs among the non-migrants. Conclusions These findings, therefore, among other things underscore the need for increased education and awareness campaigns, especially among the older populations on the preventive and mitigative strategies for NCDs. In addition, changes in lifestyles with regard to smoking and physical exercises should be more emphasized in specific contextual situations for the migrant and non-migrant populations, as highlighted by the results of this study.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiemi Iba ◽  
Ayumi Ueda ◽  
Shuichi Hokoi

Purpose – Frost damage is well-known as the main cause of roof tile deterioration. The purpose of this paper is to develop an analytical model for predicting the deterioration process under certain climatic conditions. This paper describes the results of a field survey conducted to acquire fundamental information useful to this aim. Design/methodology/approach – A field survey of roof tile damage by freezing was conducted in an old temple precinct in Kyoto, Japan. Using detailed observations and photographic recordings, the damage progress was clarified. To examine the impact of climatic conditions upon the damage characteristics, weather data and roof tile temperatures were measured and logged in the winter season. Findings – The deterioration process was observed under the climatic conditions associated with the measured temperature of the roof tiles. In particular, it was revealed that the orientation has a significant influence on increasing or decreasing the risk of frost damage. For certain distinctive forms of damage, the deterioration mechanisms were estimated from the viewpoint of the moisture flow and temperature distribution in the tile. Originality/value – This study contributes to the elucidation of the mechanism behind frost damage to roof tiles. The findings will guide the construction of a numerical model for frost damage prediction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Abbasi

Abstract Objective Human is accustomed to climatic conditions of the environment where they are born and live throughout their lifetime. The aim of this study is to examine mood swings and depression caused by sudden climate changes that have not yet given the humans a chance to adapt. Results Our results showed that depression could be affected by climate change and as a result, the behavior of climatic elements and trends has damaged mental health in the western regions of Iran. By investigating the trends and changes of climatic time series and their relationship with the rate of depression in urban areas of western Iran, it can be said that climate change is probably a mental health challenge for urban populations. Climate change is an important and worrying issue that makes the life difficult. Rapid climate changes in western Iran including rising air temperature, changes in precipitation, its regime, changes cloudiness and the amount of sunlight have a negative effects on health. The results showed that type of increasing or decreasing trend, as well as different climatic elements in various seasons did not have the same effect on the rate of depression in the studied areas.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhura Yeligeti ◽  
Wenxuan Hu ◽  
Yvonne Scholz ◽  
Kai von Krbek

&lt;p&gt;Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems will foreseeably be an integral part of future energy systems. Land cover area analysis has a large influence on estimatiin of long-term solar photovoltaic potential of the world in high spatial detail. In this regard, it is often seen in contemporary works, that the suitability of various land cover categories for PV installation is considered in a yes/no binary response. While some areas like natural parks, sanctuaries, forests are usually completely exempted from PV potential calculations, other land over categories like urban settlements, bare, sparsely vegetated areas, and even cropland can principally support PV installations to varying degrees. This depends on the specific land use competition, social, economic and climatic conditions, etc. In this study, we attempt to evaluate these &amp;#8216;factors of suitability&amp;#8217; of different land cover types for PV installations.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As a basis, the openly available global land cover datasets from the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service were used to identify major land cover types like cropland, shrubland, bare, wetlands, urban settlements, forests, moss and snow etc. For open area PV installations, with a focus on cropland, we incorporated the promising technology of &amp;#8216;Agri-voltaics&amp;#8217; in our investigation. Different crops have shown to respond positively or negatively, so far, to growing under PV panels according to various experimental and commercial sources. Hence, we considered 18 major crops of the world (covering 85% of world cropland) individually and consequently, evaluated a weighted overall suitability factor of cropland cover for PV, for three acceptance scenarios of future.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For rooftop PV installations in urban areas, various socio-economic and geographical influences come in play. The rooftop area available and further usable for PV depends on housing patterns (roof type, housing density) which vary with climate, population density and socio-economic lifestyle. We classified global urban areas into several clusters based on combinations of these factors. For each cluster, rooftop area suitability is evaluated at a representative location using the land cover maps, the Open Street Map and specific characteristics of the cluster.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Overall, we present an interdisciplinary approach to integrate technological, social and economic aspects in land cover analysis to estimate PV potentials. While the intricacies may still be insufficient for planning small localized energy systems, this can reasonably benefit energy system modelling from a regional to international scale.&lt;/p&gt;


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bambang Sulistyantara ◽  
Imawan W. Hidayat ◽  
A. Nasirudin Taher ◽  
Hendrawan

Trees are essential elements of an urban space. The presence of trees in urban areas is not only appreciated as physical attribute, but beyond this, it serves a fundamental function in balancing and conserving urban ecosystem. Especially in tropical countries like Indonesia which receive high levels of solar radiation, trees contribute to the protection of urban areas from the impact of excessive micro-climatic conditions. But, the presence of trees sometimes resulted in the accidents for the residences because of broken branches and human injuries. This situation leads the city to prepare a tree inventory system, which is beneficial in giving the information about tree conditions and thus the information that would be useful for tree maintenance activities. The tree inventory on application for the city of East Jakarta was built for this purpose, comprising a tree inventory and easy access to the database. The application connects the database source with the GIS map, so that the users could retrieve information for each kind of data.


2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Lakatos ◽  
I. Gonda ◽  
M. Soltész ◽  
Z. Szabó ◽  
J. Nyéki

The objective of the present study is to explore the effect of cooling irrigation (aspersion) on the beginning of bloom and on the micro-climate of the plantation. The results show that the water sprayed in the orchard by micro-jet influenced decisively the temperature of the plantation. At higher temperatures (around 20 °C), the drop of temperature may attain 5–7 °C. A low relative humidity of the air may increase the relative effect, The frequent repetition (20 minute intervals) may keep the temperature low also in the buds. The beginning of bloom may delayed for more than ten days. The dynamics of blooming was characterised by a logistic curve in the treated as well as in the control plot. In the treated plot, the curve was steeper than in the control in spite of equal temperatures measured in the plots. Under our (Hungarian) climatic conditions, the method is successfully used to delay blooming dates. The main result is the diminution of the frost damage in the spring and the security of yield. The costs and water requirement should be calculated later.


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