Mountain hazards and Building Back Better (BBB) – focus on the Austrian Alps

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Ullrich ◽  
Maria Papathoma-Köhle ◽  
Sven Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Local Adaptation ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Physical Vulnerability ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Reconstruction Process ◽  
Structural Measures ◽  
Building Level ◽  
Physical Vulnerability Index

<p>Natural hazards cause often material damages and loss of life. Human efforts are concentrated not only on the time preceding the occurrence of a hazard (forecast, evacuation, response, land use planning and structural measures) but also during (response, emergency operations) and after the occurrence of a catastrophic process (reconstruction of damaged buildings and infrastructure). As far as the reconstruction phase in concerned, authorities and citizens tend to rebuild their houses and infrastructure in the same way and location they were before the hazard strikes. The present study outlines the reconstruction efforts of two municipalities and the changes that they made following a torrential event in order to increase their resilience to natural hazards and to reduce future loss.  In more detail, a physical vulnerability index is used to assess the Build Back Better (BBB) of two alpine villages in Austria that experienced significant damages during the event of 2005. The BBB is investigated at three levels: the municipal level (structural measures and land use changes), the building level (physical vulnerability index) and the community level (public awareness). At the building level, the vulnerability index used is based on a number of indicators (building characteristics) including the height of windows, the existence, material and height of surrounding walls, the orientation of the building and the shielding of neighboring structures. The index compares the pattern of the physical vulnerability of buildings for both municipalities in 2005 and in the present. Both villages have now completed the reconstruction process, however, a similar event in the future could still cause significant damage. Changes in the building design and development of local adaptation measures have decreased the physical vulnerability of some buildings, however, some others remain equally vulnerable.  Based on the investigation of the reconstruction process recommendations regarding local adaptation measures are presented.</p>

Validation of methods for the assessment of physical vulnerability to dynamic flooding

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Papathoma-Koehle ◽  
Lea Dosser ◽  
Florian Roesch ◽  
Matthias Schlögl ◽  
Marco Borga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Physical Vulnerability ◽  
Vulnerability Indicators ◽  
Damage Data ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Physical Vulnerability Index

<p>The importance of assessing the physical vulnerability of assets to natural hazards is indisputable. Recent extreme events have shown that the severity of natural hazards is strongly linked to the vulnerability of the population and the built environment. Physical vulnerability, in particular, is directly connected to monetary damages and interruptions that are in the centre of the interests of several stakeholders including governments, authorities, insurance companies, engineers, and homeowners. A plethora of different approaches is available in the literature, nevertheless, two categories of approaches are the most prominent: vulnerability curves and vulnerability indicators. In this study, both are put to the test by using data from two relatively recent dynamic flood events. In more detail, a physical vulnerability index (PVI) and a Beta model based on damage data from Italy and Austria are validated using recent damage data from an event in Dimaro Folgarida (Trento, Italy) in 2018 and an event in Schallerbach (Tirol, Austria) in 2015. The study does not just validate the methods but also investigates remaining uncertainties related to the assessment of the process intensity on buildings and the calculation of the building value by conducting a sensitivity analysis. </p>

scholarly journals MAPPING TSUNAMI VULNERABILITY FOR MATARAM CITY IN LOMBOK ISLAND – INDONESIA: A PHYSICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC ASSESSMENT

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Andhi Pratama Putra
Keyword(s):  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Composite Index ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Physical Vulnerability ◽  
Economic Vulnerability ◽  
Physical Vulnerability Index ◽  
Lombok Island

<p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Letak kedekatan lokasi geografis dengan lempeng tektonik <em>Eurasian</em> dan <em>Indo-Australian</em> membawa konsekuensi logis terhadap tingginya resiko kebencanaan, terutama gempa dan tsunami, bagi Indonesia. Kota Mataram yang merupakan ibukota Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Barat merupakan salah satu wilayah yang perlu mendapatkan perhatian khusus terhadap resiko bencana tsunami. Sebagai langkah awal, identifikasi lokasi yang paling rentan terhadap resiko bencana tsunami perlu dilakukan dengan memadukan aspek-aspek fisik, sosial dan ekonomi. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengidentifikasikan lokasi paling rentan terhadap resiko bencana tsunami di Kota Mataram dengan menggunakan analisa sistem informasi geografis (<em>GIS</em>). Penilaian dilakukan dengan mengembangkan Indeks Gabungan (<em>Composite Index</em>) berupa <em>Total Vulnerability Index</em> (<em>TVI</em>) yang merupakan kombinasi Indeks Kerentanan Fisik/ <em>Physical Vulnerability Index</em> (<em>PVI</em>), Indeks Kerentanan Sosial/ <em>Social Vulnerability Index</em> (<em>SVI</em>) dan Indeks Kerentanan Ekonomi/ <em>Economic Vulnerability Index</em> (<em>EVI</em>). Hasil analisis berhasil menemukenali bahwa Kota Tua Ampenan merupakan wilayah di Kota Mataram dengan nilai indeks gabungan tertinggi yang mencerminkan tingkat kerentanan yang paling tinggi.</span></p>

scholarly journals Vulnerability indicators for natural hazards: an innovative selection and weighting approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Papathoma-Köhle ◽  
Matthias Schlögl ◽  
Sven Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Feature Selection ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Vulnerability Assessment ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
European Alps ◽  
Physical Vulnerability ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Vulnerability Indicators

Abstract To prepare for upcoming extreme events, decision makers, scientists and other stakeholders require a thorough understanding of the vulnerability of the built environment to natural hazards. A vulnerability index based on building characteristics (indicators) rather than empirical data may be an alternative approach to a comprehensive physical vulnerability assessment of the building stock. The present paper focuses on the making of such an index for dynamic flooding in mountain areas demonstrating the transferability of vulnerability assessment approaches between hazard types, reducing the amount of required data and offering a tool that can be used in areas were empirical data are not available. We use data from systematically documented torrential events in the European Alps to select and weight the important indicators using an all-relevant feature selection algorithm based on random forests. The permutation-based feature selection reduced the initial number of indicators from 22 to seven, decreasing in this way the amount of required data for assessing physical vulnerability and ensuring that only relevant indicators are considered. The new Physical Vulnerability Index (PVI) may be used in the mountain areas of Europe and beyond where only few empirical data are available supporting decision-making in reducing risk to dynamic flooding.

scholarly journals Synergies in the Land Use Sector: What Is the Best Policy Approach When Co-benefits and Trade-offs Are Involved?

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (53) ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
Martin Lopez
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Integral Approach ◽  
Welfare Gains ◽  
Deep Uncertainty ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Address Climate Change ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Welfare Implications

AbstractMitigation and adaptation are the main strategies to address climate change. Both of them are interrelated instruments and key elements of an integral approach to tackle the phenomenon. This interrelation is particularly strong in the land use sector, an area in which practically any policy has a significant effect on the goals of both strategies. Yet, in practice, mitigation and adaptation are treated as two different instruments. A poor understanding about the interactions between the mentioned strategies remains as a barrier to implement the integrated approach. To contribute to fill-in this knowledge gap, a hypothetical ecologic-economic system simulated under deep uncertainty was used to test environmental and welfare implications of different policy configurations. Taking the unregulated economy as a benchmark, the outcomes of the mentioned interventions were classified as synergies or different forms of trade-offs. Results indicate that measures based on internalization of externalities overcame monetary compensation schemes. Moreover, when externalities were corrected, synergies were more frequent and associated to higher environmental and welfare gains. Furthermore, the policy configuration that exhibited best synergic properties was an intervention integrating mitigation and adaptation measures. This indicates that synergies may be more accessible than previously considered, however, current policy approach and incentives may not be the best tools to trigger them.

scholarly journals An Assessment of Social and Physical Vulnerability to Hydroclimate Extremes in Appalachia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah R. Handwerger ◽  
Jennifer R. Runkle ◽  
Ronald Leeper ◽  
Elizabeth Shay ◽  
Kara Dempsey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Precipitation Variability ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Physical Vulnerability ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
Vulnerability Indicators

Abstract Appalachia is a cultural region in the southern and central Appalachian Mountains that lags behind the nation in several social vulnerability indicators. Climate projections over this region indicate that precipitation variability will increase in both severity and frequency in future decades, suggesting that the occurrence of natural hazards related to hydroclimate extremes will also increase. The objective of this study was to investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of drought and precipitation and determine how trends overlap with vulnerable communities across Appalachia. The study utilized trend analysis through Mann-Kendall calculations and a Social Vulnerability Index, resulting in a bivariate map that displays areas most susceptible to adverse effects from hydroclimate extremes. Results show the southwestern portion of the region as most vulnerable to increased precipitation, and the central-southeast most vulnerable to an increase in drought-precipitation variability. This study is among the first to utilize the boundaries defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission from a climatological perspective, allowing findings to reach audiences outside the scientific community and bring more effective mitigation strategies that span from the local to federal levels.

scholarly journals Mapping Climate Vulnerability of River Basin Communities in Tanzania to Inform Resilience Interventions

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis Macharia ◽  
Erneus Kaijage ◽  
Leif Kindberg ◽  
Grace Koech ◽  
Lilian Ndungu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Socioeconomic Indicators ◽  
Climate Variability And Change ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Climate Vulnerability

Increasing climate variability and change coupled with steady population growth is threatening water resources and livelihoods of communities living in the Wami-Ruvu and Rufiji basins in Tanzania. These basins are host to three large urban centers, namely Dar es Salaam, Dodoma and Morogoro, with a combined total of more than 7 million people. Increased demand for ecosystem services from the available surface water resources and a decreasing supply of clean and safe water are exacerbating the vulnerability of communities in these basins. Several studies have analyzed climate projects in the two basins but little attention has been paid to identify locations that have vulnerable communities in a spatially-explicit form. To address this gap, we worked with stakeholders from national and local government agencies, basin water boards and the Water Resources Integration Development Initiative (WARIDI) project funded by USAID to map the vulnerability of communities to climate variability and change in the two basins. A generalized methodology for mapping social vulnerability to climate change was used to integrate biophysical and socioeconomic indicators of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity and produced climate vulnerability index maps. Our analysis identified vulnerability “hotspots” where communities are at a greater risk from climate stressors. The results from this study were used to identify priority sites and adaptation measures for the implementation of resilience building interventions and to train local government agencies and communities on climate change adaptation measures in the two basins.

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