The role of victim’s behavior and surrounding environment in the vulnerability of individuals in flood fatality incidents. Findings from Greece

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michalis Diakakis
Keyword(s):  
Flash Flood ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Mobility Impairment ◽  
Statistical Correlations ◽  
Surrounding Environment ◽  
Rural Settings ◽  
Extreme Flood

<p>Despite the recent advances in technology and infrastructure, extreme flood events continue to induce a significant number of fatalities across the globe, hurting particularly flash flood-prone and other vulnerable communities. The vulnerability of individuals to flooding has been studied in numerous previous works that examine various demographic and situational factors and their relation to the risk that floodwaters pose to individuals or more broadly, their association with flood mortality.</p><p>In an effort to provide a better understanding of how flood fatalities occur and how we can prevent them, this work focuses on the influence of the surrounding environment and victims’ behaviour during fatal incidents. The study exploits a database of flood fatalities for Greece (1960-2019) and examines statistical correlations between different elements, including the victims’ age and gender, their activity, the immediate surroundings and the environment that the incidents occur, as well as victims’ behaviour on the basis of their actions.</p><p>With respect to the surrounding environment, results indicate that particular characteristics of fatalities differ considerably depending on the setting. Outdoor, vehicle-related deaths are more abundant in rural settings, in which victims show mostly an active (risk-taking) behaviour towards floodwaters. Urban environments are characterized by larger numbers of indoor deaths (especially for the elderly) and a wider diversity of victim activities. Overall, analysis indicates that dangerous situations tend to develop differently between urban and rural settings.</p><p>With regard to victim behaviour, analysis of the database shows a great diversity of motivations behind their actions at the time of fatal incidents. A study of these motivations indicates that an overwhelming majority of flood victims come in contact with floodwaters deliberately, while they are in an initial position of safety. On the contrary, a smaller percentage of victims (close to one quarter) exhibits behaviours that can be characterized as passive, such as getting trapped inside buildings or being unable to flee danger, highlighting a population with particular vulnerability characteristics. Furthermore, victim behaviour was found to be strongly connected to victim demographics and surroundings, to an extent that it can be predicted with a high degree of certainty (i.e. close to 90%) by means of a statistical model.</p><p>The analysis provides insights useful to further understand the vulnerability of the population to flooding, in terms of how dangerous situations develop. The findings can be exploited in shaping policy and education programs that aim to mitigate risk of fatal incidents to specific population groups (e.g. vehicle-occupants, individuals with mobility impairment). Through better-targeted initiatives, these insights have the potential to enhance the overall resilience of communities, especially in flood-prone areas.</p>

scholarly journals The Effects of Urban Natural Environments on Preference and Self-Reported Psychological Restoration of the Elderly

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 509
Author(s):  
Ling Qiu ◽  
Qujing Chen ◽  
Tian Gao
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Environmental Design ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Photo Elicitation ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
The World ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Aging Populations

The world is facing the challenge of aging populations. Urban natural environments, including green spaces and blue spaces, have been demonstrated to have great benefits to the mental restoration of the elderly. However, the study of the specific characteristics of urban environments that are popular and the most restorative for the elderly is still lacking. Photo elicitation as visual stimuli was utilized to explore the differences in preference and psychological restoration of the elderly through the perception of the eight perceived sensory dimensions (PSDs) in different types of urban environments. The results showed that: (1) The respondents had different perceptions of the eight PSDs in the different urban natural environments. Blue space and partly-closed green space were more preferred by the elderly, and also had more psychological restorative effects on the elderly. (2) There was no significant correlation between the number of highly perceived PSDs and preference, as well as between the number of highly perceived PSDs and psychological restoration. However, there was a significant correlation between preference and psychological restoration. (3) Partly-closed green space with more Serene and Refuge qualities, and blue space with more Serene, Refuge and Prospect properties were optimal characteristics for psychological restoration of the elderly. In addition, open green space with more Prospect, Serene and Social qualities, and closed green space with more Space, Refuge and less Nature properties could also increase psychological restoration of older adults. These findings can provide useful guidelines for restorative environmental design for the elderly in the future.

scholarly journals A Robust Registration Method for Autonomous Driving Pose Estimation in Urban Dynamic Environment Using LiDAR

Electronics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rendong Wang ◽  
Youchun Xu ◽  
Miguel Angel Sotelo ◽  
Yulin Ma ◽  
Thompson Sarkodie-Gyan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Environment ◽  
Point Clouds ◽  
Autonomous Driving ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Registration Method ◽  
Position Errors ◽  
Initial Errors ◽  
High Dynamic

The registration of point clouds in urban environments faces problems such as dynamic vehicles and pedestrians, changeable road environments, and GPS inaccuracies. The state-of-the-art methodologies have usually combined the dynamic object tracking and/or static feature extraction data into a point cloud towards the solution of these problems. However, there is the occurrence of minor initial position errors due to these methodologies. In this paper, the authors propose a fast and robust registration method that exhibits no need for the detection of any dynamic and/or static objects. This proposed methodology may be able to adapt to higher initial errors. The initial steps of this methodology involved the optimization of the object segmentation under the application of a series of constraints. Based on this algorithm, a novel multi-layer nested RANSAC algorithmic framework is proposed to iteratively update the registration results. The robustness and efficiency of this algorithm is demonstrated on several high dynamic scenes of both short and long time intervals with varying initial offsets. A LiDAR odometry experiment was performed on the KITTI data set and our extracted urban data-set with a high dynamic urban road, and the average of the horizontal position errors was compared to the distance traveled that resulted in 0.45% and 0.55% respectively.

scholarly journals Lack of accessibility in public transport and inadequacy of sidewalks: effects on the social participation of elderly persons with functional limitations

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Didone dos Santos ◽  
Marcela Fernandes Silva ◽  
Leonardo Antunes Velloza ◽  
José Eduardo Pompeu
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Public Transport ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Mobility Impairment

Abstract Objective: To analyze the association between the decline in the mobility of community dwelling elderly persons in São Paulo, Brazil and their capacity to use public transportation, and its impact on their quality of life and social participation. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted of 32 community dwelling elderly persons, of both genders (59% female), with an average age of 75.5 years (±9.2). The participants were evaluated by functional mobility, risk of falls, fear of falls and independence in activities of daily living. In addition, the perception of the elderly persons of their mobility on public transport and its impact on their social participation was evaluated. The elderly persons were divided into two groups: with mobility impairment and without mobility impairment. The groups were compared using the Fisher's Exact, Chi-Squared and Mann-Whitney tests, and the unpaired Student's t-test. An alpha level of 0.05 was adopted as a level of statistical significance. Result: Elderly persons with greater mobility impairment exhibited greater difficulty accessing public transport and a greater number of falls during their use of the same. Elderly persons who reported difficulty accessing public transport suffered greater impact on their social participation and quality of life. Conclusion: Elderly persons with greater mobility impairment had a greater number of complaints related to public transport. Additionally, they suffered a greater impact on their social participation, characterized by limitations in their capacity for independent movement around the city, limiting their social activities.

The unusual floods and flood frequency in 1858–1878 dry period in Central and Western Europe

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Libor Elleder ◽  
Ladislav Kašpárek ◽  
Jakub Krejčí ◽  
Jolana Šírová ◽  
Stanislav Racko
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Flash Flood ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Dry Period ◽  
Drought Period ◽  
Extreme Flood ◽  
Strong Winds

<p>According to the present knowledge, the second half of the 19<sup>th</sup> century meant the end of the Little Ice Age and gradual warming.  This is, however, undoubtedly a fairly simplified statement.  Our contribution presents the period of 1858–1878: (1) from the point of view of drought but also (2) regarding frequency of floods. The aggregation for this period of weather-driven risks such as droughts, floods, strong winds and high tides, is worth attention.  The length of the drought period of 1858–1878, the absolute value of rainfall deficits and the length of seasonal droughts, as well as their impacts, are a certain warning in terms of our present.</p><p>Surprisingly, in such a dry period we witness an accumulation of important and extreme flood episodes as well. The regional catastrophic floods of 1858, and winter extensive floods of 1862 and 1876, may serve as excellent examples.  Furthermore, the Elbe catchment recorded floods with return periods of 10–20 years in 1860, 1865 and 1872. For this period, an occurrence of intensive mesoscale flash flood events with extreme hydrological parameters, high number of fatalities and large damages are of the utmost importance (e.g. 1868-Switzerland, 1872-Czechlands, 1874- Catalonia, 1875-South France). Our contribution builds on earlier analysed flood events of 1872, 1875 and drought period presented at EGU earlier. The contribution stresses the analogies and differences with present situation in 2014–2019.  We mainly address the situation in Czech lands, Central Europe interpreted in wider European context.</p>

scholarly journals Standards for achieving a comfortable design for the Alzheimer's patients pathways

2021 ◽  
Vol 274 ◽  
pp. 01025
Author(s):  
Radwan Alshawaf ◽  
Ivan Krasnobaev
Keyword(s):  
The Elderly ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Set Design ◽  
Spatial Awareness ◽  
Accurate Data ◽  
Design Standards ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Surrounding Environment ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Good Percentage

The elderly is an essential part of society because of their interaction with their surrounding environment and their personal experiences. They were categorized into several levels based on the physiological and psychological needs. Alzheimer's patients constitute a good percentage within society, but there is no accurate data. In cases where the patient suffers from a progressive lack of spatial awareness, studies have developed several criteria to study semi-open spaces intended for the elderly. However, it did not set design standards. Consequently, this paper examines the design standards and requirements for Alzheimer's patients. It is a virtual practical study that simulates optimal standards.

scholarly journals Using a Stacked Autoencoder for Mobility and Fall Risk Assessment via Time–Frequency Representations of the Timed Up and Go Test

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shih-Hai Chen ◽  
Chia-Hsuan Lee ◽  
Bernard C. Jiang ◽  
Tien-Lung Sun
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Fall Risk ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Mobility Impairment ◽  
Timed Up And Go ◽  
Fall Risk Assessment ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Stacked Autoencoder

Fall risk assessment is very important for the graying societies of developed countries. A major contributor to the fall risk of the elderly is mobility impairment. Timely detection of the fall risk can facilitate early intervention to avoid preventable falls. However, continuous fall risk monitoring requires extensive healthcare and clinical resources. Our objective is to develop a method suitable for remote and long-term health monitoring of the elderly for mobility impairment and fall risk without the need for an expert. We employed time–frequency analysis (TFA) and a stacked autoencoder (SAE), which is a deep neural network (DNN)-based learning algorithm, to assess the mobility and fall risk of the elderly according to the criteria of the timed up and go test (TUG). The time series signal of the triaxial accelerometer can be transformed by TFA to obtain richer image information. On the basis of the TUG criteria, the semi-supervised SAE model was able to achieve high predictive accuracies of 89.1, 93.4, and 94.1% for the vertical, mediolateral and anteroposterior axes, respectively. We believe that deep learning can be used to analyze triaxial acceleration data, and our work demonstrates its applicability to assessing the mobility and fall risk of the elderly.

Position and Pose Estimation of Camera-Head with Foveated Wide Angle Lens

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-303
Author(s):  
Haiquan Yang ◽  
◽  
Nobuyuki Kita ◽  
Yasuyo Kita
Keyword(s):  
Pose Estimation ◽  
3D Model ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Field Of View ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Initial Error ◽  
Surrounding Environment ◽  
Wide Field Of View ◽  
Wide Angle Lens ◽  
Position And Pose Estimation

A method is proposed to correct the initial position and pose estimates of a camera-head by aligning a 3D model of its surrounding environment with an observed 2D image that is captured by a foveated wideangle lens in the camera. Because of the wide field of view of the lens, the algorithm can converge even when the initial error is large, and the precision of the result is high since the resolution of the fovea of the lens is high.

Interruption of Medication among Outpatients with Chronic Conditions after a Flood

2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Tomio ◽  
Hajime Sato ◽  
Hairoko Mizumura
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Flash Flood ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Affected Area ◽  
Care Services

AbstractIntroduction:The disruption of routine treatment, including the interruption of medication, exacerbates chronic conditions during disasters. However, the health consequences of the interruption of medication have not been fully examined. On 22 July 2006, a flash flood affected more than 3,000 households in five cities and four towns in the northern part of Kagoshima Prefecture in southwest Japan. The aims of this study are to describe the prevalence of the interruption of medication among the outpatients in the flood-affected area and to determine the risk and preventive factors for the interruption of medication.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire. The study subjects were the outpatients who visited nine of 15 medical facilities in the flood-affected area from 23 January and 31 January 2007. Of 810 valid respondents, 309 who received medication treatment before the event were eligible for the study. Information on socio-demographic factors, chronic health conditions, preparedness-related factors before the event and damage-related factors were collected. Overall and evacuation status-specific prevalence of interruption of medication were presented. For those evacuated, the associations between interruption of medication and relevant patient characteristics, as well as deterioration of health status after the event, were examined.Results:The prevalence of interruption of medication was 9% in total, but it increased up to 23% among the evacuated subjects. Interruption of medication was more likely among those aged ≥75 years (odds ratio [OR] = 3.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0−12.6) and those receiving long-term care services (OR = 4.6; 95% CI = 1.1−19.1), while it was less likely among those with hypertension (OR = 0.2; 95% CI = 0.1−0.8) and those prepared to go out with medication (OR = 0.2; 95% CI = 0.03−0.8). Those who experienced interruption of medication were more likely to have deteriorated health status one month after the event (OR = 4.5; 95% CI = 1.2−17.6).Conclusions:Interruption of medication occurred more commonly among the evacuated subjects. Among the evacuated, the elderly and those receiving longterm care services were at high risk for interruption of medication, while the preparedness behavior of “preparing to go out with medication” had preventive effect. Special attention must be paid to the high-risk subgroups, and some preventive behaviors should be recommended.

scholarly journals An Inclusive Model for Assessing Age-Friendly Urban Environments in Vulnerable Areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8352
Author(s):  
Raquel Agost-Felip ◽  
María José Ruá ◽  
Fatiha Kouidmi
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Technical Standards ◽  
The Public ◽  
Planning Decision

Population aging is becoming a major challenge in many countries. This paper deals with the elderly’s specific needs in the public open space as it can play a significant role in their social inclusion and could be especially relevant in deprived areas. The main goal is to build a model to evaluate the vulnerability of the public space by focusing on the elderly’s needs, using indicators. A previous analysis of the scientific and policy-oriented literature and of the technical standards and regulations linked with accessibility and social aspects that affect the elderly in urban areas was performed to identify the main dimensions for evaluation. The interjudge agreement technique was applied to validate the indicators with a panel of experts in technical and social disciplines. The model was applied to a vulnerable area in Castellón (East Spain), based on indicators adapted to the specific context features. The agreement level reached by experts was used to weight the indicators. The application of the model permitted the vulnerability in the suggested dimensions to be estimated and a global integrated index of vulnerability in the area to be calculated. It could assist in urban planning decision making toward age-friendly and, therefore, inclusive cities.

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