Complex Disaster Research Articles

Distribution of Methane and “Three zones” of Coal Spontaneous Combustion in Gob Under Stereo Extraction Method

ABSTRACT The complex disaster of gas and coal spontaneous combustion is a major challenge in coal gob, especially under conditions of three-dimensional extraction. Taking the 15,101 mining face in Shigang Mine as the field background, COMSOL Multiphysics software was employed to construct models of airflow, methane migration, and stress distribution in gob under the stereo extraction method of “U+high-low level roadway.” The range of oxidation zone was divided by combining the oxygen concentration and wind velocity field. The results showed that the methane can be discharged through the low-level airway and the return airway, and most of the methane at the top area in gob can also be discharged from the high-level roadway, indicating that the stereo ventilation was beneficial for methane dilution at both the upper and lower region. However, the oxidation zone in the middle of gob was the widest and closed to the mining face, it on the return side was narrower than intake side, and its distribution range was closer to the mining face. And finally, the range of the oxidation zone expanded with the increase in height in the vertical direction. These indicate the dangerous area for preventing gas and coal spontaneous combustion disasters in gob.

The importance of accounting for equity in disaster risk models

Societal efforts to understand and mitigate threats posed by hazards are often informed by complex disaster risk models. Despite research demonstrating the disproportionate effects of disasters on vulnerable groups, current risk modeling approaches lack robust methods to account for such equity concerns. Consequently, efforts to develop evidence-based disaster risk management interventions may lack awareness of differential risks in the settings where they are applied. Here, we draw on the relevant literature to develop a typology for characterizing current approaches to incorporating equity into risk modeling. Using this typology, we then evaluated 69 risk assessments conducted by major international development organizations. We found that only ~ 28% of risk models attempt a quantitative evaluation of the differential impacts of disasters and climate change. We then used an equity-sensitive approach to reconstruct a recent risk assessment and show that important elements are missed when equity is excluded in disaster risk modeling.

Leadership And Self-Reliance’s Cluster In Strengthening Disaster Emergency Management: An Empirical Study

Disaster management leaders are pivotal in reducing loss and suffering from complex disasters, however research on leadership in disaster emergency with relation to enable collaboration for optimizing potential is limited. however the results indicate that acting of “self-interest and other” constrains the need for trust, compassion, practical wisdom as virtue character of leader and culture.

The February 2021 Winter Storm and its impact on Texas infrastructure: Lessons for communities, emergency managers, and first responders

AbstractThis article explores why Texas infrastructure failed during the February 2021 winter storm and discusses the rippling effects it had on governments, emergency managers, first responders, and the public. A qualitative approach was used for this study and was based primarily on interviews that were conducted with 29 individuals to understand the nature of the disaster and discover subsequent actions that took place. Research also incorporated news articles that discussed firsthand accounts taken from members of the public along with government documents that evaluated the impact and response to the disaster. The research discusses ERCOT's efforts to keep infrastructure operational for the public and reveals that emergency managers and first responders were left with insufficient information and resources while Texas was under a state of emergency. The article conveys what was done at the local, state, and federal levels and it also highlights successes and failures of the response. The article offers insight on lessons learned about infrastructure and provides recommendations to mitigate and prepare for complex disaster situations that are likely occur in the future.

Against an insufficient intervention for patients with alcoholism or PTSD: An activity report on a psychiatric clinic after the 2011 complex disaster in Fukushima, Japan

Despite numerous studies using questionnaires to assess mental health problems among disaster victims following a disaster, only a few have examined actual medical treatment situations. Surveys of residents in disaster-affected areas following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster also indicate deteriorated mental health among survivors; however, concrete evidence of increased individuals seeking treatment at psychiatric institutions is still scarce.Using medical records of a psychiatric clinic in an affected area during the chronic phase after a disaster, this study investigated the status of interventions for patients with alcoholism, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and others, including whether violence occurred during treatment.We found that 730 patients visited the clinic for a year, but a few with alcoholism received treatment. Patients who experienced traumatic stress during the disaster had a higher treatment discontinuation rate, though it is not correlated with their involvement in violence. However, a diagnosis of complex PTSD was correlated with involvement in violence during the treatment.The psychiatric clinic providing care during the chronic phase of the post-disaster period did not provide sufficient treatment for alcoholism, where therapeutic interpersonal interaction is emphasized, or for PTSD, where trauma-focused psychotherapy is the standard of care. It is difficult to ensure the availability of highly specialized resources and the establishment of comprehensive ties with the local people in affected areas, however, such a situation poses a challenge.

A Study on the Strategy for Responding to Large-Scale Complex Disasters

Purpose: A large-scale complex disaster refers to a disaster that develops on a huge scale outside the predictable range as natural disasters and social disasters occur serially or simultaneously. The local community must take into account the diversity of residents' situations and organize an evacuation cooperation system in advance in order to respond to such large-scale, complex disasters. The purpose of this paper is to present a direction for improving community response to disasters through a review of large-scale complex disasters.
 Method: This study examines the large-scale flood damage evacuation plan in the 5th district of Koto, Tokyo, Japan, which established an evacuation plan led by the local community after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Evacuation was divided into vertical evacuation, evacuating within the community, and wide area evacuation, evacuating outside the community.
 Results: The main features of these evacuation plans were that they encouraged local residents to make independent judgements, to implement the plans, and to proactively request and prepare for administrative support for the parts that were insufficient.
 Conclusion: First of all, for efficient evacuation from large-scale-complex disasters, various stakeholders need to be recognized and systematically organize, and cooperation with relevant and upper-level administrative agencies is needed to solve problems that are beyond the capacity of local governments. It is also necessary for residents to recognize their own role in disaster response along with the proper implementation of disaster prevention administration, and for the administration to support factors that residents cannot do as much as possible, as the basic structure of the crisis.

Managing through COVID‐19: Reflections from city managers and lessons learned

AbstractOur research centers on the role of city managers in responding to the COVID‐19 pandemic in the United States. We begin by asking: What was the experience of city managers during the COVID‐19 pandemic? Drawing on interview data from 87 US city managers we identify four emergent themes: crisis management, organizational and leadership contexts, unintended outcomes, and administrative impacts. We then apply Comfort's (2007) four Cs—cognition, communication, coordination, and control—to the interview data. We find that cognition, communication, and coordination are critical to city managers experiences in crisis management and response. Control is largely related to organizational and leadership contexts and a key aspect in determining their reported success. We also find that city managers view unintended and administrative outcomes as a result of their crisis management process that reinforce their strategies. From our inductive analysis, we propose a Complex Disaster Response Framework of City Managers.

Responding to the February 2021 Texas Freeze: A Case Study of the Reaction to the Cascading Effects of a Complex Disaster

Abstract The following article examines the cascading effects that took place from February 11–20, 2021, through the perspectives of emergency managers, FEMA employees, and others who responded to “The Texas Freeze.” The research discusses the literature on cascading disasters as well as the methodology that was utilized to conduct this study. It then examines the unique challenges experienced before and after the storm. In particular, the article explores the loss of power that subsequently resulted in the lack of water, the freezing of pipes, and flooding. In addition, it mentions other problems such as transportation and the provision of fuel as well as numerous consequences that posed considerable challenges for hospitals, long-term care facilities, and emergency managers. The article concludes with recommendations to strengthen infrastructure, mitigate winter storms, and increase planning and preparedness for complex disasters. The main point to be made is that far more consideration needs to be given to proactively understand and anticipate cascading disasters.

Roles of public service and private stakeholders in the 2017-2018 listeriosis epidemic in South Africa: An ethical conjecture.

The aim of this article is to carry a bioethical and a limited policy analysis on the progression and aftermath of the 2017-2018 listeriosis epidemic or disaster in South Africa. This links the context of the listeriosis epidemic/disaster to the overall public health systems, disaster medicine, and ethics in South Africa, with specific focus on standards of public service and private stakeholder conduct in the country. The public service angle is unpacked in terms the policy framework relevant to ethics and public health/disaster management. In addition, the process and ethical implications of the management, as well as the role of the various stakeholders, in the 2017-2018 listeriosis epidemic/disaster in South Africa are analyzed and reflected upon. Results of the current study indicate that actions of the public health officials and biomedical scientists, who investigated the listeriosis epidemic/disaster as public servants, were executed in line with the code of conduct of the public service in South Africa. The relevant public service legislation and ethical norms of the public service in South Africa were also adhered to. A slightly different approach was discovered in the conduct of the ready-to-eat (RTE) meat producer that had owned the factory, which was identified as the source of the listeriosis epidemic/disaster. The narrative of online resources indicates that there were many negative outcomes of the 2017-2018 listeriosis epidemic/-disaster in South Africa. Those were stories about negative outcomes of the epidemic that impacted individuals, who were listeriosis sufferers. Their voices and their stories' representation provide an important resource of data on the impacts on the complex disasters on the South African population. Novel approaches are proposed to address the challenges identified along the public-private goods continuum and approaches to food production and access to sources of dietary protein in South Africa.

재난대응의 단순화 방안에 관한 연구

On October 29, 2022, when the end of the long social distancing that began with COVID-19 was visible, we again looked at the terrible reality that we did not want to face in South Korea. We must pay attention to the fact that it was a disaster that could be sufficiently prevented and managed regardless of cause and effect. In the meantime, Korea has been through various social disasters that can't be found in the world. Things like the collapse of Sampoong Department Store, the Daegu subway disaster, and the Sewol ferry disaster, all of which are difficult to enumerate. At that time, we have prepared laws and systems and reorganized the organization to prevent such absurd disasters from happening again. A manual for numerous disaster response was also created, and an education and training system was prepared to compare with the past. But in the end, the disaster that could have been prevented happened again. Rather than making something new and hasty, we need to take time to really seriously look at what is the problem and what needs to be changed.
 In the meantime, we have looked at disasters too fragmentarily only by their scale. Disasters have multiple sides. In particular, disasters in modernized societies are quite complex and require the intervention of various administrative agencies and social personnel. Even if you don't, you need to think about whether it's right to create an additional manual again in a complicated and too diverse manual. Now, the manual should be simplified based on authority and responsibility. It should not happen to study manuals at disaster sites where 1 minute 1 second is urgent.
 The existing legal system, which is divided into natural and social disasters, also needs to be overhauled. While talking about the importance of complex disasters, maintaining a legal system that requires response organizations to move separately is inevitably defenseless against various multiple and complex disasters that will occur in the future. The goal should not be to figure out the number of victims at the disaster site and prepare a recovery headquarters, but to prevent more victims from occurring.

통일미래 준비를 위한 남북 재해재난 협력 방안 연구

Due to the increased variability of climate change, not only the types of disasters and occur on a complex and large scale, but also the survival itself is threatened due to enormous damage as geographical boundaries disappear. In the case of the Korean Peninsula, damage from natural disasters is increasing, and the risk of complex disasters is increasing. Even if US-North Korea denuclearization negotiations are suspended and inter-Korean relations deteriorate, the need for inter-Korean disaster relief cooperation does not diminish. On the other hand, the Yoon Seok-yeol government is also presenting ‘establishing a climate and environmental community on the Korean Peninsula through inter-Korean Green-detente’ as one of the key tasks for unification and North Korea policy through the 「Audacious Initiative」. Considering these points, the purpose of this study is to draw implications through case studies by type of inter-Korean disaster cooperation, and to present inter-Korean disaster cooperation plans based on this. It is hoped that the continuity and implementation of inter-Korean disaster cooperation will increase in the future, and this will become the cornerstone for preparing for the future of unification.

Perancangan Board Game Sebagai Media Pengenalan Mitigasi Bencana Banjir

Indonesia is a country with a high level of vulnerability to the risks of disaster events. In the last five years, from 2017 to 2021, disaster events in Indonesia have been dominated by floods among other types of disasters. To avoid the impact of disaster risk, every element of society is obliged to be involved in disaster management efforts. The initial stage of disaster management is disaster mitigation which needs to be introduced to the public through outreach and education aimed at building disaster awareness behavior and practicing disaster mitigation skills early. However, disaster education is actually hampered, in part because the availability of teaching materials is still limited. From the various media that have been implemented, board games are considered to be able to introduce complex disaster concepts by being packaged into games with educational value through a gamification approach that can increase motivation in learning disaster insights. This design was prepared with the aim of making flood disaster introduction media through board games with educational value to teenagers. The method used is to collect data from literature studies, existing studies on disaster education products, in-depth interviews, preparation of play flows with swimlane scenario descriptions, gameplay studies with mechanics & gameplay studies, then mapping out concepts to design prototypes that will be tested on target users. The final result is a board game called MitiGo which can increase awareness of the risk of flood disasters by increasing enthusiasm and encouraging student involvement in the learning process of flood disaster mitigation. Keywords: Board Game, Gamification, Disaster Mitigation.

Financing Disaster Risk Reduction: Exploring the Opportunities, Challenges, and Threats Within the Southern African Development Community Region

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, a regional economic body comprised of 16 member states, is one of our planet’s most vulnerable regions to natural hazards, and has a complex disaster risk profile. The region has sustained several disasters over the past decades. These events include annual floods in 2004–2019 and extreme droughts (1990–1993); other climate-induced disasters, such as cyclones, also have had devastating impacts, particularly on the Indian Ocean island states and east coast countries. To reduce the risk and impacts of disasters, governments must invest in disaster risk reduction (DRR). However, interventions aimed at reducing social and economic vulnerability and investing in long-term mitigation activities are often few, poorly funded, and insignificant in comparison with money spent on humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and post-disaster reconstruction. This study investigated whether DRR is adequately funded within SADC member states in light of the high stakes in human life, infrastructure, and economic losses and the potential savings involved. The study applied a qualitative research design with data collected through semistructured interviews and focus group discussions. Respondents were selected purposefully and through snowball sampling with a total of 67 respondents from Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe participating in the study. The study findings reveal that DRR is inadequately funded in all the member states consulted in comparison to funding allocated to disaster response. In light of the underfunding experienced by DRR activities, this study provides a platform for lobbying and advocacy for adequate funding for DRR.

Impact of Disasters on Older Adult Cancer Outcomes: A Scoping Review.

There is an urgent need to address the growing global cancer burden in the context of complex disaster events, which both disrupt access to oncology care and facilitate carcinogenic exposures. Older adults (65 years and older) are a growing population with multifaceted care needs, making them especially vulnerable to disasters. The objective of this scoping review is to characterize the state of the literature concerning older adult cancer-related outcomes and oncologic care after a disaster event. A search was conducted in PubMed and Web of Science. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for scoping reviews, articles were extracted and screened for inclusion. Eligible articles were summarized using descriptive and thematic analyses. Thirty-five studies met all criteria for full-text review. The majority focused on technological disasters (60%, n = 21), followed by climate-amplified disasters (28.6%, n = 10) and geophysical disasters (11.4%, n = 4). Thematic analysis classified the current evidence into three major categories: (1) studies concerned with carcinogenic exposure and cancer incidence related to the disaster event, (2) studies examining changes in access to cancer care and cancer treatment disruptions as a result of the disaster event, and (3) studies exploring the psychosocial experiences of patients with cancer affected by a disaster event. Few studies focused on older adults specifically, and most of the current evidence focuses on disasters in the United States or Japan. Older adult cancer outcomes after a disaster event are understudied. Current evidence suggests that disasters worsen cancer-related outcomes among older adults by disrupting continuity of care and access to timely treatment. There is a need for prospective longitudinal studies following older adult populations postdisaster and studies focused on disasters in low- and middle-income country contexts.

Navigating a Context of Severe Uncertainty: The Effect of Industry Unsafety Signals on Employee Well-being During the COVID-19 Crisis.

Complex disaster situations like the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) create macro-level contexts of severe uncertainty that disrupt industries across the globe in unprecedented ways. While occupational health research has made important advances in understanding the effects of occupational stressors on employee well-being, there is a need to better understand the employee well-being implications of severe uncertainty stemming from macro-level disruption. We draw from the Generalized Unsafety Theory of Stress (GUTS) to explain how a context of severe uncertainty can create signals of economic and health unsafety at the industry level, leading to emotional exhaustion through paths of economic and health anxiety. We integrate recent disaster scholarship that classifies COVID-19 as a transboundary disaster and use this interdisciplinary perspective to explain how COVID-19 created a context of severe uncertainty from which these effects unfold. To test our proposed model, we pair objective industry data with time-lagged quantitative and qualitative survey responses from 212 employees across industries collected during the height of the initial COVID-19 response in the United States. Structural equation modeling results indicate a significant indirect effect of industry COVID-19 unsafety signals on emotional exhaustion through the health, but not economic, unsafety path. Qualitative analyses provide further insights into these dynamics. Theoretical and practical implications for employee well-being in a context of severe uncertainty are discussed.

Book Review of Complex Disasters: Compounding, Cascading, and ProtractedAnnaLukasiewicz, TayanahO'Donnell (ed). Palgrave Macmillan Singapore of Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd, Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore, pp. xxvii+394. ISBN: 978‐981‐19‐2427‐9 (hbk), 978‐981‐19‐2428‐6 (ebk)

Risk AnalysisEarly View BOOK REVIEW Review of complex disasters: Compounding, cascading, and protracted , Anna Lukasiewicz, Tayanah O'Donnell (ed). Palgrave Macmillan Singapore of Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd, Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore, pp. xxvii+394. ISBN: 978-981-19-2427-9 (hbk), 978-981-19-2428-6 (ebk) Feng Kong, Corresponding Author Feng Kong [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-5598 College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author Feng Kong, Corresponding Author Feng Kong [email protected] orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-5598 College of Humanities and Development Studies, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author First published: 10 April 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.14148 ORCID: Feng Kong https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7259-5598 Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue RelatedInformation

Rainfall and Earthquake-induced Landslide Susceptibility Assessment

When rainfall and earthquake occur simultaneously, large-scale landslides can cause direct damage to lives and structures. To reduce such large-scale landslide damage, rainfall and earthquake-induced landslide susceptibility has to be evaluated. Therefore, in this study, landslide susceptibility was evaluated by considering only rainfall, only earthquake, and both rainfall and earthquake in the Atsuma region of Japan, where a large-scale landslide was triggered by a combination of rainfall and earthquake. Through quantitative index analysis, the accuracy of the landslide susceptibility map was improved when both rainfall and earthquake were considered. The proposed method was also applied to the Naari basin in Yangnam-myeon, Gyeongju as a pilot district. We found that the landslide-susceptible area increased when rainfall and earthquake were considered simultaneously than when rainfall and earthquake were considered separately. Through such research, can be used as basic data for complex disaster vulnerability assessment.

The emergence of complex adaptive response networks in China: A case study of four disasters.

This study aimsto identify the driving forces behind interorganizational networks in China following disasters. Using the theory of complex adaptive systems, we identified the self-organization process of disaster response as the network formation process. We identified interorganizational networks that emerged in response to two natural hazards and two technical disasters by collecting data from multiple sources. The exponential random model analysis is performed to analyzethe effects of structures and organizational attributes on network formation. In structuring networks for disaster response, findings demonstrate thatbonding structures take precedence over bridging structures for organizations. Meanwhile, the sector and jurisdiction-based homophily effects facilitate network formation in disaster response. On the basis of research findings, five propositions describing the network formation process in China's disaster response are proposed. Such a theoretical model is essential for advancing research and practice in complex disaster network management.

The On-Going Humanitarian Crisis of Mass Human Migration due to Complex Disasters.

The On-Going Humanitarian Crisis of Mass Human Migration due to Complex Disasters.

Complex disaster response framework to reduce urban disaster vulnerability.

Cities are vulnerable to a range of disasters that can occur simultaneously due to their complexity. Therefore, an effective disaster response plan is needed to reduce the disaster vulnerability of cities. In particular, evacuation route management is important for reducing the losses from a disaster. Efficient disaster response can be realized by searching for suitable evacuation routes and effective road network management. In this paper, we propose a disaster response framework based on a multilayered road network structure and evacuation routes based on our road network. The suggested road structure consists of three layers for the effective management of the network. An A* algorithm-based search for multiple evacuation routes under different conditions in response to an individual disaster on the configured road map provides a safe route for evacuees. As a result, the damage caused by disasters in urban areas can be ameliorated.