Effective Emergency Management Research Articles

Hydrodynamic and Wave Responses During Storm Surges on the Southern Brazilian Coast: A Real-Time Forecast System

Coastal flooding is a global phenomenon that results in severe economic losses, threatens lives, and impacts coastal communities worldwide. While recent developments in real-time flood forecasting systems provide crucial information to support coastal communities during coastal disasters, there remains a challenge to implement such systems in data-poor regions. This study demonstrates an operational real-time coupled surge wave guidance system for the coastal areas of Southern Brazil. This system is based on the recently developed integrated flood (iFLOOD) model, which utilizes the coupled hydrodynamic and phase-averaged ADCIRC–SWAN wave numerical model, driven by astronomical tides and atmospheric forcing from the Global Forecast System (GFS). This numerical modeling framework can simulate water levels and waves with a lead time of 84 h. A version of the coupled ADCIRC–SWAN model calibrated for Brazil, i.e., iFLOOD-Brazil, was operationally implemented (i.e., twice a day) over a period of 4 months (April to September 2020) for normal daily weather validation, as well as during a recent “bomb” cyclone that strongly impacted the southern coast of the country in June 2020. The real-time water levels and waves forecasted by iFLOOD-Brazil showed promising results against observations, with root mean square error (RMSE) values of 0.32 m and 0.68 m, respectively, for normal daily weather. Additionally, the RMSE values were 0.23 m for water levels and 1.55 m for waves during extreme weather, averaged over eight water level and two wave recording stations. In order to improve real-time predictions, a bias correction scheme was introduced and was shown to improve the water level and wave forecasts by removing the known systematic errors resulting from underestimation of astronomical tides and inadequate initial boundary conditions. The bias-corrected forecasts showed significant improvements in forecasted wave heights (0.47 m, 0.35 m) and water levels (0.17 m, 0.28 m) during daily and extreme weather conditions. The real-time iFLOOD-Brazil forecast system is the first step toward developing an accurate prediction model to support effective emergency management actions, storm mitigation, and planning in order to protect these economically valuable and socially vulnerable coastal areas.

A resilience-based framework for decision making based on simulation-optimization approach

The functioning of infrastructure systems and buildings in the aftermath of a disaster is critical to the modern urban center. A system study of interdependent networks response and understanding the process of post-disaster recovery is the corner stone of an effective emergency management plan. Exposure to stressors such as chaotic circumstances, budgetary restrictions, time limitations, resource constraints, high-level uncertainty and complexity in the recovery process of a community, highlighting the necessity for comprehensive decision-making framework in the aftermath of disasters. A decision-making framework in the community-level needs to puzzle out large-scale stochastic scheduling problems. These types of problems are difficult stochastic control problems with large combinatorial decision spaces.This study introduces the use of approximate dynamic programming along with heuristics for the determination of optimal recovery actions. The proposed approach prevails the curse of dimensionality and manages multi-state, large-scale infrastructure systems. Further, the proposed approach is able to consider the current recovery policies of responsible companies and improves them along with limited resources.A testbed community coarsely modeled after Gilroy, California, is presented as an illustrative example to show how the proposed approach can be implemented efficiently and accurately to find the optimal decisions. The applied approach provides optimal policies for Electrical Power Network (EPN) and Water Network (WN) of Gilroy in the aftermath of a simulated severe earthquake. The methodology is well suited for any existing infrastructure system with potential extensions to any hazard.

After Action Review of the 2019 measles outbreak in Clark County, Washington, U.S.A

Abstract Issue Clark County experienced a measles outbreak that challenged public health authorities. Description of the practice: We conducted a formal After Action Review with state and local health officials, school officials, and others to identify lessons for public health practitioners facing future outbreaks. Results Following the early identification of measles in a child who had recently arrived from Ukraine, active surveillance identified 71 confirmed cases, most in unvaccinated persons under 18 years of age. 4,138 contacts were traced and public health personnel made daily monitoring calls to 816. 53 potential exposure sites in healthcare facilities, schools and other public places were identified and communicated to the public. As a social distancing measure, unvaccinated students, teachers, and staff were excluded from schools in which exposure had occurred. Ascertaining susceptibility status was challenging. The national anti-vaccination sentiment and a parallel outbreak in a New York religious community created challenges in representing community risk while avoiding stigmatization of a community in which the first reported case was identified. Rather than respond to every false claim on social media, the health department developed talking points about emerging issues and engaged the community in dialogue. Lessons Responding to the measles outbreak required innovative approaches to surveillance and contact tracing, social distancing (school exclusions), and emergency risk communication. The response required extensive coordinated efforts of the county and state health departments, school systems, and many other organizations. Mutual aid enabled an influx of resources but managing the surge of responders proved challenging. Key messages Public health emergencies require effective emergency management practices. Carefully conducted After Action Reviews of health emergencies can help public health practitioners identify challenges and innovative practices.

OPTIMIZATION MODELS FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND POST-DISASTER DELIVERY LOGISTICS: A REVIEW OF CURRENT APPROACHES

Emergency response preparedness increases disaster resilience and mitigates its possible impacts, mostly in public health emergencies. Prompt activation of these response plans and rapid optimization of delivery models and are essential for effective management of emergencies and disaster. In this paper, existing computational models and algorithms for routing deliveries and logistics during public health emergencies are identified. An overview of recent developments of optimization models and contributions, with emphasis on their applications in situations of uncertainties and unreliability, as obtainable in low-resource countries, is presented. Specific recent improvements in biologically-inspired and intelligent algorithms, genetic algorithms, and artificial immune systems techniques are surveyed. The research gaps are identified, and suggestions for potential future research concentrations are proffered.

Warrnambool Exchange Fire — Resilience and Emergency Management

Effective emergency management of a disaster at a single point of failure is vital if the effects of the disaster are to be mitigated. The immediate impacts of a disaster highlight stakeholder perspectives. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to every disaster. Nevertheless, analysing features, aftermath, impact and interim services made available after a disaster provide lessons that can be utilised to avert or mitigate the effects of similar events in the future. This paper provides lessons learnt from a fire that occurred in 2012 in the Warrnambool telephone exchange located in Victoria, Australia and proposes a strategy that provides increased network resilience and more effective emergency management once the copper-based core switching in exchanges is progressively replaced by fibre service area modules.

Visual analytical tools for multivariate higher-order information for emergency management

Higher order information of moving objects is of great importance for processing in-case scenarios in emergency management. Multivariate higher order information management is a crucial key to the success of emergency management since emergency management involves developing plans with a given set of multiple resources. Past studies focus on univariate higher order information limiting the scope of applicability and usability. This paper proposes a set of visual analytical approaches supporting multivariate higher order information for dynamically moving disasters. We introduce a robust Voronoi based data structure supporting multivariate datasets and dynamic disasters, and propose visual analytical approaches for effective emergency management. The proposed visual analytical suite facilitates interactivity and enables users to explore in-case scenarios with multivarite datasets and dynamic disasters. A case study with real datasets is given to explain the applicability, usability and practicability of the proposed system.

DEVELOPING A CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION USING PARTIAL LEAST SQUARES STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING

Sustainable construction is vital for the embodiment of sustainable development, and corporate social responsibility practice is critical for construction firms to realize sustainable construction. However, the link between sustainable construction and corporate social responsibility is still in its infancy, and previous studies have not developed comprehensive methods for evaluating sustainable construction performance. We first established a conceptual corporate social responsibility framework based on the five aspects of sustainable construction: economic, environmental, social, stakeholders, and health and safety. Then, a set of criteria assessing sustainable construction performance was identified through a literature review and interviews with industry practitioners. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect primary data and identify the significance of the proposed criteria. Furthermore, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to statistically validate the conceptual model and identify key factors for sustainable construction. The results revealed that health and safety, and environment are the key aspects, while site inspection and audits, providing a healthy and safe working environment, effective emergency management procedures and safety supervision, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, reducing pollution and waste, and corporate environmental management system are critical to achieving sustainable construction. Our study underlines the link between sustainable construction and corporate social responsibility, improves the evaluation accuracy, and provides new guidelines for practical applications.

Improving Disaster Response Plans With STECA

In order to have immediate and effective management of crises and emergencies, natural and technological disaster response plans are created. These plans define the elements of a system responsible to manage a disaster, their roles, and responsibilities together with their interactions. In some cases, however, the system which is formed based on these plans fails to perform as desired. This paper proposes the utilization of systems theoretic early concept analysis (STECA) as an effective approach to efficiently identify loopholes in existing disaster response plans. STECA was applied to the formal evacuation plan of Greece's Civil Protection Agency due to forest fires and identified thirty one loopholes that were validated against the official prosecutors' investigation reports of the 2018 “Mati” forest fire tragedy in Athens, Greece.

A Multiple Case Study of the Interagency Relationship Between School Administrators and Law Enforcement Personnel in the Creation, Implementation, and Sustaining of School Emergency Management Plans

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to examine how the interorganizational relationship between school administrators and law enforcement personnel with diverse cultures, missions, and objectives collaborates to create, implement, and sustain emergency management readiness. The theoretical concept that guided this study involved interorganizational theories as they relate to two or more organizations working together toward a common goal. This study used purposeful sampling of 12 participants from three school districts from the states of Alabama, New Mexico, and Illinois. Interviews, documents, and artifacts, such as school safety plans, school safety drills, safety audits, and Safe School rubrics, were analyzed as part of the data collection process. Results indicated that the creation of emergency management plans is primarily the work of district administrators. The implementation process included district administrators and building principals with minimal input of law enforcement personnel. However, the process of sustaining school emergency plans is a joint effort between school and law enforcement personnel. Analysis of data affirmed the importance of having an effective interorganizational relationship between school and law enforcement personnel in the context of school safety to create an effective emergency management plan in the school.

Risk Analysis of Emergency Based on Fuzzy Evidential Reasoning

Risk analysis of emergency is vital to effective emergency management. However, conventional analysis is challenged by the emerging problems as risk of emergency appearing increasingly complicated. The risk attributes of emergency originate in complicated sources, and their information is always incomplete. To ensure the efficiency and stability of emergency risk analysis, we proposed an elaborative approach composed of structural description framework and fuzzy evidential reasoning. Firstly, the risk attributes are identified by structural description framework. The information as evidence is obtained and normalized for further analysis. Secondly, risk analysis model with fuzzy evidential reasoning is constructed, and risk grade is evaluated. Finally, a certain railway project accident is taken as an example to test the model and some managerial insights are demonstrated. An approach combining structural description framework and fuzzy evidential reasoning model is feasible and effective; furthermore, it provides stable support for emergency risk analysis.

Research on the emergency management pattern and adjustment system for urban waterlogging

Urban waterlogging events have become more frequent in big cities, causing a considerable economic loss and casualties. Waterlogging disasters exert increasingly severe influences on cities, which has become a research hotspot under changing environment. In view of that problem of insufficient information in the waterlogging emergency management, it is necessary to build emergency management pattern to adapt to the changing environment of urban waterlogging and design support emergency management pattern implementation of adjustment system. Through the process of "pre-event, in-event and after-event", a set of emergency pattern is designed to face the urban waterlogging event, which ensures that the management personnel could grasp the state of the occurrence of the event at each stage of the event and take countermeasures for the occurrence of the event quickly. The digitalization and visualization of urban waterlogging emergency management can be realized by using customized components, drawing knowledge map and designing adjustment system. According to the urban waterlogging emergency management pattern, the Beijing emergency plan component and the component based on similar historical case analysis are customized, and the functions of the components are realized through the integrated adjustment system. The application shows that emergency management adjustment system of urban waterlogging can realize the quick use of information, offer users customized waterlogging emergency management services, and provide the management with the support of effective emergency management decision. The results can provide conceptual and technical support for urban emergency management. It can also improve the timeliness of urban response and the level of urban flood control.

A data-driven analysis of flash flood hazard, fatalities, and damages over the CONUS during 1996–2017

Flash floods are among the most disastrous natural hazards worldwide because of their rapid onset that limits effective emergency response and management. Understanding the spatiotemporal characteristics of flash floods can help emergency managers and stakeholders in devising solutions to mitigate the associated risks and damages. In this study, a data-driven approach is employed to characterize flash flood hazard across the contiguous United States (CONUS). The National Weather Service (NWS) Storm Events database is utilized, and a total of 74,814 flash flood events are assessed during 1996–2017. The frequency, duration, property damages, and fatalities of flash floods are investigated across spatial domains (i.e. county, state, regional, and entire CONUS) and multiple temporal scales (i.e. annual, seasonal, monthly, and diurnal). Results indicate that flash flood frequency has slightly increased over the CONUS in the past 22 years, and the property damages have substantially raised. Flash floods are found to be more frequent in summer and less frequent but longer in winter. Our analyses indicate distinct regional patterns for duration of median versus extreme flash floods. In addition, the diurnal distribution of flash floods indicate that they are more likely to initiate in the evening and terminate around midnight. The average duration of flash floods in the past 22 years has been about 3.5 h, yet in some rare cases, they persisted for about two days. The findings of this study can shed light on flash flood hazard across the CONUS, which can be useful for mitigating flash flood risks.

Toward Accessible Hazard Mapping: Tactile Risk Maps and Disaster Preparedness

Abstract. The near future of our planet under climate change is predicted to be characterized by increasingly frequent and severe natural hazards of all kinds. Understanding the potential spatial extent and impacts of these hazards is a critical component of creating effective emergency management plans, not just on the part of emergency managers and relief organizations, but also for those who may reside in areas vulnerable to disaster. Often, information about disaster risk is communicated using maps, such as in the case of storm surge maps, evacuation zone maps or wildfire extent maps. While generally helpful, these maps are of limited use to those with low vision or blindness, and the information is rarely, if ever, distributed in accessible formats. Furthermore, in contrast to wayfinding maps, this type of information does not lend itself to being translated into a set of instructions to be read aloud by a test-to-speech device. Instead, risk maps are useful because they allow users to identify and assess spatial relationships between many features on the maps- a key process that would be muddled if the maps were to be verbally described, and thus a process that is currently inaccessible to those who cannot see the maps. As people with visual impairments are especially vulnerable in disaster scenarios, working towards the universal accessibility of spatial information is imperative for inclusive disaster preparedness and hazard mitigation.Many challenges exist in creating maps for people with visual impairments. The most obvious is the fact that a visual medium cannot be used by someone who is unable to see. It is important to note that “visual impairment” covers a broad spectrum of conditions from pronounced myopia to complete blindness. Here, I will be limiting my topical scope to people with total or near-total blindness. Tactile maps are the tool of choice for this population. However, it is generally harder to distinguish between similar patterns using touch than using sight, so features on a tactile map need to be unique and unambiguous. This makes it more challenging to communicate information typically represented using color gradients or transparency. Additionally, distributing spatial information in tactile form poses another layer of complications. There are several options for creating tactile maps, from embossed paper to 3D printing, and each come with their own advantages and drawbacks. Cost, speed and detail all vary among these media, and thus each potentially impact the user’s perception of risk. In my talk, I will be examining these challenges as they intersect with research on cartographic risk visualization, emergency management, and tactile maps in general. First, I will briefly discuss the state of risk visualization in the context of emergency management, focusing on preparedness. Then, I will give a general overview of the extant research on tactile maps with particular attention paid to their influence on spatial cognition. Next, I will examine how the considerations particular to risk map creation are affected by the potentials and limitations of tactile maps. Finally, I will outline a research agenda for creating and distributing accessible maps for emergency management. Using visual impairment and tactile maps as starting points, I will identify further aspects of emergency management that urgently require greater attention to accessibility, and how cartographic research and technology can help bridge those gaps. Planning for natural hazards is an essential step in mitigating their impacts on communities, and that process includes individual citizens making their own plans for evacuation, finding shelter or securing food, water or medicine. This is especially important for people with disabilities, as resources deployed after a disaster may fail to accommodate their particular needs, and processes such as evacuating a building or house can take substantially longer than average. Planning for these scenarios is made all the more difficult for people with visual impairments, as conventional maps are unhelpful, and environmental awareness is limited. Thus, empowering people with visual impairments to make emergency plans for themselves and contribute to planning for their community as a whole can help build autonomy and self-confidence and ultimately ensure that disaster plans truly account for everyone.

Design of level of service on facilities for crowd evacuation using genetic algorithm optimization

This paper introduces a novel technique to design the level of service (LOS) for facilities or sub spaces of buildings for the purpose of evacuation planning. LOS is a standard qualitative indicator used to describe flow characteristics in a pedestrian environment. Some evacuation planners use LOS to help determine the network parameters when solving evacuation planning problems by the network flow approach. However, there is currently limited research into the optimization of the LOS parameters themselves to construct more efficient evacuation networks. In this paper the authors used a genetic algorithm optimization approach to determine LOS for facilities to improve the evacuation performance of building networks. Each individual chromosome containing a LOS design represents a fully defined evacuation network that can be solved. The fitness of each network is measured by minimum clearance time, which is calculated by the Capacity Constrained Route Planner (CCRP) approach. A comparative computational test in a hypothetical three-story building shows that the evacuation network under the optimized LOS design has a roughly 11% less minimum clearance time compared to the network under the original LOS design. Sensitivity analysis is also included, focusing on how the population size and the building layout influence the LOS design. In addition, an additional computational test for a twelve-deck cruise ship shows that the approach is scalable to solve more complex evacuation networks. The proposed approach has the potential to provide better LOS assignments for facilities for the government officials to develop effective emergency management strategies.

A framework for integrating information resources for chemical emergency management and response.

Effective emergency management and response require appropriate utilization of various resources as an incident evolves. This manuscript describes the information resources used in chemical emergency management and operations and how their utility evolves from the initial response phase to recovery to event close out. The authors address chemical hazard guidance in the context of four different phases of emergency response: preparedness, emergency response (both initial and ongoing), recovery, and mitigation. Immediately following a chemical incident, during the initial response, responders often use readily available, broad-spectrum guidance to make rapid decisions in the face of uncertainties regarding potential exposure to physical and health hazards. Physical hazards are described as the hazards caused by chemicals that can cause harm with or without direct contact. Examples of physical hazards include explosives, flammables, and gases under pressure. This first line of resources may not be chemical-specific in nature, but it can provide guidance related to isolation distances, protective actions, and the most important physical and health threats. During the ongoing response phase, an array of resources can provide detailed information on physical and health hazards related to specific chemicals of concern. Consequently, risk management and mitigation actions evolve as well. When the incident stabilizes to a recovery phase, the types of information resources that facilitate safe and effective incident management evolve. Health and physical concerns transition from acute toxicity and immediate hazards to both immediate and latent health effects. Finally, the information inputs utilized during the preparedness phase include response evaluations of past events, emergency preparedness planning, and chemical-specific guidance about chemicals present. This manuscript details a framework for identifying the effective use of information resources at each phase and provides case study examples from chemical hazard emergencies.

Innovative monitoring instruments as support tools for natural risks management

Within the geotechnical field, monitoring systems are particularly important for what concern the description of natural phenomena and data collection for risks prevention purposes. For this reason, the need for instruments able to guarantee a continuous and prolonged control of the area has led to the development of new monitoring systems featuring higher reliability, durability and accuracy withrespect to traditional approaches. With these tools, it is possible to monitor various parameters with automatic procedures and high frequency sampling, allowing to perform statistical analyses and to provide a more accurate description of the ongoing phenomenon.Another relevant aspect is the ability to realize automated systems able to remotely elaborate data recorded by on-site instrumentation.This feature has led to the development of specific software and webbased interactive platforms integrated with various technologies.These features made it possible to develop Early Warning Systems (EWS) with a near real-time approach, allowing for a more effective and reliable management of emergencies.

Effective Emergency Response Begins Long Before a Storm Hits

No water utility operator wants to have to manage through a natural disaster. However, developing effective emergency management expertise can yield benefits for the utility for years to follow.

Emergency Management of Acute Late-Presenting Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia in Infants and Children.

ObjectivesAcute late-presenting congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) might result in mediastinal shift away from the lesion and even sudden cardiopulmonary arrest. This study aimed to discuss the prompt and effective emergency management of acute late-presenting CDH.MethodsA retrospective review of acute late-presenting CDH cases in West China Hospital of Sichuan University and Guizhou Provincial People's Hospital from October 2010 to June 2016 was conducted.ResultsA total of 22 patients were included in this study. All the patients presented with respiratory symptoms. Chest x-ray revealed swollen stomach and mediastinal shift. After nasogastric tube placement, fluid infusion, and nasal oxygen breathing, the symptoms in 8 patients ameliorated, and 14 patients had no signs of obvious relief. Three patients underwent the bedside percutaneous puncture of distensible stomach, and 1 patient died in the process of emergent management for critical condition. The remaining 21 patients underwent emergency surgery. Five thoracotomies and 16 thoracoscopies were performed. Five thoracoscopies that were converted to thoracotomies were required for the difficult reduction of herniated stomach. At follow-up, all patients improved their condition.ConclusionsAcute late-presenting CDH is a clinical emergency that can be fatal. The sudden and progressive expansion of the stomach is mainly responsible for this emergent condition. The prompt and effective management is key to decrease the mortality and achieve favorable prognosis.

Vulnerability of Transport Networks to Multi-Scenario Flooding and Optimum Location of Emergency Management Centers

Floods are the climatic factors that cause more significant impacts on transportation infrastructures. This circumstance could get worse, taking into account climate change effects. The literature points out different adaptation measures to minimize the possible increasing effects caused by climate change. Among them is the improvement of the vulnerability of a transport network and Emergency Management Systems. The effective management of emergencies is of vital importance to minimize the potential damage resulting from a catastrophe. Given such circumstances, analysis of the vulnerability of networks is a technique whose results highlight deficiencies and serve as support for future decisions concerning the transformation of the network or the installation of new emergency centers. The main objective of this research is to highlight the vulnerability of the road network in a variety of multi-contingency scenarios related to flooding and to identify the optimal location for a new emergency management center based on that analysis. The results obtained could be used in urban planning tasks to improve the resilience of urban areas in the face of an increase in flood episodes caused by climate change.

Tracheostomy Care Education for the Nonsurgical First Responder: A Needs-Based Assessment and Quality Improvement Initiative.

ObjectivesTo perform a needs-based assessment for tracheostomy care education for nonsurgical first responders in the hospital setting and to implement and assess the efficacy of a targeted tracheostomy educational program.MethodsA prospective observational study conducted between October 2017 and May 2018 including emergency medicine (EM) residents, internal medicine (IM) residents, and intensive care unit (ICU) advanced practice providers at 2 tertiary hospitals. Needs-based assessments were conducted, leading to specialty specific curricula. One-hour educational sessions included didactics and case-based simulation. A pre- and posttest objective knowledge quiz and self-assessment were administered, and a posttest was repeated at 6 months.ResultsThere were 85 participants (13 ICU, 40 EM, 32 IM). Significant improvement (P < .05) in mean objective knowledge score was seen across all groups between pre- and postintervention assessments with relative but not significant improvement at 6 months. There were significant increases in comfort level from pre- to postintervention. At 6-month follow-up, comfort level remained significantly increased for the majority of questions for the EM group and for select questions for IM and ICU advanced practice provider groups.DiscussionNonsurgeons are often first responders to critical airway situations yet receive limited formal education regarding tracheostomy. We demonstrated improvement in knowledge and comfort after a targeted educational module for tracheostomy care and management.Implications for PracticeAlthough tracheostomy care is multidisciplinary, specialty-specific education may provide a more relevant foundation on which to build skills. Prompt and effective management of tracheostomy emergencies by first responders may improve patient safety and reduce mortality.