Effective Emergency Management Research Articles

Coastal Flood Risk and Smart Resilience Evaluation under a Changing Climate

Coastal areas are highly vulnerable to flood risks, which are exacerbated by the changing climate. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature on coastal flood risk assessment and resilience evaluation and proposes a smart-resilient city framework based on pre-disaster, mid-disaster, and post-disaster evaluations. First, this paper systematically reviews the origin of the resilience concept and the development of flood resilience. Next, it introduces the social-acceptable risk criteria and the flood resilience level for different flood phases. Then, a coastal flood resilience management system for smart cities is proposed, covering 3 phases of flood disasters (before, during, and after). Risk assessment is essential in pre-disaster scenarios because it provides a comprehensive understanding of the potential hazards and vulnerabilities of an area or system. Big data monitoring during disasters is an essential component of effective emergency management and response that can allow for more informed decisions and thus quicker, more effective responses to disasters, ultimately saving lives and minimizing damage. Data-informed loss assessments are crucial in providing a rapid, accurate understanding of post-disaster impact. This understanding, in turn, is instrumental in expediting recovery and reconstruction efforts by aiding decision-making processes and resource allocation. Finally, the impacts of climate change on the 3 phases of flood disasters are summarized. The development of more resilient coastal communities that are better equipped to withstand the impacts of climate change and adapt to changing environmental conditions is crucial. To address coastal compound floods, researchers should focus on understanding trigging factor interactions, assessing economic and social risks, improving monitoring and emergency response systems, and promoting interdisciplinary research with data openness. These strategies will enable comprehensive and holistic management of coastal flood risks in the context of climate change.

CRITICALITY OF SUSTAINABLE DISASTER MANAGEMENT THROUGH COMMUNICATION, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

The sustainability development process is crucial towards the management of disasters. This study describes the criticality of communication, situational awareness and resource management as part of an effective disaster management process during response and early recovery in minimizing the impact of disasters and their losses. Being part of a larger research, the study utilizes a validated and published checklist to observe lead responding agencies and is validated via three validation approaches involving exercise logs by the exercise controller, lead agency officers at the site, and final emergency exercise reports. Results are also reinforced with a survey questionnaire towards lead responding agency decision-makers during disasters. Both methods allow the researcher to differentiate between the respondent's real-time response and the intended outcome. It is found that the enhancement of institutional capacities of nations' emergency responders can significantly improve and ensure sustainability in managing disasters through effective emergency management elements of communication, situational awareness and resource management. Hence, it is agreed that emergency responders should adopt a system-thinking approach and computer-aided decision support system for the management of emergencies and disasters. Keywords: Emergency Responder, Disaster Management, Situational Awareness, Resource Management, Communication Management DOI： https://doi.org/10.35741/issn.0258-2724.58.2.70

INTEGRATED DISASTER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND ITS COMPLIANCE WITH DISASTER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM CRITERIA

The article describes a new system for managing disasters and its adherence to the specific needs of disaster management system criteria based on compliance with Malaysia’s disaster management environment, hence enabling lead responding agencies and industries to have the opportunity of having expert assistance during disaster situations. This paper is part of a larger research on Integrated Disaster Management Systems (IDMS), which has been previously published and properly mentioned throughout this paper, hence the paper concentrates on IDMS development. Based on Entity-Relationship Diagram (ERD) and developed based on Structured Query Language (SQL), the development of IDMS used HTML and combining database from MySQL, hence providing a graphical user interface (GUI) for end-user with simple usage of IDMS and interactive information interchange between a user server and web pages. The output system is an IDMS consisting of eight (8) forms and six (6) output reports. Each form and output report have their own purpose allowing assistance to emergency responders in managing disasters. The outcome of these systems complies with elements of effective emergency management and the criteria for a computerized disaster management system and can be used for future criteria in developing a comprehensive disaster management system. The novelty of the results creates more systematic and validated ways of managing disasters effectively and comprehensively during real-time situations and even training simulations. Keywords: Disaster Management System, Emergency Management, Expert System DOI： https://doi.org/10.35741/issn.0258-2724.58.1.55

A comparative case study of multistakeholder responses following oil spills in Pointe d’Esny, Mauritius, and Huntington Beach, California

Oil spills generate negative ecological, societal, economic, and public health impacts, and require rapid response to contain and mitigate damages. Prompt and effective emergency management of acute events like oil spills is highly dependent on the social, institutional, and ecological context. In August 2020, the wreckage of the MV Wakashio spilled 1000 tonnes of fuel oil along an ecologically sensitive coastline in Pointe d’Esny, Mauritius. In October 2021, an offshore pipeline split and released 78 tonnes of crude oil off the coast of Huntington Beach in California. We compare responses among three sets of stakeholders (government, non-governmental organizations, and local residents) during the first 10 days of both oil spills, which also occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Mauritius, unfavorable weather conditions and COVID-19-related border closures that delayed international support impeded government action, creating a leadership and trust vacuum among residents regarding the immediate cleanup response. This perceived gap was subsequently complemented by NGOs coordinating improvised artisanal boom production and local volunteer cleanup efforts, with limited protection or public health training. By contrast, prompt state and local government intervention in Huntington Beach created a clear chain of command with NGOs and residents deferring to official guidance. In both cases, the oil spills created new policy opportunities to improve emergency management plans and reduce future risks. Our results demonstrate the influence of prior local expertise in managing earlier disasters and resources on governmental and organizational capacity. Incorporating and ensuring on-the-ground disaster expertise in response activities improves government-led crisis response, subsequently protecting ecosystems and residents. Effective multi-level crisis response helps address a range of environmental and social justice concerns related to negative impacts of spills on local communities. Our study discusses how learnings from disaster management can reinforce social-ecological resilience in coastal communities dealing with increasing anthropogenic stressors.

Improving the emergency management of energy infrastructure using scenario construction

The safety of energy infrastructure is currently attracting more and more attention. Once accidents happened or improper incident handling, uncontrolled release of huge energy will lead catastrophic consequences. The manuscript takes the hydrogen refueling station as a typical representative of the energy infrastructure. Once the hydrogen in hydrogen refueling stations (HRSs) leaks, it easily forms a combustible cloud and can explode by encountering a heat source. At such a time, effective emergency management can prevent and reduce the impact of accidents. In this paper, the “scene-task-ability” scenario construction method is first applied to HRS leakage and explosive accidents and used to illustrate the risk evolution process during the different stages of an accident. This method separates the emergency tasks of various emergency responders and evaluates their emergency response ability. The values of prevention, preparation, response and recovery are coupled using the time-ordered weighted averaging and time-ordered weighted geometric averaging hybrid operator, in order to derive a systematic and comprehensive evaluation of the safe emergency management of HRSs. Finally, based on the results of the emergency response ability evaluation, targeted and effective suggested measures are proposed to improve the emergency management level of emergency responders.

Systematic evaluation of emergency management capacity for rural public health emergencies

Rural areas' emergency response capacities are generally weaker when compared to tier one cities and this can have an adverse effect on residents' livelihood and health. Evaluation of rural emergency management is of great significance for improving the rural emergency management capacity. This paper innovatively constructs an evaluation system for the emergency management capabilities with the rural public health emergencies, which includes four dimensions: emergency subject, mechanism, resources and concept. A Projection Pursuit model for objectively processing high-dimensional is constructed, and data from 2010 to 2020 in the rural areas of Xiantao City are selected as samples for empirical research. The results show that: (1) Each dimension of emergency management of public health emergencies contributes more than 20% to the ability. Compared with the other three dimensions, contribution of the emergency concept accounted for the lowest proportion, which was 21.69%, and indicates that this dimension is the key factor restricting the improvement of the emergency management capabilities. (2) From 2010 to 2019, the average annual growth rate of comprehensive emergency management capacity in the rural areas of Xiantao City was 14.9%, and by 2020, the rural emergency management capacity, impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic, grew very rapidly with an annual growth rate of 33.8%. (3) The development of an effective rural emergency management capacity system is not sufficient and unbalanced, which leads to the “barrel effect.” This study can provide theoretical guidelines for the evaluation of rural emergency management capabilities, and provide methodological support for similar research in other regions.

Driving the effectiveness of public health emergency management strategies through cross-departmental collaboration: Configuration analysis based on 15 cities in China.

Owing to the complexity of and changes associated with modern public health emergencies, cross-departmental collaborative governance is an inevitable choice for ensuring effective emergency management. In the context of emergency management research, the way in which taking full advantage of synergy can be used to enhance the effectiveness of emergency prevention and control approaches is an important issue that must be addressed urgently. Combined with China's responses to the management of public health emergencies, in this study, we construct a theoretical analysis framework involving three dimensions: information, organization, and environment. Our proposed framework relies on the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method to analyze the mechanisms behind the prevention and control of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases across 15 cities located in typical provinces throughout China and explore the roles of cross-departmental collaboration in the processing of various elements as well as the effects of their combination on the action mechanisms for ensuring the effectiveness of emergency management approaches. The results show a significant conditional correlation between the effectiveness of emergency management and the factors affecting cross-departmental coordination. Based on the characteristics of multiple concurrent paths, the driving paths can be classified into four categories: organizational, environmental, environment-balanced, and organization environment-based dual-core categories. The effectiveness of public health emergency management is the result of multiple factors. Local governments should strengthen the coordination and integration of information, organization, and environment, improve the coordinated system associated with emergency management, promote the "two-wheel drive" of high-quality development as well as accurate prevention and control, explore and perfect the adaptive combinatorial optimization path, and effectively transform the advantages of linking multi-dimensional factors with governance efficiency.

Evaluating feasibility of a novel mobile emergency medical dispatch tool for lay first responder prehospital response coordination in Sierra Leone: A simulation-based study

IntroductionThe global injury burden, driven by road traffic injuries, disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries, which lack robust emergency medical services (EMS) to address injury. The WHO recommends training lay first responders (LFRs) as the first step toward formal EMS development. Emergency medical dispatch (EMD) systems are the recognized next step but whether small groups of LFRs equipped with mobile dispatch infrastructure can efficiently respond to geographically-dispersed emergencies in a timely fashion and the quality of prehospital care provided is unknown. Materials and methodsWe piloted an EMD system utilizing a mobile phone application in Sierra Leone. Ten LFRs were randomly selected from a pool of 61 highly-active LFRs trained in 2019 and recruited to participate in an emergency simulation-based study. Ten simulation scenarios were created matching proportions of injury conditions across 1,850 previous incidents (June-December 2019). Fifty total simulations were launched in randomized order over 3 months, randomized along 10 km of highway in Makeni. Replicating real-world conditions, highly-active LFR participants were blinded to randomized dispatch timing/scenario to assess response time and skill performance under direct observation with a checklist using standardized patient actors. We used novel cost data tracked during EMD pilot implementation to inform the calculation of a new cost-effectiveness ratio ($USD cost per disability-adjusted life year averted (DALY)) for LFR programs equipped with dispatch, following WHOCHOICE guidelines, which state cost-effectiveness ratios less than gross domestic product (GDP) per capita are considered “very cost-effective.” ResultsMedian total response interval (notification to arrival) was 5 min 39 s (IQR:0:03:51, 0:09:18). LFRs initially trained with a 5-hour curriculum and refresher training provide high-quality prehospital care during simulated emergencies. Median first aid skill checklist completion was 89% (IQR: 78%, 90%). Cost-effectiveness equals $179.02USD per DALY averted per 100,000 people, less than Sierra Leonean GDP per capita ($484.52USD). ConclusionLFRs equipped with mobile dispatch demonstrate appropriate response times and effective basic initial management of simulated emergencies. Training smaller cohorts of highly-active LFRs equipped with mobile dispatch appears highly cost-effective and may be a feasible model to facilitate efficient dispatch to expand emergency coverage while conserving valuable training resources in resource-limited settings.

Effective Emergency Management: Scrutinizing the Malaysia Lead Responding Agency Planning and Information Management Approach During Disaster Exercise

The impact of a disaster is closely related to the response and recovery of the lead responding agency in managing the disaster effectively. Malaysia has established the MNSC20 policies for managing disasters. Unfortunately, the implementation of MNSC20 can only be evaluated through lead responding agency disaster exercises. Each responding agency’s responsibility is to identify and record the information as required to ensure effective emergency management; however, problems in terms of inaccurate and/or incomplete information may be many challenges that need to be addressed. Hence, this paper aims to propose several areas for improvement for planning and information management elements in effective emergency management theory by identifying its challenges through the FRDM, which may benefit Malaysia’s overall emergency management process. Four disaster exercises at the state and federal levels were observed using a structured checklist. The result indicates challenges were found in terms of proactivity in gaining information, disseminating critical information during emergencies, developing a specific incident action plan, and media management. A good area of improvement is suggested based on the evaluation. It is hoped that this paper could contribute to developing better disaster management by the lead responding agency in Malaysia.

TENG Applications in Transportation and Surrounding Emergency Management

AbstractWith the rapid development of transportation technology, people's lives are becoming more and more convenient, but the popularity of high speed transportation also increases the probability of emergencies. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct real‐time and accurate monitoring on transportation conditions to reduce the occurrence of emergencies. For possibly emergencies in other circumstances (e.g., meteorological disasters, geological disasters, and maritime disasters), emergency management is also critical to ensure the security of people and property. Prediction and early‐warning can help to detect abnormal situations and take measures, prior to potential risks. The basis of real‐time and effective transportation monitoring and emergency management requires a continuous and stable power supply for randomly distributed sensors and actuators. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been extensively investigated in different transportation circumstances to harvest the surrounding energy and drive distributed sensors for self‐powered wireless monitoring. This article surveys the research progress in TENGs in road transportation, bridge transportation, railway transportation, and maritime transportation, and related surrounding emergency management. Representative applications and the main achievements are summarized for these different application scenarios. A perspective on TENG research is given, and the remaining challenges facing TENGs in transportation and emergency management are discussed, along with potential solutions.

Developing Geospatial Database For Emergency Response; A Case Study of Fire, Health And Security Facilities in Rivers State

Effective and efficient emergency management and response requires having the right information within the shortest possible time frame in order to save lives and property, this also involves the free flow of the right information in the right format, to the right person, in the right time to make the right decision. The aim of this research is to evaluate benefits of the use of Geoinformatics technology in emergency management to assist in planning and acting as a decision support system to Fire, Health and Security emergency managers. In this research, Rivers state fire stations were evaluated as a unit of emergency delivery system, the research examined the role of Geoinformatics in evaluating the performance of emergency fire service delivery based on response time and fire station distribution. Using ArcGIS Network analysis and an annual fire incident record from year 2000-2012, the study revealed that the functional fire stations operating in Rivers state were unable to cover the entire populated regions within 5 minutes response time. In the case of this research the primary question that was addressed was; "Does everyone have access to rescue services within five minutes of travel time?" The research concluded by proposing the location of three fire stations using location allocation tool to help reduce the burden of other fire station and ensured ninety five percent (95%) wider coverage and reduced response time. This research also recommended that more efforts should be channeled towards curbing the practice of illegal and crude ways of refining petroleum products in the state; hence the result of the partial correlation of the variables associated with causes of fire incidents in Rivers State indicates a huge influence of kerosene explosion. The nearest neigbour index (RN) of 0.59 for Hospital indicates a clustered pattern of distribution of health facilities in Rivers State, hence there should be deliberate policies to ensure regular pattern of distribution which allows spatial equidistance to these facilities Due to the unavailability of current Population data the research was carried out using 2006 population data of the study area which do not extensively cover the remote communities This researcher suggested the following areas for further study; The spatial distribution of fire incident in Rivers state in relation to the underlying social composition of the population using derivative index analysis, the use of web based GIS for effective emergency responds could be a viable area to explore. The spatiotemporal location and relocation of stationary ambulance service in a bid to provide even service delivery within the city

A Review of Emergency Language Service from an Intercultural Perspective

Emergency language service plays an indispensable role in effective emergency management when dealing with public health crisis like COVID-19. As an emerging research focus in the field of applied linguistics and emergency management, emergency language service has received great attention of scholars from across the world. Drawing on the studies of emergency language service in the existent literature and practices in different contexts, this article firstly reviews a variety of definitions, research subject and range of emergency language service. Then, a comparative analysis of emergency language services in the US, Japan and China is carried out. Finally, the article points out the limitations of studies of emergency language service in the existing literature and puts forward some suggestions for future research.

A legal approach to the national emergency management of space weather: China as a case study

The attention of the international space community has been drawn to space weather over the last two decades, not only because of its uncertainty and its adverse effects on the safety of space operations and the long-term sustainability of outer space activities (LTSOSA), but also because of its negative societal and economic impacts on the ground. The national emergency management of space weather is indispensable for China because China has both a large number of assets in outer space and infrastructure on the ground that are vulnerable to space weather. While China gives weight to the monitoring of space weather events by deploying a series of space- and ground-based systems, its national-level management of space weather events is inadequate. China, compared to the USA, is still a long way from having scientific and effective emergency management of severe space weather in the areas of space weather science research, response, and rulemaking. Current international hard laws that address the space weather issue play a limited role because these rules are all general. The Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (the UNCOPUOS Guidelines for the LTSOSA), although they provide soft-law guidance addressing the harmful impacts of space weather on space activities from the perspectives of mitigation, preparedness, monitoring, and early warning, neither address the response to or recovery from extreme space weather events in outer space nor provide for space weather mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery regimes on the ground. Apart from the international law and the soft-law guidance, Chinese national laws only provide general guidelines for the emergency management of space weather. To enhance its national capacity to address space weather and minimize the harmful societal and economic impacts of space weather, a comprehensive legal regime for the emergency management of space weather should be in place in China; this should primarily revolve around mitigation, preparedness, monitoring, early warning, response, recovery, capacity-building, and international cooperation.

Time on treatment is prolonged in patients utilizing an ePRO based digital symptom monitoring platform in the community setting.

1528 Background: Earlier and more effective management of cancer-related symptoms and treatment-related toxicities might improve the survival of patients receiving systemic anti-cancer therapy. One potential mechanism for improved outcomes could be prolonging time on therapy. We have previously reported on the successful real-world implementation of an electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) tool in a community oncology practice. We now report on the impact of the tool on time on therapy for common anti-cancer treatments. Methods: We evaluated time on treatment across three community oncology practices that have implemented Expain, an EMR-integrated ePRO system which enables remote symptom monitoring during therapy. We compared drug-specific cohorts of patients that had been enrolled on the ePRO tool with a concurrent cohort of patients not enrolled on the ePRO platform. We examined time on treatment using a Kaplan Meier (KM) approach. Analysis was confined to patients with no prior administration of the parenteral therapeutic agent or a 90-day treatment-free washout period; and to patients with at least three months of potential follow-up. Analysis was only conducted for drugs with at least 80 patients in the Expain arm. Results: In each drug-specific cohort, the distribution of age, sex, and primary cancer diagnosis was similar in patients enrolled vs not enrolled on the ePRO (Mann-Whitney and Chi-square p > 0.05 except for the rituximab cohort which had more males in the ePRO cohort [67 vs 52%]). The impact of the ePRO-based symptom monitoring system on time on therapy was statistically significant for 5 agents. Conclusions: We confirm in the community setting the observation that digital symptom monitoring can increase time on therapy. We believe this is due to more effective management of treatment related toxicities, as well as more effective management of malignancy related or comorbid medical emergencies which might interrupt or lead to the discontinuation of therapy. We are evaluating the robustness of these results after using various methods to address any potential non-comparability of the cohorts. We are also examining the impact of prolonging time on treatment on survival. [Table: see text]

Study on the legal mechanism of local government epidemic management taking COVID-19 prevention and control as example

Living in the risk society described by the sociologist Baker, the free market mechanism cannot regulate the value of risk and choice, which requires the government to break away from the traditional concept of administrative law, integrate the risk theory, and establish an administrative legal system that ADAPTS to The Times. The emergence of COVID-19 is undoubtedly a major test of China's existing legal system for emergency management. This paper will take this epidemic as an example to explore the drawbacks of the current emergency management system in themodern risk era and study how to establish an effective emergency management legal system in the new era

CAS Theory Perspective of Community Emergency Management Factors and Coping Strategies

With the rapid development of community culture and economy, people pay more attention to the frequent occurrence of community accidents. In order to protect the life and property safety of community residents and establish a safe and harmonious community, how to carry out rapid and effective emergency management of community accidents has become the focus of every community manager must think. Based on the theory of complex adaptive system, this paper discusses how to form the characteristic emergency management system for community by taking the gas explosion of Shenyang hotel as an example. The results show that in the community emergency management, in addition to the four management elements of human, material, environment and system, a dual emergency mode should be established with the community emergency response team as the leader and the fire medical support force to improve the emergency handling and response capacity of community accidents, and effectively reduce the loss of life and property of residents.

Exploring spatial heterogeneity and environmental injustices in exposure to flood hazards using geographically weighted regression

This study explores flood-related environmental injustices by deconstructing racial, ethnic, and socio-demographic disparities and spatial heterogeneity in the areal extent of fluvial, pluvial, and coastal flooding across Canada. The study integrates JBA Risk Management's 100-year Canada Flood Map with the 2016 national census-based socioeconomic data to investigate whether traditionally recognized vulnerable groups and communities are exposed inequitably to inland (e.g., fluvial and pluvial) and coastal flood hazards. Social vulnerability was represented by neighbourhood-level socioeconomic deprivation, including economic insecurity and instability indices. Statistical analyses include bivariate correlation and a series of non-spatial and spatial regression techniques, including ordinary least squares, binary logistic regression, and simultaneous autoregressive models. The study emphasizes the quest for the most appropriate methodological framework to analyze flood-related socioeconomic inequities in Canada. Strong evidence of spatial effects has motivated the study to test for the spatial heterogeneity of covariates by employing geographically weighted regression (GWR) on continuous outcome variables (e.g., percent of residential properties in a census tract exposed to flood hazards) and geographically weighted logistic regression on dichotomous outcome variables (e.g., a census tract in or out of flood hazard zone). GWR results show that the direction and statistical significance of relationships between inland flood exposure and all explanatory variables under consideration are spatially non-stationary. We find certain vulnerable groups, such as females, lone-parent households, Indigenous peoples, South Asians, the elderly, other visible minorities, and economically insecure residents, are at a higher risk of flooding in Canadian neighbourhoods. Spatial and social disparities in flood exposure have critical policy implications for effective emergency management and disaster risk reduction. The study findings are a foundation for a more detailed investigation of the disproportionate impacts of flood risk in Canada.

Risks assessment and driving forces of urban environmental accident

Regional environmental accident risk is regarded as the focus and the most difficult challenge of environmental management, posing a serious threat to people's lives and property. Much of the current literature relies on calculating and assessing the risks of environmental accidents. Little is known regarding about the driving forces of environmental accident risks, and how they affect the level and distribution characteristics of risks, especially the inherent linkages between regions and enterprise (individuals). The aim of this research is to innovate and develop the method for assessing the risk of the environmental accidents at multiple scales in order to accurately investigate the distribution characteristics and driving factors of environmental accident risks. In this study, the Multiscale Environmental Accident Risks Assessment model (MEARA) was proposed to comprehensively evaluate the characteristics and impacts of environmental risk at different scales. And we adopted GeoDetector model (GED) to explore the dominant driving factors and their interaction among multiple scales. The city of Dongguan, China, was chosen as the research area. We discovered that: 1) there were significant differences in risk levels across industries, with the environmental accident risk of enterprises in Dongguan being generally low, while some industries, such as the petrochemical, telecommunication, and equipment manufacturing industries, had higher risks. 2) Risks of environmental accidents exhibited significant agglomeration. Rivers and lakes, coastal areas, and transportation hubs were all hotspots for high-risk enterprises and regions. 3) The interaction between social and economic factors was the most significant in terms of spatial heterogeneity among influencing factors. By analyzing the results of the GeoDetector, we realized that the economy and population were the dominant factors influencing the environmental accident risk level. The interaction results show that the interaction between the factors is significantly improved. The interaction of population, and GDP, ecological sensitivity, the importance of ecological function, and the intensity of hospital radiation has increased the explanatory power of the environmental accident risk level. We discuss the need of emergency management for environmental accident risks. We provide an innovative “point-area” multi-scale environmental accident risk assessment method, as well as strategies for environmental accident risk management of enterprises and regions at various risk levels. It is beneficial for effective emergency management to protect residents' living environments.

Lessons being learned from the Covid-19 pandemic for radiological emergencies and vice versa: report from expert discussions

In order to examine what lessons radiological emergency management may offer for the management of the Covid-19 pandemic, and vice versa, a series of three online webinars were conducted with leading experts, scholars and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines essential for emergency management and long-term risk governance. The first webinar debated the lessons we are learning from the Covid-19 pandemic for radiological risk communication, the second explored issues around longer-term outcomes of a crisis and how to balance these with short-term actions whilst the third focused on the key challenges of the ‘transition phase’, using lessons learned from the Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima Daichii (2011) accidents. This paper reviews the discussions and provides valuable lessons for the radiation protection community. Results of the discussions indicated that: (a) non-radiological and non-epidemiological consequences of emergencies, for example psychological (mental health), societal and economic, should not be underestimated; (b) multidisciplinary expertise is imperative for communication efforts and for effective emergency management, including decision-making in the application of protective measures; (c) stakeholder engagement, including the involvement of the potentially affected population, should be encouraged from an early stage; and (d) trust is increased if policy-makers and the main science agencies show a unified voice.

Response Spectra-Based Post-Earthquake Rapid Structural Damage Estimation Approach Aided with Remote Sensing Data: 2020 Samos Earthquake

Effective post-event emergency management contributes substantially to communities’ earthquake resilience, and one of the most crucial actions following an earthquake is building damage assessment. On-site inspections are dangerous, expensive, and time-consuming. Remote sensing techniques have shown great potential in localizing the most damaged regions and thus guiding aid and rescue operations in recent earthquakes. Furthermore, to prevent post-earthquake casualties, heavily damaged, unsafe buildings must be identified immediately since in most earthquakes, strong aftershocks can cause such buildings to collapse. The potential of the response spectrum concept for being associated with satellite-based remote sensing data for post-earthquake structural damage estimation was investigated in this study. In this respect, a response spectra-based post-earthquake structural damage estimation method aided by satellite-based remote sensing data was proposed to classify the buildings after an earthquake by prioritizing them based on their expected damage levels, in order to speed up the damage assessment process of critical buildings that can cause casualties in a possible strong aftershock. A case study application was implemented in the Bayrakli region in Izmir, Turkey, the most affected area by the Samos earthquake, on 30 October 2020. The damage estimations made in this research were compared with the in situ damage assessment reports prepared by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Environment and Urbanization experts. According to the accuracy assessment results, the sensitivity of the method is high (91%), and the necessary time spent by the in situ damage assessment teams to detect the critical buildings would have been significantly reduced for the study area.