Disaster In History Research Articles

9·11과 3·11, 혹은 문학의 그라운드 제로(ground zero)에서

In this article, the term “disaster literature” is narrowly defined: works submitted in response to actual historical disasters. Disaster literature will reflect the factual aspects of real disasters, and of particular importance will be the patterns of human behavior in times of disaster, rather than the disaster itself. This can be divided into social solidarity and social conflict. Disaster literature is a dual response to this. It joins or creates social solidarity and intervenes in social conflict to dismantle its basis. The first type can be called ‘healing narratives’. It verbalizes the suffering of the victims, gives it a figure and allows it to exist in the public sphere. The role of the healing narrative is to mediate social solidarity. The second type of narrative can be called ‘counter-narrative’. When a particular perception/narrative of disaster takes the place of the dominant narrative and triggers social conflict, disaster literature as a counter-narrative participates in the social narrative struggle by offering a different way of thinking about disaster (alternative disaster perception). This paper examines works that fulfil their roles as healing narratives and counter-narratives by taking the September 11 attacks and the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami as symbolic cases of social and natural disasters in the 21st century. In doing so, we will test the effectiveness of the concepts presented in this paper and lay the groundwork for the development of a theory of disaster literature.

Cross-jurisdictional disaster preparedness: A Nigeria-USA data-analytical approach

Disasters pose significant challenges globally, demanding effective preparedness strategies to mitigate their impact. This study proposes a novel approach to disaster preparedness through cross-jurisdictional collaboration between Nigeria and the United States, leveraging data analytics for enhanced readiness. Nigeria, with its vulnerability to various disasters, and the United States, known for its advanced disaster management systems, offer a unique opportunity for mutual learning and collaboration. This research aims to bridge the gap in disaster preparedness between these two countries by employing a data-driven analytical framework. Through the collection, analysis, and comparison of disaster-related data from both nations, this approach seeks to identify commonalities, differences, and best practices in disaster preparedness strategies. By leveraging the strengths of both countries, such as Nigeria's community resilience and the USA's technological advancements, this approach aims to develop comprehensive disaster preparedness models tailored to the specific needs and contexts of each jurisdiction. Key components of this approach include data collection from various sources, including historical disaster records, socio-economic indicators, infrastructure data, and community resilience metrics. Advanced analytical techniques, such as machine learning algorithms and spatial analysis, will be employed to identify patterns, assess vulnerabilities, and predict potential disaster scenarios. The findings will inform the development of targeted preparedness strategies, including early warning systems, evacuation plans, resource allocation, and capacity building initiatives. Furthermore, this research emphasizes the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration and knowledge exchange in disaster preparedness. By involving government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and local communities from both Nigeria and the USA, this approach aims to foster a holistic and inclusive preparedness framework. Ultimately, this study seeks to contribute to the global discourse on disaster risk reduction by demonstrating the effectiveness of cross-jurisdictional collaboration and data-driven approaches in enhancing disaster preparedness. By leveraging the strengths and experiences of Nigeria and the USA, this research aims to develop scalable and adaptable models that can be applied in diverse contexts to build resilience and mitigate the impact of disasters.

Real-time identification of collapsed buildings triggered by natural disasters using a modified object-detection network with quasi-panchromatic images

ABSTRACT During disaster response, it is very important to obtain the information of collapsed building distribution accurately and quickly. However, limited by some practical factors, existed methods often suffer from the contradiction between the accuracy and efficiency of building damage extraction. This paper proposed a simple and effective framework to rapid recognize collapsed building objects using pre-disaster building distribution maps and post-disaster quasi-panchromatic remote sensing images. The proposed method is validated using several historical disasters in the xBD dataset and tested using three cases of earthquakes in terms of both effectiveness and efficiency. In addition, we have verified that the texture information of optical remote sensing images can be used as the main basis to judge whether a building is collapsed or not, so the panchromatic images are sufficient to enable the deep learning model to correctly recognize collapsed buildings. The experimental results indicate that using quasi-panchromatic images can alleviate the influence of style variations and diverse roof colors present in multi-spectral images on the model’s generalization performance, resulting in an average overall accuracy improvement of 2.4%. Additionally, the reduced data volume leads to an improvement in inference efficiency.

FLOODING AND LANDSLIDE POTENTIAL MAPPING OF PUBLIC HOUSING AFTER LANDUSED CHANGE

Semarang City, the capital of Central Java Province, is divided into three parts based on its topography: hills, lowlands, and coastal areas. As a result, the city is at risk of natural disasters. According to BNPB data from 2014 to 2023, Semarang City has the second-highest disaster history in Central Java Province, with 741 disaster events recorded. Floods and landslides are the most common disasters in the area. Permata Jangli Housing is located in the hills, where changes in land use have transformed the surrounding forest into road infrastructure. An analysis of hydrological data and soil characteristics at the site indicates that these changes have led to increased surface flow, resulting in an increased flood discharge. This is one of the reasons for the high potential for disaster. Therefore, it is essential to map the disaster potential in Permata Jangli Housing. Factors such as land use, rainfall intensity, soil texture, slope, and soil elevation affect flooding disasters, while rainfall intensity, slope, soil texture, and land use affect landslides. To assess and map the potential for disasters, we used overlay techniques with the QGIS application. Our findings indicate that Permata Jangli Residential area has a moderate potential for flooding, covering 68% of the area or 1.1 ha, and a high potential of 32% or 0.5 ha. In contrast, the potential for landslides in Permata Jangli is medium, covering 74% or 1.2 ha of the area, and high potential of 26% or 0.4 ha. In conclusion, our study emphasizes the importance of mapping disaster potential in areas with a history of natural disasters. By doing so, we can take preventive measures and mitigate the impact of disasters in the future.

Locked into a permanent position of vulnerability? Farmers’ trust and social capital with the government from Critical Disaster Studies perspectives

AbstractIn disaster scholarship, there is limited understanding about how vulnerability is socially constructed by a convergence of varying social structural and historical processes that predispose certain vulnerable groups to disasters even before a hazard event occurs. This article aims to fill this void by using Critical Disaster Studies perspectives to explore the root causes of why crop farmers in the coastal region of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta have been locked in a permanent position of vulnerability. In order to develop more sustainable food supply chains, this exploration aims to shed light on the socio-cultural interpretations, experiences, and needs of disaster-affected farmers—the most important but vulnerable actors in the crop production hierarchy in Vietnam. Following a historic disaster between late 2015 and early 2016, local governments deliberately organised farmers into an agricultural cooperative in an attempt to support farmers in enhancing economic resilience and disaster preparedness. However, this intervention has failed since farmers refused to participate in the organisation’s activities. While this reaction may seem irrational, it reflects farmers’ distrust in the government, which was largely a result of their collective trauma from the state’s agricultural collectivisation policy implemented between 1976 and 1985. Farmers chose to cling to their individual working routines out of concern about government supervision, forcing them to take bigger risks and pay for the food supply chains’ catastrophic damage. Our findings show that a strained relationship between farmers and the government can jeopardise disaster recovery and resilience building. Our paper adds to the Critical Disaster Studies literature by revisiting the concepts of vulnerability and resilience, emphasising the importance of addressing socio-cultural vulnerability before improving disaster resilience.

Influencing Mechanism of Tidal Disasters on Locust Breeding Area Evolution in the Eastern Coastal Area of China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Locust plagues and tidal disasters are primary natural hazards in China’s eastern coastal regions, yet their interrelationship remains unclear. This study, drawing on historical documents from the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1911 AD), focuses on Zhejiang Province and its Hangzhou Bay coastline, areas typically affected by tidal disasters. Employing advanced quantitative analysis and spatiotemporal models, the research aims to reveal the mechanisms behind tidal disasters and their impact on locust population dynamics. The findings indicate a limited spatiotemporal correlation between locust plagues and tidal or drought disasters but a significant association with flooding. The relationship between locust infestations and floods is notably strong in the unique geographical context of Hangzhou Bay’s northern shore. The ‘hydromarginal’ nature of the north coast creates an ideal habitat for locusts. This study pioneers in identifying flooding as a crucial mediator between tidal disasters and locust plagues, shedding light on the ‘typhoon-tidal-flood-locust’ disaster sequence and offering new insights into understanding and mitigating natural disasters in the region. In this study, we primarily employ a quantitative methodology, utilizing advanced data analysis and sophisticated spatiotemporal modeling to investigate the interplay between locust plagues and tidal disasters. Although some progress has been made in the study of historical natural disasters, systematic studies of the relationship between tidal floods and locust breeding sites along the east coast of China during the Ming and Qing dynasties are still scarce. This study fills this gap by employing advanced GIS and time series analysis techniques, combining traditional historical documentary studies with modern scientific methods and providing a new methodological approach to the analysis of historical disaster patterns.

Impact of Counseling based Edu Vaccine on the Control and Prevention of COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Millions of people throughout the world are affected by the coronavirus outbreak brought on by the pandemic Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), which is the first significant human catastrophe in history. Objective: This study aimed to assess the effect of counseling based Edu Vaccine on prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This pre and post designed, prospective, study was conducted in different states of India using an online survey. A 30-items questionnaire as an instrument was sent to 1597 potential responders. The responded participants were enrolled as study participants and divided into counseling and non-counseling groups. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Chi-square test was used to assess the level of association among variables and independent t-test was used to compare participants’ demographic and socioeconomic measurements. Results: Out of 1597 only 829 participants responded and completed the survey questionnaire. At baseline, half of the population found that the symptoms of COVID include fever, cough and trouble breathing, but after the counseling a significant change was observed (p<0.001) in the counseling group. 91.7% population were agreed that social distancing, maintain hygiene and public awareness can help to control the community spread or 3rd stage of COVID-19. Around 96 % of the population in the counseling group was aware of the preventive measures recommended by WHO to avoid COVID-19 infection after the counseling. Conclusion: A significant improvement was observed in general population’s the knowledge levels regarding COVID-19 and its preventive measures. We observed that people were aware of COVID-19 and preventive masseurs but they do not adhere so there is an urgent need to continuous educational campaigns with follow-ups that target less-educated, lower-income population and further studies are warranted.

Reclassifying historical disasters: From single to multi-hazards

Multi-hazard events, characterized by the simultaneous, cascading, or cumulative occurrence of multiple natural hazards, pose a significant threat to human lives and assets. This is primarily due to the cumulative and cascading effects arising from the interplay of various natural hazards across space and time. However, their identification is challenging, which is attributable to the complex nature of natural hazard interactions and the limited availability of multi-hazard observations. This study presents an approach for identifying multi-hazard events during the past 123 years (1900–2023) using the EM-DAT global disaster database. Leveraging the ‘associated hazard’ information in EM-DAT, multi-hazard events are detected and assessed in relation to their frequency, impact on human lives and assets, and reporting trends. The interactions between various combinations of natural hazard pairs are explored, reclassifying them into four categories: preconditioned/triggering, multivariate, temporally compounding, and spatially compounding multi-hazard events. The results show, globally, approximately 19 % of the 16,535 disasters recorded in EM-DAT can be classified as multi-hazard events. However, the multi-hazard events recorded in EM-DAT are disproportionately responsible for nearly 59 % of the estimated global economic losses. Conversely, single hazard events resulted in higher fatalities compared to multi-hazard events. The largest proportion of multi-hazard events are associated with floods, storms, and earthquakes. Landslides emerge as the predominant secondary hazards within multi-hazard pairs, primarily triggered by floods, storms, and earthquakes, with the majority of multi-hazard events exhibiting preconditioned/triggering and multivariate characteristics. There is a higher prevalence of multi-hazard events in Asia and North America, whilst temporal overlaps of multiple hazards predominate in Europe. These results can be used to increase the integration of multi-hazard thinking in risk assessments, emergency management response plans and mitigation policies at both national and international levels.

Assessing road network resilience in disaster areas from a complex network perspective: A real-life case study from China

Recently, resilience assessment has become a significant research topic, as it is crucial for regional disaster mitigation. It is important to identify road network resilience characteristics to improve regional traffic and handling capacity during emergencies, which ensures regional transport safety management and sustainable development. In this paper, a complex-network-based resilience assessment framework coupled with resilience curve characteristics, such as vulnerability, survivability, adaptability, responsiveness and resilience, was established. Typical Chinese regions with the most extensive disaster distribution were selected to reproduce real historical disaster scenarios for comparative analysis and research. The results showed that 1) the process of the change in the resilience of the road network during a disaster conforms to the characteristics of the resilience curve; 2) dense, homogeneous networks are more resilient than sparse, clustered networks; 3) road sections with more redundancy and substitutability are more resilient; and 4) the severity of the decline in traffic network performance in disaster areas is related to the attributes of road segments and network interference methods.

Research on the Functional Relationship among Historical Disasters, Disaster Bearing Bodies and Disaster Reduction Capacity in China

Through the First National Comprehensive Risk Survey of Natural Disasters, the Three Data of Historical Disasters, Disaster Bearing Bodies and Disaster Reduction Capabilities of 31 provinces (cities, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) in China have been studied. Excluding regional factors, the statistical indicators of the Three Data and their functional relationship are studied by using Origin software. It is found that the three data do not meet the normal distribution, but the Growth/Sigmoidal Functional relationship is satisfied between Two and Three Data, i.e., S-type Growth Function, and the functional equation between the three is obtained.

Lebanon and Earthquakes: An Assessment of Mental Health and Preparedness

Lebanon, a small country in the Middle East, has had a long history of natural disasters, especially earthquakes. The earthquake of July 9, year 551 AD destroyed the capital city Beirut. The two consecutive earthquakes of February 2023, which originated in Turkey terrorized the Lebanese citizens. Although no actual harm occurred, these earthquake events were important in what they caused mentally and socially to the young and the old. They raised awareness and preparedness in the community that was not seen before, specifically in the youth. They showed Lebanese social connectedness and responsibility towards their community, as well as the spirit of volunteerism and risking one’s own safety to help others in need. In this paper, we will discuss Lebanon’s history with earthquakes, its seismic activity and risk, and how the Lebanese population reacted to the frightening ground shaking.

Disasters Worth Remembering: Stories of Destruction and Reconstruction as Told in the Texas Official Historical Markers

ABSTRACT This study examines patterns of disaster commemoration in Texas as witnessed in 1,590 markers erected by the state between 1936 and 2019. In the first half of the analysis, we highlight spatiotemporal trends of commemoration, which focus on a few well-known historic disasters that occurred between 1875 and 1916. From a spatial perspective, markers concentrate in the coastal cities of Galveston, Houston, and Corpus Christi, but no discernible temporal patterns emerge concerning the timing of commemoration—that is, when a marker is erected. After looking at the when and where of commemoration, in the second part of the analysis we look at how each disaster term is described in the text of the markers. Here, the narrative is one of initial destruction quickly followed by recovery and the reestablishment of communities. We also note how the selective nature of commemoration extends to disaster.

Development of an Index for Forest Fire Risk Assessment Considering Hazard Factors and the Hazard-Formative Environment

Forest fires are characterized by a rapid and devastating nature, underscoring the practical significance of forest fire risk monitoring. Currently, forest fire risk assessments inadequately account for non-meteorological hazard factors, lack the hazard-formative environment and contextual disaster knowledge for fire occurrence mechanisms. In response, based on MODIS products, we augmented the FFDI (forest fire danger index) with the RDST (regional disaster system theory) and selected various fire risk indicators, including lightning. MOD14 was used for the correlation analysis of fire and its indicators. Through the amalgamation of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the entropy method, and the minimal relative entropy theory, we formulated the CFFRI (composite forest fire risk index) and assessed forest fire risks spanning from 2010 to 2019 in Southwest China, which were validated with historical disaster data and MCD64. The findings revealed that the CFFRI yields consistently higher overall fire risk values, with 89% falling within the high-risk category and 11% within the moderate-risk category. In contrast, the FFDI designated 56% of cases as fourth-tier fire risks and 44% as third-tier fire risks. Notably, the CFFRI achieved an accuracy of 85% in its calculated results, while the FFDI attained 76%. These outcomes robustly demonstrate a superior applicability of the CFFRI compared with the traditional FFDI.

A novel clustering-based resampling with cost-sensitive boosting method to model and map wildfire susceptibility

Wildfires have been one of the most damaging natural disasters in history, severely damaging the global ecological environment, socio-economics, and public safety. To predict and generate wildfire susceptibility maps to visualize the probability of wildfire occurrence intuitively, we propose a Clustering-based Resampling with the Cost-sensitive Boosting (CRCBoost) method. Emphasizing the highly cluster-able feature vectors in wildfire imbalance data overlooked by previous studies, CRCBoost adopts a clustering-based resampling strategy in each iteration of boosting and sets various misclassification costs for positive and negative samples to be more sensitive for identifying the fire points. Due to the frequent wildfires in two contract counties (Los Angeles and Ventura) in California, USA, they are set as the study area. Data regarding historical wildfires, geographical, meteorological, and vegetation features are collected for the period spanning 2010 to 2020. A recursive feature elimination algorithm is used for filtering out irrelevant features. CRCBoost is more suitable for short-term wildfire occurrence prediction and its performance is demonstrated to be better than other popular machine learning methods. Generating wildfire susceptibility maps and calculating feature importance are helpful to identify areas of high wildfire susceptibility and main drivers. Moreover, the findings can further assist in wildfire prevention, mitigation, and response.

Characteristic Identification of Heat Exposure Based on Disaster Events for Single-Season Rice along the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River, China

As global warming continues, heat stress events are expected to increase and negatively affect rice production. Spatiotemporal changes in single-season rice exposure to heat stress were explored along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (MLRYR) in China during 1971–2020 based on created heat thresholds in different phenological stages, derived from comparison of historical heat records for single-season rice and agro-meteorological data. The feature importance (IF) provided by the Random Forest model was used to modulate the relationship between threshold accumulated temperature and yield reduction rate caused by heat stress. In addition, critical temperature thresholds at different phenological stages were determined by combining Overall Accuracy and the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. According to historical disaster records, the heat stress occurred before the reproductive phase (i.e., the tillering–jointing stage) and ended in the filling stage. Critical temperature thresholds of Tmax at tillering–jointing, booting, flowering and filling were quantified as 36, 35, 35 and 38 °C, with higher IF values of 13.14, 10.93, 17.15 and 13.15, respectively. The respective values of Overall Accuracy and the areas under the ROC curve were greater than 0.85 and 0.930, implying that each threshold performed excellently in identifying heat occurrence. Based on the determined critical thresholds, accumulated harmful temperature (Tcum), number of heat days (HD), first heat date (FHD) and last heat date (LHD) were presented to characterize heat exposure. It was clear that Tcum and HD exhibited a north-to-south increasing trend from 1971 to 2020, with the obvious increasing occurrence in most parts of the study region through the period of 2010 to 2020. FHD occurred earlier in most stations except the northeast parts, while LHD ended later in southern MLRYR. Exploring heat critical thresholds at different phenological stages highlighted in this study can help decision-makers monitor and evaluate heat exposure to single-season rice in MLRYR and further develop mitigation strategies to ensure rice production security.

Protest and the Opacity of Literature: James Baldwin and Paul Celan

This article analyzes Paul Celan’s translation of James Baldwin’s “Everybody’s Protest Novel” and considers the connections between the poetics of these two writers. In addition to their shared preoccupation with and rearticulation of terms such as human, creature, and darkness, the translation reveals how they explored the relationship between literature and reality at early and transitional moments in their careers. While rejecting regnant modes of realism, Baldwin and Celan insisted, in different but related ways, on the bearing of the world on their writing, which they understood as a response to historical catastrophes that resisted inherited categories and hegemonic language. This article demonstrates how reading Baldwin’s essay and Celan’s translation together can help us understand their peculiar realism anew, and it elucidates how this aspect of their work continues to feel urgent today, with specific reference to the writing of Claudia Rankine.

Designing Disaster Media Education For Children With Hearing Impairment In Special Education Center Banda Aceh

Banda Aceh, a coastal city located in the western most province of Indonesia, has long been known for its stunning natural beauty and vibrant cultural heritage. Situated on the northern tip of Sumatra Island, this bustling city is surrounded by the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean on one side and picturesque hills on the other. However, beneath its picturesque facade lies an alarming reality - Banda Aceh stands perilously exposed to a high risk of disaster.. With the history of disasters in Aceh which is one of the biggest disasters that has caused many casualties, education related to disaster awareness needs to be carried out. People with hearing disabilities are one of the vulnerable groups in the event of a disaster. Education related to disaster awareness is a form of non-structural mitigation which at this time has been widely carried out both in formal education in schools and campuses and informally in the community. Efforts to increase disaster awareness through education are important, including for groups with disabilities . As a group with hearing impairments, they are at greater risk when a disaster occurs because they cannot hear warnings through sound media and the communications gap. However, with disaster awareness through education, people with disabilities are also expected to be able to carry out independent evacuations and save themselves when a disaster occurs. This research aimed to explore the effectiveness of designing disaster media education for children with disabilities in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Recognizing the unique vulnerabilities of children with disabilities during disasters, the study focused on developing an inclusive and accessible media-based educational program. The method used in the research is qualitative research and encompassed various stages, including needs assessment, program development and implementation. Designing disaster media education for children with disabilities in Banda Aceh proved to be an effective and essential approach to bridge the education gap and enhance disaster preparedness among this marginalized group. The research outcomes emphasize the importance of inclusive and accessible education in disaster management, aiming to ensure the safety and well-being of all children, regardless of their abilities. The findings of this research contribute to the growing body of knowledge on disability-inclusive disaster education and provide a basis for future program development and policy-making in disaster management in Banda Aceh and beyond.

儒將 梁憲洙의 丙寅洋擾期 救國활동

Yang Heon-soo, known as the leading role of Byeonginyangyo, was evaluated as Scholarstic General. However, although his brilliant contribution as a hero of the country was praised, the fundamental reason why Yang Heon-soo was called scholarstic general seems to have never been discussed. This paper examined the human aspect of scholarstic general Yang Heon-soo from four perspectives and how he responded as scholarstic general to the national historical disaster of Byeongin Yangyo. Four characteristic aspects were argued as empirical data: with a sense of reality, who wrote the words, with the ability to respond to the wounds of war, with strategies and improvisation. Regarding Byeonginyangyo, the research results of the private academia have been accumulated, but there is much room for in-depth analysis of Chinese literature data. First of all, it is suggested that the process of reading the data already used needs to be more precise, and that related records that were outside the right of interest should be compiled and analyzed.

A Contribution to the History of Epidemics, Climate and Natural Disasters

In 2020, Lucian Boia published a book about natural disasters from a longue durée perspective, focused on epidemics, earthquakes, and climate changes. The review un-derlines the main aspects discussed in the book, pointing out the theoretical ap-proaches used by Lucian Boia in dealing with these topics not only in the reviewed book, but also in his other books related to these topics such as The Weather in the Imagination or Probleme de geografie istorica (Problematics of Historical Geography).

Kantō Daikasai: The Great Kantō Fire Following the 1923 Earthquake

ABSTRACT The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake is one of the most deadly and destructive natural disasters in history. As the name connotes, fire is less considered in examinations of this event even though fire was responsible for the vast majority of death and destruction. Moreover, destruction of Tokyo by fire following an earthquake was foreseen and foretold as early as 1905, yet no actions were taken to reduce the risk. We therefore focus on fire aspects of the 1 September event with special attention to the capital Tokyo. Shaking intensities varied significantly across central Tokyo, with ∼100 ignitions distributed in all parts of the city occurring within the first hour. These rapidly grew into large fires due to the prevailing flammable wood-framed construction, high winds, and lack of firefighting water caused by breaks in water mains. However, even with adequate water, firefighters would likely still have been overwhelmed given the adverse meteorological conditions. The large fires soon merged into very large conflagrations that created their own localized high winds, further feeding the fires to the extent that fire whirls were created. The worst of these occurred in an area where many people were sheltering, causing 40,000 deaths. Even without this particularly tragic occurrence, the deaths due to fires were still greater than due to building collapse and other causes. Why the prescient warning issued years earlier went unheeded, what the social and political impact of the disaster and its aftermath was, and how fire and seismic risk reduction awareness influenced postdisaster reconstruction, are all questions we address. Although Japan since 1923 has implemented many measures to improve earthquake and postearthquake fire preparedness, the risk of fire following an earthquake remains significant in Japan as well as elsewhere.