Large-scale Natural Disasters Research Articles

Investigation of sound pressure leakage effect for primary calibration down to 10−2 Hz using a laser pistonphone system

Recently, the demand for sensor calibration in the infrasonic range has increased to obtain accurate information when monitoring infrasound generated by large-scale natural disasters. The laser pistonphone method is a primary calibration method to evaluate infrasound sensors in the low-frequency range. In this method, sound pressure is generated in a fixed sealed volume of air, by a volume change via an attached piston movement. By measuring the piston displacement using laser interferometer, the generated sound pressure can be calculated by multiplying the velocity of volume change by acoustic transfer impedance of a pistonphone. The main concern with this method is that sound pressure leakage from a gap adjacent to piston significantly changes the acoustic transfer impedance at lower frequencies. To apply the laser pistonphone method in the low-frequency range down to 10−2 Hz, it is essential to accurately evaluate and compensate for the leakage effect, i.e. the gap’s acoustic transfer impedance. In this study, we propose a technique for experimentally evaluating the gap impedance. The main idea is to determine the total acoustic transfer impedance by dividing the sound pressure by the volume velocity and then deducing the gap impedance by subtracting the chamber impedance from the obtained total acoustic transfer impedance. A digital pressure sensor was used to precisely measure sound pressure below 100 Hz because pressure sensors are suitable for accurate measurement of pressure fluctuations at low frequencies. We validated the proposed approach by calibrating an analog pressure sensor that outputs an analog voltage proportional to the absolute pressure. As a result, the sensitivity calibrated by the laser pistonphone method at 0.02 Hz agreed with the static sensitivity provided by the manufacturer within 0.02 dB.

Federalism, Disaster Planning Standards and Canadian Charter Rights


 
 Canada has a problem with emergency management (EM) standards. Canadians utilize a federalist government structure that pushes responsibility for EM planning from the federal government to provinces and territories, who then pass responsibility to municipalities (or regional counties) – who typically have less resources to engage in effective EM than higher levels of government (Raikes & McBean, 2016). In this structure, there are no set standards for levels of risk and disaster protection across the nation. The overall effect of this is the lack of protective measures and planning in place to provide the people living, working or visiting Canada to be as safe as they could be.
 For the purposes of this discussion, the definition of a disaster is any hazard that overwhelms a community’s ability to respond, where the hazard has an immediate and negative effect on tangible (lives, property and the environment) and intangible (cultural practice, knowledge and psychological well-being) assets (Coppola, 2020; Mysiak et al., 2016). Public Safety Canada (2017) has numerous documents, including ‘An Emergency Framework for Canada: Third Edition,’ that suggests all levels of government and citizens of Canada are responsible to be prepared and help mitigate disasters. Pragmatically, however, not all people have the means, opportunity, or privilege to be prepared (Cox & Kim, 2018). Furthermore, is it the responsibility of private citizens and businesses to be prepared in case of a large-scale natural or human-made disaster for which they have little resources, training, and control compared to governments? Federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) governments have the ability and responsibility, both morally and ethically, to institute more concrete disaster risk reduction (DRR) standards across the nation to ensure a higher level of safety for the people in Canada. DRR is described in line with the UN’s Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (SFDRR) (2015), where disasters are mitigated through reducing existing and future risk by investing in effective policy, legislation and the recognition of areas of inequality/vulnerability in society that typically lead to an increase of negative disaster outcomes. There is a variety of ways standards could be adopted by FPT governments, such as intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) or coercive or ‘strings attached’ federal funding (Rolland, 2022). Regardless, to date no standards have been created or adopted. As Raikes and McBean (2016) note, all but one province and territory—Québec, have little or nothing in their EM legislation that attempts to reduce risk through planning and preventative measures. Most provincial/territorial legislation only state that municipalities will develop and practice a plan; there are no or few specific guidelines, rules or frameworks for what should or should not be in EM plans; only that one should exist. This paper proposes greater research into interpreting the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (CCRF or the Charter) (1982) sections on the rights to life and security for EM, where insufficient legislation may leave FPT governments open to liability unless specific DRR standards are created and upheld to protect Canadians’ rights.
 

Special Issue on Advanced Technologies for Bridge Design and Construction

In light of the increasing frequency of large-scale natural disasters worldwide, critical infrastructures such as bridges, which serve as vital links between cities and prefectures, are often devastated [...]

A novel method of human identification based on dental impression image

In large-scale natural disasters and special criminal cases, surface features of bodies, such as faces and fingerprints, are easily destroyed. Teeth possess strong high-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and high hardness, which can compensate for the shortcomings of the aforementioned situations. This paper proposes an identification method based on the aggregated features of multi-scale dental impression images. Firstly, a method exploiting the adaptive object detection method based on YOLOv8 is proposed to segment toothprints. Next, a novel geometric feature named calibrated offset distance is extracted, combined with the SIFT feature method, to extract multi-scale and multi-dimensional features from the global toothprint, local toothprints, and single-tooth prints. Finally, all features are aggregated to enhance the descriptive ability and robustness. Experimental results indicate that the method proposed in this paper demonstrates good identification performance.

Indonesian Government Capacity In Dealing With Contemporary Disasters During The Covid-19 Pandemi To Support National Security

The capacity of the Government of Indonesia is urgently needed in dealing with contemporary disasters, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of disasters will disrupt community resilience where if the government in its capacity as a policy maker, especially when large-scale natural disasters occur, is not immediately resolved, it will greatly affect national security. This study uses a qualitative method with a descriptive exploratory approach. Data collection by observation, in-depth interviews and documentation. Data analysis technique with qualitative data analysis techniques Miles and Huberman. The research results found that it is important to formulate and oversee disaster management and mitigation programs in the RPJMN every 5 years (2020-2024). The Indonesian government must establish cooperation with Japan, which has already implemented various effective policies in disaster risk management. The conclusion from this study is that capacity building efforts that should be carried out by the Government of Indonesia to anticipate and cope with contemporary disasters are the need to use technology in disaster management, disaster education for the community, and realizing community regeneration/resilience. Increasing government capacity during the Covid-19 pandemic can be carried out by following the direct example of Japan's success in disaster management so that national security is maintained.

“Fast lapsing back into barbarism”: Social Evolution, the Myth of Progress and the Gothic Past in Late-Victorian Invasion and Catastrophe Fiction

While neo-barbarian dystopian futures are typically associated with contemporary popular culture, they were not, in fact, uncommon in late-Victorian popular fiction, especially in the politically charged, future-oriented popular fiction subgenres of invasion fiction and catastrophe fiction. Focusing on a representative tale from each subgenre – George Griffith’s Olga Romanoff (1894) and Richard Jefferies’ After London (1885) – this article shows how they made innovative use of the gothic to show the future following a large-scale war or natural disaster as a decline back into an exaggerated version of the barbaric past. Reworking the familiar gothic trope of doomed inheritance, the tales showed nemesis occurring not on an individual or familial level, but on an extensive societal scale in keeping with their sweeping narratives of mass death and its aftermath. In presenting a post-catastrophe relapse to barbarism, the tales were extrapolating from the social evolution theories of Herbert Spencer and Walter Bagehot which, though delineating the forward tendency of western social progress, allowed the fearful corollary that in periods of crisis advanced societies might also regress. While popular fiction’s engagement with theories of biological degeneration has been well researched, engagements with these theories of societal reversion have received less attention. Applying them to invasion and catastrophe fiction elucidates how the tales used their regressive futures to warn hubristic nineteenth-century modernity about its potential comeuppance if it continued to either aggressively militarise or unthinkingly exploit the non-human world, two major negative social tendencies which were the source of considerable contemporary anxiety.

Applying a Mathematical Model for the Distribution of Earthquake Relief Items to the Affected Areas of Tehran

Background and objective After a large-scale natural disaster, the lack of supply and unfair distribution of relief items can cause high human casualties and hinder the function of the humanitarian supply chain. Therefore, this study aims to present a framework based on mathematical modeling for the proper distribution of relief items among the affected areas in Tehran. Method In this study, mathematical modeling was used for the distribution of relief items in a humanitarian supply chain at two high and low levels. For this purpose, a multi-purpose and multi-level humanitarian supply chain was first developed. The proposed model had three objective functions that were solved by the weighted sum method. Results According to the results, with the decrease in the supply parameter, the amount of unmet demand increased, and there was a shortage of essential items in all periods. This shortage affected the desirability of distribution among recipients and had a negative effect on the performance of the humanitarian supply chain and fair distribution. On the other hand, with the increase in supply parameter, there was a surplus of items, and considering the time window, there may be no demand for some food items, which can lead to their spoilage. In this case, an additional cost is imposed on the chain. Conclusion The proposed model is suitable in the event of natural disasters locally in urban areas of Tehran (with a certain number of residents). The results of this study can be useful for managers to make appropriate decisions after disasters and control the situation.

Longitudinal changes in depressive symptoms associated with social isolation after the Great East Japan Earthquake in Iwate Prefecture: findings from the TMM CommCohort study

BackgroundWhether past disaster experiences affect the association between changes in social isolation and depressive symptoms is largely unknown. This study examined the association between changes in social isolation and depressive symptoms among survivors who experienced earthquake damage in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE).MethodsWe analyzed longitudinal data from 10,314 participants who responded to self-report questionnaires on the Lubben Social Network Scale-6 (LSNS-6) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depressive Scale (CES-D) in both the baseline survey (FY2013 to FY2015) and follow-up survey (FY2017 to FY2019) after the GEJE. According to changes in the presence of social isolation (< 12 of LSNS-6) at two time points, participants were categorized into four groups: “not socially isolated,” “improved socially isolated,” “newly socially isolated,” and “continuously socially isolated.” At the follow-up survey, a CES-D score of ≥ 16 indicates the presence of depressive symptoms. The adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using the logistic regression analysis to examine the influence of the change in social isolation over four years on depressive symptoms.ResultsParticipants who were newly socially isolated had a significantly higher prevalence of depressive symptoms than those who were not socially isolated (AOR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.61 − 2.23). In addition, AORs were highest for those who were continuously socially isolated and had experienced house damage (AOR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.73 − 2.72) and those who were newly socially isolated and had not experienced the death of family members due to the GEJE (AOR = 1.88, 95%CI = 1.60 − 2.22).ConclusionOur longitudinal findings suggest that being newly or continuously socially isolated is associated with a risk of depressive symptoms, not only among those who had experienced house damage or the death of a family member, but also those who had not, in the disaster-affected area. Our study underlines the clinical importance of social isolation after a large-scale natural disaster and draws attention to the need for appropriate prevention measures.

Design and Development of a Novel 3-D Printed External Fixation Device for Fracture Stabilization

BackgroundAn external fixator is an orthopaedic device used to stabilize long bone fractures after high energy trauma. These devices are external to the body and fixed to metal pins going into non-injured areas of bone. They serve a mechanical function to maintain length, prevent bending, and resist torque forces about the fracture area. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe a design and prototyping process creating a low-cost entirely 3-D printed external fixator for fracture stabilization of extremity fractures. The secondary objective of this manuscript is to facilitate future advancements, modifications, and innovations in this area of 3-D printing in medicine.MethodsThis manuscript describes the computer aided design process using desktop fused deposition modeling to create a 3-D printed external fixator system designed for fracture stabilization. The device was created using the orthopaedic goals for fracture stabilization with external fixation. However, special modifications and considerations had to be accounted for given the limitations of desktop fused deposition modeling and 3-D printing with plastic polymers.ResultsThe presented device accomplishes the goals of creating a construct that can be attached to 5.0 mm metal pins, allows for modularity in placement orientations, and facilitates adjustable lengths for fracture care. Furthermore, the device provides length stability, prevention of bending, and resists torque forces. The device can be printed on a desktop 3-D printer using standard low-cost polylactic acid filament. The print time is less than two days and can be completed on one print bed platform.ConclusionsThe presented device is a potential alternative for fracture stabilization. The concept of a desktop 3-D printed external fixator design and method of production allows for numerous diverse applications. This includes assisting areas with remote or limited access to advanced medical care and large-scale natural disasters or global conflicts where large volumes of fractures exceed the local medical supply chain capabilities. The presented device creates a foundation for future devices and innovations in this fracture care space. Further research is needed on mechanical testing and clinical outcomes with this design and initiative in fracture care before clinical application.

Opportunities and Challenges to Integrate Artificial Intelligence Into Manufacturing Systems: Thoughts From a Panel Discussion [Opinion

Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to significantly increase productivity, quality, and profitability in future manufacturing systems. (Caveat: The panel did not attempt to disentangle <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">artificial intelligence</i> from <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">machine learning</i> and used the two terms loosely interchangeably during the discussion.) Traditional mass production will give way to personalized production, with each item made to order, at the low cost and high quality consumers have come to expect. Manufacturing systems will have the intelligence to be resilient to multiple disruptions, from small-scale machine breakdowns to large-scale natural disasters. Products will be made with higher precision and lower variability. While gains have been made toward the development of these factories of the future, many challenges remain to fully realize the vision shown in Figure 1.

Energy Expenditure of Disaster Relief Operations Estimated Using a Tri-Axial Accelerometer and a Wearable Heart Rate Monitor.

The management of nutrition, food, and health for disaster relief personnel is one of the crucial aspects for carrying out effective rescue activities during large-scale natural disasters, such as a big earthquake, flooding, and landslide following heavy rainfall or man-made disasters, such as widespread fire in industrial areas. Rescue workers, such as fire fighters and rescue teams who work on the disaster relief operations, have to work long, hard, and irregular hours that require energy (both intake and expenditure), with especially altered eating patterns. Reliable estimates of the energy expenditure (TEE) for such disaster relief operations have not been fully established. Here, we propose to clarify the energy expenditure for each type of large-scale disaster activity conducted by fire fighters. Thirty fire fighters (survey participants in this research) who participated in the simulation training of large-scale disaster activities wore tri-axial accelerometers and heart rate monitors during training; and, post-training, 28 fire fighters submitted complete activity record tables. An estimation formula combining tri-axial accelerometer and heart rate monitor data was used. Additionally, energy expenditure per hour (excluding resting energy expenditure: REE) (per average body weight of participants) was calculated for 10 types of large-scale disaster response activities. We propose utilization of these data as a reference value for examining the TEE of firefighting and rescue operations in future large-scale disasters.

Optimization Approach to Rolling Stock Scheduling for Timetable Temporarily Changed due to Disaster

When railway operators devise a rolling stock schedule plan, it is desirable that the schedule plan for the new timetable is similar to the previous schedule. In this study, we focus on rolling stock scheduling following a large-scale natural disaster. Generally, partial suspensions occur some sections in the line from the damage caused by the disaster, so a temporary timetable is generated. Subsequently, a rolling stock schedule that is close to the previous one must be created. We propose a two-phase rolling stock scheduling algorithm for the temporarily changed timetable. The proposed scheduling algorithm creates a set of duties based on the multi-commodity network flow problem in the first phase. Following that, the algorithm provides a set of rosters by solving the travelling salesman problem. Finally, we confirm that the proposed algorithm can produce a good solution in terms of evaluation criteria and computational time.

To Educate or Not to Educate: Systematic Review of Disaster Medicine Education in Kazakhstan in Compression with Post-Soviet Countries

Introduction:Disaster medicine education is a huge challenge, but essential to disaster preparedness. While natural disasters have always been a part of world events, recent large-scale natural and man-made disasters have drawn attention to disaster medicine. As a consequence, medical schools in many parts of the world have begun to incorporate disaster-related topics into their curricula. However, in the territory of the former USSR, disaster medicine has just begun its development, and at the moment it is represented only in a couple countries, including Kazakhstan.Method:Data collection was performed using a database search through the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Belarus, and Ukraine. Disaster Medicine curricula on different education levels, including bachelor, graduate, and postgraduate levels were reviewed and analyzed.Results:Even though Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world, education in the field of disaster medicine is currently represented only in one medical university in the country: specialists in disaster and emergency medicine are trained in residency and master's programs. In the Republics of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, education in the disaster medicine field is not provided, but there are electives for bachelor students. The Federal Center for Disaster Medicine, located in Moscow, offers doctors advanced training in disaster medicine, also disaster medicine education is provided at the bachelor and residency levels all over the Russian Federation. In Ukraine, at the moment, there is no training of specialists in disaster medicine, while in Belarus there are curricula at all levels of education.Conclusion:Despite the fact that our life is impossible without catastrophes, most of the post-soviet countries are not having educational programs in disaster medicine. Using international experience could be beneficial so that every country will be prepared to face any disaster both locally and globally.

NATURAL DISASTERS AND DEBT FINANCING COSTS

Using a comprehensive dataset of 272 large-scale natural disasters in 83 countries from 1986 to 2018, we find that disasters increase government debt financing costs (T-bill rates and 10-year government bond yields) but only in the middle- and low-income countries. This distinct response relative to high-income countries is due to lower levels of credit market depth, of private insurance penetration, and of central bank independence. The results for all natural disasters are driven by biological (epidemic) and climatological disasters — two types of hazards, the frequency and severity of which have been rising.

Model of multi-period emergency material allocation for large-scale sudden natural disasters in humanitarian logistics: Efficiency, effectiveness and equity

Large-scale sudden natural disasters will lead to a large number of casualties and economic losses. The allocation of emergency materials is of vital significance for saving lives and property losses and alleviating human suffering after disasters. Different from the traditional allocation model with single or double optimization objectives in one period, we focus on the objectives of three dimensions in humanitarian logistics: efficiency, effectiveness and equity. Finally, an emergency material allocation model with multi-rescue sites, multi-affected sites and multi-periods is proposed. The model allows decision makers to make trade-offs among efficiency, effectiveness and equity. Numerical experiments and real cases show that the model can adapt to large-scale emergency material distribution. The solution efficiency is high, and the optimal solution can be obtained in a few minutes. This satisfies the timeliness of emergency rescue distribution and provides decision makers with a quick distribution plan.

A Literature Study of the Usage of the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Case in Engineering Ethics

Hurricane Katrina, which hit New Orleans in 2005, was a large-scale natural disaster. The notable textbook of engineering ethics includes Hurricane Katrina disaster. However, it has been debated whether this case should be used as a case study. The present study surveyed this dispute and examined the employability of the Hurricane Katrina disaster as a case study in engineering ethics. The author found that the objective of the case method used determines the usefulness of the disaster. Furthermore, this study argued that the example of Hurricane Katrina, a prominent large-scale disaster, is indispensable for education in engineering ethics.

The Impact of a Large-Scale Natural Disaster on Local Economic Activity: Evidence from the 2003 Bam Earthquake in Iran

The Impact of a Large-Scale Natural Disaster on Local Economic Activity: Evidence from the 2003 Bam Earthquake in Iran

방사능 복합재난 대응을 위한 방호장비 시작품 상세설계 품목 선정 과정 분석

A radioactive complex disaster refers to a situation in which large-scale natural and social disasters such as earthquakes, fires, and chemical incidents occur in addition to nuclear power plants accident simultaneously. For the safe evacuation of residents, protective equipment must be prepared appropriately and sufficiently. We presented effectiveness, sufficiency, and versatility as selection criteria for choosing the essential protective equipment. The results of the survey of residents and local public officials suggested that masks, radioactivity meters, protective buses, and air purifiers have high priorities for the preparing equipment. Finally, through consultation with central government officials, masks, measuring instruments, and adsorption filters in protective buses were presented as prototypes. These items can effectively protect the people even in the event of a radioactive complex disaster.

International Compilation of Management of Temporally Malls triggered by Large-scale Natural Disaster

International Compilation of Management of Temporally Malls triggered by Large-scale Natural Disaster

Global trends and challenges of achieving carbon neutrality

The urgency of solving the problem of achieving global carbon neutrality is considered, the main factors that enhance the greenhouse effect are identified. By the end of the 20th century, awareness of environmental problems, pushed by large-scale natural disasters and, in general, climate change, led to the formation of a point of view based on environmentalism. A vivid manifestation of this was the formation of the concept of sustainable development within the framework of the UN and its active promotion around the world. The main problems of achieving carbon neutrality are formulated and considered, among which it is possible to distinguish: differences in the economic development of countries and their natural and climatic conditions, the absence of a single global concept of achieving carbon neutrality, and differences in the legislation of individual countries. It was found that within the framework of the emerging trend, an important trend is the formation by a group of countries of a policy aimed at reducing the "carbon footprint". The authors have considered some regulations aimed at various aspects of sustainable growth and energy efficiency, various tools for achieving carbon neutrality within the framework of EU legislation "Green Course". It was found that among the main trends of modern society in the field of achieving carbon neutrality, innovative and investment activities in the development of renewable energy sources, the transition to environmentally friendly transport, improving the energy efficiency of buildings and structures, the introduction of closed-loop technologies, increasing the capacity of forests, soils, wetlands and peatlands, oceans and reservoirs act as carbon sinks and accumulators, as well as the development of economic tools and mechanisms. It was also concluded that achieving carbon neutrality can contribute to improving the competitiveness of developed countries and worsening the economic development of developing countries