Natural Disaster Prevention Research Articles

Botanical Education: Management of Greening and Maintenance of Modern Landscape

In the management of greening and maintenance of modern garden landscape, the prevention of natural disasters should be emphasized. Adequate fertilizer and water are provided to the plants to meet their growing needs. Pests and diseases are effectively prevented and controlled.

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN PROTECTED AREA: CASE OF CIKOLE FOREST RESERVE, WEST BANDUNG, INDONESIA

Sustainable tourism development (STD) is one of the current emerging vital issues. The aims of the paper are: to explore to what extent the development of tourism at Cikole Protected Area (PA), to identify the impacts of tourism practices, and to evaluate how tourism benefits to the stakeholders framed in the category of sustainability. Data were obtained through various sources like interviews, field observation and documentation, which utilized a multi-case study approach. Data were analyzed using thematic and coding. The findings, Cikole forest reserve has greatly provided positive image to the development of sustainable tourism and conservation of natural areas without destroying the main function of the forest as a source of livelihood, natural disaster prevention, and its surrounding environment of the community. However, there are also indications of unsustainable ways to some tourism destinations areas. The respective tourism stakeholders like planners, government organizations, environmentalists, private sectors, and communities, in particular, are important parts of tourism development through their involvement, participation, and decision-making process.

Programs for Prevention and Management of Natural Disasters in the European Countries of The Larger Area of The Black Sea Basin

Abstract The hazards that have cross-border consequences and represent a great problem for communities, become an obstacle to sustainable development and lead to disasters when combined with vulnerability and insufficient capacity to mitigate the risk. A short overview of research already implemented and in progress presents us a shift in systematic evaluation of the hazards and disasters at local and areal level. Hazard assessment of natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides and floods) on these scales can give results which can be directly used to take right decisions regarding preventive measures and plan effective actions of post-event management. The issue is widely recognized in the european union (eu) implicitly also in the black sea area, and a lot of efforts have already been made to mitigate the effects of disasters, obviously through the formation of numerous eu institution, established organizations and funded projects. The key elements for an effective mitigation of natural disasters are hazard identification and risk assessment, which must be based on scientifically grounded methodologies, reliable and accurate data. Successful resolution of the issues mentioned above will provide the ability to systematically assess natural disasters on regional and local scales, even in cross-border areas, by providing comparable hazard maps that will support the decision-making process in relation to mitigation measures required. The effective way of action against them is by providing applied research and technology transfer between partners in different countries by solving the problems such as lack of reliable information and lack of 'common ground' in the methodologies used to assess natural hazards and adopted procedures for mitigation.

Methodology for mapping the national ecological network to mainland Portugal: A planning tool towards a green infrastructure

Abstract The concept and establishment of Ecological Networks (EN) have been seen as a solution towards nature conservation strategies targeting biodiversity and ecological connectivity. Within this, the EN assumed a holistic view of land-use planning and biodiversity conservation as the core of the wider Green Infrastructure (GI) framework. The EN is considered a spatial concept recognized as a system of landscape structures or ecosystems, and a strategically connected fundamental infrastructure of abiotic and biotic systems, underlying the provision of multiple functions valuable to society. This concept moves beyond traditional approaches of “nature protection and preservation”, (re)focusing on the ecosystemic approach and the “continuum naturale”, emphasising the quality or potentiality of physical components, allowing the articulation with the nature conservation and at-risk areas. Portugal has long had legislation in place meant to protect the natural resources. Although the environmental policies are sectoral and unarticulated, and the environmental data is dispersed and absent. In addition, this study shows that the existing protected areas in Portugal, namely Natura 2000 and classified protected areas, are insufficient to ensure landscape ecological balance and avoid fragmentation. The main goal is to develop a methodology to map a National Ecological Network (NEN) for mainland Portugal, establish the theoretical framework of the EN/GI, by identifying and mapping the most valuable and sensitive areas that guarantee the ecosystem functioning through a multi-level ecological evaluation criteria that integrate the physical and biological systems. The Portuguese NEN map, with a 25 m spatial resolution, integrates in a single tool the Portuguese environmental policies more effectively, in order to facilitate its understanding and application into planning. Regarding the EN mapping method, it was used a GIS-based model made up of a sequence of analyses and evaluations that are driven by a GIS supported assessment of several indices/models used for each EN component. These NEN components were studied individually and collectively and the results, hierarchized in two levels, show that most of the ecological components do not overlap. The NEN1 has high biodiversity and ecological value, which means they are more vulnerable to anthropogenic activity. NEN1 covers a total of 67 % of the mainland, yet as of 2018, only 25 % is protected in nature conservation areas. Priority of action must be given to NEN1 in order to avoid/decrease landscape fragmentation, environmental risks, and natural disaster prevention. This paper contributes to the understanding of the NEN importance as an ecologically based tool towards a more sustainable landscape planning, and the basis of the development plans at national, regional and local levels in an integrated manner, instead of a compilation of disassociated often-contradictory planning tools. The benefits of a Portuguese NEN into a GI development and part of a (broader) nature base solutions by increasing the ecosystems quality and become less dependent on economic and social activities, helping in the restoration of degraded ecosystems and environmental risk prevention. Moreover, it represents the first attempt to map Portuguese EN, and addresses the lack of mapping and the inconsistent EN criteria. It is available online at http://epic-webgis-portugal.isa.ulisboa.pt .

Applications of Numerical Modelling for the Study on Storm Surge in Typhoon Xangsane in the Central Coast of Vietnam

ABSTRACT Understanding impacts of typhoons due to storm surge plays an important role in reducing damage in coastal areas. This study used the SWAN wave model to simulate the typhoon waves and the SuWAT model to simulate storm surge and inundation caused by Typhoon Xangsane in 2006 which landed in the Central Coast of Vietnam from Nghe An to Phu Yen Provinces. The wind-pressure field was calculated by the Fujita’s model and reanalysis data were inputted to the SWAN and SuWAT models. The simulated results of the typhoon wave showed that Typhoon Xangsane caused 5-7 m height waves in the coastal areas with a radius of 600 km. The results of the storm surge combined with the simulations of wind, pressure, wave, and tide in the coastal areas were estimated at 2 m. The simulated and calculated results of storm surge and inundation maps will help the decision makers in the Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control to reduce the impacts of natural disasters induced to storm surge in the near future.

Environmental Carrying Capacity based on Ecosystem Services for Sustainable Development in Banggai Island

Environmental carrying capacity based on ecosystem services has been widely used to maintain the environment against development. Environmental carrying capacity assessed in this study to estimate the ability of Banggai Island regency in provisioning food and water, regulating water flow and flood, and regulating of prevention and protection of natural disasters. The environmental carrying capacity was calculated based on ecoregion, vegetation, and land cover. The results subsequently presented in the map. This study pronounced that Banggai Island has a lower environmental carrying capacity for food water provision, as well as protection against natural disasters. This study is highlight carrying capacity profile of Banggai Island as a possible tool for government and multi-stakeholders in directing the development.

Landslide susceptibility mapping by remote sensing and geomorphological data: case studies on the Sorrentina Peninsula (Southern Italy)

The Sorrentina Peninsula is a densely populated area with high touristic impact. It is located in a morphologically complex zone of Southern Italy frequently affected by dangerous and calamitous landslides. This work contributes to the prevention of such natural disasters by applying a GIS-based interdisciplinary approach aimed to map the areas more potentially prone to trigger slope instability phenomena. We have developed the Landslide Susceptibility Index (LSI) combining five weighted and ranked susceptibility parameters on a GIS platform. These parameters are recognized in the literature as the main predisposing factors for triggering landslides. This work combines analyses conducted on Remote Sensing, Geo-Lithology and Morphometry data and it is organized in the following logical steps: i) Multi-temporal InSAR technique was applied to Envisat-ASAR (2003–2010) and COSMO-SkyMed (2013–2015) datasets to obtain the ground displacement time series and the relative mean ground velocity maps. InSAR allowed the detection of the areas that are subjected to ground deformation and the main affected municipalities; ii) Such deformation areas were investigated through airborne photo interpretation to identify the presence of geomorphological peculiarities connected to potential slope instability. Subsequently, some of these peculiarities were checked on the field; iii) In these deformation areas the susceptibility parameters were mapped in the entire territory of Amalfi and Conca dei Marini and then investigated with a multivariate analysis to derive the classes and the respective weights used in the LSI calculation. The resulting LSI map classifies the two municipalities with high spatial resolution (2m) according to five classes of instability. The map highlights that the high/very high susceptibility zones cover 6% of the investigated territory and correspond to potential landslide source areas characterized by 25°-70° slope angles. A spatial analysis between the map of the historical landslides and the areas classified according to susceptibility allowed testing of the reliability of the LSI Index, resulting in 85% prediction accuracy.

Building model of information, education and communication clubs for preventing natural disasters to improve disaster prevention capacity of local ethnic minority communities - Results and lessons learned (Case studies of Gie Trieng ethnic group in Kon Tum province and Co Ho ethnic group in Lam Dong province)

Climate change and sea level rise are an existing threat of humanity in the 21st century. The victims of natural disasters and climate change are none other than people who suffer with increasing levels of disasters for a country and a region. Therefore, the study proposes and implements solutions to minimize negative impacts of natural disasters and adapts to the process of global climate change, which is an urgent task of every country. One of the solutions to improve the capacity of natural disaster prevention and mitigation for ethnic minorities is to educate and raise awareness for people in natural disaster prevention. Thus, building a model of clubs for information, education and communication for preventing natural disasters to improve disaster prevention capacity of ethnic minorities is of utmost importance.

Determination of drainage corridor in the downstream Vu Gia - Han river, Da Nang city

Determination of drainage corridor in the downstream Vu Gia - Han river, Da Nang city

Zoning of Baikal region according to the hazardous geomorphological processes for strategy planning in Russian Federation and Republic of Mongolia

Ecological-geomorphological zoning analysis of Baikal Region to hazardous geomorphological processes was carried out on the basis of the author’s technique. Baikal Region includes the subjects of the Russian Federation in the South Siberia and Republic of Mongolia within the boundaries of the Lake Baikal Basin. The basis of zoning are: 1) the spatial distribution patterns of dominant landforms and geomorphological processes that have a negative impact on the economy and social sphere; 2) territorial organization of the economy of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Mongolia, as well as regional system of intra and inter regional industrial relations; 3) the prospects for socio-economic development of South Siberia in Russian Federation and the Republic of Mongolia, as well as hazardous geomorphological processes that can be activated or re-emerge in the result. Research aimed at improving the state system to deal with emergency situations of natural and man-made disasters in Russia, optimization of international contacts in the field of modernization and development of new methods of prevention and prediction of natural disasters and catastrophes.

Complex analysis of pre-seismic geoacoustic and electromagnetic emission signals

The article describes the results of complex analysis of pre-seismic signals of electromagnetic and geoacoustic radiation. We analyzed the frequency content of single sferics and geoacoustic impulses recorded before the Zhupanov earthquake that occurred on January 30, 2016. The signals were analyzed using sparse approximation method, in particular Adaptive Matched Pursuit. Background signals were studied together with pre-seismic ones. Distributions of frequencies, that are part of background and pre-seismic signals, were compared. Differences in the frequency content of pre-seismic sferics and geoacoustic impulses were found. The revealed features of pre-seismic signals in the future can be used in the design of systems for monitoring, forecasting and prevention of natural disasters. The research was supported by Russian Science Foundation (project No. 18-11-00087).

FUTURE WAVE PROJECTION DURING THE TYPHOON AND WINTER STORM SEASON

IPCC’s AR5 stated that it is more likely than not that the frequency of tropical cyclones (TCs) will decrease and that the intensity of TCs will increase over the Western North Pacific in the late 21st century. Until now, many researchers have tried to project wave climate according to various climate change scenario (Hemer et al., 2013). Most studies focus on the change of mean and extreme wave heights. These indices are important to evaluate the effects on coastal structures in terms of natural disaster prevention. However, the effect of climate change on wave conditions induced by extreme events is still vague. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of future climate change on wave conditions from one-month simulations including periods of extreme events based on the pseudo-warming method (Sato et al., 2007) with the most recent IPCC scenario.

Implementation of a landscape ecological use pattern model: Debris flow waste-shoal land use in the Yeyatang Basin, Yunnan Province, China

Debris flow waste-shoal land (DFWSL) is a significant and potential land resource that is largely ignored in ecologically fragile mountainous areas. Yeyatang Basin, in Yunnan Province, China, is a typical mountainous debris flow area with a large amount of DFWSL. In order to achieve efficient use of DFWSL in this area, we built a demonstration plot and implemented a landscape ecological use pattern (LEUP) model for the DFWSL, with which we analyzed the economic, ecological, and social benefits. The results showed that the LEUP significantly improved incomes and vegetation coverage, and it reduced soil and water loss, controlled the debris flow, and ensured the safety of residents. To some extent, the LEUP alleviated the conflict between socioeconomic development and environmental protection and increased local employment opportunities, which could help to resolve the socioeconomic issues associated with rural hollow villages and left-behind children. The model demonstration results will provide a “road map” to wasteland use and serve as an important information resource for policymakers. Leaders should consider shifting their perspectives toward exploring land resources that had previously been deemed unavailable and pay more attention to the management and development of DFWSL, which could potentially enable the sustainable development of mountain ecosystems and economies, and enhance the prevention and control of natural disasters in mountainous regions.

Experimental study of water and salt migration in unsaturated loess

Water and salt migration properties are important in many disciplines, including engineering construction, natural disaster prevention, agricultural irrigation and wastewater disposal. Relevant research into unsaturated loess caters to the development needs of the cities located on it. The objective of this study is to identify the water flow dynamics and consequent salt migration and redistribution (as well as their influence on microstructure alteration of the soil) during long-term seepage in unsaturated loess. In this experimental study, a long-term and one-dimensional seepage simulation test is conducted in a loess column. Probes are buried at different depths along the vertical profile to monitor and record the variations of volume water content and electrical conductivity. After the seepage test, soils at different depths are analyzed with different methods to make further investigation, including use of a pressure-plate apparatus to obtain soil-water characteristic curves, ion chromatography to determine the soluble salt components, and scanning electron microscopy to observe the microstructure changes. Good consistency between the different tests is obtained. Based on those results, the water and salt migration patterns and their influence on loess are analyzed and concluded.

Construction of coastline shelterbelts and assessment of their environmental effects in Yuyao, China

AbstractThere is 18,000 km of coastline in China. It is extremely important to construct coastal shelterbelts as they have a unique and irreplaceable role in the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters and in maintaining the ecological balance of coastal regions. A coastal shelterbelt was constructed near Yuyao City, Zhejiang Province, and three plots (wasteland, farmland, and forest) were studied to investigate the effects of environmental factors on the diversity of herbaceous plants. The environmental benefits were analyzed by field surveys and soil sampling. A total of 31 species from 30 genera and 14 families of halophyte and salt‐tolerant grasses were found in the survey area. The wasteland included 21 species from 20 genera and 9 families, whereas the shelterbelt forest had 19 species from 19 genera and 8 families, with Poaceae and Asteraceae dominating. Moreover, the Sørensen coefficient for the shelterbelt forest and wasteland was 65 and that for the shelterbelt forest and farmland was 55.56. Additionally, the salinity decreased from 0.52% to 0.02% after 2 years, similar to the value for farmland that has been cultivated for decades. The organic matter content increased from 5.1 to 9.5 g/kg, and the total nitrogen content increased from 0.34 to 0.47 g/kg. We concluded that coastline shelterbelts could be successfully established on the muddy coast. With coastline shelterbelts growing, the structure and diversity of herbaceous plants were affected, and the soil conditions were improved. Therefore, the construction of shelterbelt forest would improve the coastal landscape and enhance soil properties, accelerating the succession of herbaceous plants.

Developing the management models of life skills education in order to deal with climate change and disaster prevention for students in the ethnic minorities boarding high school in the current period - The status and solutions

Life skills education to deal with the climate change and management of natural disaster prevention for students in ethnic minorities boarding high schools are very necessary nowadays. Based on educational activities of life skills, we establish and develop the awareness, attitudes and behavior for students, help them to find the causes and consequences of climate change and the natural disaster so that they shape attitudes and behavior of themselves in adaptation and mitigation due to climate change and natural disasters, as well as conscious propaganda for everyone to perform, toward a better life, a civilized society, meet overall educational goals during the current period. So that, life skills education for the goals of meeting the needs of disaster prevention for students are concerned. However, we not only say doctrinairely but also pay attention to the results of the life skills education due to meet the needs of disaster prevention, by then we form perceptions, attitudes and behavior for students in schools and in society. So there must be coordination between the forces of education in schools with families and society. Therefore, life skills education for students acquire sustainably. Assay results consulted reviews of managers, teachers showed that life skills educational management measures meeting the needs of disaster prevention for the students are necessary and available, suitable with the practice of ethnic minorities boarding high schools.

On-Board, Real-Time Preprocessing System for Optical Remote-Sensing Imagery.

With the development of remote-sensing technology, optical remote-sensing imagery processing has played an important role in many application fields, such as geological exploration and natural disaster prevention. However, relative radiation correction and geometric correction are key steps in preprocessing because raw image data without preprocessing will cause poor performance during application. Traditionally, remote-sensing data are downlinked to the ground station, preprocessed, and distributed to users. This process generates long delays, which is a major bottleneck in real-time applications for remote-sensing data. Therefore, on-board, real-time image preprocessing is greatly desired. In this paper, a real-time processing architecture for on-board imagery preprocessing is proposed. First, a hierarchical optimization and mapping method is proposed to realize the preprocessing algorithm in a hardware structure, which can effectively reduce the computation burden of on-board processing. Second, a co-processing system using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) and a digital signal processor (DSP; altogether, FPGA-DSP) based on optimization is designed to realize real-time preprocessing. The experimental results demonstrate the potential application of our system to an on-board processor, for which resources and power consumption are limited.

PENERAPAN METODA FUZZY DALAM KLASIFIKASI LAHAN KRITIS BERBASIS HYDRAULIC RESPONSE UNIT (HRU) SUBDAS CISANGKUY

Various natural disasters, such as floods and landslides, are often associated with extreme weather conditions, especially rainfall, where in fact the possibility of such a disaster will be smaller if the carrying capacity of the land is still good. The decrease of land carrying capacity is often due to land use change, so that the land is not capable to perform it functions and is categorized as critical land. The decline in land carrying capacity will affect other resources, especially water resources. Anticipatory measures of natural disasters such as floods and landslides can perfectly prepared if information regarding land conditions, including land criticality, are available in detail and up to date. The classification and mapping of land criticality becomes an important component in the preparation of land rehabilitation and natural disaster prevention plans including setting the priority actions. The Minister of Forestry Regulation no P.32 / Menhut-II / 2009 concerning Procedures for Preparation of Forest and Watershed Technical Rehabilitation Plan was use as criteria for land classification and both Fuzzy and Crisp calculation methods were applied to calculate the final score. Different classification result was found in 23 HURL and comparing to actual the condition, the Fuzzy method gives more accurate result than Crisp method.

O Percepção de risco a partir do programa defesa civil na escola em Blumenau

Nacionalmente conhecida pelo histórico de inundações e deslizamentos, Blumenau, localizada no Vale do Itajaí, em Santa Catarina, Brasil, registrou desde a sua fundação, em 1850, 92 inundações, além dos movimentos de massa que atingem todas as regiões do município. Diante de sucessivos registros que ocasionaram danos materiais e perdas humanas, foi necessário estruturar a gestão de risco de desastre do município. Uma das ações de prevenção desenvolvidas pelo órgão em parceria com as escolas é o Programa Defesa Civil na Escola, cujo objetivo é tornar as comunidades mais seguras a partir de aulas sobre prevenção de desastres naturais com crianças e adolescentes. O presente trabalho propõe-se a analisar a percepção de risco desses alunos por meio da observação participante e pesquisa bibliográfica e documental. Constata-se neste artigo que o desenvolvimento da percepção de risco torna-os alunos multiplicadores de prevenção e resiliência.

Evaluation of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Satellite Rainfall Products over the Lower Colorado River Basin, Texas

AbstractQuality of precipitation products from the Integrated Multi‐satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement mission (IMERG) was evaluated over the Lower Colorado River Basin of Texas. Observations of several rainfall events of a wide range of magnitudes during May 2015 by a very dense network of 241 rain gauges over the basin were used as a reference. The impact of temporal and spatial downscaling of different satellite products (near/post‐real‐time) on their accuracy was studied. Generally, all IMERG products perform better when the temporal and spatial resolutions are downscaled. The Final product shows relatively better performance compared to the near‐real‐time products in terms of basic performance measures; however, regarding rainfall detection, all products show nearly similar performance. When considering rainfall detection, IMERG adequately captures the precipitation events; however, in terms of spatial patterns and accuracy, more improvements are needed. IMERG products analysis results may help developers gain insight into the regional performance of the product, improve the product algorithms, and provide information to end users on the products’ suitability for potential hydrometeorological applications. Overall, the IMERG products, even the uncalibrated product at its finest resolution, showed reasonable performance indicating their great potential for applications such as water resources management, prevention of natural disasters, and flood forecasting.