Scale Natural Disasters Research Articles

An imperative to focus the plastic pollution problem on place-based solutions

There is an increased focus on plastic pollution and the resultant harms in our oceans and on our shores at local, regional, and global scales. New technologies are being developed and trialed, multilateral agreements are coming into play, and the role of a circular economy is increasingly touted as the key to help solve the plastic pollution crisis. Simultaneously, we are witnessing the disruption of global supply chains from the COVID-19 pandemic, increased fuel prices and increased scope and scale of natural disasters. Individual countries are setting national targets and are developing national plans of action to combat plastic pollution. In this paper, we focus on Australia's National Plastics Plan as a case study of a national approach to addressing this transboundary issue. We discuss the Plan in relation to supply chains, the role of standards and best practices, and principles for a successful circular plastic economy. We explicitly consider the role of reverse logistics and regional approaches that could be developed and implemented within island nations. Overall, we argue for culturally appropriate, economically and environmentally place-based solutions as a necessary approach to help reduce plastic losses to the environment, acknowledging that plastics leakage to the environment is a social equity issue.

Crowdsourced humanitarian relief vehicle routing problem

During recent years, the number and scale of natural disasters have been increasing steadily. In view of this, a crucial aspect of humanitarian logistics is ensuring that relief materials reach the needy in an efficient and quick manner. Crowdsourcing is a concept that has been gaining momentum over the last few years as a highly potential tool for improving disaster response. This paper defines a crowdsourced humanitarian relief vehicle routing problem and proposes a heuristic to generate good quality solutions in reasonable time. The algorithm is based on an Iterated Local Search (ILS) scheme. Extensive computational studies are done on randomly generated instances to gain insights on the performance of the heuristic and on the impact of the problem features on solution quality. In addition, instances mimicking the shape of real cities are generated and results are analyzed.

Классификация межсистемных аварий на инфраструктурно сложных территориях

Urbanisation led to the establishment of infrastructure-complex territories (ICTs). The growing interaction between critical infrastructures in such territories, combined with an increase in the frequency and scale of natural disasters, caused a surge in intersystem accidents (ISA). ISAs are characterised by cascading processes and catastrophic consequences for regional socio-economic development, since they affect both the critical infrastructure and environment. The paper aims to classify intersystem accidents in infrastructure-complex territories, as well as to assess the adaptive resilience of these areas to external influences. An examination of available statistics on domestic and foreign intersystem accidents demonstrated the importance of the issue and allowed us to identify common features of ISAs. The research analysed various approaches to the classification of territories and their adaptive resilience to external influences, showing that the existing classifications mostly do not consider infrastructure-complex territories and the possibility of intersystem accidents. Based on the analysis of statistical data and simulation of cascade failures and emergencies, the article proposes a new approach to the classification of intersystem accidents in infrastructure-complex territories. The scale of economic and social consequences, location of the accident, structure of the development of emergency processes, and other classification features were used. The proposed classification will help simulate emergencies, develop methods for assessing the consequences and resistance of infrastructure-complex territories to external influences, and, subsequently, increase adaptive resilience and economic efficiency of regional development. Further research will be aimed at predicting the development of ISAs and assessing the resulting damage in accordance with the proposed classification.

Strategy of agrarian-forestry crisis management: Participation, collaboration, and conflict

The presence of communities in conservation areas provides chronic and systemic problems on land and biological resources and potential to become agrarian-forestry conflicts. The existence is often interpreted as a threat that will impact on the occurrence of ecosystem crisis with the increasing intensity and scale of natural disasters that led to social-economic and environmental catastrophe. This paper deals with dilemma questions from the Dongi-dongi community, Sigi Regency, Indonesia on social justice or conservation, human or environment? The research employed a qualitative descriptive method to decompose the source and root of the conflict, while the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to examine the implications of land conflict on socio-economic and environmental aspects. SWOT analysis directly directed to determine a strategy for reducing conflict and agrarian-forestry crisis. The results show that agrarian-forestry disputes can be reduced by prioritizing community-based forest management regarding participation and collaboration (socio-economic and ecological aspects) through clarity of forest management structures and institutions, land tenure and utilization systems. Also, avoiding conflicts through border setting and legitimacy. In this case, there should be a clear understanding that conversion of forest land to economic and environmentally insecure causes not only forest destruction but also natural disasters such as floods, drought, land erosion and socio-economic problems (declining quality of life, destruction local cultural arrangements and the loss of endemic flora and fauna species).

A Fuzzy Integer Programming Model to Locate Temporary Medical Facilities as Part of Pre-Disaster Management

The number and the scale of natural disasters have drastically increased over the last decades. One of the most vital stages of disaster preparedness is disaster response planning, and it plays an important role in limiting material and immaterial consequences, such as those caused by large scale earthquakes. In order to minimize human suffering and death, the aim of establishing a well-designed humanitarian relief chain must be to provide medicine, water, shelter, emergency food and supplies to the affected areas. From a holistic perspective, providing timely first aid and rapid transfer of injured victims to a medical facility is one of the most essential component of such chain. Thus, the location of first aid hospitals must be determined following a careful thought and planning process. This study presents a fuzzy integer programming model to determine the best location of the temporary hospitals which are expected to support extant state hospitals after a major earthquake. This study applies the proposed fuzzy model to the Üsküdar province of Istanbul and identifies optimum number and locations of field hospitals for a severe earthquake scenario.

A Plan to Provide Effective Risk Map Information by Linking a 3D Disaster Information Display System with an On-site Assistance Application

The increase in frequency and scale of natural disasters is the typical negative examples of the global climate change and the change of the human living environment in cities. The damage caused by natural disasters in particular including human and physical damage is directly linked to the safety and properties of citizens. Besides, the damage may occur to SOC facilities directly or indirectly. The SOC facilities damaged by disasters cause infringement of citizens safety rights. Therefore, a plan to provide prompt and effective risk map information by linking a 3D disaster information display system, which handles the information of the damage that may occur to SOC facilities such as bridges, beams, and dams at the time of disasters, with an on-site assistance application is suggested in this study. The prompt provision of risk map information is defined as a dynamic expression technology in this study. Also, disaster information is processed and compressed with a module developed to be linked organically to a system that displays disaster information, a proliferation system that can use the information on site, and a DB system that constructs a relationship with the information. Based on the module, the effective disaster information compression plan will be prepared, and the prompt information transmission system will be secured in the future.

Resilience in the social and physical realms: Lessons from the Gulf Coast

The mounting frequency and scale of natural disasters, increasing urbanization, a growing reliance on interdependent technologies and infrastructure, and inflated expectations of emergency response interventions are responsible for greater disaster vulnerability and demonstrate the need to establish more resilient communities ahead of a disaster. The decisions of the private sector are among the reasons for increased vulnerability, for example through unsustainable or unsound real estate development.One factor that is known to impact resilience is social capital, particularly as manifested in strong social networks. The built environment has been shown to influence social networks in multiple ways. Research has shown that walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods with a higher concentration of social gathering places and public space encourage the development of social capital and place attachment through an increase in social interaction. The built environment is a physical, social, and symbolic anchor for residents. Most importantly for resilience, it can be a support system for social networks. The private sector influences this relationship through real estate development decisions.This paper examines how characteristics of the built environment that influence social networks contributed to greater resilience to Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Given that social networks increase community resilience to all types of disasters, that social networks are shown to be influenced by certain types of space, and that the built environment is a common intervention for urban planners, this paper explores the potential for creating cities that are more resilient by encouraging private development that fosters social networks.

Low-Cost Remote Sensing and GIS for Regional Disaster Risk Reduction, North West Costa Rica

Please click here to download the map associated with this article. The increased number and scale of natural disasters in recent years has resulted in loss of life and longterm negative social, economic, and environmental impacts, particularly in developing countries. Hazards are processes which occur in the natural environment and can damage human life, property, or both. Vulnerability is comprised of the people in their environment and their exposure to hazards. Disaster Risk is dependent on the severity of the associated hazard and the vulnerability. The impact of natural hazards can be reduced by using disaster preparedness maps. Regional “pre-disaster” maps show areas of high risk, which can then be assisted with disaster mitigation measures, such as detailed improved emergency planning, clearing paths to areas of safety, and publicity to increase local hazard awareness. Taking these measures and targeting high-risk areas can save lives and prevent damage, as well as providing better guidance on where and how to place early warning systems. To evaluate the usefulness and better develop these regional pre-disaster maps, disaster risk was assessed for Filadelfia, north west Costa Rica using geohazard assessment, vulnerability (populated areas, land cover types, infrastructure and natural resources), and hazard event chronologies. Assessment was made using free satellite datasets, aerial photography, geological maps, topographical maps, and ground surveys.