Secondary Disasters Research Articles

Psychological intervention in crisis related to the COVID-19 outbreak epidemic: Theoretical approach

Reports have shown that medical staff involved in treating people with the Coronavirus are more vulnerable to the risk of transmission, and need psychological intervention services to help them overcome fear, anxiety, and psychological pressures.AimsThis study aims to provide a brief perception of psychological intervention, to provide counseling and psychotherapy for medical staff during the outbreak of the COVID-19.MethodsThis study is based on a theoretical perspective on a program in psychological intervention during crises resulting from the spread of the Coronavirus.ResultThe basic idea in this perspective included: building a psychological intervention team. Training of psychologists to provide counseling and psychotherapy services for medical staff while treating patients with Coronavirus, establish a hotline for counseling and psychotherapy online, and Promote healthy awareness among the population.ConclusionsThe psychological effects of Coronavirus become more rapid and impactful in this time, it may cause secondary disaster due to stress even after the virus has ended. We need to look carefully at the lack of objective measures, such as the lack of specialized and qualified staff in psychotherapy to provide mental health services in these critical times, the small number of facilities equipped for psychotherapy in public hospitals, as well as the absence of the importance of psychological intervention in such cases, and other deficiencies or weaknesses that must be changed. More mental health services must be provided for health care staff to be able to complete their work successfully with minimal fatigue and psychological damage.

What’s Age Have to Do With Comfortableness in Seeking and Providing Social Support After a Disaster?

Disasters are associated with loss of property and loss of psychological well-being. Receiving various types of social support, such as emotional or tangible support, from various sources, such as family or friends, have been found to reduce the adverse impact of a disaster on affected adult community residents. It is not well studied, though, why some adults will not seek or provide support after a disaster while other adults will. The purpose of this study was to explore how age might play a role in how comfortable adults were in seeking social support from others and how age might play a role in how comfortable adults were in providing social support to others after a disaster, the 2014 San Diego County, CA wildfires. One hundred and twenty-two community residents (18 to 80 years) were recruited with 33 adults identified as Secondary Disaster Survivors and 89 adults identified as Non-Victims. Analyses revealed that age did play a role in Secondary Survivors’ comfortableness in seeking support from others; Older Adults (50-80) were significantly less likely than Middle-aged Adults (30-49) to feel comfortable in seeking support. There was no significant comfortableness difference between Middle-aged and Younger Adults (18-29) in seeking support. There were no age group differences in comfortableness in providing support to others for Secondary Survivors and Non-Victims. Implications from this data suggest that local disaster organizations should actively support affected older adults post-disaster while also including unaffected adults of all ages in the process of providing support to those in need.

Deformation mechanism and collapse treatment of the rock surrounding a shallow tunnel based on on-site monitoring

When tunnels are constructed at shallow depths in areas with poor geological conditions, such as portal sections, valleys and hillsides in regions with granitic bedrock, considerable excavation-induced deformation of the surrounding rock may occur, potentially resulting in tunnel collapses. The main reason for these problems is the lack of understanding of the deformation mechanism and evolution of the soft granitic rock surrounding the tunnel and the adoption of inappropriate construction technology and methods. This article analyzes the deformation mechanism of the rock surrounding a shallow tunnel based on in situ monitoring data as a case study and suggests that certain measures should be taken to effectively control the deformation of the surrounding rock and to minimize the potential for tunnel collapse. The results show that the deformation of the granitic soil surrounding the tunnel can be divided into three stages: the rapid deformation stage, the slow deformation stage and the stabilization stage. Appropriate construction methods should be carefully selected to ensure safety during tunnel excavation in the first stage. To avoid secondary disasters caused by tunnel collapses, three treatment measures may be implemented as part of safety management: enhancing the monitoring of the surrounding rock deformation, adjusting the construction methods and optimizing the support systems. In particular, accurate monitoring data and timely information feedback play a vital role in tunnel construction. Therefore, engineers with considerable engineering experience and professional knowledge are needed to analyze the monitoring data and make accurate predictions of tunnel deformation to ensure that reasonable measures are taken in the process of shallow tunnel excavation.

Clinical challenges in cancer patients with COVID-19: Aging, immunosuppression, and comorbidities.

COVID-19 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has developed into a global pandemic. COVID-19 poses a huge threat to health care, and the shortage of medical resources caused by COVID-19 brought serious secondary disasters to elderly cancer patients who are particularly dependent on medical resources. The clinical challenges of cancer management, including aging, immunosuppression, and comorbidities, make cancer patients more vulnerable to COVID-19 with different clinical manifestations, disease severity, and outcomes. The review comprehensively analyzed the characteristics of the cancer patients under the pandemic and concluded that cancer patients were more susceptible to COVID-19, and also concluded that they were more likely to develop poor outcomes and the severe form of the disease. Three basic management strategies have been proposed to protect susceptible elderly cancer patients, find reliable indicators to monitor the course of disease, and implement effective prevention measures.

Evaluation Method Of Important Nodes Of Water Supply Network Under Terrorist Attack

Aiming at the problem of urban water supply network protection under terrorist attack, a new comprehensive value evaluation method for important nodes of water supply network is proposed. Combined with the characteristics of terrorist attacks, Epanet and Aloha were used to simulate the changes in the efficiency of the water supply network and the consequences of secondary disasters after the node was destroyed, and a comprehensive value evaluation model based on the node’s own value, system value and indirect value was constructed. Taking an urban water supply network in Hubei Province as an example, the results can get the following conclusions: ①Compared with the buried water pipeline, the water supply plant as the source of the urban water supply network is the key target of terrorists; ②the calculation results show the comprehensive value of different water plants The gap is huge, and the comprehensive value of water plant 3 is nearly 5 times that of water plant 4; ③ the greater the comprehensive value of the water plant, the greater the terrorist attack revenue and the higher the probability of attack. Therefore, when responding to terrorist attacks, the comprehensive value should be High water plants provide more protection resources.

New Global Challenges For Patients With Immune Thrombocytopenia During The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has seriously threatened global health, society, and economy. However, little is known about the secondary disasters of COVID-19, especially in patients with chronic diseases such as immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).

Retracted: Experimental Study on the Settlement Properties of Silt Containing Fine Particles after Liquefaction: Case of Xiong’an New Area of China

Abstract The site earthquake often causes serious soil liquefaction, especially results in volume change and surface subsidence to cause many secondary disasters. Different from the previous resear...

Firefighting capacity evaluation of water distribution system subjected to multi-ignitions of post-earthquake fires

Post-earthquake fire (PEF) is a hazardous secondary disaster following earthquake, and the multi-ignition of PEFs can result in huge economic loss and heavy casualties. The suppression of PEFs depends on the water distribution system (WDS) to provide water. Although a number of studies have been conducted to evaluate the firefighting capacity of WDS, their hydraulic modelling analyses fail to consider the influence of firefighting demand at one node on the water supply capability of other nodes, which may result in an overestimate of the WDS’ capability to suppress multiple simultaneous occurrence of PEFs. In this study, an integrated procedure is developed to evaluate the firefighting capacity of WDS under the effects of both seismic pipeline damage and multi-ignition of PEFs. Under the excitation of earthquakes with different intensities, the spatial distributions of PEFs and pipeline damage are simulated, and the associated uncertainties are included by Monte Carlo simulations. The firefighting capacity of WDS is defined as the probability of providing sufficient water to suppress multiple PEFs, which, combined with the probability distribution of ignition number of PEFs, can achieve the risk assessment of a city to suffer uncontrolled PEFs. The developed method is applied to a WDS currently operating in a Chinese city. Discussions are made on the influences of multiple simultaneous water demands on firefighting capacity evaluation of WDS and the possible applications of the proposed method.

Possible role of Southern Hemispheric sea ice in the variability of West China autumn rain

West China Autumn Rain (WCAR), the last rainy season in China associated with the East Asian summer monsoon, is prone to flooding and secondary disasters and has profound impacts on the economic society. Thus, it is of great interest to understand its variability. Through an analysis with gridded rainfall data and reanalysis data, this study reveals that the variability of WCAR is positively correlated to the boreal summer (austral winter) sea ice concentration (SIC) in the Southern Indian and Pacific Ocean basins. Such a relationship is supported by the SIC-related changes in atmospheric circulations and water vapor transport. Corresponding to a high summer SIC, both the Lake Balkhash trough and the Asian low pressure are deepened, the East Asian jet shifts northward, and the water vapor transport to West China is enhanced during the boreal autumn, providing a favorable background for the increase of WCAR, and vice versa. The potential mechanism of how the boreal summer SIC affects the autumn atmospheric situation is further investigated. Results show that the atmospheric circulation in the high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere possesses a seasonal persistence from the boreal summer to autumn due to the sea ice persistence. Thus, the boreal summer SIC-related anomalies in the upper-tropospheric winds over the Southern Indian and Pacific Ocean basins can persist to the following autumn and subsequently exert substantial influences on the Eurasian atmospheric circulations via two meridional teleconnections. The counterpart in the lower troposphere contributes to the water vapor transport toward West China. Certainly, this candidate mechanism is a preliminary explanation, and other processes may also act in their linkage.

Study on the Stability of the Geogrids-Reinforced Earth Slope under the Coupling Effect of Rainfall and Earthquake

This paper focuses on understanding the dynamic response problem of flexible wrapped reinforced Earth slope under the coupling effect of earthquake and rainfall; a numerical calculation model of reinforced Earth slope considering the coupling effect of earthquake and rainfall was established. The dynamic response, pore pressure, and tensile stress distribution of the reinforcement under the rainfall before earthquake, the rainfall after the earthquake, and earthquake-rainfall are studied. The results show that the coupling effect of earthquake and rainfall is an influential factor in the dynamic analysis of reinforced Earth slopes, the analysis of which should be paid attention to and researched in the future. The combination of geogrid and soil effectively improves the deformation of the slope and the overall stability, reduces the secondary disaster of the slope, and provides a reference for the seismic construction design of the reinforced Earth slope.

Indicators for Post-Disaster Search and Rescue Efficiency Developed Using Progressive Death Tolls

Search and rescue (SAR) is often the focus during the post-disaster response phase. It is operated under the principle of the “golden 72 h”; however, the actual efficiency of each operation lacks a standard for review. On the basis of continuously updated death toll data during the SAR cases of 51 earthquakes and 10 rainfall-induced disasters, this study developed indicators corresponding to various death tolls for reviewing the time costs and the progress of different stages of SAR. Through analysis of the established indicators, the results showed that said indicators are capable of evaluating the efficiency of SAR. These indicators also revealed that earthquake cases, with or without serious secondary disasters (e.g., tsunamis), significantly affected SAR efficiency. The regression results showed that the SAR efficiency of rainfall-induced disasters is much lower than that of earthquake disasters. Additionally, it was shown that the first casualty reports are typically late and that SAR works last a long time, highlighting the difficulty and possible delay of SAR works during rainfall-induced disasters. Previous studies and analyses might have been able to make subjective descriptions of each SAR operation; however, this study quantitatively indicates the difference between actual and expected efficiency under specific death tolls.

Study on the disaster mechanism of near-fault pulse-like ground motion of M8.0 Wenchuan earthquake

With the improvement of observation quality, more and more near-fault strong earthquake records have been obtained. Through the analysis of near-fault strong ground motion records of Wenchuan earthquake, the collection and field investigation of seismogenic structural data, as well as the collection and field investigation of near-fault structural damage data, the disaster mechanism of Wenchuan earthquake is studied. The impulsive ground motion (directional effect, permanent displacement effect, etc.) near the fault is determined. It is confirmed that the pulse-like ground motion (directivity effect, permanent displacement effect, etc.) near-fault is the main cause of earthquake damage. Pulse-like ground motion has the characteristics of high peak value, wide frequency band and long duration. Therefore, it is easy to resonate with the structures with different basic periods, thus causing serious direct disasters and indirect secondary disasters.

A Comprehensive Assessment Approach for Water-Soil Environmental Risk during Railway Construction in Ecological Fragile Region Based on AHP and MEA

With China’s government facilitating railway projects, more railway lines inevitably pass through ecological fragile regions (EFRs). Railway construction activities in EFRs might cause detrimental impacts on the local water-soil environment (WSE), which is the basis of the local ecological system that if destroyed can induce secondary disasters. Studies on the WSE risk (WSER) during railway construction in EFRs are limited. As such, this study aims to offer preliminary insight into the WSER assessment of railway construction in EFRs. WSERs were identified firstly based on the literature review and field surveys, and thus a risk index framework for WSER assessment including 5 categories of WSERs and 16 second-order risks was established. Then a comprehensive quantitative assessment method was developed by integrating analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and matter-element analysis (MEA) to assess the overall WSERs of railway construction in EFRs. A case (i.e., the Mingan subproject of Hefei-Fuzhou railway) was selected to demonstrate and validate the developed approach. Results show that the proposed assessment approach can be applied to evaluate the WSERs during railway construction. In addition, the case study demonstrates that the risk of construction methods should be the key focus. Findings from this study enrich the knowledge body of sustainable railways and guide the project managers to conduct practical WSER assessment of railway construction.

Seismic Analysis of a Large LNG Tank considering the Effect of Liquid Volume

Large Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanks are prone to damage during strong earthquakes, and accurate seismic analysis must be performed during the design phase to prevent secondary disasters. However, the seismic analysis of large LNG tanks is associated with high computational requirements, which cannot be satisfied by the calculation efficiency of traditional analytical techniques such as the Coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) method. Thus, this paper aims to employ a less computationally demanding algorithm, the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics-Finite Element Method (SPH-FEM) algorithm, to simulate large LNG tanks. The seismic response of a 160,000 m3 LNG prestressed storage tank is evaluated with different liquid depths using the SPH-FEM algorithm, and simulation results are obtained with excellent efficiency and accuracy. In addition, large von Mises stress at the base of the tank indicates that strong earthquakes can severely jeopardize the structural integrity of large LNG tanks. Therefore, the SPH-FEM algorithm provides a feasible approach for the analysis of large liquid tanks in seismic engineering applications.

Precipitation Characteristics of an Abrupt Heavy Rainfall Event over the Complex Terrain of Southwest China Observed by the FY-4A Satellite and Doppler Weather Radar

On 22 July 2019, mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) with an abrupt heavy rainfall event (AHRE) hit Shuicheng County of Guizhou Province in Southwest China causing landslide and debris flow secondary disasters. The AHRE over the complex terrain of Shuicheng County had differences in location and intensity during two stages of the event. The two stages could be divided into different rainfall types (topographic rainfall and synoptic-weather-related rainfall) according to the spatiotemporal distribution and organization of MCSs based on surface and midlevel environmental field conditions. During the topographic rainfall stage, smaller meso-γ-scale (2–20 km) convective cells with lower echo-top heights (6–10 km) occurred along the windward slope of the primary mountain peak. During the synoptic-weather-related rainfall stage, a meso-β-scale (20–200 km) convective echo band with higher echo-top heights (10–14 km) occurred in the valley of the region. An adverse wind area (AWA) with distinct convergence of radar radial velocity existed over Shuicheng County. A formation mechanism analysis of the AHRE showed that topographic rainfall occurred in the warm and moist area, while synoptic-weather-related rainfall occurred due to local convergence and the intrusion of a cold tongue. Compared to the early stage, the cold tongue from the higher terrain superimposed over the warm sector at the base of major mountain ranges appeared to strengthen the rainfall.

Experimental study on the pressure of impulse waves generated by landslides on a bank slope

Impulse waves generated by landslides lead to serious secondary disasters. To investigate the effects of impulse waves on a bank slope, a three-dimensional physical model test was conducted considering multiple factors, such as the width, thickness, and volume of the landslide body, inclination angle of the landslide, and bank slope angle. The results show that the wave did not break upon the first crest. And the waves break and swirl locally when fallback water flowed into the trough. The pressure acting upon the bank slope included pulsating pressure and impact pressure, of which the latter was largely affected by repeated tests, measuring frequencies, and measurement point densities. The existing empirical formulas cannot accurately reflect the wave pressure on the bank slope under the action of landslide-generated impulse waves. The maximum pulsating pressure increased proportionally with width, thickness, volume and inclination angle of the landslide body. This study better restores the interaction process between landslide, impulse waves and bank slope in actual river channels, and provides relevant support for the formulation of water pressure prediction formulas.

Numerical Simulation of Surface Deformation in Goaf

Coal mine goaf is a hidden, complex, surface deformation of a large range and easy to cause geological disasters of the bad construction site, the surface engineering construction of great harm. The uneven subsidence, horizontal movement, deformation, collapse and other disasters of the goaf surface have serious potential safety hazards for the construction and operation of the project. At the same time, secondary disasters such as ground collapse and collapse caused by surface movement and deformation also occur from time to time, which seriously threaten the safety of construction projects. In this paper, Flac3D is used to conduct a three-dimensional numerical simulation study on the goaf of jinjie coal mine, and the surface deformation law of the goaf is obtained by analyzing the horizontal movement, vertical settlement, horizontal deformation and inclined deformation of the goaf, which provides a theoretical basis for the surface deformation management of the local goaf.

A scenario-based hybrid robust and stochastic approach for joint planning of relief logistics and casualty distribution considering secondary disasters

This paper proposes a scenario-based three-stage hybrid robust and stochastic model that optimally designs the response network and distributes casualties effectively under uncertain combinational scenarios of primary and secondary disasters. Following the stochastic severity of combinational disasters, the robust counterparts are derived against the ambiguous uncertainty of evacuee scales and transportation time, respectively. A customized progressive hedging algorithm based on the augmented Lagrangian relaxation is developed to solve the problem. We decompose the problem based on the scenario and iteratively solve the adaptively penalized sub-problems with decision variables independent of stages. The results of an illustrative example show that incorporating secondary disaster scenarios can contribute to improving relief coverage. The proposed algorithm is competitive with some benchmarks.

Polymer-based ceramifiable composites for flame retardant applications: A review

To improve the high-temperature resistance and inhibit the secondary disasters (such as explosion/radiation leakage attributing to power failure or short circuit) after fire, polymer-based ceramifiable composites (PCCs) have grown significantly in fire protection field caused by strong self-supporting and water spraying ceramic layer at 600–1000 °C. Generally, PCCs are fabricated through incorporating fluxing agent, silicate fillers, synergist, flame retardant and so on into polymer matrix. The polymer matrix could provide the composites with good processability, the ability to ease shaping and high elasticity. In this review, the different PCCs are compared and the effects of polymer matrix on the ceramization mechanism of composites are discussed. The factors influencing the self-supporting strength and water-resistant spraying time of ceramifiable polymer-based composites such as the type and incorporation amount of silicate fillers, ceramization temperature and fluxing agent are discussed. Meanwhile, the influence of flame retardant on the flame retardancy and ceramization property of PCCs is analyzed. Some perspectives and future directions on how to highly generate flame-retarding and strong self-supporting ceramifiable composites are proposed.

Joint Risk Assessment of the Secondary Disasters of Rainstorms based on Multisource Spatial Data in Wuhan, China

AbstractRainstorms easily can cause serious secondary disasters such as waterlogging, debris flow, and flood, and the combination of these secondary disasters makes cities more vulnerable. However,...