Research

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12 pages, 1131 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Conflicts between the Government, the Non-Profit Organisation and the People after a Serious Landslide Disaster Based Upon Qualitative Analysis

by Min-Ta Chuang

Sustainability 2019, 11(7), 2175; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11072175 - 11 Apr 2019

Viewed by 3210

Abstract

Due to the increasing number of intensified extreme events, post-recovery has become a serious challenge worldwide. The common issues faced during the recovery process are fragmentation and coordination problems, the lack of capacity and commitment and the variations in recovery. This study explores [...] Read more.

Due to the increasing number of intensified extreme events, post-recovery has become a serious challenge worldwide. The common issues faced during the recovery process are fragmentation and coordination problems, the lack of capacity and commitment and the variations in recovery. This study explores the conflicts between various stakeholders via NVivo, based upon the recovery process in Typhoon Morakot. A qualitative analysis was conducted with the software NVivo 10; the findings showed the following: the stakeholders include the government t, the non-profit organisations (NPOs) (mainly charity funds) and the people. For short-term sheltering and long-term settlement, the government plays the leading role in the rebuilding work, supported by NPOs. However, this study discovers that people are disappointed with the government’s rebuilding efforts. As a result, people opt to self-rescue management. Furthermore, the supplementary NPOs sometimes play leading roles in the rebuilding, resulting in conflicts between people. Overall, the government does not take quick and proper actions, resulting in the delay of the rebuilding progress and the dilemma of role misallocation of various stakeholders. As a whole, post-disaster recovery should take the local victims’ preferences into consideration and this might be helpful to speed up the recovery process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disaster-risk Reduction and Impact Assessment for Resilience and Sustainability)

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23 pages, 1164 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterising Local Knowledge across the Flood Risk Management Cycle: A Case Study of Southern Malawi

by Robert Šakić Trogrlić, Grant B. Wright, Melanie J. Duncan, Marc J. C. van den Homberg, Adebayo J. Adeloye, Faidess D. Mwale and Joyce Mwafulirwa

Sustainability 2019, 11(6), 1681; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11061681 - 20 Mar 2019

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 9971

Abstract

People possess a creative set of strategies based on their local knowledge (LK) that allow them to stay in flood-prone areas. Stakeholders involved with local level flood risk management (FRM) often overlook and underutilise this LK. There is thus an increasing need for [...] Read more.

People possess a creative set of strategies based on their local knowledge (LK) that allow them to stay in flood-prone areas. Stakeholders involved with local level flood risk management (FRM) often overlook and underutilise this LK. There is thus an increasing need for its identification, documentation and assessment. Based on qualitative research, this paper critically explores the notion of LK in Malawi. Data was collected through 15 focus group discussions, 36 interviews and field observation, and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings indicate that local communities have a complex knowledge system that cuts across different stages of the FRM cycle and forms a component of community resilience. LK is not homogenous within a community, and is highly dependent on the social and political contexts. Access to LK is not equally available to everyone, conditioned by the access to resources and underlying causes of vulnerability that are outside communities’ influence. There are also limits to LK; it is impacted by exogenous processes (e.g., environmental degradation, climate change) that are changing the nature of flooding at local levels, rendering LK, which is based on historical observations, less relevant. It is dynamic and informally triangulated with scientific knowledge brought about by development partners. This paper offers valuable insights for FRM stakeholders as to how to consider LK in their approaches. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disaster-risk Reduction and Impact Assessment for Resilience and Sustainability)

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16 pages, 5911 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Quantitative Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment of Crop Loss in the Yangtze River Delta Region of China

by Wei Xu, Xiaodong Ming, Yunjia Ma, Xinhang Zhang, Peijun Shi, Li Zhuo and Bingqiang Lu

Sustainability 2019, 11(3), 922; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11030922 - 12 Feb 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3381

Abstract

Due to their complexity, hazard interactions are often neglected in current studies of multi-hazard risk assessment. As a result, the assessment results are qualitative or semi-quantitative and are difficult to use in regional risk management. In this paper, the crop loss risk due [...] Read more.

Due to their complexity, hazard interactions are often neglected in current studies of multi-hazard risk assessment. As a result, the assessment results are qualitative or semi-quantitative and are difficult to use in regional risk management. In this paper, the crop loss risk due to heavy rain and strong wind in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region of China was quantitatively assessed, based on the joint return periods of these hazards and a vulnerability surface. The joint return period is obtained with a copula function based on the marginal distribution of each hazard. The vulnerability is fitted by considering the joint hazard intensity, the sown area of crops, elevation, and GDP per capita. The results show that counties with a high value of joint hazard probability are clustered in the southeast coastal area and that the value gradually decreases from south to north and from east to west. The multi-hazard risk has a similar pattern, with a large value in the southeast coastal area and a low value in the northwest. The proposed method can be used for quantitative assessment of multi-hazard risk, and the results can be used for regional disaster risk management and planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disaster-risk Reduction and Impact Assessment for Resilience and Sustainability)

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25 pages, 2643 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Comparative Analysis of Coordination, Participation, and Training in Post-Disaster Shelter Projects

by Aaron Opdyke, Amy Javernick-Will and Matthew Koschmann

Sustainability 2018, 10(11), 4241; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su10114241 - 16 Nov 2018

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5466

Abstract

The delivery of post-disaster shelter assistance continues to be fraught with challenges derived from the coordination of resources, involvement of project stakeholders, and training of households and builders. There is a need to better understand what project elements in the delivery of post-disaster [...] Read more.

The delivery of post-disaster shelter assistance continues to be fraught with challenges derived from the coordination of resources, involvement of project stakeholders, and training of households and builders. There is a need to better understand what project elements in the delivery of post-disaster shelter projects most influence resilience and sustainability. To address this need, we examined nineteen post-disaster shelter projects in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan. We first characterized coordination, participation, and training employed across the planning, design, and construction phases of shelter projects and then used fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to assess the influence of these elements, alone and in combination, on building resilient and sustainable community infrastructure systems. Findings show that early involvement of households in planning efforts, combined with subsequent training, was important in evolving recovery outcomes. Our results point to the importance of: (1) supporting household sheltering processes over delivering hard products; (2) strategically linking project processes across phases; and (3) aligning humanitarian actions with long-term development. Conclusions from this study contribute to theory of sheltering in developing communities and more broadly to theory of recovery processes that link to community resilience and sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disaster-risk Reduction and Impact Assessment for Resilience and Sustainability)

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12 pages, 1137 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identifying Risk Indicators of Building Damage Due to Typhoons: Focusing on Cases of South Korea

by Ji-Myong Kim, Kiyoung Son, Youngmi Yoo, Donghoon Lee and Dae Young Kim

Sustainability 2018, 10(11), 3947; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su10113947 - 30 Oct 2018

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3335

Abstract

This study identifies the risk indicators of building damage from typhoons and determines the correlations among this damage, typhoon information, geographic vulnerability, construction environment, and socioeconomic vulnerability. This fundamental research aids the development of a typhoon loss prediction model for building construction projects [...] Read more.

This study identifies the risk indicators of building damage from typhoons and determines the correlations among this damage, typhoon information, geographic vulnerability, construction environment, and socioeconomic vulnerability. This fundamental research aids the development of a typhoon loss prediction model for building construction projects in South Korea. Extreme weather events have become increasingly prevalent around the world, with subsequent increases in related damages. Early attempts to meet the growing demands for a loss prediction model have been insufficiently comprehensive, and specifically in South Korea, research on risk indicators is needed that considers the geographic, building, and socioeconomic features. This research used the regional typhoon loss records from the annual report of the Ministry of Public Safety and Security (MPSS) to define the dependent variable of building damage. The results and findings of this study will inform the development of a typhoon loss prediction model in South Korea. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disaster-risk Reduction and Impact Assessment for Resilience and Sustainability)

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22 pages, 2880 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Critical Infrastructure Resilience to Flooding Using a Response Curve Approach

by Heather J. Murdock, Karin M. De Bruijn and Berry Gersonius

Sustainability 2018, 10(10), 3470; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su10103470 - 28 Sep 2018

Cited by 44 | Viewed by 6841

Abstract

Following a flood the functioning of critical infrastructure (CI), such as power and transportation networks, plays an important role in recovery and the resilience of the city. Previous research investigated resilience indicators, however, there is no method in the literature to quantify the [...] Read more.

Following a flood the functioning of critical infrastructure (CI), such as power and transportation networks, plays an important role in recovery and the resilience of the city. Previous research investigated resilience indicators, however, there is no method in the literature to quantify the resilience of CI to flooding specifically or to quantify the effect of measures. This new method to quantify CI resilience to flooding proposes an expected annual disruption (EADIS) metric and curve of disruption versus likelihood. The units used for the EADIS metric for disruption are in terms of people affected over time (person × days). Using flood modelling outputs, spatial infrastructure, and population data as inputs, this metric is used to benchmark CI resilience to flooding and test the improvement with resilience enhancing measures. These measures are focused on the resilience aspects robustness, redundancy and flexibility. Relative improvements in resilience were quantified for a case study area in Toronto, Canada and it was found that redundancy, flexibility, and robustness measures resulted in 44, 30, and 48% reductions in EADIS respectively. While there are limitations, results suggest that this method can effectively quantify CI resilience to flooding and quantify relative improvements with resilience enhancing measures for cities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disaster-risk Reduction and Impact Assessment for Resilience and Sustainability)

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Review

Jump to: Research

16 pages, 594 KiB

Open AccessReview

Measurement of Social Networks for Innovation within Community Disaster Resilience

by Joanna Wilkin, Eloise Biggs and Andrew J Tatem

Sustainability 2019, 11(7), 1943; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11071943 - 02 Apr 2019

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 8263

Abstract

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) research has long recognised that social networks are a vital source of support during and after a shock. However, the quantification of this social support, primarily through its recognition as social capital, has proven problematic as there is no [...] Read more.

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) research has long recognised that social networks are a vital source of support during and after a shock. However, the quantification of this social support, primarily through its recognition as social capital, has proven problematic as there is no singular method for its measurement, invalidating the credibility of studies that try to correlate its effects with community disaster resilience. Within the wider resilience field, research that specifically utilises social networks as the focus of analysis is evolving. This paper provides a critical synthesis of how this developing discourse is filtering into community disaster resilience, reviewing empirical case studies from the Global South within DRR that use social network analysis and connectivity measurement. Our analysis of these studies indicates that a robust methodology utilising social network analysis is emerging, which offers opportunity for research cross-comparability. Our review also finds that without this bottom-up mapping, the implementation of top-down preparedness policy and procedures are likely to fail, resulting in the advocation of social network analysis as a critical methodology in future resilience research and policy planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disaster-risk Reduction and Impact Assessment for Resilience and Sustainability)

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21 pages, 4326 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Disaster Risk, Global Change, and Sustainability Nexus

by Pascal Peduzzi

Sustainability 2019, 11(4), 957; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su11040957 - 13 Feb 2019

Cited by 59 | Viewed by 17824

Abstract

Until the 1970s, disaster risk was perceived as a direct consequence of natural hazards. Gradually, disaster risk has come to be understood as a compound event, which lies at the intersection of hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of the exposed elements. After decades of [...] Read more.

Until the 1970s, disaster risk was perceived as a direct consequence of natural hazards. Gradually, disaster risk has come to be understood as a compound event, which lies at the intersection of hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of the exposed elements. After decades of research and lessons learned from mega-disasters, social scientists have introduced the social dimension of disaster risk, and the prevailing understanding is that disasters are also a human construct. Now, due to climate and global environmental changes, even the natural component of hazards is being altered by anthropogenic activities, changing hazard susceptibility, coverage, frequency, and severity. This review retraces the brief history and evolution of the global understanding of disaster risk as a compound event, in parallel with research on global environmental change. It highlights the main milestones in this area, and shows that there are tight connections between trends of disaster risk and global change. This paper aims to demonstrate the need to better consider the role of global environmental change in disaster risk assessment. In 2015, three major new agreements were reached to improve global environmental governance: the new Sendai Framework (2015–2030), the post-2015 development agenda with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Climate COP21 in Paris. These all include a clear focus on disaster risk reduction; however, several aspects of disaster risk linked with global environmental changes are still not clearly addressed by the main stakeholders (governments, insurers, or agencies). As the complexity of risk unfolds, more actors are getting together; the need for a holistic approach for disaster risk reduction has become clear, and is closely connected with achieving sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Disaster-risk Reduction and Impact Assessment for Resilience and Sustainability)

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