A Building Blackbox for Urban Disaster Response and Relief

Emergent groups and spontaneous volunteers in urban disaster response

Environment and Urbanization ◽

10.1177/0956247817721413 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 443-458 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

John Twigg ◽

Irina Mosel

Keyword(s):

Disaster Response ◽

Search And Rescue ◽

Current State ◽

Urban Disaster ◽

Emergency Workers ◽

Emergent Groups ◽

The World ◽

Food And Drink ◽

Self Organizing

Spontaneous responses by self-organizing, “emergent” voluntary groups and individuals are a common feature of urban disasters. Their activities include search and rescue, transporting and distributing relief supplies, and providing food and drink to victims and emergency workers. However, informal actors are rarely incorporated into formal disaster and humanitarian planning. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge concerning the nature and scale of emergent activity around the world, its impact in the short and long terms, challenges associated with it in different contexts, and lessons for future urban humanitarian practice.

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Express Railway Disaster in Amagasaki: A Review of Urban Disaster Response Capacity in Japan

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine ◽

10.1017/s1049023x0000399x ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 21 (5) ◽

pp. 345-352 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Takashi Nagata ◽

Stephanie N. Rosborough ◽

Michael J. VanRooyen ◽

Shuichi Kozawa ◽

Takashi Ukai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Disaster Preparedness ◽

Disaster Response ◽

Fire Department ◽

Confined Space ◽

Incident Command ◽

Railway Company ◽

Urban Disaster ◽

Express Train ◽

Early Decision ◽

Set Up

AbstractIntroduction:On the morning of 25 April 2005, a Japan Railway express train derailed in an urban area of Amagasaki, Japan. The crash was Japan's worst rail disaster in 40 years.This study chroniclesthe rescue efforts and highlights the capacity of Japan's urban disaster response.Methods:Public reports were gathered from the media, Internet, government, fire department, and railway company. Four key informants, who were close to the disaster response, were interviewed to corroborate publicdata and highlight challenges facing the response.Results:The crash left 107 passengers dead and 549 injured. First responders, most of whom were volunteers, were helpful in the rescue effort, and no lives were lost due to transport delays or faulty triage. Responders criticized an early decision to withdraw rescue efforts, a delay in heliport set-up, the inefficiency of the information and instruction center, and emphasized the need for training in confined space medicine. Communication and chain-of-command problems created confusion at the scene.Conclusions:The urban disaster response to the train crash in Amagasaki was rapid and effective.The KobeEarthquake and other incidents sparked changes that improved disaster preparedness in Amagasaki. However, communication and cooperation among responders were hampered, as in previous disasters, by the lack of a structured command system. Application of an incident command system may improve disaster coordination in Japan.

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