Social Impacts of the 12 January 2010 Haiti Earthquake

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (1_suppl1) ◽  
pp. 447-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah Green ◽  
Scott Miles

The 12 January 2010 Haiti earthquake resulted in some of the most significant social impacts from an earthquake in recent decades. In early March, an Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) social impacts reconnaissance team documented broad impacts on shelter, livelihood opportunities, and service provision through direct observation, photo documentation, interviews, and a review of other sources. The earthquake left over half of the residential housing in Port-au-Prince heavily damaged; widespread fear that even undamaged structures were unsafe swelled the number of homeless to 1.3 million. The infrastructure damage and significant loss of life within the Haitian government and international aid agencies slowed the early response and reduced the already low levels of basic service provision. Continued research is needed on media portrayal, outcomes of injuries, sheltering decisions, social networks, and learning trajectories for Haiti's youth, among other areas.

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 693-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tricia Wachtendorf ◽  
James M. Kendra ◽  
Havidán Rodríguez ◽  
Joseph Trainor

The 26 December 2004 tsunami is one of the most severe disasters of the last several decades. Less than one month after the disaster, a group of social science researchers from the University of Delaware and University of North Texas participated in an Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) reconnaissance team. This team traveled to some of the most heavily impacted areas in India and Sri Lanka. Focusing on the social impacts and consequences of the disaster, the team identified a number of emerging issues, including loss of life and destruction of property and infrastructure, impact on livelihoods, a persistent sense of uncertainty, variation in community-based response and recovery efforts, inequities in disaster relief distribution, gender and age vulnerability and capacities, temporary shelter and housing, and long-term relocation planning.


2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constantin Christopoulos ◽  
Diego Lopez Garcia ◽  
Keh-Chyuan Tsai

Findings from a reconnaissance effort to the area affected by the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan are reported in this paper. The reconnaissance team comprised eight graduate students from the three U.S. earthquake engineering research centers (MAE, MCEER, and PEER). The mission provided an opportunity to assess, three years later, the response of the engineering community to this major earthquake that caused extensive loss of life and property. This educational reconnaissance effort was hosted by Taiwan's National Center for Research in Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) in May 2002. Researchers from NCREE first presented extensive information on the observed failures, the repairs and reconstruction, as well as the lessons learned and changes in future engineering practice before an intensive site visit. In this paper, observations on the performance/repair/retrofit and reconstruction of residential buildings and bridges are reported. Although most bridge structures were retrofitted or rebuilt with state-of-the-art engineered solutions, most low-rise mixed commercial-residential buildings were retrofitted with non-engineered techniques often conceived and carried out by local contractors. Furthermore, the structural configuration of the mixed commercial-residential building that suffered the most serious damage is still rather commonly applied in Taiwan. The organization and the educational value of this reconnaissance experience are also discussed.


Author(s):  
Donald DeVito ◽  
Gertrude Bien-Aime ◽  
Hannah Ehrli ◽  
Jamie Schumacher

Haiti has experienced a series of catastrophic natural disasters in recent decades, resulting in significant loss of life and long-term damage to infrastructure. One critical outcome of these disasters is that there are approximately 400,000 orphans in the small population of just over 10 million. Throughout Haiti, children with disabilities are often considered cursed, and thus are rejected by the community in which they live. Haitian children with disabilities need creative and educational activities that will help them grow, develop, enjoy their lives, and become accepted members of the community. This chapter on the Haitian Center for Inclusive Education presents a case study of social media engagement and music learning, with an emphasis on social justice that has contributed to sustainable efforts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Roxburgh ◽  
Marianne Jauncey ◽  
Carolyn Day ◽  
Mark Bartlett ◽  
Shelley Cogger ◽  
...  

AbstractThe COVID-19 crisis has had profound impacts on health service provision, particularly those providing client facing services. Supervised injecting facilities and drug consumption rooms across the world have been particularly challenged during the pandemic, as have their client group—people who consume drugs. Several services across Europe and North America closed due to difficulties complying with physical distancing requirements. In contrast, the two supervised injecting facilities in Australia (the Uniting Medically Supervised Injecting Centre—MSIC—in Sydney and the North Richmond Community Health Medically Supervised Injecting Room—MSIR—in Melbourne) remained open (as at the time of writing—December 2020). Both services have implemented a comprehensive range of strategies to continue providing safer injecting spaces as well as communicating crucial health information and facilitating access to ancillary services (such as accommodation) and drug treatment for their clients. This paper documents these strategies and the challenges both services are facing during the pandemic. Remaining open poses potential risks relating to COVID-19 transmission for both staff and clients. However, given the harms associated with closing these services, which include the potential loss of life from injecting in unsafe/unsupervised environments, the public and individual health benefits of remaining open are greater. Both services are deemed ‘essential health services’, and their continued operation has important benefits for people who inject drugs in Sydney and Melbourne.


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-111
Author(s):  
Abdelhalim Airouche ◽  
Hassan Aknouche ◽  
Hakim Bechtoula ◽  
Nourredine Mezouer ◽  
Abderrahmane Kibboua

Shaking table testing continues to play an important role in earthquake engineering research. It has been recognized as a powerful testing method to evaluate structural components and systems under realistic dynamic loads. Although it represents a very attractive experimental procedure, many technical challenges, which require attention and consideration, still remain. High fidelity in signal reproduction is the focus of the work presented in this paper. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the capabilities of adaptive control techniques based on Amplitude Phase Control (APC) and Adaptive Harmonic Cancellation (AHC) on the harmonic signal tracking performance of the shaking table. A series of 232 sinusoidal command waveforms with various frequencies and amplitudes were conducted on the shaking table of the laboratory of the National Earthquake Engineering Applied Research Center (CGS, Algeria). Experimental results are reported and recommendations on the use of these adaptive control techniques are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Sarker

Natural hazards like cyclones cause significant loss of life and damage to properties, ecosystems and marine structures and facilities. Numerical modelling of cyclones is carried out for deriving robust design conditions for coastal and marine structures and facilities. Cyclone modelling results are also used for emergency planning and decision-making to estimate potential loss of life, damage to properties and marine facilities and to develop rescue and mitigation measures and plan clean-up operations. Royal HaskoningDHV (RHDHV) has set up regional tidal hydrodynamic and wave transformation models covering the Arabian Sea to address the above issues. Cyclone Mekunu is relatively new (May 2018). A quick literature search by Royal HaskoningDHV has suggested that numerical modelling results of waves and surge on Cyclone Mekunu are hardly available in the public domain. Therefore, this paper has concentrated on this event to illustrate the use of numerical modelling to simulate waves and surge generated by cyclones. The MIKE21 model of DHI was used in the study. Sample results of waves and surge from the modelling study are presented in this paper for illustration purposes. Structural design considerations and cyclone risk reduction measures are also provided. The model could be used to simulate any cyclone generated anywhere within the Arabian Sea. The methodology described in this paper for modelling cyclone waves and surge in the Arabian Sea could also be applied to simulate cyclones at other sites around the world. The paper provides valuable information to the researchers and practitioners of the region on this relatively new event.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Lerner ◽  
Susanna Jenkins ◽  
Sylvain Charbonnier ◽  
Jean-Christophe Komorowski ◽  
Peter Baxter

Pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) that escape their confining channels are among the most dangerous of volcanic hazards. These unconfined PDCs are capable of inundating inhabited areas that may be unprepared for these hazards, resulting in significant loss of life and damage to infrastructure. Despite their ability to cause serious impacts, unconfined PDCs have previously only been described for a limited number of specific case studies. Here, we carry out a broader comparative study that reviews the different types of unconfined PDCs, their deposits, dynamics and impacts, as well as the relationships between each element. Unconfined PDCs exist within a range of concentration, velocity and temperature: characteristics that are important in determining their impact. We define four end-member unconfined PDCs: 1. fast overspill flows, 2. slow overspill flows, 3. high-energy surges, and 4. low-energy detached surges (LEDS), and review characteristics and incidents of each from historical eruptions. These four end-members were all observed within the 2010 eruptive sequence of Merapi, Indonesia. We use this well-studied eruption as a case study, in particular the villages of Bakalan, 13 km south, and Bronggang 14 km south of the volcano, which were impacted by slow overspill flows and LEDS, respectively. These two unconfined PDC types are the least described from previous eruptions, but during the Merapi eruption the overspill flow resulted in building destruction and the LEDS in significant loss of life. We discuss the dynamics and deposits of these unconfined PDCs, and the resultant impacts. We then use the lessons learned from the 2010 Merapi eruption to assess some of the impacts associated with the deadly 2018 Fuego, Guatemala eruption. Satellite imagery and media images supplementing fieldwork were used to determine the presence of both overspill flows and LEDS, which resulted in the loss of hundreds of lives and the destruction of hundreds of buildings in inundated areas within 9 km of the summit. By cataloguing unconfined PDC characteristics, dynamics and impacts, we aim to highlight the importance and value of accounting for such phenomena in emergency management and planning at active volcanoes.


2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Brotzge ◽  
K. Hondl ◽  
B. Philips ◽  
L. Lemon ◽  
E. J. Bass ◽  
...  

Abstract The Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) is a multiyear engineering research center established by the National Science Foundation for the development of small, inexpensive, low-power radars designed to improve the scanning of the lowest levels (<3 km AGL) of the atmosphere. Instead of sensing autonomously, CASA radars are designed to operate as a network, collectively adapting to the changing needs of end users and the environment; this network approach to scanning is known as distributed collaborative adaptive sensing (DCAS). DCAS optimizes the low-level volume coverage scanning and maximizes the utility of each scanning cycle. A test bed of four prototype CASA radars was deployed in southwestern Oklahoma in 2006 and operated continuously while in DCAS mode from March through June of 2007. This paper analyzes three convective events observed during April–May 2007, during CASA’s intense operation period (IOP), with a special focus on evaluating the benefits and weaknesses of CASA radar system deployment and DCAS scanning strategy of detecting and tracking low-level circulations. Data collected from nearby Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) and CASA radars are compared for mesoscyclones, misocyclones, and low-level vortices. Initial results indicate that the dense, overlapping coverage at low levels provided by the CASA radars and the high temporal (60 s) resolution provided by DCAS give forecasters more detailed feature continuity and tracking. Moreover, the CASA system is able to resolve a whole class of circulations—misocyclones—far better than the WSR-88Ds. In fact, many of these are probably missed completely by the WSR-88D. The impacts of this increased detail on severe weather warnings are under investigation. Ongoing efforts include enhancing the DCAS data quality and scanning strategy, improving the DCAS data visualization, and developing a robust infrastructure to better support forecast and warning operations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1145 ◽  
pp. 134-139
Author(s):  
Raghabendra Yadav ◽  
Bao Chun Chen ◽  
Hui Hui Yuan ◽  
Zhi Bin Lian

The dynamic testing of large-scale structures continues to play a significant role in earthquake engineering research. The pseudo- dynamic test (PDT) is an experimental technique for simulating the earthquake response of structures and structural components in time domain. A CFST-RC pier is a modified form of CFST laced column in which CFST members are connected with RC web in longitudinal direction and with steel tube in transverse direction. For this study, a CFST -RC pier is tested under three different earthquake time histories having scaled PGA of 0.05g. From the experiment acceleration, velocity, displacement and load time histories are observed. The dynamic magnification factors for acceleration due to Chamoli, Gorkha and Wenchuan ground motions are observed as 12, 10 and 10 respectively. The frequency of the pier is found to be 1.42 Hz. The result shows that this type of pier has excellent static and earthquake resistant properties.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subira Onwudiwe

The topic we are discussing is one of tremendous complexity, ambiguity, and significance. It is a topic that is still relevant today. Internal armed battles inside a single state's borders have been common since 1945, with significant loss of life and devastation. These battles have taken on massive proportions in a lot of situations and have been fought with intensity, frequently with tremendous cruelty. During this time, the colonial structure has been eroding, a process that has not always been done peacefully. We have also seen ideological divides within nations, which have been preceded by severe internal military conflicts and counter-movements on occasion.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document