Theme 5: Natural hazards and risk mitigation

2013 ◽  
pp. 689-768
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Risk Mitigation

scholarly journals The use of questionnaires for acquiring information on public perception of natural hazards and risk mitigation – a review of current knowledge and practice

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1307-1325 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. K. Bird
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Mode Of Delivery ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Delivery Mode ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
Knowledge And Practice

Abstract. Questionnaires are popular and fundamental tools for acquiring information on public knowledge and perception of natural hazards. Questionnaires can provide valuable information to emergency management agencies for developing risk management procedures. Although many natural hazards researchers describe results generated from questionnaires, few explain the techniques used for their development and implementation. Methodological detail should include, as a minimum, response format (open/closed questions), mode of delivery, sampling technique, response rate and access to the questionnaire to allow reproduction of or comparison with similar studies. This article reviews current knowledge and practice for developing and implementing questionnaires. Key features include questionnaire design, delivery mode, sampling techniques and data analysis. In order to illustrate these aspects, a case study examines methods chosen for the development and implementation of questionnaires used to obtain information on knowledge and perception of volcanic hazards in a tourist region in southern Iceland. Face-to-face interviews highlighted certain issues with respect to question structure and sequence. Recommendations are made to overcome these problems before the questionnaires are applied in future research projects. In conclusion, basic steps that should be disclosed in the literature are provided as a checklist to ensure that reliable, replicable and valid results are produced from questionnaire based hazard knowledge and risk perception research.

scholarly journals Quantifying the effectiveness of early warning systems for natural hazards

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sättele ◽  
M. Bründl ◽  
D. Straub
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Warning Systems ◽  
Integrated Risk ◽  
Framework Approach

Abstract. Early warning systems (EWSs) are increasingly applied as preventive measures within an integrated risk management approach for natural hazards. At present, common standards and detailed guidelines for the evaluation of their effectiveness are lacking. To support decision-makers in the identification of optimal risk mitigation measures, a three-step framework approach for the evaluation of EWSs is presented. The effectiveness is calculated in function of the technical and the inherent reliability of the EWS. The framework is applicable to automated and non-automated EWSs and combinations thereof. To address the specifics and needs of a wide variety of EWS designs, a classification of EWSs is provided, which focuses on the degree of automations encountered in varying EWSs. The framework and its implementation are illustrated through a series of example applications of EWS in an alpine environment.

scholarly journals Quantifying the effectiveness of early warning systems for natural hazards

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
pp. 4479-4526 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sättele ◽  
M. Bründl ◽  
D. Straub
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Warning Systems ◽  
Integrated Risk ◽  
Framework Approach

Abstract. Early warning systems (EWS) are increasingly applied as preventive measures within an integrated risk management approach for natural hazards. At present, common standards and detailed guidelines for the evaluation of their effectiveness are lacking. To support decision-makers in the identification of optimal risk mitigation measures, a three-step framework approach for the evaluation of EWS is presented. The effectiveness is calculated in function of the technical and the inherent reliability of the EWS. The framework is applicable to automated and non-automated EWS and combinations thereof. To address the specifics and needs of a wide variety of EWS designs, a classification of EWS is provided, which focuses on the degree of automations encountered in varying EWS. The framework and its implementation are illustrated through a series of example applications of EWS in an alpine environment.

Sand Dune Migration Monitoring for Pipeline Hazard Risk Mitigation: The Peru LNG Coastal Section Case

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabien Ravet ◽  
Christian Silva ◽  
Rodolfo Gil ◽  
Simon Maguire ◽  
Etienne Rochat
Keyword(s):  
Early Detection ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Sand Dune ◽  
Fiber Optic ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Geotechnical Monitoring ◽  
Dune Migration ◽  
Hydrocarbon Transport

Abstract Pipelines often cross challenging terrains where natural hazards are the main risk for their integrity. Environmental conditions can also worsen over the infrastructure lifetime. To reduce the risk of disasters, integrity programs are developed implementing tools for early detection of threats that can lead to a failure with dramatic social, environmental and economic consequences. Fiber optic (FO) monitoring solutions have been widely used and implemented as one of the most efficient prevention tools of these programs. These solutions include geotechnical monitoring, third party intrusion detection and eventually small or pinhole like leak detection. FO based geotechnical monitoring has been successfully operated along the Sierra section of the Peru LNG pipeline since 2010, detecting minor landslides and erosion events. It has also been implemented along other hydrocarbon transport systems to allow the early detection of such events. However, these natural hazards are not the only ones threatening the pipeline. In fact, the coastal section experiences other phenomenon such as sand dune migration and eolian erosion that put the pipeline at risk. Recently, the FO monitoring was extended to the coastal region using the existing communication fiber optic cable to sense temperature changes. Very localized events are thermally detected, their spatial and temporal signature analyzed. The comparison of this data with thermal models identified sections that are close to be exposed or whose soil cover is less than 50cm over a spatial extension that does not exceed a couple of meters. Depth of cover of 10 to 30cm is estimated from such analysis. These results are confirmed by past and ongoing site inspections. Such positive results again illustrate the potential value of fiber optic sensing to mitigate geohazard risks. It not only enhances the efficiency of the integrity program detecting and localizing threats, it also improves and rationalizes the maintenance activities as focused surveys can be conducted.

scholarly journals Modelling public risk evaluation of natural hazards: a conceptual approach

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Th. Plattner
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Risk Evaluation ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Affecting Factors ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Risk

Abstract. In recent years, the dealing with natural hazards in Switzerland has shifted away from being hazard-oriented towards a risk-based approach. Decreasing societal acceptance of risk, accompanied by increasing marginal costs of protective measures and decreasing financial resources cause an optimization problem. Therefore, the new focus lies on the mitigation of the hazard's risk in accordance with economical, ecological and social considerations. This modern proceeding requires an approach in which not only technological, engineering or scientific aspects of the definition of the hazard or the computation of the risk are considered, but also the public concerns about the acceptance of these risks. These aspects of a modern risk approach enable a comprehensive assessment of the (risk) situation and, thus, sound risk management decisions. In Switzerland, however, the competent authorities suffer from a lack of decision criteria, as they don't know what risk level the public is willing to accept. Consequently, there exists a need for the authorities to know what the society thinks about risks. A formalized model that allows at least a crude simulation of the public risk evaluation could therefore be a useful tool to support effective and efficient risk mitigation measures. This paper presents a conceptual approach of such an evaluation model using perception affecting factors PAF, evaluation criteria EC and several factors without any immediate relation to the risk itself, but to the evaluating person. Finally, the decision about the acceptance Acc of a certain risk i is made by a comparison of the perceived risk Ri,perc with the acceptable risk Ri,acc.

Nature-based solutions must be realized - not just proclaimed - in face of climatic extremes

Erdkunde ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Beierkuhnlein
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Broad Spectrum ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Linear Trend ◽  
Spatial Uncertainty ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Weather Extremes ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
The Future

Natural hazards resulting from climate change are increasing in frequency and intensity. As this is not a linear trend but rather by singularities and anomalies including a broad spectrum of climatic and weather extremes with high temporal and spatial uncertainty, focused avoidance strategies are difficult to prepare. However, the effects of climate change are mostly addressed with outdated ‘business as usual’ approaches by governments and most stakeholders, which are unfit to tackle the complexity of current challenges. Coping action for natural hazards is mostly undertaken during and after such events compensating damage through payments and restoration. In the future, pro-active nature-based solutions are needed for risk mitigation and avoiding severe damage through enhancing all facets of biodiversity from species richness, structural roughness, to spatial heterogeneity of ecosystems. This will not avoid extreme weather events, but it will reduce the damage of increasingly appearing natural hazards. However, this strategy cannot be implemented all of a sudden. Long-term and spatial concepts are needed. For this purpose, currently missing governance structures based on geographical, geoscientific, ecological, meteorological, and societal expertise should be installed. In recent years, a good scientific and knowledge basis for the required solutions has been developed, which now must translate into action. Here, a series of suggestions is compiled for a broad spectrum of extreme events and societal fields, which is far from being complete but should stimulate critically needed creativity and commitment. Nature-based solutions will not deliver a complete protection and cannot be the only kind of action, but we can no longer rely on post-disaster compensation or on the safety illusion of mere engineering and construction works. The efficiency of biodiversity as an insurance for maintaining ecosystem services is well understood. The implementation of nature-based adaptation, coping, and protection measures is less expensive than traditional end-of-the-pipe constructions. It requires an in-depth understanding of interacting processes and trans-disciplinary cooperation based on a broad acceptance in the public. Investments into these solutions would pay off, not tomorrow, but in the future. It is the best sustainable and feasible approach for disaster prevention.

California’s Natural Hazard Zonation Policies for Land-Use Planning and Development

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles R. Real ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Emergency Operation ◽  
Critical Function ◽  
General Plan ◽  
The Impact

California has established state-level policies that utilize knowledge of where natural hazards are more likely to occur to enhance the effectiveness of landuse planning as a tool for risk mitigation. These policies set minimum standards for local government, and range from State designation of regulatory natural hazard zones to requirements that cities and counties include a Safety Element in their General Plan that evaluates their exposure to earthquakes, wildfires, floods, and other natural hazards, and to prepare a federal Local Mitigation Plan to reduce the risk. Such requirements placed on local government are enforced by potential liability for losses for failure to act, and the potential ineligibility for disaster relief funds should a catastrophic event occur. Building codes have been the primary means of mitigating the impact of natural hazards, but continued growth into high-risk terrain and repetitive losses have focused attention to the merits of avoiding harm’s way by means of prudent land-use decisions. Restricting land use can be difficult under the pressures of growth and development. California code exploits knowledge that the cost to adequately protect public safety can influence the type of development that is feasible when considering occupancy (high/low density residential, manufacturing, parkland, etc.) and critical function, such as the need to maintain essential services (police, fire, hospitals, emergency operation centers, etc.). Experience in California demonstrates that a combination of education, outreach, and mutually supporting policies that are linked to state-designated natural hazard zones can form an effective framework for enhancing the role of land-use planning in reducing future losses from natural disasters.

scholarly journals Telluric and Climate-Related Risk Awareness, and Risk Mitigation Strategies in the Azores Archipelago: First Steps for Building Societal Resilience

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8653
Author(s):  
Ante Ivčević ◽  
Isabel Estrela Rego ◽  
Rui Gaspar ◽  
Vania Statzu
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Risk Awareness ◽  
Azores Archipelago ◽  
The North ◽  
Risk Mitigation Strategies

Islands are often considered excellent socio-ecological laboratories for testing the rapidity of global change since they experience the climate effects of sea-level rise faster than other areas. The Azores are a Portuguese volcanic archipelago located on the junction of the three tectonic plates: the Eurasian, the African and the North American plates. São Miguel, the main island of the Azores archipelago, hosts three active volcanoes, but the last significant volcanic eruption was the Capelinhos volcano on the island of Faial in 1957. Hence, the Azores offers the opportunity to assess insular risk awareness, facing both telluric and climate-related hazards. The key research question emerges from their natural situation: how does the local population perceive the threat of the natural hazards that occur in Azores? Because risks are socially constructed and depend on the uniqueness of territories, risk mitigation strategies must focus on the individual experiences of local dwellers, as a relationship between risk awareness and such strategies may be expected. To analyze this relationship, a web-based survey with a questionnaire including these variables was administered to a sample of Azoreans. The study aimed to assess risk awareness of the Azorean population and find a relationship between this and reported mitigation strategies. The results gave a preliminary insight into Azorean risk awareness of natural hazards and showed a significant positive relationship between risk awareness-raising activities and reported mitigation strategies. This is relevant information for municipalities and regional governments of areas with similar risk exposures, showing that, although risk awareness alone is not enough for measures to be implemented, it may be an important motivational first step for this to occur.

scholarly journals Review article: Assessing the costs of natural hazards – state of the art and knowledge gaps

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1351-1373 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Meyer ◽  
N. Becker ◽  
V. Markantonis ◽  
R. Schwarze ◽  
J. C. J. M. van den Bergh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Cost Assessment ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Hazard Management ◽  
Aggregated Data ◽  
Risk Dynamics

Abstract. Efficiently reducing natural hazard risks requires a thorough understanding of the costs of natural hazards. Current methods to assess these costs employ a variety of terminologies and approaches for different types of natural hazards and different impacted sectors. This may impede efforts to ascertain comprehensive and comparable cost figures. In order to strengthen the role of cost assessments in the development of integrated natural hazard management, a review of existing cost assessment approaches was undertaken. This review considers droughts, floods, coastal and Alpine hazards, and examines different cost types, namely direct tangible damages, losses due to business interruption, indirect damages, intangible effects, and the costs of risk mitigation. This paper provides an overview of the state-of-the-art cost assessment approaches and discusses key knowledge gaps. It shows that the application of cost assessments in practice is often incomplete and biased, as direct costs receive a relatively large amount of attention, while intangible and indirect effects are rarely considered. Furthermore, all parts of cost assessment entail considerable uncertainties due to insufficient or highly aggregated data sources, along with a lack of knowledge about the processes leading to damage and thus the appropriate models required. Recommendations are provided on how to reduce or handle these uncertainties by improving data sources and cost assessment methods. Further recommendations address how risk dynamics due to climate and socio-economic change can be better considered, how costs are distributed and risks transferred, and in what ways cost assessment can function as part of decision support.

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