Search results for "disaster"
showing 10 items of 215 documents
The role of social perception in disaster risk reduction: Beliefs, perception, and attitudes regarding flood disasters in communities along the Volta…
2017
Abstract People's perceptions of natural, spiritual, and social phenomena are socially constructed. Social perception is important because it helps people to make sense of the physical and social world and therein interact with it. Earlier research specializing in the study of human behaviour has emphasized a linkage between people's perceptions and their behaviour. In this article, the authors employ a similar theory with the intent of proposing a theoretical framework that examines the factors that influence people's perception and attitude (mitigation and response) towards the hazards they face. This discussion is done on the premise of “culture”, “experiences” and “disaster risk reducti…
Helices of disaster memory: How forgetting and remembering influence tropical cyclone response in Mauritius
2020
Abstract Tropical cyclones have had a considerable impact on Mauritius. Large cyclones are relatively rare, and in popular imagination are thought to hit Mauritius every 15 years. Yet it has been over 25 years since the last cyclone widely considered as ‘significant’. Critically, there is little known about the role of memory in responses to cyclones and details regarding responses to past cyclones in Mauritian history are scant. This article examines past experiences and impacts of cyclones in Mauritius, as well as contemporary perceptions of cyclone vulnerability and memories of historical cyclones. The analysis draws on both community interviews and archival research conducted in Mauriti…
Solastalgia's mourning and the slowly evolving effect of asbestos pollution: A qualitative study in Italy
2019
In Italy, the problem of asbestos pollution is increasing in severity. In fact, in recent years, the number of people affected by asbestos-related illnesses has been growing because of the fibre's slowly evolving effects and its progressive pollution in the environment adjacent to the places where it is processed. Even though the physical consequences of asbestos are now quite clear, few studies have examined the psychological consequences of this kind of disaster. Since it is difficult to perceive its pathogenicity in daily life, this study was conducted in the affected areas of north-eastern Italy, using the qualitative research in psychology with 51 persons who experienced asbestos-relat…
Traits and risk factors of post-disaster infectious disease outbreaks: a systematic review.
2021
AbstractInfectious disease outbreaks are increasingly recognised as events that exacerbate impacts or prolong recovery following disasters. Yet, our understanding of the frequency, geography, characteristics and risk factors of post-disaster disease outbreaks globally is lacking. This limits the extent to which disease outbreak risks can be prepared for, monitored and responded to following disasters. Here, we conducted a global systematic review of post-disaster outbreaks and found that outbreaks linked to conflicts and hydrological events were most frequently reported, and most often caused by bacterial and water-borne agents. Lack of adequate WASH facilities and poor housing were commonl…
CO2 flux emissions from the Earth's most actively degassing volcanoes, 2005-2015
2019
AbstractThe global carbon dioxide (CO2) flux from subaerial volcanoes remains poorly quantified, limiting our understanding of the deep carbon cycle during geologic time and in modern Earth. Past attempts to extrapolate the global volcanic CO2 flux have been biased by observations being available for a relatively small number of accessible volcanoes. Here, we propose that the strong, but yet unmeasured, CO2 emissions from several remote degassing volcanoes worldwide can be predicted using regional/global relationships between the CO2/ST ratio of volcanic gases and whole-rock trace element compositions (e.g., Ba/La). From these globally linked gas/rock compositions, we predict the CO2/ST gas…
People with Disabilities and Disasters
2017
Investigations have collectively established that disasters affect people with disabilities both disproportionately and negatively. In addition, perceived disability status is often associated with stigma, creating a separate and unique barrier across societies and cultures, which can augment vulnerability to disasters. Relevant research is reviewed by academic genesis areas in this chapter, namely; 1) disaster-focused research, 2) mental health, 3) epidemiology and public health, and 4) disability studies. Research emanating from these disciplines reflects different epistemological assumptions about disability as well as varying knowledge about disability as a social and cultural const…
Intercultural crisis communication during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster
2014
With the motivation of contributing to further development of the emerging field of intercultural crisis communication, the study aims at exploring the reasons why the global media criticized the Japanese authorities’ crisis communication during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster through the inductive content analysis on both the Japanese authorities’ crisis communication and the global media’s perceptions on the Japanese authorities’ crisis communication. The data collected from 11 March to September 2011, including 160 press releases, transcripts of the foreign press conferences and speeches delivered at the international conferences by the Japanese authorities, and 120 news reports from…
The need for an independent evaluation of the COVID-19 response in Spain.
2020
Spain has been hit hard by COVID-19, with more than 300 000 cases, 28 498 confirmed deaths,1 and around 44 000 excess deaths, as of Aug 4, 2020.2 More than 50 000 health workers have been infected, and nearly 20 000 deaths were in nursing homes.3 With a population of 47 million, these data place Spain among the worst affected countries. Spain is also reported to have one of the best performing health systems in the world4 and ranks 15th in the Global Health Security index.5 So how is it possible that Spain now finds itself in this position?
Psychometric properties of the Haitian Creole version of the Resilience Scale with a sample of adult survivors of the 2010 earthquake
2015
Abstract Background Resilience is defined as the ability of people to cope with disasters and significant life adversities. The present paper aims to investigate the underlying structure of the Creole version of the Resilience Scale and its psychometric properties using a sample of adult survivors of the 2010 earthquake. Methods A parallel analysis was conducted to determine the number of factors to extract and confirmatory factor analysis was performed using a sample of 1355 adult survivors of the 2010 earthquake from people of specific places where earthquake occurred with an average age of 31.57 (SD = 14.42). All participants completed the Creole version of Resilience Scale (RS), the Imp…
Post-disaster mental health and psychosocial support in the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake: a qualitative study
2019
Background Few studies exploring the actual practices implemented for long-term mental health and psychosocial support after a natural disaster have been published. This study aimed to reveal (1) the types of activities that were actually provided as mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in the long-term phase after the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and (2) the problems that must be addressed to provide post-disaster MHPSS activities. Methods An open-ended questionnaire was sent to organizations in the Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures that were potentially involved in providing MHPSS to communities affected by the GEJE. The organizations were asked to describe their act…