P. Hudson, L. T. Ruig, M. D. Ruiter, O. Kuik, W. Botzen, X. L. Den, Matilda Persson, Audrey Benoist, C. Nielsen
{"title":"An assessment of best practices of extreme weather insurance and directions for a more resilient society","authors":"P. Hudson, L. T. Ruig, M. D. Ruiter, O. Kuik, W. Botzen, X. L. Den, Matilda Persson, Audrey Benoist, C. Nielsen","doi":"10.1080/17477891.2019.1608148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2019.1608148","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Extreme weather resilience has been defined as being based on three pillars: resistance (the ability to lower impacts), recovery (the ability to bounce back), and adaptive capacity (the ability to learn and improve). These resilience pillars are important both before and after the occurrence of extreme weather events. Extreme weather insurance can influence these pillars of resilience depending on how particular insurance mechanisms are structured. We explore how the lessons learnt from the current best insurance practices can improve resilience to extreme weather events. We employ an extensive inventory of private property and agricultural crop insurance mechanisms to conduct a multi-criteria analysis of insurance market outcomes. We draw conclusions regarding the patterns in the best practice from six European countries to increase resilience. We suggest that requirements to buy a bundle extreme weather event insurance with general insurance packages are strengthened and supported with structures to financing losses through public-private partnerships. Moreover, support for low income households through income vouchers could be provided. Similarly, for the agricultural sector we propose moving towards comprehensive crop yield insurance linked to general agricultural subsidies. In both cases a nationally representative body can coordinate the various stakeholders into acting in concert.","PeriodicalId":47335,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Hazards-Human and Policy Dimensions","volume":"32 1","pages":"301 - 321"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87003645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Measuring social equity in flood recovery funding","authors":"C. Emrich, Eric Tate, Sarah E. Larson, Yao Zhou","doi":"10.1080/17477891.2019.1675578","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2019.1675578","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Deconstructing causal linkages between place attributes and disaster outcomes at coarse scales like zip codes and counties is difficult because heterogeneous socio-economic characteristics operating at finer scales are masked. However, capturing detailed disaster outcomes about individuals and households for large areas can be equally complicated. This dichotomy highlights the need for a more nuanced and empirically-driven approach to understanding financial disaster recovery support. This study assessed how social characteristics influenced federal disaster recovery support following the 2015 South Carolina floods. Ordinary linear and spatial regression models provided a mechanism for pinpointing statistically significant links between individual/compound vulnerabilities and resource distribution from four federal disaster response and recovery programmes. The study makes two unique contributions. First, exploration of how social characteristics influence recovery support is a critical, yet understudied path toward fair and equitable disaster recovery. Second, finer scale inquiry across a large impact area is rare in quantitative case studies of US disasters. While we found flood recovery assistance to be strongly associated with physical damage overall the relationship was more tenuous in places with higher social vulnerability. Results indicate that future disaster recovery programs focusing on both physical damage and social vulnerable would lead to a more equitable disaster recoveries. Findings provide new understanding of equity at the intersection of social vulnerability, impacts, and disaster recovery and showcase both best-practices and areas for programme improvements for future disasters.","PeriodicalId":47335,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Hazards-Human and Policy Dimensions","volume":"57 1","pages":"228 - 250"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73698887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Slavíková, P. Raška, K. Banasik, Marton Barta, A. Kis, S. Kohnová, P. Matczak, J. Szolgay
{"title":"Approaches to state flood recovery funding in Visegrad Group Countries","authors":"L. Slavíková, P. Raška, K. Banasik, Marton Barta, A. Kis, S. Kohnová, P. Matczak, J. Szolgay","doi":"10.1080/17477891.2019.1667749","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2019.1667749","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Flood recovery is an important period in the flood risk management cycle. Recently, flood recovery has become viewed as an opportunity for future flood damage mitigation. Financial flows to cover flood damages and rules regarding their allocation are crucial for supporting or undermining mitigation efforts. In this paper, we map and compare state flood recovery funding in the so-called Visegrad Group Countries (V4), i.e. Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, over the past 30 years of their democratic history. We apply a qualitative comparative approach to identify differences and similarities in risk sharing and state flood recovery funding approaches among these countries. Additionally, we reveal how risk sharing is addressed by existing flood recovery funding schemes. The results indicate that national governments have a low willingness to institutionalise ex-ante compensation schemes. Ad hoc instruments initiated shortly after disastrous flooding usually do not provide incentives to reduce future flood damages.","PeriodicalId":47335,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Hazards-Human and Policy Dimensions","volume":"1 1","pages":"251 - 267"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80374165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Financial schemes for resilient flood recovery","authors":"L. Slavíková, T. Hartmann, T. Thaler","doi":"10.1080/17477891.2019.1703624","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2019.1703624","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Options for the increase of flood resilience during the recovery phase is, to a large extent, overlooked. The special issue Financial Schemes for Resilient Flood Recovery investigates how the implementation of financial schemes (government relief subsidies, insurance schemes, buy-outs, etc.) might increase flood resilience. Five papers address following questions: Shall government relief subsidies exist when there is flood insurance in place, and, if so, how might they both be coordinated? Where (or how) to decide about build back better incentives and where to go for planned relocation programs? What is the distributional equity of financial schemes for flood recovery, and has it been sufficiently treated?","PeriodicalId":47335,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Hazards-Human and Policy Dimensions","volume":"28 1","pages":"223 - 227"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81598753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The perceived impact of the Covid-19 epidemic: evidence from a sample of 4807 SMEs in Sichuan Province, China","authors":"Yi Lu, Jing Wu, J. Peng, Li Lu","doi":"10.1080/17477891.2020.1763902","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2020.1763902","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in January 2020 in Wuhan has had a significant impact on the Chinese economy, and especially on the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In February 2020 an online questionnaire and follow-up interviews were conducted on 4807 SMEs in Sichuan to assess the challenges associated with work resumption and the associated policy requirements. It was found that most SMEs were unable to resume work because of a shortage of epidemic mitigation materials, the inability of employees to return to work, disrupted supply chains, and reduced market demand. Many SMEs were also facing cash flow risks as they had to continue to pay for various fixed expenditures even though they had little or no revenue. As these delays in work resumption have put unprecedented pressures on the survival of many SMEs, recommendations relevant to China and other affected countries regarding cash flow relief, work resumption and consumption stimulation are given to assist SME survival and economic recovery from the disaster situation.","PeriodicalId":47335,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Hazards-Human and Policy Dimensions","volume":"35 1","pages":"323 - 340"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74886461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yunqiang Liu, Jia-ling Zhu, Xiaoyu Shao, Naveen C. Adusumilli, F. Wang
{"title":"Diffusion patterns in disaster-induced internet public opinion: based on a Sina Weibo online discussion about the ‘Liangshan fire’ in China","authors":"Yunqiang Liu, Jia-ling Zhu, Xiaoyu Shao, Naveen C. Adusumilli, F. Wang","doi":"10.1080/17477891.2020.1758608","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2020.1758608","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT On April 30, 2019, a forest fire broke out in Liangshan Prefecture that resulted in the deaths of 27 firefighters and four local officials, which sparked a heated debate on the Weibo social media site. Therefore, this case was chosen to examine the evolution of disaster-induced public internet opinion in China to reduce the possibility of ‘secondary harm’ to victims and the risk of panic, and to promote administrative transparency. Life cycle theory, social network analysis, and crawler technology were applied to examine the public online discussion, from which it was found that: female contributors were more likely to share information and feelings on social media than males; people in coastal areas contributed more to the conversations than people from the central and western regions; opinion leaders with significant influence played guiding roles in the discussion; and influential users in various fields, and especially internet celebrities and fan leaders, affected the speed of the information dissemination. From the results, some practical recommendations were developed: social media could be used to retrieve valuable information to help determine disaster damage and plan disaster relief, and government agencies need to strengthen their interactions with the general population, rather than only providing one-way communication.","PeriodicalId":47335,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Hazards-Human and Policy Dimensions","volume":"5 1","pages":"163 - 187"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77622911","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effectiveness of flood early warning system from the perspective of experts and three affected communities in urban areas of Pakistan","authors":"I. Rana, S. Bhatti, A. Jamshed","doi":"10.1080/17477891.2020.1751031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2020.1751031","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Pakistan has faced frequent flash and riverine flooding in the recent decades. This study evaluates the effectiveness of flood EWS from the perspectives of local experts/institutions and communities. Interviews and consultations with the local experts (13 officials from government and other concerned departments) were carried out to understand the institutional challenges in communicating early warnings, whereas three flood-prone communities from different-sized cities (Rawalpindi, Sialkot and Muzaffargarh) were surveyed. A total of 210 samples were collected through household questionnaire surveys to assess their understanding of the local warning system. The analysis revealed that almost half of the community respondents did not receive a warning last time when the flood occurred. Variations were also observed regarding the main source of early warning in the three communities. This study identifies institutional challenges, such as lack of (1) resources to keep an EWS equipment operational; (2) community trust; and (3) proper guidelines to communicate warnings. The study calls for an immediate revision of strategies to communicate early warnings to the end-users and to incorporate their feedback in designing/redesigning the early warning mechanisms.","PeriodicalId":47335,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Hazards-Human and Policy Dimensions","volume":"38 1","pages":"209 - 228"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86088855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
O. T. Dada, B. Odufuwa, A. Badiora, H. Agbabiaka, N. O. Ogunseye, Omoniyi Sunday Samuel
{"title":"Environmental hazard and health risks associated with slaughterhouses in Ibadan, Nigeria","authors":"O. T. Dada, B. Odufuwa, A. Badiora, H. Agbabiaka, N. O. Ogunseye, Omoniyi Sunday Samuel","doi":"10.1080/17477891.2020.1747382","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2020.1747382","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Activities in slaughterhouses result in complex multidimensional health risks and environmental pollution due to the high levels of organic waste produced that directly and indirectly can affect the health of residents living in the vicinity through the pollution of surface and underground waters as well as reduced air qualities. This research examined the environmental hazard and health risk associated with slaughterhouses in Ibadan, Nigeria. Data for the research was collected across the four seasons from 570 respondents in neighborhoods located within 300, 600 and 900 meters of the selected slaughterhouses. The research revealed a distance decay effect on the perception of the environmental hazards and health risks associated with the activities in the slaughterhouses. The research further established a statistically significant variation in health risks experienced in the different seasons of the year. The health risks experienced in the dry seasons differ significantly from the rainy seasons. The perceived environmental hazards associated with the activities of the slaughterhouses also varied across the seasons of the year. As a result of these findings it is clear that public education programmes, tighter regulation and strict enforcement should be mounted to mitigate the hazards and risks of poorly managed slaughterhouses.","PeriodicalId":47335,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Hazards-Human and Policy Dimensions","volume":"90 1","pages":"146 - 162"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76972940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Post-disaster trust in Japan: the social impact of the experiences and perceived risks of natural hazards","authors":"Juheon Lee","doi":"10.1080/17477891.2019.1664380","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2019.1664380","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the social impact of natural hazards in Japanese society. Using the Japanese General Social Survey, this study examines how citizens’ previous experiences and perceived risks of disasters are associated with their levels of four different forms of trust: in-group, out-group, generalised, and political trust. Furthermore, as the survey was conducted a year after the devastating Triple Disaster in 2011, the study examines the residents of the Tohoku region, who were the primary victims of the Triple Disaster. The results of this study suggest that the disaster experience is positively associated with trust: Japanese citizens with disaster experience had higher levels of in-group and out-group trust than those without disaster experience, and Tohoku residents showed higher levels of out-group, generalised, and political trust than the residents of other regions. Contrarily, citizens’ perceived risks of disaster showed negative relationships with trust: the Japanese citizens who perceived higher risks of disasters had lower levels of out-group, generalised, and political trust. However, the negative effects of the perceived risks of disasters significantly reduced among Tohoku residents.","PeriodicalId":47335,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Hazards-Human and Policy Dimensions","volume":"188 1","pages":"171 - 186"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74989455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Sakellariou, F. Samara, S. Tampekis, A. Sfougaris, O. Christopoulou
{"title":"Development of a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) for the active forest-urban fires management through location planning of mobile fire units","authors":"S. Sakellariou, F. Samara, S. Tampekis, A. Sfougaris, O. Christopoulou","doi":"10.1080/17477891.2019.1628696","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2019.1628696","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Critical time of response constitutes the foundation for effective and timely forest fires management. It is the milestone for strategic and operational fire planning. Aim of the paper is the development of a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) adopting a top-down approach for the immediate containment of forest and urban fires. The objectives lie in the coupling of strategic and operational nature of fire management, so that the proposed model to be used for real-time purposes. The strategic dimension focus on the location-allocation of fire vehicles to establish effective location schemes adjusted to population dynamics (Wildland Urban Interface). Four spatial patterns of optimal locations were developed based on ideal and realistic critical time of response as well as the current and desired capacity of fire agency. The operational dimension supports the strategic planning objectives through a series of additional sub-models for a second phase optimization (activating and leading the nearest fire vehicle(s) to the affected area through the determination of optimal route; and/or the rerouting in case of road closure due to evolving fires). Therefore, the current SDSS handles the forest and urban fires management in a more comprehensive way, creating an effective link between strategic and operational level.","PeriodicalId":47335,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Hazards-Human and Policy Dimensions","volume":"43 1","pages":"131 - 151"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86921779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}