Challenges in Implementing DVI Best Practice Guidelines Due to the Brumadinho Disaster

The broke of a tailings dam from Vale S.A. destroyed a gigantic area killing 270 persons in Brumadinho/Brazil. Organizing activities after a mass disaster is a complex process that requires the involvement of many people and resources in the laboratory. To DNA identification of the victims, a daunting work had to be made by DNA laboratory staff in a collaborative effort with many partners. Efforts to implement good practice guidelines in Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) have revealed several important aspects that need to change in the forensic DNA laboratory. This article highlights the challenges of implementing DVI best practice guidelines in resource-poor settings, but with professionals from different sectors engaged in the same goal of briefly identifying victims and helping families and society.

Mapping Climate Services for Disaster Risk Management: A Systematic Review and Research Gaps from a Policy Process Perspective

Climate services (CS) are crucial for mitigating and managing the impacts and risks associated with climate-induced disasters. While evidence over the past decade underscores their effectiveness across various domains, particularly agriculture, to maximize their potential, it is crucial to identify emerging priority areas and existing research gaps for future research agendas. As a contribution to this effort, this paper employs the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology to review the state-of-the-art in the field of climate services for disaster risk management. A comprehensive search across five literature databases combined with a snowball search method using ResearchRabbit was conducted and yielded 242 peer-reviewed articles, book sections, and reports over 2013-2023 after the screening process. The analysis revealed flood, drought, and food insecurity as major climate-related disasters addressed in the reviewed literature. Major climate services addressed included early warning systems, (sub)seasonal forecasts and impact-based warnings. Grounded in the policy processes’ theoretical perspective, the main focus identified and discussed three prevailing policy-oriented priority areas: 1) development of climate services, 2) use-adoption-uptake, and 3) evaluation of climate services. In response to the limitations of the prevalent supply-driven and top-down approach to climate services promotion, co-production emerges as a cross-cutting critical aspect of the identified priority areas. Despite the extensive research in the field, more attention is needed, particularly pronounced in the science-policy interface perspective, which in practice bridges scientific knowledge and policy decisions for effective policy processes. This perspective offers a valuable analytical lens as an entry point for further investigation. Hence, future research agendas would generate insightful evidence by scrutinizing this critical aspect given its importance to institutions and climate services capacity, to better understand intricate facets of the development and the integration of climate services into disaster risk management.

Using ontology and rules to retrieve the semantics of disaster remote sensing data

Remote sensing data plays an important role in natural disaster management.However,with the increase of the variety and quantity of remote sensors,the problem of“knowledge barriers”arises when data users in disaster field retrieve remote sensing data.To improve this problem,this paper proposes an ontology and rule based retrieval(ORR)method to retrieve disaster remote sensing data,and this method introduces ontology technology to express earthquake disaster and remote sensing knowledge,on this basis,and realizes the task suitability reasoning of earthquake disaster remote sensing data,mining the semantic relationship between remote sensing metadata and disasters.The prototype system is built according to the ORR method,which is compared with the traditional method,using the ORR method to retrieve disaster remote sensing data can reduce the knowledge requirements of data users in the retrieval process and improve data retrieval efficiency.

Disasters of gas-coal spontaneous combustion in goaf of steeply inclined extra-thick coal seams

In light of the escalating global energy imperatives,mining of challenging-to-access resources,such as steeply inclined extra-thick coal seams(SIEC),has emerged as one of the future trends within the domain of energy advancement.However,there is a risk of gas and coal spontaneous combustion coupling disasters(GCC)within the goaf of SIEC due to the complex goaf structure engendered by the unique mining methodologies of SIEC.To ensure that SIEC is mined safely and efficiently,this study conducts research on the GCC within the goaf of SIEC using field observation,theoretical analysis,and numerical modeling.The results demonstrate that the dip angle,the structural dimensions in terms of width-to-length ratio,and compressive strength of the overlying rock are the key factors contributing to the goaf instability of SIEC.The gangue was asymmetrically filled,primarily accumulating within the central and lower portions of the goaf,and the filling height increased proportionally with the advancing caving height,the expansion coefficient,and the thickness of the surrounding rock formation.The GCC occurs in the goaf of SIEC,with an air-return side range of 41 m and an air-intake side range of 14 m,at the intersection area of the“<”-shaped oxygen concentration distribution(coal spontaneous combustion)and the“>”-shaped gas concentration distribution(gas explosion).The optimal nitrogen flow rate is 1000 m3/h with an injection port situated 25 m away from the working face for the highest nitrogen diffusion efficacy and lowest risk of gas explosion,coal spontaneous combustion,and GCC.It has significant engineering applications for ensuring the safe mining of SIEC threatened by the GCC.

Natural Disaster Risk Monitoring for Immovable Cultural Relics Based on Digital Twin

Natural disaster risk monitoring is an important task for disaster prevention and reduction.In the case of immovable cultural relics,however,the feedback mechanism,risk factors,monitoring logic,and monitoring indicators of natural disaster risk monitoring are complex.How to achieve intelligent perception and monitoring of natural disaster risk for immovable cultural relics has always been a focus and a challenge for researchers.Based on the analysis of the concepts and issues related to the natural disaster risk of immovable cultural relics,this paper proposes a framework for natural disaster risk monitoring for immovable cultural relics based on the digital twin.This framework focuses on risk monitoring,including the physical entities of natural disaster risk for immovable cultural relics,monitoring indicators,and virtual entity construction.A platform for monitoring the natural disaster risk of immovable cultural relics is proposed.Using the Puzhou Ancient City Site as a test bed,the proposed concept can be used for monitoring the natural disaster risk of immovable cultural relics at different scales.

Characteristics and dynamic analysis of the February 2021 long-runout disaster chain triggered by massive rock and ice avalanche at Chamoli, Indian Himalaya

A massive rock and ice avalanche occurred on the western slope of the Ronti Gad valley in the northern part of Chamoli,Indian Himalaya,on 7 February 7,2021.The avalanche on the high mountain slope at an elevation of 5600 m above sea level triggered a long runout disaster chain,including rock mass avalanche,debris avalanche,and flood.The disaster chain had a horizontal travel distance of larger than 17,600 m and an elevation difference of 4300 m.In this study,the disaster characteristics and dynamic process were analyzed by multitemporal satellite imagery.The results show that the massive rock and ice avalanche was caused by four large expanding discontinuity planes.The disaster chain was divided into five zones by satellite images and field observation,including source zone,transition zone,dynamic entrainment zone,flow deposition zone,and flood zone.The entrainment effect and melting water were recognized as the main causes of the long-runout distance.Based on the seismic wave records and field videos,the time progress of the disaster was analyzed and the velocity of frontal debris at different stages was calculated.The total analyzed disaster duration was 1247 s,and the frontal debris velocity colliding with the second hydropower station was approximately 23 m/s.This study also carried out the numerical simulation of the disaster by rapid mass movement simulation(RAMMS).The numerical results reproduced the dynamic process of the debris avalanche,and the mechanism of long-runout avalanche was further verified by parametric study.Furthermore,this study discussed the potential causes of disaster and flood and the roles of satellite images and seismic networks in the monitoring and early-warning.

Evaluation of Forest Damaged Area and Severity Caused by Ice-snow Frozen Disasters over Southern China with Remote Sensing

The accurate assessment of forest damage is important basis for the forest post-disaster recovery process and ecosystem management. This study evaluates the spatial distribution of damaged forest and its damaged severity caused by ice-snow disaster that occurred in southern China during January 10 to February 2 in 2008. The moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer(MODIS)13 Q1 products are used, which include two vegetation indices data of NDVI(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and EVI(Enhanced Vegetation Index). Furtherly, after Quality Screening(QS) and Savizky-Golay(S-G) filtering of MODIS 13 Q1 data, four evaluation indices are obtained, which are NDVI with QS(QSNDVI), EVI with QS(QSEVI), NDVI with S-G filtering(SGNDVI) and EVI with S-G filtering(SGEVI). The study provides a new way of firstly determining the threshold for each image pixel for damaged forest evaluation, by computing the pre-disaster reference value and change threshold with vegetation index from remote sensing data. Results show obvious improvement with the new way for forest damage evaluation, evaluation result of forest damage is much close to the field survey data with standard error of only 0.95 and 1/3 less than the result that evaluated from other threshold method. Comparatively, the QSNDVI shows better performance than other three indices on evaluating forest damages. The evaluated result with QSNDVI shows that the severe, moderate, mild damaged rates of Southern China forests are 47.33%, 34.15%, 18.52%, respectively. By analyzing the influence of topographic and meteorological factors on forest-vegetation damage, we found that the precipitation on freezing days has greater impact on forest-vegetation damage, which is regarded as the most important factor. This study could be a scientific and reliable reference for evaluating the forest damages from ice-snow frozen disasters.

Overview on Mangrove Forest Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Functions

This paper provides a comprehensive overview on coastal protection and hazard mitigation by mangroves.Previous stud-ies have made great strides to understand the mechanisms and influencing factors of mangroves’protection function,including wave energy dissipation,storm surge damping,tsunami mitigation,adjustment to sea level rise and wind speed reduction,which are sys-tematically summarized in this study.Moreover,the study analyzes the extensive physical models,based on indoor flume experi-ments and numerical models,that consider the interaction between mangroves and hydrodynamics,to help our understanding of mangrove-hydrodynamic interactions.Additionally,quantitative approaches for valuing coastal protection services provided by man-groves,including index-based and process-resolving approaches,are introduced in detail.Finally,we point out the limitations of previous studies,indicating that efforts are still required for obtaining more long-term field observations during extreme weather events,to create more real mangrove models for physical experiments,and to develop numerical models that consider the flexible properties of mangroves to better predict wave propagation in mangroves having complex morphology and structures.

蓝莓转录因子VcICE全基因组鉴定及其在花果发育进程的表达分析

为探究ICE(inducer of CBF expression)转录因子在高丛蓝莓花果发育进程中可能的调控机制,通过对VcICE基因家族进行全基因组鉴定及生物信息学分析,采用实时荧光定量PCR(qRT-PCR)技术分析VcICE基因亚家族成员在蓝莓花芽膨大和果实发育进程中的相对表达水平.结果表明:在高丛蓝莓‘Draper’基因组中鉴定出8个VcICE成员,系统进化分析将其划分为2个亚家族,各亚家族成员均包含S-rich,bHLH和ACT等保守结构域;VcICE基因启动子区域富含光响应、植物激素、生长发育及非生物胁迫相关顺式作用元件;VcICE亚家族基因在高丛蓝莓‘O’Neal’和‘Bluerain’花芽膨大与果实发育进程中的相对表达差异显著.研究结果以期为深入了解VcICE转录因子在蓝莓花果发育进程中的功能提供理论参考.

Earthquake disaster chain model based on complex networks for urban engineering systems

According to news reports on severe earthquakes since 2008,a total of 51 cases with magnitudes of 6.0 or above were analyzed,and 14 frequently occurring secondary disasters were identified.A disaster chain model was developed using principles from complex network theory.The vulnerability and risk level of each edge in this model were calculated,and high-risk edges and disaster chains were identified.The analysis reveals that the edge“floods→building collapses”has the highest vulnerability.Implementing measures to mitigate this edge is crucial for delaying the spread of secondary disasters.The highest risk is associated with the edge“building collapses→casualties,”and increased risks are also identified for chains such as“earthquake→building collapses→casualties,”“earthquake→landslides and debris flows→dammed lakes,”and“dammed lakes→floods→building collapses.”Following an earthquake,the prompt implementation of measures is crucial to effectively disrupt these chains and minimize the damage from secondary disasters.

THEORY AND PRACTICE FOR COMPILING THE ATLAS OF NATURAL DISASTERS IN CHINA

This article inquires into theoretical and practical problems on compilation of an atlas of regional natural disasters. (1) The basic theory of compiling an atlas of regional disasters has been founded on the combination of the sciences of disasters, cartography and regional geogrphy. The content structure of a regional disaster atlas should be composed of at least the following five parts:hazard-formative environments and hazard-affected bodies,hazards, disaster effects, monitoring and warning system for natural disasters, and countermeasures for natural disaster reduction. (2) Contents of cartographic design of a regional disaster atlas should be composed of at least the following five parts: base map system, cartographic representation, Symbol System, color system, map edition and map layout system. (3) Based on theory and cartographic design of compiling an atlas of regional disaster, the Atlas of Natural Disater in China, which reveals objectively the temporal and spaial pattern of regional natural disasters of China,has been compiled and published.

Analysis of Main Climatic Disasters in Rice Production in Changsha and its Strategies

According to the meteorological data from National Basic Meteorological Station in Changsha in recent 43 years and statistics of occurrence time and intensity of main meteorological disasters for rice in Changsha in recent 13 years,a comparison was conducted to the meteorological situations between the first 30 years and the last 13 years.Results indicated that the main meteorological disasters in rice production in Changsha showed an increasing occurrence tendency of high temperature damage,drought and cold-dew wind,but a decreasing occurrence tendency of low temperature,late spring cold,dry and hot wind,gale,hail,flood,cloudy and drizzly day.In the end,some corresponding strategies for preventing and reducing meteorological disasters in rice production were put forward.

Risk assessment of coastal flooding disaster by storm surge based on Elevation-Area method and hydrodynamic models:Taking Bohai Bay as an example

The future inundation by storm surge on coastal areas are currently ill-defined.With increasing global sealevel due to climate change,the coastal flooding by storm surge is more and more frequently,especially in coastal lowland with land subsidence.Therefore,the risk assessment of such inundation for these areas is of great significance for the sustainable socio-economic development.In this paper,the authors use Elevation-Area method and Regional Ocean Model System(ROMS)model to assess the risk of the inundation of Bohai Bay by storm surge.The simulation results of Elevation-Area method show that either a 50-year or 100-year storm surge can inundate coastal areas exceeding 8000 km^(2);the numerical simulation results based on hydrodynamics,considering ground friction and duration of the storm surge high water,show that a 50-year or 100-year storm surge can only inundate an area of over 2000 km^(2),which is far less than 8000 km^(2);while,when taking into account the land subsidence and sea level rise,the very inundation range will rapidly increase by 2050 and 2100.The storm surge will greatly impact the coastal area within about 10-30 km of the Bohai Bay,in where almost all major coastal projects are located.The prompt response to flood disaster due to storm surge is urgently needed,for which five suggestions have been proposed based on the geological background of Bohai Bay.This study may offer insight into the development of the response and adaptive plans for flooding disasters caused by storm surge.

Climate Change-Related Disaster Risk Events in Togo: A Systematic Review

Togo is facing significant climate challenges that have profound consequences for its environment, economy, and population. This study provides an overview of various climate phenomena affecting Togo and highlights potential adaptation strategies. We used the inclusion and exclusion criteria (PRISMA) to search both French and English articles on climate change-related disaster risk events in Togo through Google Scholar, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and PubMed databases using the keywords “Climate Change”, “Floods”, “Drought”, “Coastal erosion”, “High winds”, “Epidemy”, Heatwaves”, and “Air pollution”. Twenty-five articles from 2000-2023 were included in this study after applying different criteria. Droughts, floods, coastal erosion, food and crop productivity loss, heatwaves, spread of vector-borne diseases, air pollution, and high winds are among the climate phenomena discussed. These challenges are driven by climate change, altering precipitation patterns, increasing temperatures, and rising sea levels. Drought, floods, coastal erosion, loss of food and crop productivity, spread of vector-borne diseases, air pollution and heatwaves are the most climate risks experienced by Togo. Drought contributes to decreased plant cover, water scarcity, and changes in the water and energy balance. Floods cause property damage, health risks, and disruptions to livelihoods. Coastal erosion threatens coastal communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Adaptation strategies include early warning systems, improved water management, sustainable agriculture, urban and health planning, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Drought-resistant crops, mosquito control, and clean energy adoption are essential.

Assessment and control of the mine tremor disaster induced by the energy accumulation and dispersion of thick-hard roofs

In order to solve the problem that current theory models cannot accurately describe thick-hard roof(THR)elastic energy and assess the mine tremor disasters,a theoretical method,a Timoshenko beam theory on Winkler foundation was adopted to establish the THR’s periodic breaking model.The superposition principle was used for this complex model to derive the calculation formulas of the elastic energy and impact load on hydraulic supports.Then,the influence of roof thickness h,cantilever length L_(1),and load q on THR’s elastic energy and impact load was analyzed.And,the effect of mine tremor disasters was assessed.Finally,it is revealed that:(1)The THR’s elastic energy U exhibits power-law variations,with the fitted relationships U=0.0096L_(1)^(3.5866^),U=5943.9h^(-1.935),and U=21.049q^(2).(2)The impact load on hydraulic supports F_(ZJ) increases linearly with an increase in the cantilever length,thickness,and applied load.The fitted relationships are F_(ZJ)=1067.3L_(1)+6361.1,F_(ZJ)=125.89h+15100,and F_(ZJ)=10420q+3912.6.(3)Ground hydraulic fracturing and liquid explosive deep-hole blasting techniques effectively reduce the THR’s cantilever length at periodic breakages,thus eliminating mine tremor disasters.

New UN initiative to reduce disaster risk with AI

A new United Nations initiative aims to ensure that advanced digital technologies in fields such as artificial intelligence(AI)boost resilience to natural hazards and reduce disaster risks.

Preparing Youth for Disasters: The Need for a Contextualised Disaster Risk Reduction Curriculum in Schools

This study draws from detailed qualitative case studies of three schools that practise disaster risk reduction (DRR) education initiatives in their curriculum in Nepal. Using curriculum mapping and discourse analysis, it aims to elaborate the significance of relevant disaster risk reduction (DRR) content in school curriculum to prepare youths for disaster response and recovery. It elaborates the nature of the current DRR content covered in curricula and textbooks and provides suggestions to address the identified disaster-related issues in the school curriculum. It further elaborates that incorporation of local and contextualised DRR content in school curricula contributes to the establishment of the “culture of resilience” in disaster prone context like Nepal. It concludes that more organised and holistic approach is essential to develop disaster and management knowledge, skills and attitudes to youths.

Mechanism,prevention,and control of mining-induced dynamic disasters in underground metal mines in China:Challenges and solutions

Metal mineral resources play an indispensable role in the development of the national economy.Dynamic disasters in underground metal mines seriously threaten mining safety,which are major scientific and technological problems to be solved urgently.In this article,the occurrence status and grand challenges of some typical dynamic disasters involving roof falling,spalling,collapse,large deformation,rockburst,surface subsidence,and water inrush in metal mines in China are systematically presented,the characteristics of mining-induced dynamic disasters are analyzed,the examples of dynamic disasters occurring in some metal mines in China are summarized,the occurrence mechanism,monitoring and early warning methods,and prevention and control techniques of these disasters are highlighted,and some new opinions,suggestions,and solutions are proposed simultaneously.Moreover,some shortcomings in current disaster research are pointed out,and the direction of efforts to improve the prevention and control level of dynamic disasters in China’s metal mines in the future is prospected.The integration of forward-looking key innovative theories and technologies in the abovementioned aspects will greatly enhance the cognitive level of disaster prevention and mitigation in China’s metal mining industry and achieve a significant shift from passive disaster relief to active disaster prevention.

Study on Temperature Disaster Indicators of Passion Fruit in Southwest Fujian, China

In China, meteorological forecasting relies on meteorological data obtained from regional and national stations. However, there were discrepancies between the data collected from the meteorological station at the passion fruit growing base and the data from regional and national stations. Consequently, the high and low temperature disaster indicators determined by the meteorological station at the passion fruit growing base cannot be applied to meteorological forecasting. To address this issue and facilitate the monitoring and early warning of high and low temperature disasters in passion fruit cultivation in Fujian, China, we used multi-source hourly temperature data (including the data from meteorological observation stations in passion fruit growing bases, the nearest regional stations, and national surface conventional meteorological observation stations) in three cities in southwestern Fujian (Longyan, Sanming, and Zhangzhou) spanning the years 2020 to 2022. By employing comprehensive statistical analysis methods (0.5 interval division and Cumulative frequency), we identified that passion fruit in southwestern Fujian was susceptible to high temperature disasters during the blooming-fruiting period, as well as low temperature disasters during the sprouting period. Consequently, we developed high and low temperature disaster indicators based on data from regional and national stations for different phenological periods of passion fruit in this region.

Citizens’Mental Health Issues and Psychological Trauma Experience due to a Crowd-Crush Disaster in Korea

This study evaluated the state of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, general mental health, and mental well-beingamong citizens after a crowd-crush disaster in Korea. Individuals who experienced the crowd crush had significantly higheranxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) scores than those who did not (p < 0.001). Additionally,people who avoided the disaster area had significantly higher depression and PTSD scores than those who did not avoid thearea (p < 0.001). Those who directly witnessed the Seoul Halloween crowd crush had a significant difference in PTSD levels ineither group than those who experienced it indirectly (p = 0.005). There was a significant difference in PTSD scores in cases ofdirect damage or death of an acquaintance (p < 0.001). The Seoul Halloween crowd crush caused psychological damagethrough indiscriminate exposure to the public, and symptoms of PTSD appeared over a long period. It is crucial to provideessential resources for ongoing treatment and case management.