With the increased frequency of extreme weather events and large-scale disasters, extensive societal and economic losses incur every year due to damage of infrastructure and private properties, business disruptions,fa...With the increased frequency of extreme weather events and large-scale disasters, extensive societal and economic losses incur every year due to damage of infrastructure and private properties, business disruptions,fatalities, homelessness, and severe health-related issues. In this article, we analyze the economic and disaster data from1970 through 2010 to investigate the impact of disasters on country/region-level economic growth. We leveraged a random parameter modeling approach to develop the growth-econometrics model that identifies risk factors significantly influencing the country/region-level economic growth in the face of natural hazard-induced disasters,while controlling for country/region-and time-specific unobserved heterogeneities. We found that disaster intensity in terms of fatalities and homelessness, and economic characteristics such as openness to trade and a government's consumption share of purchasing power parity(PPP), are the significant risk factors that randomly vary for different countries/regions. Other significant factors found to be significant include population, real gross domestic product(GDP), and investment share of PPP converted GDP per capita. We also found that flood is the most devastating disaster to affect country/region-level economic growth. This growth-econometrics model will help in the policy and decision making of governmentsrelated to the investment needs for pre-and post-disaster risk mitigation and response planning strategies, to better protect nations and minimize disaster-induced economic impacts.展开更多
Economic damage due to hurricane activities has been shown to impact income inequality in the coastal states of the United States. We consider 17 other natural hazards, in addition to hurricanes, that affected the ent...Economic damage due to hurricane activities has been shown to impact income inequality in the coastal states of the United States. We consider 17 other natural hazards, in addition to hurricanes, that affected the entire United States for the period 1970–2013. Two fixed effects models were developed to quantify the relationship between income inequality and economic and demographic variables, including crop and property losses from natural hazard-induced disasters. These models include state-byyear and region-by-year fixed effects models. Our findings show that the damages from all natural hazards impact income distribution across the United States, not only in hurricane-affected areas, but also in non-hurricane states.The results of our study have important implications for the insurance industry and government policymakers.展开更多
Natural disasters usually involve a phenomenon with consequences that exceed the response capabilities of local communities and have a significant impact on the region’s socioeconomic development. Droughts, floods, a...Natural disasters usually involve a phenomenon with consequences that exceed the response capabilities of local communities and have a significant impact on the region’s socioeconomic development. Droughts, floods, and hurricanes are all natural disasters that jeopardize the environment and the lives of Somalis. Severe floods have devastated the south and central parts of the country multiple times, destroying infrastructure and homes and killing many vulnerable people. Droughts in the south and central parts of the country, particularly in the Middle Shebelle region, have killed a number of children and mothers. It also had a negative influence on crops and cattle. Objective of this study is to know the recurrence of Natural Disasters in Jowhar, Middle Shabelle region, Somalia: The Causes and Impacts. The Somali people are completely aware of natural disasters such as droughts and floods, and they are self-sufficient in dealing with the consequences of these disasters. Furthermore, the Somali government has not fully created environmental laws to protect and conserve the environment, and the majority of laws, rules, acts, and regulations are not used or administered effectively. We also found that the Somali government is not yet financially prepared to deal with these crises, and that there are no strategic plans in the central government or even state administrations to prevent or at least control these disasters from causing extreme harm to the community and the environment.展开更多
Through detailed statistics and analysis of drought and water disasters in the Weihe Plain in the historical period, we discovered that in more than 2300 years (from 370 BC to 2000 AD), natural disasters occurred most...Through detailed statistics and analysis of drought and water disasters in the Weihe Plain in the historical period, we discovered that in more than 2300 years (from 370 BC to 2000 AD), natural disasters occurred most frequently in two periods. One is from 610 to 850 AD (from the late Sui Dynasty to the late Tang Dynasty) and the other is from 1580 to 2000 AD (after the late Ming Dynasty). Different natural disasters occurred synchronously, that is to say, when the drought occurred frequently, water disasters occurred frequently in the same periods. Frequencies of natural disasters, on the one hand, connected with climate changes and development course of ancient cities, while on the other, related closely to population changes. The excessive exploitation of natural resources and human disturbance and damages to ecological environment are the major reasons for the increased drought and water disasters.展开更多
Iterative risk management and risk-sensitive public investment planning are increasingly seen as essential elements of natural disaster resilience. This article assesses the disaster risk facing the hazard-prone South...Iterative risk management and risk-sensitive public investment planning are increasingly seen as essential elements of natural disaster resilience. This article assesses the disaster risk facing the hazard-prone Southeast Asian country of Cambodia and discusses its fiscal preparedness and need for proactive disaster risk management.The study provides a bottom-up assessment of flood and cyclone risks to public and private buildings including educational structures, health facilities, and housing and estimates the total direct economic damage to range from approximately USD 304 million for a 5-year return period event to USD 2.26 billion for a 1000-year return period event. These estimates were further analyzed using the fiscal risk due to disasters, which indicates that Cambodia will likely face a resource gap whenever a hazard as large as that of a 28-year return period event strikes. Given the frequent occurrence of disasters and rapid accumulation of capital assets taking place, proactive risk reduction is highly advisable. But interviews with national policymakers also revealed that there are a number of barriers to effective risk reduction and management in Cambodia. The general lack of awareness regarding risk-based concepts and the limited availability of local risk information necessitate a continued and sustained effort to build iterative risk management in Cambodia.展开更多
Mental health interventions following disasters have been criticized as individualistic, incomplete, and culturally insensitive. This article showcases the effects of a culturally relevant and sustainable psychosocial...Mental health interventions following disasters have been criticized as individualistic, incomplete, and culturally insensitive. This article showcases the effects of a culturally relevant and sustainable psychosocial capacitybuilding project at the epicenter of the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. Specifically, the project focuses on women, a group that has received limited attention in post-disaster recovery in China. This qualitative research study(N = 14)sheds light on the characteristics and processes of the implementation of a post-disaster psychosocial intervention project in rural China. In addition, by adopting the Success Case Method as an evaluation approach, this study elucidates its effects on the psychological and social changes of the disaster victims. The findings capture five aspects of psychosocial changes: enriched daily life, better mood,enhanced self-confidence, increased willingness to socialize, and the provision of mutual help. This study hopes to encourage more culturally relevant and empowering practices for women in building their psychosocial capacity after disasters.展开更多
文摘With the increased frequency of extreme weather events and large-scale disasters, extensive societal and economic losses incur every year due to damage of infrastructure and private properties, business disruptions,fatalities, homelessness, and severe health-related issues. In this article, we analyze the economic and disaster data from1970 through 2010 to investigate the impact of disasters on country/region-level economic growth. We leveraged a random parameter modeling approach to develop the growth-econometrics model that identifies risk factors significantly influencing the country/region-level economic growth in the face of natural hazard-induced disasters,while controlling for country/region-and time-specific unobserved heterogeneities. We found that disaster intensity in terms of fatalities and homelessness, and economic characteristics such as openness to trade and a government's consumption share of purchasing power parity(PPP), are the significant risk factors that randomly vary for different countries/regions. Other significant factors found to be significant include population, real gross domestic product(GDP), and investment share of PPP converted GDP per capita. We also found that flood is the most devastating disaster to affect country/region-level economic growth. This growth-econometrics model will help in the policy and decision making of governmentsrelated to the investment needs for pre-and post-disaster risk mitigation and response planning strategies, to better protect nations and minimize disaster-induced economic impacts.
文摘Economic damage due to hurricane activities has been shown to impact income inequality in the coastal states of the United States. We consider 17 other natural hazards, in addition to hurricanes, that affected the entire United States for the period 1970–2013. Two fixed effects models were developed to quantify the relationship between income inequality and economic and demographic variables, including crop and property losses from natural hazard-induced disasters. These models include state-byyear and region-by-year fixed effects models. Our findings show that the damages from all natural hazards impact income distribution across the United States, not only in hurricane-affected areas, but also in non-hurricane states.The results of our study have important implications for the insurance industry and government policymakers.
文摘Natural disasters usually involve a phenomenon with consequences that exceed the response capabilities of local communities and have a significant impact on the region’s socioeconomic development. Droughts, floods, and hurricanes are all natural disasters that jeopardize the environment and the lives of Somalis. Severe floods have devastated the south and central parts of the country multiple times, destroying infrastructure and homes and killing many vulnerable people. Droughts in the south and central parts of the country, particularly in the Middle Shebelle region, have killed a number of children and mothers. It also had a negative influence on crops and cattle. Objective of this study is to know the recurrence of Natural Disasters in Jowhar, Middle Shabelle region, Somalia: The Causes and Impacts. The Somali people are completely aware of natural disasters such as droughts and floods, and they are self-sufficient in dealing with the consequences of these disasters. Furthermore, the Somali government has not fully created environmental laws to protect and conserve the environment, and the majority of laws, rules, acts, and regulations are not used or administered effectively. We also found that the Somali government is not yet financially prepared to deal with these crises, and that there are no strategic plans in the central government or even state administrations to prevent or at least control these disasters from causing extreme harm to the community and the environment.
基金National Social Science Foundation of China No.04BZS022+2 种基金 National Key Subject Foundation of Historical Geography of Shaanxi Normal University No.04002 Key Research Project of Shaanxi Normal University
文摘Through detailed statistics and analysis of drought and water disasters in the Weihe Plain in the historical period, we discovered that in more than 2300 years (from 370 BC to 2000 AD), natural disasters occurred most frequently in two periods. One is from 610 to 850 AD (from the late Sui Dynasty to the late Tang Dynasty) and the other is from 1580 to 2000 AD (after the late Ming Dynasty). Different natural disasters occurred synchronously, that is to say, when the drought occurred frequently, water disasters occurred frequently in the same periods. Frequencies of natural disasters, on the one hand, connected with climate changes and development course of ancient cities, while on the other, related closely to population changes. The excessive exploitation of natural resources and human disturbance and damages to ecological environment are the major reasons for the increased drought and water disasters.
文摘Iterative risk management and risk-sensitive public investment planning are increasingly seen as essential elements of natural disaster resilience. This article assesses the disaster risk facing the hazard-prone Southeast Asian country of Cambodia and discusses its fiscal preparedness and need for proactive disaster risk management.The study provides a bottom-up assessment of flood and cyclone risks to public and private buildings including educational structures, health facilities, and housing and estimates the total direct economic damage to range from approximately USD 304 million for a 5-year return period event to USD 2.26 billion for a 1000-year return period event. These estimates were further analyzed using the fiscal risk due to disasters, which indicates that Cambodia will likely face a resource gap whenever a hazard as large as that of a 28-year return period event strikes. Given the frequent occurrence of disasters and rapid accumulation of capital assets taking place, proactive risk reduction is highly advisable. But interviews with national policymakers also revealed that there are a number of barriers to effective risk reduction and management in Cambodia. The general lack of awareness regarding risk-based concepts and the limited availability of local risk information necessitate a continued and sustained effort to build iterative risk management in Cambodia.
基金funded by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for the project Coping with Loss in a Chinese Post-disaster Context:Comparison Case Studies in Wenchuan Yingxiu Primary School and Mianzhu Zhongxin Friendship Primary School of Sichuan (A-PM12)
文摘Mental health interventions following disasters have been criticized as individualistic, incomplete, and culturally insensitive. This article showcases the effects of a culturally relevant and sustainable psychosocial capacitybuilding project at the epicenter of the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. Specifically, the project focuses on women, a group that has received limited attention in post-disaster recovery in China. This qualitative research study(N = 14)sheds light on the characteristics and processes of the implementation of a post-disaster psychosocial intervention project in rural China. In addition, by adopting the Success Case Method as an evaluation approach, this study elucidates its effects on the psychological and social changes of the disaster victims. The findings capture five aspects of psychosocial changes: enriched daily life, better mood,enhanced self-confidence, increased willingness to socialize, and the provision of mutual help. This study hopes to encourage more culturally relevant and empowering practices for women in building their psychosocial capacity after disasters.
