Great East Japan Earthquake, JR East Mitigation Successes, and Lessons for California High-Speed Rail, MTI Report 12-37

California and Japan both experience frequent seismic activity, which is often damaging to infrastructure. Seismologists have developed systems for detecting and analyzing earthquakes in real-time. JR East has developed systems to mitigate the damage to their facilities and personnel, including an early earthquake detection system, retrofitting of existing facilities for seismic safety, development of more seismically resistant designs for new facilities, and earthquake response training and exercises for staff members. These systems demonstrated their value in the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 and have been further developed based on that experience. Researchers in California are developing an earthquake early warning system for the state, and the private sector has seismic sensors in place. These technologies could contribute to the safety of the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s developing system, which could emulate the best practices demonstrated in Japan in the construction of the Los Angeles-to-San Jose segment

Disaster Management Process Approach: Case Study by BOSS for Disaster Response under COVID-19

Comprehensive disaster response processes need to be managed and progress communicated to avoid ineffective management such as duplication with stakeholders, amendments as a result of leaders’ incomplete instructions, and waiting without instruction from the EOC (Emergency Operation Center). As there is existing research on standardization and systematization of disaster response processes, a pure paper-based SOP (Standard Operation Procedure) is challenging to use in actual and practical situations concerning the standard workflow based on the SOP. For effective disaster management, this study developed a Business Operation Support System (BOSS). The BOSS characteristics have the standard workflow chart based on the related documents and experiences, such as the SOP, concerning manuals/documents, past experiences, and knowledge. The overview, checkpoints, necessary documents, related information systems linked to the disaster management plan, and document formats are defined in every workflow. Even for the young or non-experienced individuals, the BOSS can support the responders through the processes for necessary actions during disasters. This research aims to compare the effect of responses to the 2019 massive rain disaster in Kawasaki city, with or without the BOSS. First,a comprehensive workflow focusing on shelter management under the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) workshop with Kawasaki city staff and community people in the BOSS was created. Second, experiments (with or without the BOSS) were carried out to analyze the differences and the BOSS effect. “With the BOSS” means that the responders can follow the workflow in the BOSS for shelter management. “Without the BOSS” means that the conventional paper-based manuals are used for the operations. Two types of manuals in Kawasaki city were used; one guides the expected shelter management points, and the other contains the explanation about COVID-19. Members of both teams comprise one leader and two staff. As a result of the experiments, the big difference between the two teams is the leader’s behavior. Because the BOSS team leader instructed the different staff works following the BOSS workflow, the BOSS team responded to more kinds of works compared to the manual team. The role of all members of the BOSS team was evident. On the other hand, the manual team responded to one work by all members, including the leader, without the leader’s instruction. Due to no instruction from the leader, a period of waiting was observed in the next work manual. This research obtained that the leader’s instructions’ effect caused the effective responses by quantitative analysis of the demonstrative experiment. For future research, the leader’s behavior and decision-making should be analyzed for BOSS’s effective operation and team-building

The ISCIP Analyst, Volume XV, Issue 5

This repository item contains a single issue of The ISCIP Analyst, an analytical review journal published from 1996 to 2010 by the Boston University Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology, and Policy

Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

The Joint Publication 1-02, Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms sets forth standard US military and associated terminology to encompass the joint activity of the Armed Forces of the United States. These military and associated terms, together with their definitions, constitute approved Department of Defense (DOD) terminology for general use by all DOD components

Science of Societal Safety

This open access book covers comprehensive but fundamental principles and concepts of disaster and accident prevention and mitigation, countermeasures, and recovery from disasters or accidents including treatment and care of the victims. Safety and security problems in our society involve not only engineering but also social, legal, economic, cultural, and psychological issues. The enhancement needed for societal safety includes comprehensive activities of all aspects from precaution to recovery, not only of people but also of governments. In this context, the authors, members of the Faculty of Societal Safety Science, Kansai University, conducted many discussions and concluded that the major strategy is consistent independently of the type and magnitude of disaster or accident, being also the principle of the foundation of our faculty. The topics treated in this book are rather widely distributed but are well organized sequentially to provide a clear understanding of the principles of societal safety. In the first part the fundamental concepts of safety are discussed. The second part deals with risks in the societal and natural environment. Then follows, in the third part, a description of the quantitative estimation of risk and its assessment and management. The fourth part is devoted to disaster prevention, mitigation, and recovery systems. The final, fifth part presents a future perspective of societal safety science. Thorough reading of this introductory volume of societal safety science provides a clear image of the issues. This is largely because the Japanese have suffered often from natural disasters and not only have gained much valuable information about disasters but also have accumulated a store of experience. We are still in the process of reconstruction from the Great East Japan earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. This book is especially valuable therefore in studying the safety and security of people and their societies

How lessons learned from the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak affected the response to coronavirus disease 2019 in the Republic of Korea

The Republic of Korea (ROK) experienced a public health crisis due to Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2015 and is currently going through the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Lessons learned from the disastrous MERS outbreak were reflected in the preparedness system, and the readiness capabilities that were subsequently developed enabled the country to successfully flatten the epidemic curve of COVID-19 in late February and March 2020. In this review, we summarize and compare the epidemiology and response of the ROK to the 2015 MERS outbreak and the COVID-19 epidemic in early 2020. We emphasize that, because further COVID-19 waves seem inevitable, it is urgent to develop comprehensive preparedness and response plans for the worst-case scenarios of the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously strengthening healthcare capacity to endure the peak demand and implementing smart strategies to sustain social distancing and public hygiene are necessary until safe and effective therapeutics and vaccines against COVID-19 are available.Peer reviewe