PEOPLES: A Tool to Measure Community Resilience

This paper provides a novel method to quantitatively assess the resilience of communities at various scales. The proposed method is based on the PEOPLES framework and it takes an indicator-based approach as an engine for its algorithm. PEOPLES is a framework for identifying the different resilience aspects of a community and for providing new ways through which the decision makers can take actions. The framework comprises seven dimensions, each of which is the collection of more specific components and indicators. Each indicator is accompanied with a measure allowing the analytical computation of the indicator’s performance. The measures are presented in the form of continuous functions whose parameters can be analytically obtained. The output of the methodology is a performance function for each indicator and a resilience index for the whole community. A case study illustrating the application of the methodology is also provided in the paper

Holistic Resilience Quantification Framework of Rural Communities

Communities need to prepare for anticipated hazards, adapt to varying conditions, and resist and recover rapidly from disturbances. Protecting the built environment from natural and man-made hazards and understanding the impact of these hazards helps allocate resources efficiently. Recently, an indicator-based and time-dependent approach was developed for defining and measuring the functionality and disaster resilience continuously at the community level. This computational method uses seven dimensions that find qualitative characteristics and transforms them into quantitative measures. The proposed framework is used to study the resilience of rural communities’ subject to severe flooding events. Harlan County in the Appalachian region is chosen as a case study to evaluate the proposed resilience quantification framework subject to severe flooding. The results show the validity of the proposed approach as a decision-support mechanism to assess and enhance the resilience of rural communities

Resilience of healthcare and education networks and their interactions following major earthquakes

2021 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Healthcare and education systems have been identified by various national and international organizations as the main pillars of communities' stability. Ensuring the continuation of vital community services such as healthcare and education is critical for minimizing social losses after extreme events. A shortage of healthcare services could have catastrophic short-term and long-term effects on a community including an increase in morbidity and mortality, as well as population outmigration. Moreover, a shortage or lack of facilities for K-12 education, including elementary, middle, and high schools could impact a wide range of the community's population and could lead to impact population outmigration. Despite their importance to communities, there are a lack of comprehensive models that can be used to quantify recovery of functionalities of healthcare systems and schools following natural disasters. In addition to capturing the recovery of functionality, understanding the correlation between these main social services institutions is critical to determining the welfare of communities following natural disasters. Although hospitals and schools are key indicators of the stability of community social services, no studies to date have been conducted to determine the level of interdependence between hospitals and schools and their collective influence on their recoveries following extreme events. In this study, comprehensive frameworks are devised for estimating the losses, functionality, and recovery of healthcare and educational services following earthquakes. Success trees and semi-Markov stochastic models coupled with dynamic optimization are used to develop socio-technical models that describe functionalities and restorations of the facilities providing these services, by integrating the physical infrastructure, the supplies, and the people who operate and use these facilities. New frameworks are proposed to simulate processes such as patient demand on hospitals, hospitals' interaction, student enrollment, and school administration as well as different decisions and mitigation strategies applied by hospitals and schools while considering the disturbance imposed by earthquake events on these processes. The complex interaction between healthcare and education networks is captured using a new agent-based model which has been developed in the context of the communities' physical, social, and economic sectors that affect overall recovery. This model is employed to simulate the functional processes within each facility while optimizing their recovery trajectories after earthquake occurrence. The results highlight significant interdependencies between hospitals and schools, including direct and indirect relationships, suggesting the need for collective coupling of their recovery to achieve full functionality of either of the two systems following natural disasters. Recognizing this high level of interdependence, a social services stability index is then established which can be used by policymakers and community leaders to quantify the impact of healthcare and educational services on community resilience and social services stability

Government Responsibilities in Fulfilling Victims' Rights During the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Phase After the Earthquake in Sulai Village, Ulumanda District, Majene Regency

The rehabilitation and reconstruction phase is very important in restoring the environment, infrastructure, social, economic, cultural and psychological aspects of disaster victims, especially victims of the 6.2 magnitude earthquake in West Sulawesi in 2021. The rehabilitation and reconstruction phase is the stage where the community receives protection from the State in this regard. the central government and local governments in the recovery of all sectors of life after the disaster victims. 1 year after the earthquake in Sulai Village, Ulumanda District, it is still not evenly distributed to get the fulfillment of the facilities contained in the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase as a form of local government responsibility as stated in Article 5 of the Majene Regency Regulation No . 9 of 2019 concerning Disaster Management. areas. In the implementation of the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase in Sulai Village, there are 100% elements in the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase that have not been implemented at all, such as the implementation of security and order patrols, communication networks, community party activities, counseling by psychologists, reconciliation and conflict resolution, drainage development, health center repairs. Assistants, health counseling, counseling on disaster risk reduction efforts and permanent housing in the form of stimulant funds for earthquake victims have not been distributed evenly in Sulai Village

Reviewing qualitative research approaches in the context of critical infrastructure resilience

Modern societies are increasingly dependent on the proper functioning of critical infrastructures (CIs). CIs produce and distribute essential goods or services, as for power transmission systems, water treatment and distribution infrastructures, transportation systems, communication networks, nuclear power plants, and information technologies. Being resilient becomes a key property for CIs, which are constantly exposed to threats that can undermine safety, security, and business continuity. Nowadays, a variety of approaches exist in the context of CIs’ resilience research. This paper provides a state-of-the-art review on the approaches that have a complete qualitative dimension, or that can be used as entry points for semi-quantitative analyses. The study aims to uncover the usage of qualitative research methods through a systematic review based on PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). The paper identifies four principal dimensions of resilience referred to CIs (i.e., techno-centric, organisational, community, and urban) and discusses the related qualitative methods. Besides many studies being focused on energy and transportation systems, the literature review allows to observe that interviews and questionnaires are most frequently used to gather qualitative data, besides a high percentage of mixed-method research. The article aims to provide a synthesis of literature on qualitative methods used for resilience research in the domain of CIs, detailing lessons learned from such approaches to shed lights on best practices and identify possible future research directions

Measuring and improving community resilience: a Fuzzy Logic approach

Due to the increasing frequency of natural and man-made disasters worldwide, the scientific community has paid considerable attention to the concept of resilience engineering in recent years. Authorities and decision-makers, on the other hand, have been focusing their efforts to develop strategies that can help increase community resilience to different types of extreme events. Since it is often impossible to prevent every risk, the focus is on adapting and managing risks in ways that minimize impacts to communities (e.g., humans and other systems). Several resilience strategies have been proposed in the literature to reduce disaster risk and improve community resilience. Generally, resilience assessment is challenging due to uncertainty and unavailability of data necessary for the estimation process. This paper proposes a Fuzzy Logic method for quantifying community resilience. The methodology is based on the PEOPLES framework, an indicator-based hierarchical framework that defines all aspects of the community. A fuzzy-based approach is implemented to quantify the PEOPLES indicators using descriptive knowledge instead of hard data, accounting also for the uncertainties involved in the analysis. To demonstrate the applicability of the methodology, data regarding the functionality of the city San Francisco before and after the Loma Prieta earthquake are used to obtain a resilience index of the Physical Infrastructure dimension of the PEOPLES framework. The results show that the methodology can provide good estimates of community resilience despite the uncertainty of the indicators. Hence, it serves as a decision-support tool to help decision-makers and stakeholders assess and improve the resilience of their communities

Disaster Management in the area of Library and Information Centers

Disasters are on rise, globally as well as in India. The losses of life and property due to disasters have increased substantially during last two decades. Significant natural and man-made disasters in recent years have reinforced the need for libraries and archives to be prepared for and respond to disasters. There is urgent need to adopt multidimensional, multi disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach to reduce the losses of culture, losses of property. A proper planning of disaster management can prevent the losses and reduce the losses. Current literature on disaster management will be reviewed to determine the new trends in this field. The study focuses the major disasters in the recent past in Indian and world libraries. The article discusses library professionals’ role in managing the emergencies for the local community in particular and for the library and information centers in general. Having a federal system of Governance, India has integrated administrative machinery for management of disasters at the National, State, District and Sub-District levels. Various norms and policies have been formed by the government and non-government organizations. Initiatives have been taken by UNESCO for educating and spreading awareness among people regarding reduction in the impact and effects of any potential disasters or any emergencies. The steps and initiatives taken by the other parts of the world excluding India are also discussed. The future vision from the librarian’s point of view in making a disaster reduction plan successful through the awareness of society, also suggested at the end of the article

The Role of Transportation in Campus Emergency Planning, MTI Report 08-06

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina created the greatest natural disaster in American history. The states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama sustained significant damage, including 31 colleges and universities. Other institutions of higher education, most notably Louisiana State University (LSU), became resources to the disaster area. This is just one of the many examples of disaster impacts on institutions of higher education. The Federal Department of Homeland Security, under Homeland Security Presidential Directive–5, requires all public agencies that want to receive federal preparedness assistance to comply with the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which includes the creation of an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). Universities, which may be victims or resources during disasters, must write NIMS–compliant emergency plans. While most university emergency plans address public safety and logistics management, few adequately address the transportation aspects of disaster response and recovery. This MTI report describes the value of integrating transportation infrastructure into the campus emergency plan, including planning for helicopter operations. It offers a list of materials that can be used to educate and inform campus leadership on campus emergency impacts, including books about the Katrina response by LSU and Tulane Hospital, contained in the report´s bibliography. It provides a complete set of Emergency Operations Plan checklists and organization charts updated to acknowledge lessons learned from Katrina, 9/11 and other wide–scale emergencies. Campus emergency planners can quickly update their existing emergency management documents by integrating selected annexes and elements, or create new NIMS–compliant plans by adapting the complete set of annexes to their university´s structures

Application of artificial neural networks and colored petri nets on earthquake resilient water distribution systems

Water distribution systems are important lifelines and a critical and complex infrastructure of a country. The performance of this system during unexpected rare events is important as it is one of the lifelines that people directly depend on and other factors indirectly impact the economy of a nation. In this thesis a couple of methods that can be used to predict damage and simulate the restoration process of a water distribution system are presented. Contributing to the effort of applying computational tools to infrastructure systems, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is used to predict the rate of damage in the pipe network during seismic events. Prediction done in this thesis is based on earthquake intensity, peak ground velocity, and pipe size and material type. Further, restoration process of water distribution network in a seismic event is modeled and restoration curves are simulated using colored Petri nets. This dynamic simulation will aid decision makers to adopt the best strategies during disaster management. Prediction of damages, modeling and simulation in conjunction with other disaster reduction methodologies and strategies is expected to be helpful to be more resilient and better prepared for disasters --Abstract, page iv