Tsunami vulnerability assessment and its implications for coastal hazard analysis and disaster management planning, Gulf of Corinth, Greece

International audienceWe apply a new tsunami vulnerability assessment method to two coastal villages in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece using the 7th February 1963 tsunami as a worse case scenario. In Akoli, 46.5% of all buildings are classified highly vulnerable (BV). Approximately, 26.3% of all households are located within buildings with a High BV classification whereas 85% of all businesses are located within buildings with a High BV classification and 13.7% of the population is located within buildings with a High BV classification. In Selianitika, 28.8% of all buildings are classified with a High BV and 11% of all households are located within buildings with a High BV classification. Also 29.3% of all businesses and 33.4% of all services are located within buildings with a High BV classification and 6.7% of the population is located within buildings with a High BV classification. We estimate the minimum costs of a hypothetical tsunami with a wave run-up (H(m)max) of + 5 m. The results are considered significant because they have important implications for coastal risk assessment, resource allocation and disaster management planning

Resident perception of volcanic hazards and evacuation procedures

Katla volcano, located beneath the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap in southern Iceland, is capable of producing catastrophic jökulhlaup. The Icelandic Civil Protection (ICP), in conjunction with scientists, local police and emergency managers, developed mitigation strategies for possible jökulhlaup produced during future Katla eruptions. These strategies were tested during a full-scale evacuation exercise in March 2006. A positive public response during a volcanic crisis not only depends upon the public's knowledge of the evacuation plan but also their knowledge and perception of the possible hazards. To improve the effectiveness of residents' compliance with warning and evacuation messages it is important that emergency management officials understand how the public interpret their situation in relation to volcanic hazards and their potential response during a crisis and apply this information to the ongoing development of risk mitigation strategies. We adopted a mixed methods approach in order to gain a broad understanding of residents' knowledge and perception of the Katla volcano in general, jökulhlaup hazards specifically and the regional emergency evacuation plan. This entailed field observations during the major evacuation exercise, interviews with key emergency management officials and questionnaire survey interviews with local residents. Our survey shows that despite living within the hazard zone, many residents do not perceive that their homes could be affected by a jökulhlaup, and many participants who perceive that their homes are safe, stated that they would not evacuate if an evacuation warning was issued. Alarmingly, most participants did not receive an evacuation message during the exercise. However, the majority of participants who took part in the exercise were positive about its implementation. This assessment of resident knowledge and perception of volcanic hazards and the evacuation plan is the first of its kind in this region. Our data can be used as a baseline by the ICP for more detailed studies in Iceland's volcanic regions

Why emergency management should be interested in the emergence of antibiotic resistance

Bacterial epidemics and pandemics are biological risks to life every bit as significant as floods, fires, storms and earthquakes. Antibiotics have been a significant tool in the management of epidemics and pandemics (as well as for fighting general infections) since their discovery in the 1930s. Due to the development of antibiotic resistance by bacteria, we are now approaching a post-antibiotic era where our capacity to manage infectious disease, particularly bacterial epidemics and pandemics, is compromised. Despite considerable efforts by global heath organisations, we need new ways of thinking and acting on the global risk of antibiotic resistance. We argue for a rebranding of the issue to one of a disaster risk and suggest the use of the risk management process and expertise of emergency management to present a new way of thinking about this globally significant risk to life

Assessing the vulnerability of buildings to tsunami in Sydney

Australia is vulnerable to the impacts of tsunamis and exposure along the SE coast of New South Wales is especially high. Significantly, this is the same area reported to have been affected by repeated large magnitude tsunamis during the Holocene. Efforts are under way to complete probabilistic risk assessments for the region but local government planners and emergency risk managers need information now about building vulnerability in order to develop appropriate risk management strategies. We use the newly revised PTVA-3 Model (Dall'Osso et al., 2009) to assess the relative vulnerability of buildings to damage from a "worst case tsunami" defined by our latest understanding of regional risk – something never before undertaken in Australia. We present selected results from an investigation of building vulnerability within the local government area of Manly – an iconic coastal area of Sydney. We show that a significant proportion of buildings (in particular, residential structures) are classified as having "High" and "Very High" Relative Vulnerability Index scores. Furthermore, other important buildings (e.g., schools, nursing homes and transport structures) are also vulnerable to damage. Our results have serious implications for immediate emergency risk management, longer-term land-use zoning and development, and building design and construction standards. Based on the work undertaken here, we recommend further detailed assessment of the vulnerability of coastal buildings in at risk areas, development of appropriate risk management strategies and a detailed program of community engagement to increase overall resilience

Preliminary results of investigations of possible ground deformation structures in the early christian basilica, ancient Lechaion harbour, Corinth, Greece.

Η Παλαιοχριστιανική Βασιλική Λεχαίου, Κόρινθος, κατασκευάστηκε στα τέλη του 5ου αι. μ.Χ. στον δυτικό βραχίονα του αρχαίου λιμανιού του Λεχαίου, και σύμφωνα με αρχαιολογικές ανασκαφές καταστράφηκε από την σεισμική δραστηριότητα του 551-552 μ.Χ.. Διάσπαρτα βυθίσματα και υβώματα που παρατηρήθηκαν στο δάπεδο της Βασιλικής αποτελούν ενδεικτικές δομές εδαφικής παραμόρφωσης η οποία πιθανόν να σχετίζεται με ρευστοποίηση εδάφους. Με στόχο την διερεύνηση της στρωματογραφίας και της δομής του υπεδάφους πραγματοποιήθηκαν γεωφυσικές διασκοπήσεις GPR και μετρήσεις αγωγιμότητας του εδάφους κατά μήκος δέκα επιλεγμένων τομών και συσχέτιση τους με τη στρωματογραφία όπως αυτή περιγράφεται από αρχαιολογικά σκάμματα. Τα αποτελέσματα της μελέτης είναι ενδεικτικά δομών παραμόρφωσης των υποκείμενων εδαφικών σχηματισμών με χαρακτηριστικά που επιτρέπουν την συσχέτιση των επιφανειακών δομών που παρατηρήθηκαν στο δάπεδο της Βασιλικής με το φαινόμενο της ρευστοποίησης εδάφους.The Early Christian Basilica of Lechaion, Corinth, located on the western jetty of the ancient Lechaion harbour, was constructed during the late 5th century AD and archaeological excavations suggest that it was destroyed by seismic activity during 551-552 AD. Numerous depressions and buckling structures observed on the Basilica floor are indicative of ground deformation structures, likely associated with liquefaction. In an attempt to investigate the subsurface soil structure, and stratigraphy, a GPR survey and horizontal distribution of ground conductivity along ten selected transects was carried out, supplemented by stratigraphic data as described by archaeological trenches. The results of the study revealed subsurface deformation features providing sufficient indications that allow us to suggest that the surface structures observed on the Basilica floor are the surface expression of earthquake-induced ground liquefaction

Corrigendum to "A revised (PTVA) model for assessing the vulnerability of buildings to tsunami damage" published in Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 9, 1557–1565, 2009"

No abstract available

Elements at risk as a framework for assessing the vulnerability of communities to landslides

International audienceThe assessment of the vulnerability of communities prone to landslide related disasters is a topic that is growing in importance. Few studies discuss this issue and limited research has been carried out on the relationship between types of landslide and their potential impact on buildings and infrastructure. We outline a framework to undertake an assessment of the vulnerability of buildings to landslide utilising a similar framework used for assessing the vulnerability of buildings to tsunami damage. The framework is based on the development of an "elements at risk database" that takes into consideration the characteristics and use of the buildings, their importance for the local economy and the characteristics of the inhabitants (population density, age and so forth). The attributes that affect vulnerability are imported and examined within a GIS database which is used to visualise the physical, human and economic vulnerability. The results may have important implications for disaster management and emergency planning, and the database can be used by various end-users and stakeholders such as insurance companies, local authorities and the emergency services. The approach presented here can be integrated in to a wider more detailed "Framework for Landslide Risk and Vulnerability Assessment for Communities". We illustrate the potential of this framework and present preliminary results from Lichtenstein, Baden Württemberg, Germany

Surveying rip current survivors: Preliminary insights into the experiences of being caught in rip currents

This paper begins a process of addressing a significant gap in knowledge about people's responses to being caught in rip currents. While rip currents are the primary hazard facing recreational ocean swimmers in Australia, debate exists about the best advice to give swimmers caught in rip currents. Such surf rescue advice - on what to do and how to respond when caught in a rip - relies on empirical evidence. However, at present, knowledge about swimmers reactions and responses to rip currents is limited. This gap is a considerable barrier to providing effective advice to beach goers and to understanding how this advice is utilised (or not) when actually caught in the rip current. This paper reports the findings of a pilot study that focussed on garnering a better understanding of swimmers' experiences when caught in rip currents. A large scale questionnaire survey instrument generated data about rip current survivors' demographics, knowledge of beach safety and their reactions and responses when caught in a rip current. A mix of online and paper surveys produced a total of 671 completed surveys. Respondents were predominantly an informed group in terms of rip current knowledge, beach experience and had a high self-rated swimming ability. Preliminary insights from the survey show that most respondents recalled a "swim across the rip/parallel to the beach" message when caught in the rip and most escaped unassisted by acting on this message. However, while nearly a quarter of respondents recalled a message of "not to panic", short answer responses revealed that the onset of panic inhibited some respondents from recalling or enacting any other type of beach safety message when caught in the rip current. Results also showed that despite the research sample being younger, competent and frequent ocean swimmers, they were more likely to swim at unpatrolled beaches and outside of the red and yellow safety flags. Moreover, they were still caught in a rip current and they panicked. The findings of this study have significant implications for a range of demographic groups of differing beach safety knowledge and swimming ability who may be caught in rip currents behave, we know very little about how beach goers may respond to being caught in them. © 2012 Author(s)