Changes in flood mortality during the last 50 years in Greece.

Η παρούσα μελέτη εξετάζει την θνησιμότητα που συνδέεται με πλημμυρικά φαινόμενα στον Ελληνικό χώρο. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό αναπτύσσεται μια βάση δεδομένων 189 θανάτων, της περιόδου 1960-2010, με λεπτομερή στοιχεία για κάθε θανατηφόρο συμβάν. Με βάση το συστηματικό αυτό αρχείο εξετάζονται οι μεταβολές στον αριθμό, τη χωρική κατανομή, τις συνθήκες κάθε περιστατικού και τα δημογραφικά στοιχεία των θυμάτων. Από τα αποτελέσματα προκύπτει η υπερεκπροσώπηση των ανδρών, των νέων και των ηλικιωμένων ατόμων μεταξύ των θυμάτων, μολονότι τα άτομα μεταξύ 20 και 65 ετών καταγράφουν σημαντική αύξηση. Παρότι οι θάνατοι παρουσιάζονται μοιρασμένα σε αστικά και μη αστικά περιβάλλοντα, τα τελευταία χρόνια η πλειοψηφία των θανάτων καταγράφεται εκτός αστικού χώρου. Από την ανάλυση προκύπτει επίσης ότι οι θάνατοι που σχετίζονται με τη χρήση οχημάτων παρουσιάζουν αυξητική τάση αντίθετα με τους θανάτους πεζών και τους θανάτους εντός οικημάτων. Τα πολύνεκρα πλημμυρικά συμβάντα παρουσιάζουν σταδιακά εξαφανίζονται, μολονότι ο αριθμός των νεκρών δεν παρουσιάζει σημαντική μείωση. Τέλος, προκύπτει ότι μεταξύ των διαφόρων αιτιών θανάτου ο πνιγμός παρουσιάζει τα μεγαλύτερα ποσοστά.This work focuses on the changes that occur in the circumstances under which flood fatalities occur in Greece. To this aim, this paper develops and studies a database of 189 flood-related deaths, between 1960 and 2010, consisting of variables describing the conditions during the time of each incident. Changes in the number and the spatial distribution of fatalities, together with changes in the conditions, the surrounding  environment  and  the  demographics  of  the  victims  are  investigated.  Results showed that males, youngsters and elderly people presented an overrepresentation among the decedents, although individuals between 20 and 65 showed a significant increase among the victims, especially during the last decades of the study period. Fatal flood events were found to be approximately equally divided between urban and rural environments. However, fatal incidents appear to gradually migrate from urban centers to rural environments. Vehicle-related fatalities showed a gradual increase, whereas pedestrian victims and indoors incidents show an opposite trend. Fatalities per flood event presented a significant decline, although in absolute numbers, flood deaths did not show a respectively important decreasing trend. Among different causes of death drowning was found to be the most common throughout the study period

Comparing flood mortality in Portugal and Greece under a gender and age perspective

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DES vs RANS: The flatback airfoil case

Using flatback airfoils at the root of wind turbine (WT) blades is becoming more popular as the WTs increase in size. The reason is that they provide significant aerodynamic, aeroelastic and structural benefits. However, due to the blunt trailing edge (TE), the wake of such airfoils is highly unsteady and rich in three-dimensional vortical structures. This poses significant challenges on the numerical simulation of the flow around them, given the highly unsteady, three-dimensional turbulent character of their wake. In this work, computational predictions for a flatback airfoil employing both RANS and DES approaches on three successively refined grids up to 25 million cells are compared with available experimental data. Results suggest that even though URANS and DDES are in good agreement in terms of lift and drag, RANS simulations fail to accurately capture the turbulent wake unsteady characteristics

Evaluation of cross-protection of a lineage 1 West Nile virus inactivated vaccine against natural infections from a virulent lineage 2 strain in horses, under field conditions

Although experimental data regarding cross-protection of horse West Nile virus (WNV) vaccines against lineage 2 infections exist, the cross-protective efficacy of these vaccines under field conditions has not been demonstrated. This study was conducted to evaluate the capability of an inactivated lineage 1 vaccine (Equip WNV) to protect against natural infections from the Nea Santa-Greece-2010 lineage 2 strain. In total, 185 WNV-seronegative horses in Thessaloniki, Greece, were selected during 2 consecutive years (2011 and 2012); 140 were immunized, and 45 were used as controls. Horses were examined for signs compatible with WNV infection. Neutralizing antibody titers against the Greek strain and the PaAn001/France lineage 1 strain were determined in immunized horses. WNV circulation was detected during both years in the study area. It was estimated that 37% and 27% of the horses were infected during 2011 and 2012, respectively. Three control animals developed clinical signs, and the WNV diagnosis was confirmed. Signs related to WNV infection were not observed in the vaccinated animals. The nonvaccinated animals had a 7.58% ± 1.82% higher chance of exhibiting signs than immunized animals (P < 0.05). Neutralizing antibodies raised against both strains in all immunized horses were detectable 1 month after the initial vaccination course. The cross-protective capacity of the lowest titer (1:40) was evident in 19 animals which were subsequently infected and did not exhibit signs. Neutralizing antibodies were detectable until the annual booster, when strong anamnestic responses were observed (geometrical mean titer ratio [GMTR] for lineage 1 of 30.2; GMTR for lineage 2 of 27.5). The results indicate that Equip WNV is capable of inducing cross-protection against natural infections from a virulent lineage 2 WNV strain in horses

Experimental benchmark and code validation for airfoils equipped with passive vortex generators

Experimental results and complimentary computations for airfoils with vortex generators are compared in this paper, as part of an effort within the AVATAR project to develop tools for wind turbine blade control devices. Measurements from two airfoils equipped with passive vortex generators, a 30% thick DU97W300 and an 18% thick NTUA T18 have been used for benchmarking several simulation tools. These tools span low-to-high complexity, ranging from engineering-level integral boundary layer tools to fully-resolved computational fluid dynamics codes. Results indicate that with appropriate calibration, engineering-type tools can capture the effects of vortex generators and outperform more complex tools. Fully resolved CFD comes at a much higher computational cost and does not necessarily capture the increased lift due to the VGs. However, in lieu of the limited experimental data available for calibration, high fidelity tools are still required for assessing the effect of vortex generators on airfoil performance

Flood fatalities in Greece: 1970–2010

This work focuses on the analysis of flood fatalities in Greece, between 1970 and 2010. To this end, the paper develops and studies a systematic record of 151 flood-related fatalities that occurred across the country during this period. Based on this inventory and detailed incident reports, a database is developed, to examine the temporal, spatial and seasonal distribution of these incidents and the circumstances under which they occur. Analysis indicates that fatalities present a strong seasonality but show no particular temporal trends. Fatal incidents occur mostly during nighttime, outdoors and in rural areas of the country. Vehicle-related deaths are the most common type of incident, regarding the activity of victims, whereas other outdoor and indoor types of incidents present smaller percentages. Drowning was found to be the most common etiology of death. Males and elderly individuals showed proportionally higher representation, indicating an increased risk of these population groups to flooding. © 2015 The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) and John Wiley &amp; Sons Lt

Vehicle-related flood fatalities in Greece

This work focuses on the analysis of vehicle-related flood fatalities in Greece, in an effort to provide a better understanding on the circumstances under which they occur. Therefore, an inventory of 60 fatalities associated with the use of vehicles, induced during 37 flood events between 1970 and 2010, was studied. To this end, we developed a database consisting of variables that provided a systematic description of the circumstances under which each incident occurred, including details of the surrounding environment, the road infrastructure, specifics on the incident and demographic details of the involved individuals. Analysis showed an increase in vehicle-related cases over the period of study, with the majority of the incidents occurring after 1990. Males, and individuals between 40 and 69 years old, showed an increased representation among both the drivers and the victims, although the latter showed an overrepresentation of young individuals as well. Most events occurred during nighttime and in rural areas of the country. With respect to the surroundings, most cases occurred on paved road network and bridges that proved vulnerable to flooding phenomena. In a significant number of cases, fatal incidents occurred on paved river crossings, constructed on the riverbed of usually dry torrents or waterways. Drowning was found to be the primary cause of death. Analysis of the drivers actions, exactly before the incident, showed that in the majority of occasions, they chose to enter into flooded areas, either to travel across or to save someone, or recover something. In some cases, vehicle occupants found themselves in a hazardous position when floodwaters rose unexpectedly, giving them no chance to avoid danger. It was therefore found that drivers, pursued an active, rather than a passive, stance in the majority of incidents, attributed, in certain occasions, to an underestimation of risk. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor &amp; Francis