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The local communities of modern Japan are faced with multidimensional crises: chronic crises, such as population decline; gradual crises, like the decline of basic industries; and sudden crises, like natural disasters and war damage. This stratification renders both regional responses and the implementation of measures inappropriate. This research focuses on the city of Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture, and aims to examine the history of these different crises to foreground their multi-layer structure. In doing so, we have demonstrated how, since the mid-20th century, residents have been confronted with multidimensional crises, and have responded by drawing on "engineering" and "DIY" politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, in Lac- Mégantic (Quebec, Canada), a train derailment resulted in significant loss of life and property in this small community. The article presents the psychosocial profile of young people (10 to 13 years old) and documents the impact of the exposure to this technological disaster on various aspects of their lives. Three and a half years after the tragedy, 144 students aged 10 to 13 years, completed a self-administered questionnaire in their class in two schools located in Lac-Mégantic and in two others in nearby municipalities. This study was conducted following a request from community organizations noting the limited information available on the health status of young people in the Lac- Mégantic community exposed to the train derailment. The results of the study show that direct or indirect exposure to this train accident has negative impacts on the psychological health of children, including the presence of post-traumatic stress disorder and a low level of self-esteem. Higher proportions of exposed youth also consider that the presence of stress, anxiety, or behavioral problems has a negative impact on their family and school life. This article demonstrates the importance to pay special attention to children during and after their exposure to a technological disaster in order to limit the short and long-term negative effects of disasters on their health. This is an original contribution as the majority of studies dealing with the consequences of technological disasters address the experiences of adults living either in the United States or in Europe. In addition, studies that document the impact of disasters on young people's health have mostly been conducted as a result of natural disasters and in countries other than Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive influx of burns (thermal, chemical or electrical) is a potential crisis situation in the world in peacetime. In fact, burn is one of the most frequently encountered injuries following natural or human disasters. The management of a massive influx of burn victims is considered to be a real challenge, not only from a medical point of view but also from a logistical and organizational point of view. It is an exceptional event requiring exceptional organization and planning in advance, including systematically training medical and paramedical personnel, without forgetting ambulance and fire workers as they will be the first to arrive at the scene. Planning must necessarily include equipment for fast and effective support. We will present our experience in managing a massive influx of burns from a juvenile detention centre. We share it in order to help establish a better plan to deal with these rare but challenging situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flash floods are a type of natural disaster that poses a major threat to the population, urban constructions and road infrastructure and the environment. In Tunisia, this phenomenon is known since the sixties and has continued until today. The most important ones were recorded during the rainy years of 1969, 1983, 2003 and 2012. In order to identify areas at risk of flooding and reduce the vulnerability of the stakes, a Flash Flood Risk Mapping (FFRM) approach has been adopted for the development of a flood risk prevention plan (PPRI) in northeastern Tunisia. This method consists in: 1) integrating into a geographic information system (GIS) the relevant factors and the components of the hazard and vulnerability of the stakes related to floods, 2) extracting the interactions between the determining parameters of the spatio-temporal evolution of the phenomenon and 3) estimate its socio-economic impacts on North-East Tunisia. The dialectical relations between the flooded areas and their predisposing factors and the development of flood sensitivity maps were developed by applying two models: the frequency ratio (FR) and the statistical index (SI). The weighting of the different conditioning parameters and their combination according to these two models helps us to define an index FR and another SI that make it possible to map the susceptibility to floods (Flash Flood Hazard Susceptibility Mapping, FFHSM). The evaluation of the reliability of these two models by the application of the area under curve (AUC) method shows that the approach of the frequency FR with a precision rate of 79% seems the most accurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change, one of the biggest current concerns of the planet, is characterized by an increase of the average temperature of the oceans and the atmosphere, the decrease of the rainfall in quantity and in duration, the accentuation of natural disasters ... The global increase of the temperature of the surface of the globe in the 20th century is of the order of 0.6 in 0.2 °C. All the elements of the climate, the temperatures and the precipitation play a fundamental role in the detection of climate change. This article analyzes the variability and the trends of climate of the city of Dakar, capital of the Republic of Senegal, during the period 1960-2013 from four climatic variables: minimal temperatures, maximal temperatures, average temperatures and totals rainfalls. The results of the analysis indicate a trend on the temperatures quasi-stable from 1960 to 1994. After 1994, year of break, the increase of the temperatures becomes very significant. This increase between 1995-2013 and 1960-1994 is on average 0.9 °C (that is an increase of 3.5 %), was not constant during all the period and is more important on the dry season (1 °C or an increase of 4.4 %) and on the minimal temperatures (1 °C or an increase of 4.9 %). For rainfall, no significant trend was observed, though a decline of 211 mm (or 36.2 %), from 1969, rainfall totals of about - 0.020 mm/year. These different results highlight the presence of climate change in the Dakar area, with multiple consequences for man and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Saharan urban centers are particularly affected by natural disasters. They suffered all the more because neither the citizens nor the local authorities were prepared to deal with it, both physically and humanely. The floods that occurred at close intervals in 2004, 2008 and 2009 demonstrated that there were serious problems with the management of such a risk. The urban plans in force had not integrated this dimension and their lax application allowed the construction of housing, and sometimes even public facilities, in the floodplain. Because the Saharan regions are known for their aridity, unprepared officials can nevertheless be explained; but it is more difficult to understand the failures or dysfunctions that accompanied the reconstruction and relocation programs, even though the scale of the disaster quickly proved to be beyond the means of response of local authorities. The circumvention strategies systematically implemented by the “beneficiaries" of aid for the rehabilitation or reconstruction of their homes, as well as by those who obtained social housing to resettle their families, show the lack of consultation between citizens and the departments and administrations responsible. The bureaucratic functioning of the allocation of aid has caused considerable delays in the progress of the work. We wonder in the end about solutions that are conceivable in the short and medium terms to prevent risks whose frequency is likely to become larger, and the applicability, in the Algerian context, of these solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

hree decades of globalisation have transformed our modern societies. Japan's unique situation - having experienced a period of high growth followed by a bursting of the economic bubble and a prolonged recession - has had a considerable impact on the building, real estate and architectural sectors. There is now a wide gulf between the hatred of architecture brought about by the collapsing bubble and a vision of architecture as global art. In Japan, however, recent disasters (the Great Hanshin and Tōhoku earthquakes) have underscored the importance of the human dimension of architecture and the need for a simple relationship between humans and their homes. Faced with the awesome power of nature, architecture must remain modest and people focus on building closer ties with one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent launch of the new Pléiades constellation (with satellites launched 1A on the 17th of December 2011 and 1B on the 1st of December 2012), providing very high resolution optical products, not only increases the number of Earth Observation satellites and acquisition possibilities but also gives further opportunities for disaster damage mapping. Since these launches, many times, the CNES, Airbus Defence and Space Geo-Intelligence and SERTIT combined their efforts to support disaster management actors, anticipating satellite acquisitions and analyzing Pléiades crisis images. Pléiades system confirmed its potential for disaster mapping and crisis management through various cases, such as Krymsk urban floods in Russian Federation (07-2012), Iran earthquake (08-2012), Niger floods (08-2012), Sandy cyclone over Haiti (11-2012), Bopha typhoon over the Philippines (12-2012), Evan cyclone in Wallis and Futuna (12-2012), Haruna cyclone over Madagascar (02-2013) or floods in Senegal (08-2013), Bejisa cyclone on Réunion Island (01-2014).The first feedbacks are more than positive, demonstrating that Pléiades system is fully adapted to disaster management, particularly during the emergency response. Its very high spatial resolution allows precision mapping, essential in critical areas such as urban landscapes or sensitive infrastructures, its daily revisit possibility and fast data delivery are significant assets for Earth Observation applications, especially for risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the Thematic User Commissioning for the VHR Pléiades valorization, imagery was tasked in emergency following disaster events or user-exercise at the request of French Ministries (Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Finance). These activities were also aimed at familiarizing French institutional users with the use of space technologies within crisis event management. One long term objective would be to set up a national capacity for these users, outside of the International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters' and Copernicus scope which did not support all the needs of the French Ministries. In March and May 2013, in coordination with CNES, SERTIT, SCHAPI, IGN and CEREMA, some Pléiades data have been tasked and processed in rush mode for the case of the Agly, Yonne and Marne 2013 flood events. In June 2013, two new rapid mapping actions have been carried out by CNES and SERTIT. The first one, liaising with the SCHAPI and the Rhin Sarre Flood Forecast Service (DREAL Alsace) for the Sarre river flooding, and the second one in coordination with the French State reinsurance company (Caisse Centrale de Réassurance) over the Gave de Pau floods. Finally, in February 2013, the exercise "SEISME 13" was performed at the request of the crisis center of the Ministry of the Environment (SG/SDSIE/CMVOA). Regarding user's needs, the objectives concerned water surface detection, dyke breaks, affected built features. In the case of rapid floods as Agly and Gave de Pau events, images analysis also included the recognition of residual flood water surfaces, mud deposits and current flows. In addition, the Agly case mapping got the benefits to flood mapping that can be derived from a Pléiades stereoscopic pair. For "SEISME 13" Exercise, the value added products took into account the specific needs expressed by the Ministries of the Environment, Transport and Health (damages to infrastructure, network, and building). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus Subsp. culinaris) is grown as a rain-fed crop in Morocco mainly in moisture- deficient soils. Drought tolerance as well as high and stable seed yield are among the important traits of lentil cultivars preferred by Moroccan farmers. In order to determine terminal drought tolerance of some advanced lentil genotypes, an experiment was conducted in a greenhouse. The lines were planted in plastic pots (20 cm diameter and 40 cm height) in a randomized complete block with four replications and two treatments: well watered (applied 600 ml of water, three times per week) and water stressed condition (applied 180 ml of water, once a week). The results revealed that, for all the genotypes tested, drought stress reduced seed yield, seed weight, harvest index, total biomass and pod filling period by accelerating the maturity. Among the genotypes tested, the genotype F87-9 was the most susceptible. On the other hand the genotype F2003-7 was the most drought tolerant genotype because of its short cycle, a long pod filling period and less affected by water stress. This genotype was also characterized by a high harvest index, well developed root architecture (higher number of lateral roots and root length) and the capacity to maintain high leaf relative water content. Two other genotypes namely F00-24 and L8PS05-5-7 showed moderate level of drought tolerance characteristics. The susceptible genotype F87-9 had the lowest leaf relative water content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: During the last decade, Acinetobacter baumannii (AB) has been increasingly responsible for infections occurring in three particular contexts (in terms of patients and environment). Community AB pneumonia is severe infections, mainly described around the Indian Ocean, and which mainly concern patients with major co-morbidities. AB is also responsible for infections occurring among soldiers wounded in action during operations conducted in Iraq or Afghanistan. Lastly, this bacterium is responsible for infections occurring among casualties from natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis. Those infections are often due to multidrug-resistant strains, which can be implicated in nosocomial outbreaks when patients are hospitalized in a local casualty department or during their repatriation thereafter. The source of the contaminations which lead to AB infections following injuries (warfare or natural disasters) is still poorly known. Three hypotheses are usually considered: a contamination of wounds with environmental bacteria, a wound contamination from a previous cutaneous or oropharyngeal endogenous reservoir, or hospital acquisition. The implication of telluric or agricultural primary reservoirs in human AB infections is a common hypothesis which remains to be demonstrated by further specifically designed studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of the study: The focus is not on experimental data, but on thinking about the destructiveness that human beings may show towards their fellow men and women whom they do not consider to be human beings and about the possible link between this and the pathological disappearance of empathy. The inhumanity of human beings: Human beings are tossed like straws upon a sea of troubles of natural disasters, with illness, old age and death forever lurking in the background, yet the inexorable nature of the human condition is worsened by the evil that some human beings needlessly inflict upon others: war and its massacres, torture, slavery, racism, concentration camps, genocide. We feel bad because we belong to the same species as the torturers -- yet can we be sure that, were we to be placed in situations similar to those in which they find themselves, we ourselves would be able to resist? The loss of empathy in torturers and criminals: In both group massacres and individual crimes, there is a loss of empathy. Is this a form of pathology not acknowledged as such in psychiatry because it cannot be treated by the therapeutic resources available and because it implies that the perpetrators are fully responsible for their actions? The loss of empathy in autism: In the case of autism, loss of empathy is perhaps linked to some damage to the neuronal circuits that make empathy possible, but it does not lead to criminal behaviour. A clinical example throws some light on the many facets of the problem under discussion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This essay deals with the relocation of populations affected by natural disasters in Haiti, and focuses on the precarious living conditions before and after disasters. Five cases are analyzed, including two before the earthquake of January 12, 2010 and three after. These cases are selected not only from a comparison across cases but in a perspective of analysis between the situation before and after the catastrophe which has definitely contributed to a reconfiguration of the neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Drawing is a preferential mode for trauma-affected children, for expressing emotions, as it gives them the possibility of conveying the complexity of traumatic feelings, perceptions, thoughts and memories, by giving them a shape and, therefore, a sense. Notwithstanding these assumptions, the efficacy of art therapies with children exposed to natural disasters, has not been research-proved. This paper presents a pilot study on the use of the “Test de trois dessins : avant, pendant et avenir”, as a diagnostic tool and a therapeutic technique, with children victims of the earthquake that affected the Italian region of Abruzzi, on the 6th April 2009. The analysis of case studies demonstrates the efficacy of the test in both detecting the presence and the extent of the psychological trauma, and in enhancing the process of trauma recovery. Further researches, which may use qualitative and quantitative methodological tools, need to be done in order to validate the use of the “Test de trois dessins : avant, pendant et avenir” as a validated technique with children experiencing disasters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Many natural disasters are a result of the simultaneous occurrence of two or more extreme events. Assessment of the risk of occurrence of these disasters is based on the joint probability of these events. This study examines the combined effect of the extreme flow rates at the mouth of the Châteauguay River and the level of Lake St-Louis. Modeling of the joint law of these two variables is based on the concept of copula to separate the marginal selection and the structure of dependence. Results indicate that ignoring the combined effect of the river flow or lake level leads to an underestimation of extreme events. Plusieurs catastrophes naturelles sont le résultat de l’occurrence simultanée de deux ou plusieurs événements extrêmes. L’évaluation du risque d’apparition de ces catastrophes repose sur une bonne estimation de la probabilité conjointe de ces événements. Le présent travail étudie l’effet combiné des débits extrêmes à l’embouchure de la rivière Châteauguay avec le niveau au Lac Saint-Louis. La modélisation de la loi conjointe de ces deux variables est basée sur la notion de copule qui permet de séparer le choix des lois marginales de la structure de dépendance. Les résultats montrent que le fait d’ignorer l’effet combiné du débit de la rivière ou du niveau du lac, conduit à une sous-estimation des événements extrêmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This work deals with the seismic activity felt in Algiers in the 18th century through a review of the French archives. These sources contain additional information on the different earthquakes that occurred during the Ottoman period, and on other events not reported before. We estimate that 64% out of the 50 earthquakes listed in this study, including aftershocks, are newly catalogued. Some destructive events occurred within a radius of less than 100km. They strongly shook the capital. Among them, the famous earthquake of 3 February 1716 near Algiers, a series of earthquakes that occurred in 1722 causing the destruction of the town of Miliana (90km southwest of Algiers). In 1760, a large part of the town of Blida (40km south) was destroyed. The city of Medea (60km south) was also affected in October 1790 by an earthquake that was hidden by the historic Oran earthquake that had occurred 15 days before. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Russia, though highly industrialized (in particular since the early 1930s during the Soviet period), does not exercise satisfactory control over industry's impact on the environment. Pollution is spreading not only inside the country but also over its borders. Manufacturing has developed with little concern for the environment; and, as we now realize, poor conditions of production can wreck economic efforts. Natural catastrophes add to the damage wrought by human activities. The ecological situation is so critical that it is necessary to protect the environment by regulating industry. Questions having to do with liability and the prevention of damage in environmental matters are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Since 1837, 15 tsunamis in French Polynesia have been reported, 11 generated damage. The two last major Pacific-wide tsunamis, 1946 Aleutian and 1960 Chilean, generated damage in most of the archipelagos. Only one in 1999 was generated by a local source, a coastal cliff failure on Fatu-Hiva Island. Since 1965, no earthquake magnitude was greater than 8.4 and, consequently, no ocean-wide tsunami of large amplitude has crossed the Pacific Ocean. Nevertheless, the four tide gauge installed in French Polynesia recorded 33 distinct tsunamis of amplitude from several centimetres to 1.6 m, generated by earthquakes of magnitude between 7.3 and 8.4, two of them damageable in Marquesas bays. To cite this article: F. Schindelé et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Subjects facing traumatic grief during natural disasters have to deal with a double psychic event: trauma (they escaped from a horrible death and witnessed death of known or unknown persons) and massive and sudden loss. The authors first recall the concepts of trauma, grief, traumatic grief, post-traumatic grief, and also particularities of grief for children. They then report the beginning the psychotherapy of two children (sisters), after they had survived the tsunami of 2004 that had killed their father. In order to take care of children in such circumstances, clinicians have to consider the following aspects of psychological suffering: the irreversible loss of a parent and the traumatic event, and the way they interact. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The hydrogeomorphological method for delimiting flood risk zones in France was developed some twenty years ago. It is based on a simple principle: the outer limits of a stream''s flood plain constitute the outer envelope of past floods. These limits are determined with the use of aerial photographs and field surveys of micro-topography as well as analyses of deposit granulometry and colour. Indications of present or past land use (fields, location and distribution of archaeological sites, houses and farm buildings, roads) are also useful. This field-based method long remained ignored, but being reliable, easy to use and inexpensive, it has now been incorporated into the package of methods recommended by French risk-prevention plans (PPRI). The many recent catastrophes that have occurred over the past fifteen years in the Mediterranean regions of southern France demonstrated both the inadequacy of the hydrological–hydraulic method and the reliability of the hydrogeomorphological method, which can, however, be improved by setting observations for the present period against information on the more ancient Holocene evolution of flood plains. To cite this article: J.-L. Ballais et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Flash-flood events resulting from paroxystic meteorological events concentrated in time and space are insufficiently documented as they produce destructive effects. They are hardly measurable and present single features that are not transposable to another event. In the South of France, the flash flood of November 1999 gives a perfect illustration of these characteristics. The physical complexity of the process and consequently the volume and the variety of the data to take into account are incompatible with the real time constraint allocated to the forecasters confronted to the occurrence of such phenomena. So, we have to make choices to afford acceptable simplifications to the complete mechanical model. MARINE (‘Modélisation de l''Anticipation du Ruissellement et des Inondations pour des évéNements Extrêmes’) is the operational and robust tool we developed for flash-flood forecasting. This model complies with the criterions of real-time simulation. It is a physically based distributed model composed of two parts: first the flood runoff process simulation in the upstream part of the basin modelled from a rainfall–runoff approach, then the flood propagation in the main rivers described by the Saint-Venant equations. It integrates remote sensed data – Digital Elevation Model, land-use map, hydrographic network for the observations from satellites and the rainfall evolution from meteorological radar. The main goal of MARINE is to supply real time pertinent information to the forecasters. Results obtained on the Orbieu River (Aude, France) show that this model is able to supply pertinent flood hydrograph with a sufficient precision for the forecasting service to take the appropriate safety decisions. Furthermore, MARINE has already been tested in the French National Flood Forecasting Service of Haute-Garonne in real conditions. To cite this article: V. Estupina Borrell et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The behaviour of a karstic spring (Bittit spring, Middle Atlas, Morocco) subjected to a prolonged drought (>20 yr), is analysed using spring hydrographs analysis methods and correlation and spectral methods. Two series of discharges, corresponding to a normal rainfall period and a drought period, are analysed. The results show that the karstic system is inertial, with very significant storage. However, in spite of the great regulating capacity of the storage, the long drought period significantly reduced the spring discharges, due to less diversified inputs, and to the karstic system storage depletion. To cite this article: F. Amraoui et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Stress-induced cardiomyopathy and ischemic cardiopathy have been described after natural disasters such as earthquakes. Objectives of the study: Count stress-induced cardiomyopathies and ischemic cardiopathies just after Xynthia tempest which damaged the Vendean coast on February2010, in order to study epidemiology. Patients and method: Included patients were living in a tempest damaged village, and admitted in Vendee hospital jut after or in the week following the tempest, and presenting a suspected acute coronary syndrome or stress-induced cardiomyopathy. Results: Among 3350 inhabitants of the two damaged Vendean towns, we count three acute coronary syndromes, two Tako-Tsubo cardiomyopathies, and one coronary spasm. We count five women and one man, average age is 76. Conclusion: The diagnosis of ischemic cardiopathy and stress-induced cardiomyopathy is over-represented in this tempest damaged population, that have been little described. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]