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Rapid detection of damages occurring as a result of natural disasters is vital for emergency response. In recent years, remote sensing techniques have been commonly used for the automatic categorization and localization of such events using satellite images. Trained based on natural disaster images, a convolutional neural network (CNN) has been applied as a highly successful method, with its ability to reveal outstanding features. Studies aiming to detect target points obtained as a result of extracting visual features from natural images within these networks have achieved their goals. In this study, ensemble learning methods have been suggested as a means to develop the detection of landslide areas from landslide satellite images. Landslide image dataset has been trained for their categorization in CNN models and then they have been used again to localize landslide regions. While model predictions develop overall performance and status, different ensemble strategies have been used and integrated to reduce the sensitivity to prediction variance and training data. Class-selective relevance mapping (CRM) has been used to visualize individual CNN models and ensemble learned behaviors. As a result of the comparisons made based on mean average precision metrics and the criteria of intersection over union, model ensembles have proved to show higher localization performance than any other individual model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters can be unpredictable and catastrophic. Even after the event, the repercussions are prolonged due to the incompetence of disaster management strategies. To mitigate the effects of a natural hazard, disaster management teams have to rapidly come forth with innovative plans of action. To contain the damage that a disaster causes, the response time, and preparedness of a disaster management team is crucial. Having a forewarning about the nature of the disaster can prove to be beneficial for the management team. Remote/unreachable areas such as deep parts of the forests, far-flung rural areas, oceans and other hard to reach locations are at a higher risk of receiving poorer aid and response due to the lack of communication and connectivity with the rest of the world. Our paper provides a solution for this particular problem by suggesting UAV/Drones for surveillance and monitoring in these inaccessible, disaster struck areas. The drones not only monitor the situation but constantly click pictures and send them to a base station, where the images are used to collect insights about the type of disaster that has to be dealt with. The paper proposes a deep learning model based on feature concatenation for classification of disasters which can be deployed at the base station, and can receive data in the form of images from a UAV/drone hovering over the affected place. The proposed model is efficient and able to achieve a higher accuracy as compared to the leading CNN models and closely related recent works as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnant women experience medical and psychological difficulties in their daily lives during disasters. Since the care provided to them in disaster situations is unclear, it is necessary to better understand their experiences. This study aims to identify the maternal experiences of pregnant women during natural disasters. This research employed a modified grounded theory approach. Twenty-three pregnant women, living in disaster-affected areas, were interviewed. The research methods were utilized and interpretive analysis was conducted, resulting in a diagram and storyline to describe the process. The characteristics of the maternal experiences fluctuated between "being unable to face pregnancy because of the disaster response" and "facing the fact of being pregnant." To maintain a fluctuation between their affected life and their pregnant life, it was necessary to control the weighting between "securing a safe and secure place," "encountering support based on pregnancy," and "signs from the fetus." Clarifying the maternal experiences of pregnant women living in disaster areas revealed a multilayered structure of categories and relationships. This study suggests that understanding the structure of fluctuations and control is critical for the nursing practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This applied psychoanalytic paper explores the phenomenon of murder‐suicide in post‐Katrina New Orleans, focusing on the case of Zack Bowen and Addie Hall. The aftermath of natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina often leads to increased mental health issues, including violence and suicide. The author, who lived and practiced psychiatry in the New Orleans French Quarter (FQ), was involved in a documentary about the couple, providing a unique perspective on their tragic story. Zack Bowen, a veteran of Iraq and Kosovo with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and Addie Hall, an artist with a history of abuse, were star‐crossed lovers in the post‐apocalyptic FQ. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, with the higher socioeconomic population evacuated, the city experienced lawlessness, but also a bond between subcultural groups seeking anarchy, freedom, escapism, and avoidance of past troubles. Drawing from excerpts of the documentary and material from a book about the couple entitled Shake the Devil Off, this paper utilizes an object relational framework to understand the multidetermined causes of the murder‐suicide. It highlights how disasters can bring individuals together in desperate situations, destabilize social connections, and exacerbate avoidant defenses through increased substance abuse. Furthermore, it reveals how such traumatic events can reopen past wounds, including PTSD and experiences of abuse, creating a mental health crisis that extends far beyond the initial impact of the storm. It also underscores the significance of interpersonal containment of toxic projections in the aftermath of a disaster, particularly for individuals with intrapsychic vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the dark of a July night in 2018, a 5-billion-cubic-metre torrent of muddy water crashed through rooftops and ripped through the downstream villages of southeast Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). An auxiliary "saddle" dam had collapsed in the US$1.02 billion Xe Pian-Xe Namnoy (XPXN) Hydropower Project that was still under construction and had just reached financial contractual close five years prior, in 2013. In the aftermath of the collapse, official state narratives pointed to extreme weather conditions and "unforeseen" construction and engineering miscalculations, viewing soil conditions as the primary culprit. This paper examines the financial dimensions of dam failure and introduces the term "fast finance": financier-driven timelines that have drastically expedited and shortened the legal, social, and pre-construction processes involved in hydropower dam projects to the detriment of dam safety, due diligence, and local participatory input. Extreme weather and anthropogenic climate change are not sole explanatory factors in the XPXN dam disaster. This paper highlights the also significant role of financial and political interests as contributing factors in dam safety and failure alongside extreme weather. The paper challenges conventional "natural disaster" framing of dam collapse by bringing into focus ex-ante political decision-making, financial engineering, and construction planning prior to dam construction to highlight the ways in which the XPXN catastrophe also had anthropogenic and "unnatural" contributing factors. Fast finance encompasses the role of temporality and the responsibility of state-business actors in ex-ante financial and infrastructure decisions that conclude with catastrophic outcomes. The article examines the re-engineering of contemporary dam finance through a case study of Lao PDR and argues that issues of financial engineering should be examined alongside other forms of civil, mechanical, structural, and hydrological engineering in the analysis of dam disasters. The temporal logics of financial actors-particularly the financialized logic of fast finance-has displaced the public-good-producing logic of patient capital. Financial logics shape and condition other forms of engineering and construction and are central to considerations of dam safety and accountability. Naturalizing discourses around extreme weather and aging dams deflect from the financial decisions and policy action, or inaction, of state-business actors to prevent dam collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disasters can lead to decreased functionality in medical practice. This study aimed to quantitatively measure presenteeism and to determine the role of coping strategies among disaster‐victim doctors living in a city affected by the 2023‐Turkey earthquakes. This cross‐sectional study included 220 doctors reached through social media groups using the convenience sampling method. A weak negative relationship was found between presenteeism and positive re‐evaluation, one of the coping strategies with earthquake stress. A weak negative correlation was found between the Positive Reappraisal sub‐dimension score of the Coping with Earthquake Stress Scale (CESS) and presenteeism (r = −0.299, p < 0.001). In the linear regression analysis, the sub‐dimensions that contributed significantly to the model were found to be the Positive Reappraisal sub‐dimensions of CESS, whose increase resulted in a decrease in presenteeism and Seeking Social Support sub‐dimension, whose increase caused an increase in presenteeism. Presenteeism was higher in those who lost their loved ones, had damage in their workplace/home, and thought they were helpless or in danger. Both material and emotional factors decreased functionality at work after an earthquake. We recommend developing material and psychological support strategies to reduce presenteeism in post‐disaster periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: HealthPathways is a web-based platform designed for use during a consultation to offer health professionals locally agreed information to support clinical and referral decision making. This study aimed to investigate whether access to specific HealthPathways pages in the North Coast New South Wales (NSW) region increased during specific critical events. High pageviews is used as a proxy for platform usefulness, and/or trust as a source of up-to-date information. Methods: Data were extracted from Google Analytics from December 2015 to December 2021. Descriptive statistics were generated for the total number of pageviews for all pages by month and year (2015–2021); for the top 15 most viewed pages in 2019, February–March 2020 inclusive (early COVID-19 pandemic period), 10–24 March 2021 (North Coast NSW region local disaster declaration period) and 26 June–11 October 2021 (NSW COVID-19 lockdown period); and for monthly pageviews for the Influenza Immunisation pathway (2016–2021). Results: Access to specific pages in HealthPathways increased alongside the occurrence of critical events affecting the region. Spikes in access to specific pages were seen during COVID-19 lockdown periods, during natural disasters, as well as during the annual influenza season. Conclusions: HealthPathways is viewed as a useful and trusted source of information for health professionals in the North Coast NSW region. HealthPathways provides an opportunity for timely dissemination of information during critical events, including natural disasters and emergencies. What is known about the topic? Evidence from New Zealand suggests that HealthPathways is viewed as a useful and trusted source of information by health professionals during critical and emergency events, and when information needs are subject to frequent change. What does this paper add? This paper provides evidence in the Australian context that health professionals access specific pages in HealthPathways at higher rates during critical and emergency events. What are the implications for practitioners? HealthPathways has the capacity to provide timely and accurate information to health professionals during critical and emergency events, as well as to identify their emerging information needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tremendous increase in anthropogenic activities and natural disasters have created long term negative impacts to the crop productivity as well as on our ecosystem. In the debate regarding the ongoing ecosystem fluctuations, there is a need to explore an efficient, cost-effective, target-oriented and less manpower based technologies for sustainable development. Microbial engineering provides a better solution for the growth of a healthy environment and higher agricultural productivity over the existing methods and resolved the challenges worldwide related to development of sustainable agriculture and greener ecosystems. In recent years, researchers are working on the development of different advanced microbial engineering strategies such as gene editing, CRISPR/Cas9, and RNAi to enhance the potential of microorganisms towards higher plant productivity and degradation of pollutants. The present review focused on the potential applications of genetically engineered microbial inoculants for sustainable agriculture and greener ecosystem development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Public health ethics addresses moral dilemmas arising from balancing individual healthcare needs with societal interests. Ethical considerations in public health during pandemics and disasters aim to reduce mortality rates and minimize social injustice through fair principles. Objective: This paper analyzes public health ethics and ethical values in allocating resources during mass casualty incidents. The intersection of public health ethics, applied bioethics, and ethics of social consequences (through non-utilitarian consequentialism) guides addressing serious public health challenges in catastrophic scenarios. The application of the given interaction is significant for professional medical ethics. Methodology: The paper employs inductive, deductive, and normative methods of bioethics and the methodology of ethics of social consequences. Conclusion: The paradigmatic disparity between the bioethics of pandemics and disaster bioethics lies in the fluid application of bioethical principles and the accentuation of utilitarian demands depending on the severity and scale of mass casualty incidents. Applied bioethics in crisis situations respects the approaches of public health ethics and attempts to increase positive social outcomes. The application of (scarce) resource allocation criteria and triage of patients is derived from ethical decisions beneficial to public health and lege artis approaches of medical bioethics. The paper presents professional and ethical criteria for medically inappropriate treatment within the framework of patient triage; we approach crisis ethics from the perspective of maximization of benefit. Age is not an exclusion criterion of acute healthcare provision in crisis situations. Ethics of social consequences as a form of non-utilitarian consequentialism allowing for social consequences bridges public health ethics and applied bioethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study explores the lasting mental health impact of the Syria-Turkey earthquakes in 2023 on a population affected by conflict and trauma. It analyzes pre- and post-event mental health and sleep quality differences, identifying predictors of outcomes. Aims: Studying the 2023 Syria-Turkey earthquakes' enduring mental health impact on conflict-affected individuals, this research informs better support and interventions for disaster survivors. Methods: This longitudinal, cross-sectional study examined the enduring mental health impact of the Syria-Turkey earthquakes. The present study involved N = 1,413 Syrian survivors, aged 18 years or older, who actively participated by contributing both pre- and post-earthquake data. A meticulously designed digital questionnaire with established metrics assessed sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and anxiety levels. Stratification variables (age, gender, education, marital status) were used for subgroup analysis. Arabic versions of PHQ-9, PSQI, and GAD-2 proved reliable for measuring depression, sleep quality, and anxiety. Results: The majority of participants were female (73.6%) with tertiary education (83.3%). Post-earthquake, a higher percentage reported poor sleep quality (67.7% vs. 59.7%, p <.001) and increased prevalence of MDE (66.1% vs. 56%, p <.001). GAD did not differ significantly. Post-earthquake, women had a higher likelihood of poor sleep quality (OR: 1.58, 95% CI [1.19, 2.10], p <.001) and MDE (OR: 1.55, 95% CI [1.18 to 2.04], p =.003). Predictors varied before and after earthquakes; age and education were significant predictors of poor sleep quality, MDE, and GAD. Conclusion: This study reveals higher rates of poor sleep quality and major depressive episodes among earthquake-affected individuals, especially women. Age, education, and gender contribute to these outcomes. Targeted interventions and comprehensive mental health support are crucial for post-earthquake recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study examines whether changes in physical activity (PA) during the first year after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (2011–2012) contributed to preventing the onset of future frailty among older survivors of the disaster. Methods: This study tracked 2561 physically active Japanese survivors aged ≥ 65 years (43.6% men; mean age 72.9 years) who had completed self‐administered questionnaires in 2011 and 2012. PA levels for participants were classified into four categories based on ≥23 and <23 metabolic equivalent hours/week in 2011 and 2012: "consistently low," "decreasing," "increasing," and "consistently high." Frailty was defined as a Kihon Checklist score ≥ 5, which is used in the long‐term care insurance system in Japan. Hazard ratios were calculated for the onset of frailty using a Cox proportional hazards model that fitted the proportional sub‐distribution hazards regression model with weights for competing risks of death. Results: From 2012 to 2018, 283 men and 490 women developed frailty. Men with consistently high or increasing PA during the first year after the disaster had a lower risk of frailty. Furthermore, even increasing PA by walking for just 30 min/day prevented future frailty in men; however, this association between a change in PA and the decreased risk of frailty was not observed in women. Conclusions: Older men who remained physically active or resumed PA at an early stage and at a low intensity, even after being physically inactive owing to the disaster, were able to prevent future frailty. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 563–570. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the association between housing and psychological damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and modifiable risk factors (MRFs) of dementia for general population of older adults. Methods: This cross‐sectional study enrolled 29 039 community‐dwelling older adults (mean age 69.1 ± 2.9 years, 55.5% women). We evaluated disaster‐related damage (by complete or not complete housing damage) and psychological damage (by post‐traumatic stress reaction [PTSR]) after the GEJE using a self‐report questionnaire. MRFs encompassed the presence of depression, social isolation, physical inactivity, smoking, and diabetes. We examined the association between disaster‐related damage and MRFs using ordinary least squares and modified Poisson regression models adjusted for sociodemographic and health status variables. Results: Complete housing damage and PTSR were identified in 2704 (10.0%) and 855 (3.2%) individuals, respectively. The number of MRFs was significantly larger for the individuals with complete housing damage (β = 0.23; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.19–0.27) and PTSR (β = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.53–0.67). Prevalence ratios (PRs) for depression and physical inactivity were higher in individuals with complete housing damage. The PRs for all domains of the MRFs were significantly higher in individuals with PTSR. Conclusions: Housing and psychological damage caused by the GEJE were associated with an increased risk factor of dementia. To attenuate the risk of dementia, especially among older victims who have experienced housing and psychological damage after a disaster, multidimensional support across various aspects of MRFs is required. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2024; 24: 509–516. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the drought preparedness of drought-prone communities in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of Cameroon. The study employed a mixed-method approach, using qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, including interviews, household surveys, focus group discussions, and field observations. The data were then analysed using SPSS for quantitative data and content analysis for qualitative data. The results reveal that the respondents primarily rely on their personal and community abilities to prepare for droughts. A significant proportion (χ2 = 11.676, P = 0.020) of the respondents depend on community leaders for drought information, while others rely on family and friends. They also use indigenous knowledge and construct boreholes/wells to prepare for droughts. However, limited government support, inadequate extension/scientific support services, and insufficient formal training limited drought preparedness. Age, household size, and income significantly influenced perceived preparedness for drought. Based on the findings, the study concludes that informal/locally-driven strategies are important in drought preparedness and should be strengthened. The study recommends the establishment of drought management committees at the grassroots level and the effective use of indigenous knowledge in combination with scientific knowledge for drought planning and adaptation. Given the geographical variation in climatic stressors, a focus on a specific event such as drought has enhanced the understanding of drought disaster preparedness at the community level for effective planning and policy interventions. This study contributes to the literature in the disaster preparedness discipline with a lens on community drought preparedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This article explores the impact of the 'Quadruple Whammy' consisting of Brexit, COVID‐19, Conflicts (Russia‐Ukraine and Israel‐Palestine) and Natural disasters on the food supply chain in Europe. This research adopted a two‐phase methodology comprised of the e‐Delphi technique followed by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses) approach within the context of these four identified challenges. The objective of this article is to analyse the challenges faced by the European food supply chain due to these four factors. The article examines the impact of political isolationism such as Brexit on trade, cost and border controls, while also discussing the effects of COVID‐19 on labour, supply chains and the rise of e‐commerce. In addition, the article examines the impact of conflicts on food access and availability and the role of international aid and assistance. The effects of natural disasters, such as the Turkish and Moroccan earthquakes, floods in Spain and Portugal and the Moroccan drought, on food security are also analysed. The article offers several strategies for taming the quadruple whammy, such as investing in local food production and supply chains, diversifying supply chains and trade partnerships and strengthening food safety regulations and standards. The importance of building resilience and preparedness in the face of these challenges is emphasised and the article concludes with final thoughts and recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dialysis practice has a particularly high environmental impact, including responsible for carbon emissions and climate change. Insufficient research has been conducted on environmental sustainability activities in dialysis therapy in Japan. Methods: We conducted an online Green Survey comprising 30 question items based on a previously conducted survey in Australia. Between August and September 2023, this was sent to members of the Japanese Association of Dialysis Physicians, including hospital and clinic physicians, working across 885 dialysis facilities in Japan. Results: In total, 255 (29%) facilities responded to the survey. More than half of the facilities (n = 157; 61.6%) responded that they did not have a strategy, policy, or action plan for environmental sustainability. In four-fifths of the facilities (n = 208; 81.6%), no "green team" or committee had been formed to promote environmental protection. By contrast, most of the surveyed facilities had emergency strategies for natural disasters, such as covering for patient visits and staff commuting during extreme weather conditions (n = 169; 66.3%), water shortages (n = 159; 62.4%), and power outages (n = 188; 73.7%). Conclusions: Following the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and Portugal, this is the fourth Green Survey to be conducted, and the first on environmental sustainability among kidney health-care providers in Japan. The results indicated that daily activities for environmental protection are still lacking at many facilities, even though the management of dialysis treatment during a natural disaster is well conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The renaissance of Aristotelian virtue ethics has produced an extensive philosophical literature that criticizes markets for a lack of virtues. Drawing on Michael Sandel's virtue-ethical critique of price gouging during natural disasters, we (1) identify and clarify serious misunderstandings in recurring price-gouging debates between virtue-ethical critics and economists. Subsequently, (2) we respond to Sandel's call for interdisciplinary dialogue. However, instead of solely calling on economics to embrace insights from virtue ethics, we prefer a two-sided version of interdisciplinary dialogue and argue that virtue ethics should embrace economic insights. In particular, we argue that if virtue ethics is to preserve its social relevance under modern conditions, it should re-conceptualize its notion of virtue and re-evaluate the self-interested but effective—and in this sense solidary—help among strangers via markets as virtuous rather than devaluate it as greed, that is, as vicious price gouging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of psychiatric morbidity along with sociodemographic and earthquake-related data on suicidal ideation among survivors of the 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquake in Turkey. The study included 270 volunteers who experienced the 2023 earthquake in Kahramanmaras, a province in middle east region of Turkey. These individuals were informed of the use of their personal data within the scope of the personal data protection law numbered 6698 and consent was obtained. The volunteers participated in the study online and were evaluated with a sociodemographic data form, Suicidal Ideation Scale and DSM-5 level one cross-sectional symptom scale. Single individuals (p =.009) and those who stated that they had insufficient social support (p =.001), had been injured or had lost a relative during the earthquake (p =.02), felt discrimination-exclusion after the earthquake (p =.03), and those who could not attend the funeral or funeral ceremony of their deceased relative (p <.001) scored higher on the Suicidal Ideation Scale. The DSM-5 level one cross-sectional symptom scale scores indicated that the scores in the depression (p =.024), somatization (p =.001), personality (p <.001) and addiction (0.039) subscales were more related to suicidal ideation. After a mass trauma, it is very important to investigate the risk factors that may be associated with suicidal ideation among survivors and to be aware of possible psychiatric symptoms. Preventive actions in the earthquake-affected regions can be made more effective by considering these factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread occurrence of disasters in recent times has largely been attributed to climate change, with its long‐term consequences on the welfare and mental well‐being of individuals and communities. Increasingly, studies indicate that victims of disasters may experience a range of mental health issues, with post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder ranking as the most common. Low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) face unique challenges in providing proper rehabilitation and adequate mental health services after a disaster, due to poverty, lack of educational opportunities, lack of awareness and knowledge of disaster, and lack of resources and infrastructure. Despite these challenges, some LMICs have made efforts to address mental health needs in the aftermath of disasters. However, they are faced with the challenge of implementing formalised mental health support programmes. Moreover, immediate mental health support should be provided to victims of disasters to ameliorate the psychopathologies that may develop afterwards. The current approach of providing mostly physical and social relief neglects the psychosocial implications of disasters on victims. The biopsychosocial model of health, which is being advocated for, suggests that treatment should encompass all aspects of an individual's life, and thus, a team of mental health workers can provide holistic interventions to aid victims in their recovery process by making efforts to involve them in the emergency response teams usually employed during disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined gender (N = 1406;77.7% women) patterns of religious coping and psychological impact following the devastating 2023 Syrian earthquakes. Measures in this nation-wide convenience sample study included positive religious coping (PRC) and negative religious coping (NRC) using the Brief Religious Coping Scale (RCOPE), and probable PTSD, depression, and anxiety, using the PCL-5, PHQ-9, and GAD-7, respectively. Women reported higher endorsement of PRC items while men higher endorsement of NRC items. Within the women only sample, lower education and lower income, education and younger age predicted PRC and NRC, respectively. NRC was strongly positively associated with PTSD, depression and anxiety; while, PRC was positively associated only with PTSD. These vulnerable women require targeted support to adopt more adaptive religious coping strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floods are one of the most dangerous natural disasters that humanity has ever faced. In this study, a modified version of D number technique as a suitable form of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches was proposed to prioritize flooding in the Sad-Kalan watershed of Iran using some flood related criteria. The proposed method can overcome some shortcomings and uncertainties of the existing MCDM methods. In order to evaluate the performance of the method regarding flood prioritization, its results were compared with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique as mostly frequently used MCDM method. The findings demonstrate that the modified version of D number method provides better results than AHP method. In spite of inherent advantages of D number method, the advantages of the proposed method in relation to existing MCDM are as follows: 1- considering the local and global importance of used criteria, 2- reducing the uncertainty in decision makers' judgments using employing the concept of Picture fuzzy-AHP, 3- considering the degree of consistency in evaluation of decision makers into calculations. Furthermore, the method is flexible and can be used in any region of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated self-criticism, anger rumination, and death distress in wellbeing after one of the most devastating natural disasters of this century. The study included 399 participants from 56 different cities across Türkiye. Participants were from 3 groups: those who themselves or one of their nuclear families are earthquake survivors (group 1), those who had a loved one other than a nuclear family member who was an earthquake survivor (group 2), and those who were deeply affected by the earthquake through media networks (group 3). Results showed that women experienced higher death distress and anger rumination and lower mental wellbeing compared to men post-earthquake. Individuals in group 1 had significantly lower mental wellbeing and higher death distress than groups 2 and 3. However, the effect size of this significant differentiation depending on earthquake experience was small. Moreover, anger rumination and death distress fully mediated the link between self-criticism and mental wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the paper is analysis and proposal of a concept for establishing an efficient system for disaster management in the Western Balkan countries. After the breakup of Yugoslavia (1992), there has been no effective system for managing emergency situations, while cross-border cooperation in this respect does not exist at all. The paper provides an overview of the situation in the field of emergency and crisis management in five countries of the region and a concept of promotion and cross-border cooperation in this field. The results of the research show that no country in the region has adequate emergency and disaster management system and that, regardless of the negative experiences, an efficient multilateral cooperation system has not been established so far in this field (there is neither regulatory framework nor proposals for the model of organization and for the procedures or technical mechanisms that would make the above possible). Therefore, the concept of establishing the Regional Center for Disaster Management in the Western Balkans territory (RCDM-WB) is proposed as a first step in handling disaster situations that arise from natural phenomena or technical and technological accidents. This is the first scientifically developed proposal of this kind for the above-mentioned region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of human society and the production and operation activities of enterprises have brought about global warming, resulting in frequent natural disasters. It has become the consensus of all countries in the world to develop a green and low-carbon economy. Under this background, enterprises, as the main body of economic activities, especially energy industry enterprises, should optimize and upgrade the traditional production and operation mode with high pollution, high consumption, and low output to a high-efficiency and low-pollution mode, and pay attention to the co-ordinated development of economic benefits, social benefits, and ecological benefits. Financial performance evaluation indicators have become the main basis for senior leaders of energy industry enterprises to make decisions and evaluate the low-carbon economic benefits of enterprises. This paper constructs a set of financial evaluation index systems of energy industry enterprises under the background of a low-carbon economy from four dimensions: profitability, asset quality, debt risk, and business growth. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is used to measure the comprehensive contribution of financial indicators of low-carbon production and operation. The purpose of this study is to provide scientific financial management decisions for energy enterprises to reduce costs and increase the efficiency and low-carbon operation under the background of a low-carbon economy. The research results show that the comprehensive evaluation index system after the traditional financial evaluation index of energy industry enterprises is integrated with the evaluation index of a low-carbon economy can help enterprises make more correct and effective financial decisions in the process of survival, development, and growth, and, at the same time, the financial evaluation index of a low-carbon economy should pay more attention to the indicators with a higher comprehensive contribution, so as to effectively promote the low-carbon operation efficiency of enterprise production, management, and sales. Compared with other research results, this paper innovatively constructs a financial management decision-making index system for measuring the low-carbon operation of energy enterprises in theory, which has important value in guiding energy enterprises to reduce costs and increase the efficiency and low-carbon operation in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decades, the cryosphere has changed significantly in High Mountain Asia (HMA), leading to multiple natural hazards such as rock–ice avalanches, glacier collapse, debris flows, landslides, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Monitoring cryosphere change and evaluating its hydrological effects are essential for studying climate change, the hydrological cycle, water resource management, and natural disaster mitigation and prevention. However, knowledge gaps, data uncertainties, and other substantial challenges limit comprehensive research in climate–cryosphere–hydrology–hazard systems. To address this, we provide an up-to-date, comprehensive, multidisciplinary review of remote sensing techniques in cryosphere studies, demonstrating primary methodologies for delineating glaciers and measuring geodetic glacier mass balance change, glacier thickness, glacier motion or ice velocity, snow extent and water equivalent, frozen ground or frozen soil, lake ice, and glacier-related hazards. The principal results and data achievements are summarized, including URL links for available products and related data platforms. We then describe the main challenges for cryosphere monitoring using satellite-based datasets. Among these challenges, the most significant limitations in accurate data inversion from remotely sensed data are attributed to the high uncertainties and inconsistent estimations due to rough terrain, the various techniques employed, data variability across the same regions (e.g., glacier mass balance change, snow depth retrieval, and the active layer thickness of frozen ground), and poor-quality optical images due to cloudy weather. The paucity of ground observations and validations with few long-term, continuous datasets also limits the utilization of satellite-based cryosphere studies and large-scale hydrological models. Lastly, we address potential breakthroughs in future studies, i.e., (1) outlining debris-covered glacier margins explicitly involving glacier areas in rough mountain shadows, (2) developing highly accurate snow depth retrieval methods by establishing a microwave emission model of snowpack in mountainous regions, (3) advancing techniques for subsurface complex freeze–thaw process observations from space, (4) filling knowledge gaps on scattering mechanisms varying with surface features (e.g., lake ice thickness and varying snow features on lake ice), and (5) improving and cross-verifying the data retrieval accuracy by combining different remote sensing techniques and physical models using machine learning methods and assimilation of multiple high-temporal-resolution datasets from multiple platforms. This comprehensive, multidisciplinary review highlights cryospheric studies incorporating spaceborne observations and hydrological models from diversified techniques/methodologies (e.g., multi-spectral optical data with thermal bands, SAR, InSAR, passive microwave, and altimetry), providing a valuable reference for what scientists have achieved in cryosphere change research and its hydrological effects on the Third Pole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risk analysis and assessment of snow disasters are essential foundational tasks in natural disaster management and profoundly impact the scientific and precise formulation of disaster prevention, preparedness, and mitigation strategies. Employing the theory and methodology of snow disaster assessment, this research focuses on historical and potential snow disasters in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) Region. Utilizing a long-time-series snow depth remote sensing dataset, we extracted six assessment indicators for historical snow disaster risk factors and potential snow disaster risk factors. We determined the weights of these six assessment indicators using the entropy weight method. Subsequently, we established a snow disaster assessment model to evaluate the grade distribution of snow disasters in the study area. This method can effectively solve the problem of the sparse data distribution of meteorological stations and reflect degrees of snow disaster risk on a large spatial scale. The findings reveal that areas with a relatively high snow disaster risk are primarily concentrated in the western part of the Ali Region, the central part of Chamdo, and near the border in Southern Xizang. Additionally, regions with a high frequency of snow disasters are predominantly located at the junction of Nagchu, Chamdo, and Nyingchi in the eastern part of Xizang. These results contribute valuable insights into the risk assessment of snow disasters and facilitate the development of effective strategies for disaster management in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The Urban Rehabilitation of Post-Disaster Scapes" is a book that examines the use of urbanscapes during the disaster process, focusing on the pre-disaster, disaster event, and post-disaster phases. The book includes 18 case studies of natural and man-made disasters from 1991 to 2022, covering various types of disasters such as floods, storms, earthquakes, wildfires, and sociological and technological disasters. The authors analyze the role of the urbanscape in each phase of the disaster process and discuss urban rehabilitation strategies. While the book provides a comprehensive discourse on disaster resilience and green growth approaches, it lacks case studies from the African continent. Overall, the book is recommended for researchers, students, and professionals in academia, disaster management, urban planning, and architecture. [Extracted from the article]

The frequency of extreme events is increasing on a global scale due to various factors, accounting for natural disasters such as landslides, floods, and droughts. The Heilongjiang province, which is agriculturally important for China, has suffered from several extreme rainfall events in the past as a high-latitude plain region. Analysis of historical rainfall characteristics of the Heilongjiang region helps to understand and predict the behavior of extreme rainfall events and provides a reference for reducing agricultural economic losses. Precipitation data from 1974 to 2017 is selected to estimate whether rainfall series in Heilongjiang obey the Gumbel-Logistic Model. We compared the Gumbel-Logistic Model based on the data length of 5 years, 10 years, and 20 years with the original 44-year data to determine the appropriate data partition length and explore the reasons for errors. Combining the empirical frequency and KS test, this paper concludes that the proposed model is appropriate for the representation of the joint distribution of monthly extreme rainfall and annual rainfall. The proposed model improves the rainfall assessment of these two positively correlated variables in Heilongjiang. Univariate and bivariate return periods and correlation coefficients are derived as the basis for assessing the risk of extreme rainfall. The proposed model obtained from the 5-year data length has the largest error, while the distribution curve is progressively smoother as the data length increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decades, drought has been considered as one of the most catastrophic natural disasters due to the devastating implications associated with this phenomenon. This research examines drought characteristics, severity, intensity, and duration in Sudan from 1980 to 2017 using meteorological observations and remote sensing datasets. According to analyses of the standardized precipitation index (SPI) provided by 29 sites, 72% of all dry occurrences appear to have occurred during the 1980s. The wettest occurrences, on the other hand, occurred after the mid-1990s timeframe and accounted for 82% of the total. SPI-3 research over Sudan revealed dry conditions during the 1980s. Early datasets indicate extreme drought periods occurred between 1982 and 1987, while fewer occurrences were observed during the 1990s and 2000s. SPI-3 shows that rainfall increased dramatically in the 1990s. Among the understudied time scales, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, and 2004 regimes recorded the driest events, whereas 1988, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2016 had the wettest. Recent seasonal vegetation conditions from the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and soil moisture were examined. The intensity of severe droughts declined for 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 periods. Conversely, a discernible upward trend in wet conditions with corresponding increases can be observed. Findings depict a graphical illustration of changes in the vegetation condition index (VCI), both geographically and chronologically in Sudan between 2000 and 2020. Generally, a positive correlation between the SPI-12 and AMO was obtained across Sudan's different regions. Significant power association peaked between 1 and 2 and 6 and 10 years from 1980 to 1990 and 6 and 8 years from 2005 to 2017. This study lays the groundwork for future drought studies, which further provides the technical basis for policymakers to address the consequences of drought on agriculture and the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A risk analysis interface is developed to assess unmovable cultural heritage. • It includes the asset risk evaluation cards, factsheets, and multicriteria model. • The results are integrated to obtain a risk index for fire, earthquake, and flood. • A comparative assessment of two unmovable cultural assets is performed. • The interface can support the implementation of actions pre and post-events. The present article illustrates the application of the Risk Analysis Interface (RAI), which was developed within the European project ResCult. This assessment model is focused on the risk evaluation of immovable cultural assets and their different components, that need to be preserved and managed in case of extreme events. In detail, this article describes the application of this risk assessment model to the two selected pilot case studies of the project, the Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Venice and the Convent of San Nicola in Tolentino (Italy). This article highlights the application procedure and the results obtained by its implementation in the two pilot case studies. The focus of this article is underlying and explaining in-depth the functioning of the specific evaluation tools, to underline their suitability to be applied in ex-ante, in-itinere, and ex-post phase of a disaster occurrence. The outcome of this article is providing information about how applying the RAI developed within the ResCult project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a spatiotemporal attention convolutional network (STAC-Pred) that leverages deep learning techniques to model the spatiotemporal features of tropical cyclones (TCs) and enable real-time prediction of their intensity. The proposed model employs dual branches to concurrently extract and integrate features from intensity heatmaps and satellite cloud imagery. Additionally, a residual attention (RA) module is integrated into the three-channel cloud imagery convolution process to automatically respond to high wind speed regions. TC's longitude, latitude, and radius of winds are injected into the multi-timepoint prediction model to assist in the prediction task. Furthermore, a rolling mechanism (RM) is employed to smooth the fluctuation of losses, achieving accurate prediction of TC intensity. We use several TC records to evaluate and validate the universality and effectiveness of the model. The results indicate that STAC-Pred achieves satisfactory performance. Specifically, the STAC-Pred model improves prediction performance by 47.69% and 28.26% compared to the baseline (official institutions) at 3- and 6-h intervals, respectively. Significance Statement: Tropical cyclones are one of the most deadly and damaging natural disasters in coastal areas worldwide. Early prediction can significantly reduce casualties and property losses. This study innovatively conducts dimensionality augmentation on one-dimensional intensity numerical sequences and proposes a new network model for rolling forecast of their future intensity. The proposed prototype model (not yet incorporating any atmospheric conditions) shows promising results for 3- and 6-h advance forecasts, providing valuable guidance for forecasters regarding real-time operational predictions of short-term tropical cyclone intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Puerto Rico has a history of rich funerary traditions that include the use of cemí and the baquiné. Presently, the practice of extreme embalming has also taken hold, creating funerary displays that include motorcycles, dominoes, and ambulances, among others. However, what can a community do when there are no bodies to grieve? Worse, the deaths themselves are denied? This was an all too real question in the aftermath of 2017‘s Hurricane María. With a rising death count and government denial, people turned to artistic creation and protest to make their voices heard. Memorialisation of the missing and deceased became a crucial part in overcoming the disaster’s trauma, as well as contesting a government that refused to acknowledge its role in the disaster. Culminating in the Verano Boricua of 2019, the Puerto Rican people’s fight against the government’s necropolitics resulted in a boom of creative expression to remember those that the government wanted to forget. Through murals, comics, performance art, and protests, Boricuas resisted marginalisation in unique and memorable ways. By exploring these artistic manifestations, one can recognise Puerto Rican community across the island and in the diaspora and how it sought to honour the deceased while processing grief and trauma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slavic folk culture is a fusion of Christian and of pre-Christian, pagan beliefs based on magic. This article is devoted specifically to ancient pre-Christian ideas about death and posthumous existence and the associated magical rituals and prohibitions, which persist to our time. It considers the following interactions between the living and the dead: 1. the measures taken and prohibitions observed by the living to ensure their well-being in the other world; 2. the measures taken by the living to ensure the well-being of their dead relatives in the other world (including funeral rites; memorial rites; cemetery visits; providing the dead with food, clothes, and items necessary for postmortem life; and sending messages to the other world); 3. communication between the living and the dead on certain days (including taking opportunities to meet, see, and hear them; treat them; prepare a bed for them; and wash them); 4. fear of the dead and their return and the desire to placate them to prevent them from causing natural disasters (hail, droughts, floods, etc.), crop failures, cattle deaths, diseases, and death; 5. magical ways for protecting oneself from the "walking dead"; 6. transforming the dead into mythological characters—for example, house-, water-, or forest-spirits and mermaids. The material presented in the article is drawn from published and archival sources collected by folklorists and ethnographers of the XIX and XX centuries in different regions of the Slavic world, as well as from field recordings made by the author and his colleagues in Polesie, the borderland of Belarus and Ukraine, in the 1960–1980s, in the Russian North and in the Carpathian region in the 1990s. It shows that the relationship between the living and the dead in folk beliefs does not fit comfortably within the widespread notion of an "ancestor cult". It argues that the dead are both venerated and feared and that the living feel a dependence on their ancestors and a desire to strictly observe the boundary between the two worlds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes are global occurrences affecting countries, counties, and communities. These extreme weather events can cause feelings of uncertainty and produce a range of high consequence outcomes. As a result, individuals can be expected to seek out information to further understand how they will be impacted. With Hurricane Ian as the focus, this study examined the impact of source preferences on protective behaviors, while evaluating their relationship with information sufficiency. Florida residents living in counties impacted by Hurricane Ian completed an online survey in the weeks following landfall. Source preference assessed reliance on various news outlets and yielded three factors: high reliability, low reliability, and traditional media. While none predicted the likelihood of mitigation, overall reliance on all three correlated with likelihood of evacuation. Furthermore, residents who expressed information insufficiency spent more time seeking information and were more reliant on traditional media. The findings contribute to our understanding of news use and preferences before a natural disaster, along with their impact on likelihood of evacuation and mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 1951, the American Midwest experienced one of its worst floods in its history up to that point, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. While ostensibly a national issue, the natural disaster also drew the attention of hundreds of German citizens who donated to the relief effort. In the letters accompanying their donations, these Germans emphasized that they wanted to submit a token of their gratitude to the American people and begin to pay back a fraction of what they felt they owed for American humanitarian assistance in the immediate postwar era. Though the American government did not solicit these donations, it saw value in help publicising the donations and their letters. Locked in a propaganda battle with the Soviet Union, American authorities promoted these donations not only as evidence of German-American friendship, but also as evidence that their humanitarian policy at the dawn of the Cold War had achieved significant cultural, political, and diplomatic goals throughout Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long after a hurricane passes over and through any region or coastal area, the memories of it often linger. There may be visual reminders of the storm and the day lives may have been changed, or lost, forever. Hurricanes can be long-lived storms. They can also be structurally large, so their impact can cover enormous swaths of land and water, often with large populations in the way, particularly coastal areas. Hurricanes are the only officially named natural disasters, as well as the only hazards whose names can be retired. This unique characteristic provided us an opportunity to develop an activity that allows students to gain a greater understanding and appreciation into the: a) climatology of hurricanes, b) change over time with respect to naming and their frequency, and c) socio-scientific impact of the storms. In this activity students make sense of various data by analyzing, comparing and contrasting, and thinking critically about the various patterns that emerge, enhancing scientific literacy as well as gaining an appreciation for the phenomenon and the research around tropical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters present a significant and growing threat to the well-being of children. Every year 175 million children globally are expected to be affected by natural disasters, including floods, cyclones, droughts, heatwaves, severe storms, and earthquakes. In emergencies, children of all age groups, especially those under 5, are the most affected part of the community, with child mortality rates 2-70 times higher than average. Clean water, sanitation and hygiene measures, vaccination to prevent infectious diseases, providing psychological support to vulnerable children in an age-appropriate approach, and paying particular attention to children with special needs are extremely important. Healthcare personnel and families should have adequate information and preparation to do what is necessary before, during, and after emergencies to minimize the negative effects on children. In this review, we aim to discuss the effects of emergencies on children and the prevention methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parasites and infectious diseases constitute important challenges particularly for group-living animals. Social contact and shared space can both increase parasite transmission risk, while individual differences in social capital can help prevent infections. For example, high social status individuals and those with more or stronger affiliative partnerships may have better immunity and, thus, lower parasitic burden. To test for health trade-offs in the costs and benefits of sociality, we quantified how parasitic load varied with an individual's social status, as well as with their affiliative relationships with weakly and strongly bonded partners, in a free-ranging population of rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta. We found that high status was associated with a lower risk of protozoa infection at older ages compared to younger and low-status animals. Social resources can also be protective against infection under environmentally challenging situations, such as natural disasters. Using cross-sectional data, we additionally examined the impact of a major hurricane on the sociality - parasite relationship in this system and found that the hurricane influenced the prevalence of specific parasites independent of sociality. Overall, our study adds to the growing evidence for social status as a strong predictor of infection risk and highlights how extreme environmental events could shape vulnerability and resistance to infection. • Old high-status animals had lower risk of protozoa infection. • Social status did not buffer infection risk after an acute natural disaster. • More connected individuals had lower infection risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the challenges and responses when sacred spaces are violated or damaged, whether by natural disasters or deliberate human actions. It emphasizes the importance of allowing time for grief and mourning, as well as the need for storytelling and rituals to honor the past and facilitate healing. The article also discusses the phases of recovery from disasters and the role of faith leaders in guiding congregations through the process. It concludes by emphasizing the significance of rebuilding and reclaiming sacred spaces, including the use of dedication services. The text also provides suggestions for planning reentry and rededication services, addressing trauma and grief, and offering pastoral care and support. It encourages preparedness for future disasters and provides resources for disaster response and recovery. [Extracted from the article]