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World Congress on Disaster Management (WCDM) brings researchers, policy makers and practitioners from around the world in the same platform to discuss various challenging issues of disaster risk management, enhance understanding of risks and advance actions for reducing risks and building resilience to disasters. The fifth WCDM deliberates on three critical issues that pose the most serious challenges as well as hold the best possible promise of building resilience to disasters. These are Technology, Finance, and Capacity. WCDM has emerged as the largest global conference on disaster management outside the UN system. The fifth WCDM was attended by more than 2500 scientists, professionals, policy makers, practitioners all around the world despite the prevalence of pandemic.

Civil Engineering and Disaster Prevention focuses on the research of civil engineering, architecture and disaster prevention and control. These proceedings gather the most cutting-edge research and achievements, aiming to provide scholars and engineers with valuable research direction and engineering solutions. Subjects covered in the proceedings include: Civil Engineering Engineering Structure Architectural Materials Disaster Prevention and Control Building Electrical Engineering The works of these proceedings aim to promote the development of civil engineering and environment engineering. Thereby, fostering scientific information interchange between scholars from the top universities, research centers and high-tech enterprises working all around the world.

World Congress on Disaster Management (WCDM) brings researchers, policy makers and practitioners from around the world in the same platform to discuss various challenging issues of disaster risk management, enhance understanding of risks and advance actions for reducing risks and building resilience to disasters. The fifth WCDM deliberates on three critical issues that pose the most serious challenges as well as hold the best possible promise of building resilience to disasters. These are Technology, Finance, and Capacity. WCDM has emerged as the largest global conference on disaster management outside the UN system. The fifth WCDM was attended by more than 2500 scientists, professionals, policy makers, practitioners all around the world despite the prevalence of pandemic.

Scientific Applied Conference'Problems of Emergency Situations'(PES 2022, Kharkiv, Ukraine)Selected peer-reviewed full text papers from the International Scientific Applied Conference'Problems of Emergency Situations', May 26-27, 2022, Kharkiv, Ukraine

The Intelligence Community Studies Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a 2-day virtual workshop on December 17 and 21, 2021, to explore insights from world-class experts and technologists familiar with the extensive range of issues associated with anticipating rare events—those characterized by a very low probability of occurring—of major significance. Over the course of the 2-day workshop, the speakers discussed analytical methods, computational advances, data sources, and risk assessment approaches for anticipating rare events, including natural disasters, pandemics, anthropogenic threats, and widespread technological change. This proceedings is a factual summary of the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

This book is a collection of chapters from local, regional, and international experts in the fields of law enforcement, safety, and security. In a world where threats and crises are increasingly transnational, there is value in the cross-cultural exchange of information and the integration of knowledge bases to understand the present-day landscape dynamics. More than ever, there is a greater urgency for behavioural sciences to inform and shape operational protocols and policies in the security sector.

This book presents selected papers from the 3rd Global Summit of Research Institutes for Disaster Risk Reduction – Expanding the Platform for Bridging Science and Policy Making, which was held at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Uji Campus from 19 to 21 March 2017. It was organised by the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GADRI), which was established soon after the second Global Summit and the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in March 2015, and is intended to support the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.The conference not only provided a platform for discussion and exchange of information on key current and future research projects on disaster risk reduction and management, but also promoted active dialogues through group discussion sessions that addressed various disaster research disciplines.In this book, authors from various disciplines working at governmental and international organisations provide guidance to the science and technical community, discuss the current challenges, and evaluate the research needs and gaps in the context of climate change, sustainable development goals and other interlinked global disaster situations. Expert opinions from practitioners and researchers provide valuable insights into how to connect and engage in collaborative research with the international science and technical communities and other stakeholders to achieve the goals set out in the agenda of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. In addition, case studies and other evidence-based research papers highlight ongoing research projects and reflect the challenges encountered in information sharing by various stakeholders in the context of disaster risk reduction and management.Chapter “Science and technology commitment to the implementation of the SendaiFramework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030” is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This volume is aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of the state of art of research related to geo-related hazards in the Caucasus and other orogenic regions; it is also devoted to shedding light on a broad array of geological phenomena as well as discussing innovative tools and strategies for geohazard assessment. Additional emphasis is placed on preventive and mitigation measures, which might be helpful in tackling seismic, volcanic and landslide risks affecting major lifelines and infrastructures. The innovative, multidisciplinary methodologies illustrated in this volume may be successfully applied to other orogenic regions across the globe. The book features major scientific contributions from experts working on different Earth Science topics, such as seismology, structural geology, applied geology and volcanology. Its chapters describe a wide gamut of cutting-edge research methodologies and are thus intended to be read and shared by the worldwide Earth Science community.In particular, the readers will have a chance to gain a thorough knowledge of a number of key geological features that can be observed across both the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. Moreover, the volume provides a thorough description of the techniques employed to assess seismic hazard in major cities - such as microzonation - and an overview of the efforts taken to monitor and prevent seismic and landslide hazard posed to vital energy infrastructures in the Caucasus region.

Disasters are a major challenge for countries across the globe. Current debates on climate change focus both on extreme weather events that trigger disasters and their long-term variability. Effective disaster prevention requires detailed understanding of and learning from past disasters and the implementation of adaptation strategies in order to mitigate or control disasters resulting from climatic changes already under way. Among them, flood-, hurricane-, heavy rain- and drought-related disasters take a prominent place. Disaster prevention and preventive adaptation strategies present a complex challenge. Predicting climatic changes is not enough: we need scenarios that describe the probable effects of these changes on local climates and sea levels. Just as important is the implementation of technical and organizational changes in order to prevent, or at least mitigate, the impact of disasters. These changes, obviously, must take into account complex aspects of urbanization and socio-technical development. “Risk and Planet Earth” addresses the complexity and the multidisciplinarity of this challenge. The authors of this collection deal with a wide range of aspects. The contributions by James K. Mitchell, Ed de Mulder, Irmgard Schwaetzer and Nico Stehr stress the role of politics in coordinating integrated adaptation strategies, focussing on different aspects each. Ed de Mulder states the need to raise awareness of present climate change dynamics and foster adaptation efforts. He sees a current window of opportunity to establish regenerative energy production and take measures to enhance a balanced human impact on earth while adapting to climatic changes already under way. Nico Stehr criticizes solely focussing on “climate protection” as prime political strategy in Germany. He argues that adaptation measures are necessary as a second, parallel strategy. James K. Mitchells contribution advocates a holistic approach to disaster prevention and calls for political programs reflecting such preventions. In this context, he explores the multidimensional nature of both disasters and adaptation/resilience and the resulting exigencies for cross-sectional cooperation across different functional systems on all operational levels. Irmgard Schwaetzer's paper deals with the complexity of the causes of disasters triggered by hydro-meteorological hazards, which occur in increasing numbers and intensities. She stresses the importance of interdisciplinary research, arguing, that tertiary education, currently still poorly developed, is likely to play an important role in this field. This latter aspect is developed further by Ria Hidajat who presents an account of several educational programs in Pakistan and in the Andes region to this end. Other contributions present models to quantify flood risks and their use in disaster prevention (Christian Dobler; Saqhib Ehsan et al.), as well as in multidimensional vulnerability assessments, integrating socio-economic and demographic aspects and levels of risk exposure (Alexander Fekete); highlight the effects of legal/regulatory frameworks on the practice of flood mitigation measures (Wolfgang Köck); and analyze the interaction of complex socio-ecological systems of developing countries in the context of disaster recovery and adaptive strategies (Mathias Garschagen, Jörn Birkmann). Richard Campanella demonstrates how New Orleans increased geographic exposure to risk is a result of economic considerations and technical modernization, illustrating how disasters are often the result of tightly coupled social-ecological systems which have evolved over a long time period of time. The volume thus presents an exemplary overview of the breadth of long-term adaptation strategies and applied field research, taking available climate predictions as prominent examples. Being multidisciplinary in its ap

Selected peer-reviewed full text papers from International Scientific Applied Conference'Problems of Emergency Situations'(PES 2020)Selected, peer-reviewed papers from the International Scientific Applied Conference'Problems of Emergency Situations'(PES 2020), May 5-20, 2020, Ukraine, Kharkiv

One of NATO's objectives is a better understanding of the human and social aspects of security-related issues. This book presents the proceedings of the NATO Science for Peace and Security Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), Leadership Development Programme on Gender and Diversity, Peace, Risk and Emergency Preparedness and Collaboration, held in Tønsberg, Norway, on 11-12 December 2018, one of the aims of which was to strengthen organizational leadership. The workshop firmly established the collaboration between Japan and other NATO countries with regard to Women, Peace and Security (WPS). The workshop gave the participating leaders and researchers an opportunity to meet and debate, to learn and to build networks of leaders for change. This book consists of fourteen chapters, including a summarizing introductory chapter. It explores topics related to the way in which continued progress and change in institutional behaviors require an approach focused on altering perspectives, and enhancing the skill sets of leaders. Each chapter stands alone, but is ordered within the framework of the Societal Programme Model (SPM) described in Chapter 1. The book will be of interest to all those involved in building leadership and changing institutional behavior.

This book collects the papers presented at the 7th International Conference on Risk Analysis and Crisis Response (RACR-2019) held in Athens, Greece, on October 15-19, 2019. The overall theme of the seventh international conference on risk analysis and crisis response is Risk Analysis Based on Data and Crisis Response Beyond Knowledge, highlighting science and technology to improve risk analysis capabilities and to optimize crisis response strategy.This book contains primarily research articles of risk issues. Underlying topics include natural hazards and major (chemical) accidents prevention, disaster risk reduction and society resilience, information and communication technologies safety and cybersecurity, modern trends in crisis management, energy and resources security, critical infrastructure, nanotechnology safety and others. All topics include aspects of multidisciplinarity and complexity of safety in education and research. The book should be valuable to professors, engineers, officials, businessmen and graduate students in risk analysis and risk management.

This book presents ongoing research and ideas related to earth observations and global change, natural hazards and disaster management studies, with respect to geospatial information technology, remote sensing, and global navigation satellite systems. Readers will discover uses of advanced geospatial tools, spatiotemporal models, and earth observation systems. Chapters identify the international aspects of the coupled social, land and climate systems in global change studies, and consider such global challenges as agriculture monitoring, the smart city, and risk assessment.The work presented here has been carefully selected, edited, and peer reviewed in order to advance research and development, as well as to encourage innovative applications of Geomatics technologies in global change studies. The book will appeal not only to academicians, but also to professionals, politicians and decision makers who wish to learn from the very latest and most innovative, quality research in this area of global change and natural disaster management.Contributions are drawn from revised submissions based on state-of-the-art papers from the 7th GiT4NDM - 5th EOGC, 2015 event.

This collection contains 26 peer-reviewed papers on tsunamis presented at the Coastal Structures and Solutions to Coastal Disasters Joint Conference 2015, held in Boston, Massachusetts, September 9-11, 2015.

This volume results from the “Second International Conference on Dynamics of Disasters” held in Kalamata, Greece, June 29-July 2, 2015. The conference covered particular topics involved in natural and man-made disasters such as war, chemical spills, and wildfires. Papers in this volume examine the finer points of disasters through:Critical infrastructure protectionResiliencyHumanitarian logisticRelief supply chainsCooperative game theoryDynamical systemsDecision making under risk and uncertaintySpread of diseasesContagionFunding for disaster reliefTools for emergency preparednessResponse, and risk mitigationMulti-disciplinary theories, tools, techniques and methodologies are linked with disasters from mitigation and preparedness to response and recovery. The interdisciplinary approach to problems in economics, optimization, government, management, business, humanities, engineering, medicine, mathematics, computer science, behavioral studies, emergency services, and environmental studies will engage readers from a wide variety of fields and backgrounds.

The Science of Responding to a Nuclear Reactor Accident summarizes the presentations and discussions of the May 2014 Gilbert W. Beebe Symposium titled'The Science and Response to a Nuclear Reactor Accident'. The symposium, dedicated in honor of the distinguished National Cancer Institute radiation epidemiologist who died in 2003, was co-hosted by the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Cancer Institute. The symposium topic was prompted by the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that was initiated by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami off the northeast coast of Japan. This was the fourth major nuclear accident that has occurred since the beginning of the nuclear age some 60 years ago. The 1957 Windscale accident in the United Kingdom caused by a fire in the reactor, the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the United States caused by mechanical and human errors, and the 1986 Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union caused by a series of human errors during the conduct of a reactor experiment are the other three major accidents. The rarity of nuclear accidents and the limited amount of existing experiences that have been assembled over the decades heightens the importance of learning from the past. This year's symposium promoted discussions among federal, state, academic, research institute, and news media representatives on current scientific knowledge and response plans for nuclear reactor accidents. The Beebe symposium explored how experiences from past nuclear plant accidents can be used to mitigate the consequences of future accidents, if they occur. The Science of Responding to a Nuclear Reactor Accident addresses off-site emergency response and long-term management of the accident consequences; estimating radiation exposures of affected populations; health effects and population monitoring; other radiological consequences; and communication among plant officials, government officials, and the public and the role of the media.

Proceedings of the 46th Session of the International Seminars on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies held in Erice, Sicily. This Seminar has again gathered, in 2013, over 100 scientists from 43 countries in an interdisciplinary effort that has been going on for the last 32 years, to examine and analyze planetary problems which had been followed up, all year long, by the World Federation of Scientists'Permanent Monitoring Panels.

Responses to major disasters tend to be complex, not merely because of the size and scale of operations and the number of countries and agencies involved, but also because of the range of functions represented by these organizations. A full-scale emergency response can involve people trained in at least 35 different disciplines and professions. This increasing sophistication of modern emergency response makes the process of coordination a particularly challenging one. It involves matching urgent needs with available resources in the most rapid and efficient way possible: timely mobilization and quick action can reduce injury and loss of life, as well as damage. Emergency response management has been likened to conducting a symphony orchestra. Only the conductor has the full score, but the overall effect of many people playing different instruments can be wonderful if properly directed. Professionalization of response and management is key. This book, Integrated Emergency Management for Mass Casualty Emergencies, presents papers from experts in the field which explore the challenges of planning for and responding to mass casualty emergencies. There are several chapters covering hospital procedure – including field hospitals and hospital evacuation – as well as natural and man-made casualty events, and the final chapter presents ‘Auxilium!', a training simulation game. There is a clear need to improve management and integration in emergency response. This book will be of interest to all those whose work may involve them in preparing for and dealing with a disaster situation.

Proceedings of the 45th Session of the International Seminars on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies held in Erice, Sicily. This Seminar has again gathered, in 2012, over one hundred scientists from 43 countries in an interdisciplinary effort that has been going on for the last 31 years, to examine and analyze planetary problems which had been followed up, all year long, by the World Federation of Scientists'Permanent Monitoring Panels.

In common with many other regions, the Western Balkans have been faced with numerous emergency situations in recent years including major fires, massive flooding and heavy snow. These emergencies were frequently beyond the response capacity of the individual countries affected and revealed an obvious need for a joint response to civil emergencies and catastrophes. This book presents papers from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) on ‘Sustained Emergency Relief – Regionally Developed Capacities'. This workshop took place in Struga, Republic of Macedonia, in June and July 2012. The workshop was attended by 44 representatives from 10 countries and from the NATO Operations Division and HQ KFOR, who presented national views and individual research in the field of sustainable development of regional capacities for emergency relief. The book is divided into two sections: Capabilities for Emergency Relief - National Challenges and Perspectives, and Development of Regional Capacities for Emergency Relief in the Spirit of the Smart Defence Initiative. This book summarizes the analysis of the current regional situation and gives recommendations for policy integration and capacity development across the Balkan countries and territories, but it will be of interest to all those whose work involves the planning of responses to emergency situations.

​There has been some degree of reluctance in the past to consider disaster risk management within the mainstream of adaptation to climate variability and climate change. However, there is now wide recognition of the need to incorporate disaster risk management concerns in dealing with such phenomena. There is also a growing awareness of the necessity for a multi-sectoral approach in managing the effects of climate variability and climate change, since this can lead to a significant reduction of risk. This book presents the latest findings from scientific research on climate variation, climate change and their links with disaster risk management. It showcases projects and other initiatives in this field that are being undertaken in both industrialised and developing countries, by universities and scientific institutions, government bodies, national and international agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders. Finally, it discusses current and future challenges, identifying opportunities and highlighting the still unrealised potential for promoting better understanding of the connections between climate variation, climate change and disaster risk management worldwide.

The Handbook for Pandemic and Mass-Casualty Planning and Response offers the disaster medicine professional community the information and tools to better prepare, individually and collaboratively, to mitigate mortality and morbidity when catastrophe occurs. It captures the lectures and teachings of an extraordinary 12 day NATO Advanced Study Institute held in Croatia in late 2011: ‘Applying lessons learned and sharing best practices in addressing pandemics and catastrophic health events.'The results of this event, held under the auspices of the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, are presented in three sections: The Context of Catastrophic Health Planning; Principles of Response to Catastrophes with Mass Casualties; and Communication and Information Sharing. The handbook presents rigorous, standardized cross-disciplinary training, such as Medical Response to Major Incidents; the need to guide medical and humanitarian efforts by ethical principles; the importance of risk communication and trustworthy information; treatment guidelines along with medical and surgical practices for amputation, burns, and blast injuries; triage guidelines and treatment algorithms; principles of mass-casualty planning; and the need to identify and correctly position -in advance- the networks and collaborative structures that must work together and share capabilities. Drawing on experts from Croatia, Slovenia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, Italy, Spain, Mexico and the United States - and especially on Croatia's experience handling mass casualties during its Homeland War in the 1990s - this handbook combines research and real-world examples to assist the disaster response community in preparing for mass-casualty incidents.

Resilience and Urban Risk Management presents the latest progress made in designing resilient towns, and identifies leads to be explored for attaining the objective of systematically integrating risks into urban environments The aim of the book is to provide guidance in designing and planning future cities, and to create a new form of risk manageme

Proceedings of the 44th Session of the International Seminars on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies held in Erice, Sicily. This seminar has again gathered, in 2011, over one hundred scientists in an interdisciplinary effort that has been going on for the last 31 years, to examine and analyze planetary problems which have been followed up, all year long, by the World Federation of Scientists'Permanent Monitoring Panels.

The nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl power plant, devastating floods, landslides, droughts, the erosion of tailings dams and desertification are just some of the natural and manmade disasters which have afflicted the Ukraine and neighboring countries in recent years. It is therefore entirely appropriate that the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), Correlation between Human Factors and the Prevention of Catastrophes, was held in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine in September 2011. This book presents the proceedings of the ARW, which analyzed accumulated European theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the field of disaster prevention, addressing a wide range of correlations between human factors and the prevention of catastrophes. Subjects covered include land-use planning and management procedures; risk assessment in emergency situations; control of polluted water; socio economic impacts from desertification; health impacts arising from nuclear facilities, flooding and tailings dam accidents; risk management systems and measures; and the protection of water resources. The presentations reflected the extensive experience of workshop participants and will be of great interest, especially to countries that are developing their legal frameworks in civil emergency planning, most particularly those who are aligning to EU directives and other international standards.

This book is the proceedings of the International Conference on Water Contamination Emergencies: Monitoring, Understanding, Acting held in October 2010. The fourth in a series of conference proceedings this book develops themes from three previous, highly successful Water Contamination conferences in addition to dealing specifically with four new principle themes: monitoring, understanding, acting and lessons learned. With contributions from leading scientists and experts in academia and industry it offers a truly international perspective on our ability to deal with water contamination emergencies. Emphasis is given to prevention, strategy and unusual emergency incident situations relating to drinking water. The book appeals across the board from public health and environmental professionals to companies, agencies, regulators and experts involved in emergency planning and response.

This collection contains 119 peer-reviewed papers presented at the International Conference on Vulnerability and Risk Analysis and Management and the International Symposium on Uncertainty Modeling and Analysis, held in Hyattsville, Maryland, April 11-13, 2011.

This collection contains 79 papers addressing the challenges and lessons learned along the coastlines of the world, presented at the 2011 Solutions to Coastal Disasters Conference, held in Anchorage, Alaska, June 25-29, 2011.

Since the 2004 Andaman Tsunami, we have been constantly reminded about the reported threats of earthquakes and tsunamis worldwide. The recent earthquake in Padang, Indonesia and the tsunami in Samoa Islands in 2009 as well as the large destructive earthquake in Haiti in 2010 reinforce the perceived threats. This timely series of the South China Sea Tsunami Workshop (SCSTW) was first organized by Academia Sinica Taipei, Taiwan on 5–7 December 2007 to promote community awareness and preparedness as well as scientific research on tsunami early warning systems and related hazards, hoping to achieve tsunami resilient communities. The Second SCSTW was organized by Shanghai Jiao Tong University on 1–3 December 2008 in Shanghai. This proceedings book contains a collection of 46 articles selected among 69 articles presented in the Third SCSTW held on 3–5 November 2009 in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Pulau Pinang. This collection of selected articles explores a variety of issues related to tsunami as well as other natural disasters such as earthquakes, storm surge and landslide. The proceedings consists of two books, with the first book focusing on tsunami simulation for impact assessment, while the second book covers education, protection and preparedness to face tsunami and other natural disasters. The contributors of the articles in the proceedings come from differing academic and professional background including but not limited to engineering, mathematics, physics, biology, geography, environmental and marine sciences, sustainable studies, education, humanities and architecture. It is the fervent hope of the Editors that future SCSTWs will continue the tradition and aspiration of the past workshops.

Proceedings of a seminar focusing on planetary emergencies, followed in a multidisplinary approach since 1980 by permanent monitoring panels.

Disasters, both natural and man-made, not only present a major threat to national security, they can also significantly impede the stable development of national economies. Dealing with them safely and efficiently is dependent on a well structured policy in emergency preparedness, something which can also go some way towards mitigating the inevitable burden they represent in financial terms. In the Caucasian region alone, natural and man-made disasters are estimated to have cost hundreds of millions of US dollars in the period 2003 to 2010. This book presents 34 papers, arising from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) held in Yerevan, Armenia, in October 2010. The aim of this ARW was to further supplement the common efforts of scientists from NATO and partner countries to transfer technology and knowledge with the objective of decreasing the vulnerability of the population from both natural and man-made disasters. The ARW's aim was achieved, not least, by evaluating accumulated European theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the relevant fields so that recommendations could be developed for the prevention and mitigation of disasters. The book is divided into four main sections covering the themes of: public risk perception and communication, seismic risk assessment and consequent reduction, hazard monitoring and management, and assessment and management of industrial risks, and will be of interest to all those involved in the prevention and management of disasters, both natural and man-made.

The Erice International Seminars are multidisciplinary seminars attended by over 100 eminent participants from all fields of science. Each year, a few scientific issues are selected and experts are invited to present contrasting views during the plenary multidisciplinary sessions of the seminar. General debates soon follow. These sessions offer a unique opportunity for specialists to broaden their perspectives after being confronted with ideas and suggestions from high level scientists in complementary domains of science. Associated workshops allow the experts to further refine and process the ideas evoked during the seminar. This year's topics are focused on the World Energy Crisis and more specifically on the future of nuclear power, the sustainability of biofuels and nuclear waste. On Global Monitoring of the Planet we have focused on the climate change issue and specifically on the theoretical basis for model calculations, on vector-borne and air-borne particulates disseminating diseases and the crisis in internet security. A full day session was devoted to the Disarmament and Proliferation Regime, in collaboration with the Government of Italy and international institutions.

During public health emergencies such as pandemic influenza outbreaks or terrorist attacks, effective vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, and other medical countermeasures are essential to protecting national security and the public's well-being. The Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE)—a partnership among federal, state, and local governments; industry; and academia—is at the forefront of the effort to develop and manufacture these countermeasures. However, despite the PHEMCE's many successes, there are still serious challenges to overcome. Government-funded medical research is not always focused on countermeasures for the most serious potential threats, and it is difficult to engage pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to develop and manufacture medical countermeasures that have a limited commercial market. At the request of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the IOM held a workshop February 22-24, 2010, to address challenges facing the PHEMCE. Workshop participants discussed federal policies and procedures affecting the research, development, and approval of medical countermeasures and explored opportunities to improve the process and protect Americans'safety and health.

The contributions in Risks Challenging Publics, Scientists and Government looks at risks not just as a technical, social, political or economic matter, but as originating and challenging the various disciplines. Contextual aspects, usually defined by engineers as'margin conditions', are generally not looked at, but deserve much more atttention, pa

This book is a collection of papers presented at the NATO ASI conference Transdisciplinary Information Sharing for Decision-Making against Biological Threats. Traditionally, it has been natural disasters and industrial accidents which have posed the greatest threat to society, but increasingly, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) emergencies present new challenges, with the potential to become global threats on an unprecedented scale. This has led to calls for the international community to implement a ‘new way of thinking'to enable better communication worldwide to counter the threat of global terrorism. A successful counter terrorism strategy requires cooperation between agencies traditionally reluctant to share information: governments, industry, the scientific community and civil society in general. The body of knowledge and experience being developed in this field is now so immense that a new information sharing paradigm is required for these various disciplines in different societies to properly understand each other. The key obstacle to any scientific, technical or social process is inefficient or non-existent information sharing. This work is of interest to anyone involved in the mitigation, preparedness, response to or recovery from disasters of any kind. Highlighting strategic enablers such as cross-disciplinary information sharing, international outreach and partner activities, public diplomacy and strategic communication, it is a robust step towards a new era of genuine cross-silo information sharing and cooperation in an atmosphere of trust.

In the current international situation, the ability to deal effectively with water contamination emergencies is of rapidly increasing importance. The third in a series of conference proceedings, this book brings together contributions from leading scientists and experts in industry and academia. It offers an international perspective and develops the themes of the previous volumes entitled Water Contamination Emergencies: Can we cope? and Water Contamination Emergencies: Enhancing our response. The full range of potential chemical, microbiological and radiological contamination scenarios are addressed from the perspective of medical and health professionals, water companies and regulators, environmental protection professionals, risk and business continuity managers, emergency planners, local authorities, service and support providers, detection and equipment suppliers, disaster recovery specialists, water security experts, water distribution modellers and laboratories involved in round the clock emergency response. Emphasis is placed on the considerable effort required to prepare for and respond to an emergency. It is not sufficient for Individuals to simply identify their own responsibilities, they must also take action to establish effective and efficient working relationships with the other parties involved. In other words, they must take'Collective Responsibility'. In summary, this book will provide readers with an up-to-date view of current strategies and the collaboration essential for an appropriate and timely response to water contamination emergencies.

Strategizing Resilience and Reducing Vulnerability stems in the main from papers presented at the Third CAMIS Security Management Conference, which was held at Birkbeck College, University of London, in September, 2007. The varied but integrated body of knowledge covers national security, corporate security, intelligence work, and disaster/emergency management and planning. A range of perspectives, disciplines, approaches and styles are evident in the work and many intellectually challenging topics, and issues are included for discussion. The work will be of interest to a wide and diverse audience, indeed, it will appeal to senior managers, security and intelligence experts, law enforcement personnel, disaster and emergency management practitioners, as well as policy makers and their advisors, and academics and university students. The arguments entered into, the conclusions drawn and the recommendations offered, should stimulate interest into the complex and evolving body of security knowledge. The insights produced will add to the theory building process and stimulate a wider interest in the subject. In order to deal effectively with future security challenges, governments will need to devise and implement effective counterterrorism strategies. This means that policy makers will focus attention on the linkages between national security frameworks and security sector reform, and ‘value-based'strategic planning. By understanding and broadening their knowledge of resilience, it should be possible for managers to devise a security architecture that embraces disaster and emergency management policies and practices. As a consequence, the knowledge and expertise acquired will be taken into areas such as security relating to major sporting events and this should ensure that the concept of security is placed in a wider and more strategic context than is the case at present. David Upton is a Director of has organised emergency response exercises in all continents and many industrial sectors. These have covered business continuity issues, industrial emergency response, and top-level crisis management. Clients include government organisations, agencies, utility companies, oil, gas, pharmaceutical, shipping and transportation companies. David is a member of the National Council of the Society of Industrial Emergency Services officers (SIESO), the Emergency Planning Society, and the Institute of Energy. A graduate of Cambridge University, he also studied at London Business School. He was formerly in the British Diplomatic Service, where he served in British Embassies in South Africa, Iran and Australia, and was also a Foreign Office Spokesman dealing with the world's media. He is fascinated by the whole question of simulation and the representation of reality, about which he maintains a weblog (www.simulation.cc). Contact e-mail: david@stirlingreid.com

Earthquakes and tsunamis are two major natural disasters, causing enormous life and material losses over the entire world, especially in the developing countries that are not well prepared. Since earthquakes and tsunamis are natural phenomena that cannot be prevented, a series of measures need to be taken to minimize the losses. Disaster mitigation covers a wide variety of activities involving numerous disciplines. Civil engineering makes probably the most effective contribution to the mitigation of life and material losses in earthquakes and tsunamis. This volume contains 11 major contributions of distinguished experts from various areas of civil engineering, and aims at informing the civil engineering community about the recent progress in disaster mitigation concerning earthquakes and tsunamis. It is designed to address the standard practicing civil engineer with the aim of carrying the scientific research results to the engineering practice in simple engineering language.

The Erice International Seminars are multidisciplinary seminars attended by over 100 eminent participants from all fields of science. Each year, a few scientific issues are selected and experts are invited to present contrasting views during the plenary multidisciplinary sessions of the seminar, followed by general debates. These sessions offer a unique opportunity for specialists to enlarge their fields of vision by being confronted with ideas and suggestions from high-level scientists in complementary domains of science. Associated workshops allow the experts to further refine and process the ideas evoked during the seminar. This year's topics are all currently of high relevance. For example, on energy issues, we have focused on the future of global nuclear power. On global monitoring of the planet, we have focused on the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the Nuclear-Proliferation Treaty. On climatology, we have investigated the role of aerosols on global warming and their satellite detection. On pollution, the role of plastic contaminants in water was revealed through a series of disquieting reports.

International terrorism remains a significant threat to the peace of the world. Weapons using various materials and delivery systems have been directed against cities and infrastructure, and other materials are postulated to be usable within the near future. Some of these materials are unusual or exotic, while some are modifications of materials used daily for other purposes: biological, chemical, radiological, nuclear and explosive. These materials pose a safety challenge for first responders, slowing the response and potentially killing scarce trained personnel. This book provides information about how leading agencies across the NATO membership are preparing to confront and respond to terrorists deploying Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), Weapons of Mass Killing (WMK) and Weapons of Mass Disruption (WMDi). Based on contributions by experts from NATO member states, Israel and the Russian Federation, this book offers information on fourth generation warfare as a new challenge to first responders. It also provides a variety of insights into methods for preparing for and responding to WMD-, WMK-, and WMDi-events, using new technologies and strategies. Furthermore, the book offers solution for restoring the community to functioning after such a major terror attack. Topics include preparing, planning, operations, equipment, training and unique applications of existing technologies for countering terrorist attacks against cities and their infrastructure.

Water is one of the most essential elements for sustaining life. National, regional, and local authorities throughout the world are responsible to maintain necessary infrastructure and safeguard resources for an orderly uninterrupted supply of good quality, healthy, and safe, water for everyday needs of all the population. These needs, which are growing fast with economic growth, development, and rising prosperity include water for drinking as well as for sanitation, laundry, gardening, recreation, and other domestic uses. An adequate supply of water resources should be safeguarded also for all sectors of the economy and society including agriculture, industry, energy, tourism, ecosystem protection, and more. Drinking water is again becoming a global issue from many perspectives. There are still parts of the globe which lack the necessary water resources for their basic needs, whether in terms of quantity or quality, or both. Demographic growth in several world regions is likely to increase pressures for the development of water resources and further exploitation of existing ones. Changes in production and consumption patterns are expected to aggravate further the pressures on the quantity and quality of water resources across the world. Rising standards of living, intensive agriculture, and new industrial processes lead not only to increasing com- tition for water use and rising costs of water provision, but also to mounting risks.

'Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Strengthening National Public Health Preparedness and Response to Chemical, Biological and Radiological Agent Threats, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, 19-29 June 2006.'--T.p. verso.

Concerns three main topics: Dynamics of effective international cooperation against terrorism: Facilitators and barriers; Law enforcement response to terrorism in different countries and regions; and Emergency management lessons for Homeland Security.

Technologies such as the Internet, telecommunications, and others, have a potential to help us prepare for disasters, however, oftentimes scientists are not taking advantage of them. This work focuses on the importance of the networking of scientists researching the area of natural and man-made disasters, to try to prepare the world better.

Contamination of water supplies and the immediate availability of appropriate emergency responses to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) events which result in contaminated water are becoming increasingly relevant and significant issues in the water industry and in the wider world. Consequently, new strategies and technologies are being constantly evolved and refined by leading experts in the field in order to achieve rapid and effective responses to water contamination events. Water Contamination Emergencies: Enhancing our Response brings together contributions from leading scientists and experts from both academia and industry in the field of water contamination and emergency planning. The book covers a wide range of topics including responses to water contamination emergencies, impacts on public health and commerce, risk assessment, analysis and monitoring, emergency planning, control and planning and threats to the water industry. This book is ideal for specialists in the field of water contamination and emergency response planning, especially researchers and professionals in industry and government who require an authoritative and highly specialised resource on water contamination management. The reader will gain an appreciation of the activities supporting the development of responses to contamination events; emergency actions required in response to the contamination of drinking water; and incident management. Also discussed are the importance of communication between organisations and the public; consumer perceptions and the need for robust and rapid screening of samples taken in response to potential contamination events in order to help answer the key question'Is this water safe to drink?'

Description based on print version record.

In July 2003 a special IFLA conference was held in Berlin, devoted to the preparedness of library collections in the face of'man made'disasters (conflict, war) and/or natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, hurricanes). A panel of international experts discussed these issues and exchanged views. Papers focused on both national policy planning and on the institutional level, with an emphasis on what has been shown to work on the basis of practical experience in libraries and other sectors: In addition, case studies, on a worldwide scale, are presented. This book contains the proceedings of that conference.

'Textes présentés lors du colloque organisé sous l'égide du Département des communications de l'Université du Québec à Montréal, et tenu à l'Université du Québec à Montréal les 28 et 29 janvier 1999.'

Umbilical cord blood, previously discarded, has emerged as a new source of stem cells for hematologic reconstitution, bone marrow failures and other hematologic deficiencies. It has become increasingly clear that umbilical cord tissue contains unique stem cells of great potential for regenerative medicine. Importantly, umbilical cord blood is abundant, can be banked and transported with ease, and thus has an indisputable potential for future regenerative therapies. Driven by a massive interest for regenerative medicine and ethically acceptable stem cell sources, the scientific literature on umbilical cord stem cells has exploded.This book provides a consolidated overview of basic, translational as well as clinical research in academic institutions and industry, on hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells contained within umbilical cord tissue, as well as other more recently discovered stem and precursor cells of not yet fully elucidated potential. Although not discussed here, umbilical cord cells have been successfully reprogrammed into pluripotent stem cells (iPS), opening the door for a vast array of applications with this abundant human material likely catapulting cord-derived stem cells to the forefront of cell-based regenerative medicine.Suitable as a primer and reference book for medical fellows and researchers, this book can also be used by students (undergraduate and graduate) as a starting point into the vast literature on stem cells and their potential.