Natural Hazards Review

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November 2002

Volume 3, Issue 4, pp. 135-190

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Nat. Hazards Rev. 3, 135 (2002); http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2002)3:4(135) (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 15 October 2002

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Development and Use of Natural Hazard Vulnerability-Assessment Techniques in the Americas

Stephen Bender

Nat. Hazards Rev. 3, 136 (2002); http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2002)3:4(136) (3 pages) | Cited 3 times

Online Publication Date: 15 October 2002

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Rural Roads Vulnerability Reduction Assessment, Mitigation Measures, and Training

Gordon R. Keller, P.E., M.ASCE

Nat. Hazards Rev. 3, 139 (2002); http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2002)3:4(139) (9 pages) | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: 15 October 2002

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Considerable experience has been gained in the assessment of storm damage to rural roads, subsequent repairs, and implementing measures to reduce the vulnerability of the road system to future events both in the western United States and in Latin America. Closure or damage to rural roads presents a major hardship to local populations, hinders disaster relief efforts, and results in costly damage repairs. Storm-damage assessment, for both repairs and assessing vulnerability, involves a subjective process of working with local communities to identify their highest priorities and support combined with objective inventory of the transportation system and identification of hazards and repair options. Needed work has been specified on simple work lists with site-specific repair or reconstruction recommendations. Many cost-effective planning, location, design, and, maintenance measures can be implemented to greatly reduce the risk and vulnerability of roads, particularly on low-volume roads. Most measures involve avoiding problematic areas, incorporating adequate design detail, and controlling drainage. Training has been conducted and manuals have been written to improve rural-road design, to implement effective storm-damage repairs, reduce future risks, and to minimize environmental damage.

Vulnerability Assessment of a Port and Harbor Community to Earthquake and Tsunami Hazards: Integrating Technical Expert and Stakeholder Input

Nathan J. Wood, James W. Good, and Robert F. Goodwin

Nat. Hazards Rev. 3, 148 (2002); http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2002)3:4(148) (10 pages) | Cited 6 times

Online Publication Date: 15 October 2002

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Research suggests that the Pacific Northwest could experience catastrophic earthquakes and tsunamis in the near future, posing a significant threat to the numerous ports and harbors along the coast. A collaborative, multiagency initiative is underway to increase the resiliency of Pacific Northwest ports and harbors to these hazards, involving Oregon Sea Grant, Washington Sea Grant, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Center, and the U.S. Geological Survey Center for Science Policy. One element of this research, planning, and outreach initiative is a natural hazard mitigation and emergency preparedness planning process that combines technical expertise with local stakeholder values and perceptions. This paper summarizes and examines one component of the process, the vulnerability assessment methodology, used in the pilot port and harbor community of Yaquina River, Oregon, as a case study of assessing vulnerability at the local level. In this community, stakeholders were most concerned with potential life loss and other nonstructural vulnerability issues, such as inadequate hazard awareness, communication, and response logistics, rather than structural issues, such as damage to specific buildings or infrastructure.

Sustainable Cities, a Regional Seismic Scenario, and the 6-23-2001 Arequipa Peru Earthquake

Julio Kuroiwa

Nat. Hazards Rev. 3, 158 (2002); http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2002)3:4(158) (5 pages) | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: 15 October 2002

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From 1998 to early 2001, fifteen Peruvian cities developed and enforced ordinances on land use, channeling urban expansion and population growth into areas that microzonation investigations had determined to be safe. This process took place as part of the “Sustainable Cities, First Stage”—SC-1S. The hazard maps, land use planning, and priority projects to reduce the vulnerability of the city facilities were unanimously approved by the communities involved and all local government council members. Investigations into the effects of the Arequipa, Peru, earthquake of June 23, 2001, were performed to take advantage of this unique opportunity to find out just how useful preevent studies are in reducing disasters. In this case a regional seismic scenario (RSS) had been constructed from 1992 to 1995 for Peru’s southwestern region. The macroseismic area of the June 2001 event overlapped substantially with this RSS. The other main objective of the comparison between the RSS and the effects of the real event was to validate the application of hazard maps in land use planning to reduce losses caused by intense natural events. It was estimated that relatively low acceleration on rock occurred over extensive areas, but this was greatly amplified on soft water-saturated soil, unstable slopes, and uncompacted filled soil. As those were the places where the RSS assumed that the earthquake damage would be severe, the predicted locations of the RSS coincided with the locations that were the worst hit by the June 2001 earthquake. In this paper, comparison is made between the 1992–1995 RSS and the effects of the Arequipa June 2001 earthquake, to verify how useful predisaster investigations are and to validate the seismic hazard maps employed in land-use planning for disaster reduction, which have been widely applied in Peru in the SC-1S program over the past three years.

Community Vulnerability Assessment Tool Methodology

Lisa K. Flax, Russell W. Jackson, and David N. Stein

Nat. Hazards Rev. 3, 163 (2002); http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2002)3:4(163) (14 pages) | Cited 8 times

Online Publication Date: 15 October 2002

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Communities must identify exposure to hazard impacts to proactively address emergency response, disaster recovery, and hazard mitigation, and incorporate sustainable development practices into comprehensive planning. Hazard mitigation, an important part of sustainable development, eliminates or minimizes disaster-related damages and empowers communities to respond to and recover more quickly from disasters. The Community Vulnerability Assessment Tool (CVAT) is a risk and vulnerability assessment methodology designed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Services Center to assist emergency managers and planners in their efforts to reduce hazard vulnerabilities through hazard mitigation, comprehensive land-use, and development planning. CVAT analysis results provide a baseline to prioritize mitigation measures and to evaluate the effectiveness of those measures over time. This methodology is flexible, as results may be achieved using a geographic information system or static maps with overlays and handwritten data. This paper outlines how to engage stakeholders and explains the CVAT process. Several case studies also highlight some of the challenges/problems and best practices/opportunities associated with applying the CVAT methodology.

Natural Hazards Vulnerability Assessment for Statewide Mitigation Planning in Rhode Island

David J. Odeh, P.E., M.ASCE

Nat. Hazards Rev. 3, 177 (2002); http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2002)3:4(177) (11 pages) | Cited 8 times

Online Publication Date: 15 October 2002

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This article describes a simplified vulnerability assessment model applied to the state of Rhode Island for use in statewide disaster mitigation planning. Working with public data sources and existing community vulnerability assessment tools, a practical scoring approach was developed to quantify vulnerability for multiple hazards and exposures in different regions of the state. Hazards included hurricanes, earthquakes, snowstorms, floods, hailstorms, and temperature extremes. Exposures included economic, social, environmental, and critical facilities. Score combinations were analyzed to identify key hazard/exposure combinations and geographic concentrations of vulnerability. Planners used the output from the study to identify and prioritize mitigation programs, as well as improve public awareness of vulnerability in the state. Lessons learned from the vulnerability assessment in Rhode Island are applicable to other regions and help to illustrate the usefulness and limitations of statewide vulnerability assessment.
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Nat. Hazards Rev. 3, 188 (2002); http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1527-6988(2002)3:4(188) (3 pages)

Online Publication Date: 15 October 2002

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