Search results

In a largely exploratory study, the authors investigate: how do managers’ experiences with exogenous hazards (e.g., natural disaster risk) affect their identification of those hazards as salient to the firm? This analysis is based on an international survey of 575 managers across 18 disaster-prone countries. The authors examine whether and how locational hazard risk and managerial experience influence the identification of natural disaster risk as an important firm issue. The authors find that locational natural hazard risk, and direct and indirect experience with natural disasters, increases the likelihood that managers’ will identify firm-specific natural disaster risk as an important firm issue. In addition, the authors also find that managers are likely to identify natural hazards as a threat when natural hazard risk is high and when managers have experience in natural disasters that directly affected their businesses.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the functionality and main results of the ImmoRisk tool. The aim of the project of the Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS), in corporation with the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR), was to develop a user-friendly tool that provides a sound basis with respect to the risk situation caused by extreme weather events.

The tool calculates the annual expected losses (AEL) for different types of extreme weather hazard and the damage rate as the proportion of AEL on building value, based on a trinomial approach: natural hazard, vulnerability and the value of the property.

The paper provides property-specific risk profiles of both the present and future risk situation caused by various extreme weather events.

The approach described in the paper can serve as a model for the realization of subsequent tools in further countries bound with other climatic risks.

The real estate industry is affected by a significant rise in monetary damages caused by extreme weather events. Accordingly, the approach is suitable for implementation in the companies’ real estate risk management systems.

The tool offers homeowners a profound basis for investment decisions with regard to adaptation measures.

The approach pioneers fourfold: first, by meeting the needs of the housing and real estate industry based on a trinomial approach; second, by using a property-specific bottom-up approach; third, by offering both a comprehensive risk assessment of the hazards storms, flood and hailstorm and finally, by providing results with respect to the future climatic risk situation.

The impacts and costs of natural disasters on people, properties and environment are often severe when these occur on a large scale and with no warning system in place. The lack of deployment of an early warning system (EWS), low risk and hazard knowledge and impact of natural hazard experienced by some communities in the UAE have emphasised the need for more effective EWSs. This work focuses on developing an integrated framework for EWSs for communities prone to the impact of natural hazards to reduce their vulnerability and improve emergency management arrangements in the UAE.

The essential elements of effective EWS were identified through literature review to develop an integrated framework for EWS. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were also used to identify and confirm hindering factors to deployment of effective EWSs in Abu Dhabi and Fujairah Emirates, while areas that require further development were also identified through this means.

The outcome of this research revealed that the warning for natural hazards in the UAE lacked the required elements for effective EWS, whereas the elements which are present are insufficient to mitigate the impacts of natural hazards. The information in this work emphasises the need to improve two elements, and to develop the other two essential elements of EWS in the UAE.

The outcome of this research revealed that the warning for natural hazards in the UAE lacked the required elements for effective EWS, whereas the elements which are present are insufficient to mitigate the impacts of natural hazards. The information in this work emphasises the need to improve two elements and to develop the other two essential elements of EWS in the UAE.

Tourism and natural hazards share a long pathway, owing to the fragile existential status of certain tourist destinations and voluntary and involuntary intervention of mankind in the business of natural environment. Over a course of history, numberless natural hazards prevailed and left behind some of the colossal and collateral damage on the physicality and virtuality of destinations. Volume of studies contended this direct and inverse association. Resultantly, impact measurement, ongoing imagery issues and future forecasting have been made to ease out the tourist destination from the consequences of natural hazards. Moreover, considering the inner fabric of tourism system (demand and supply side), natural hazards have been foreseen as unwanted yet necessary event to be emphasized and taken care of. Predominantly, in the existing global milieu of maximum human intervention in the climatic cycle and its outcomes in the form of global warming, climate concerns, natural hazards have been considered as inevitable and destined. Hence, it needs a comprehensive literature-based study to assess the risk factor of natural hazards on the tourist destinations. This study, in acquiescence to address this grey section, intends to explore the existing studies (drafted on the risks impacts of natural hazards on demand, supply and ancillary segments of tourism) and structure the findings thematically and orchestrate these findings in the existing body of literature. Implications from the findings have been presented.

As the human and financial costs of disasters rise, there are increasing demands for evidence that mitigation “pays”. Until this proof exists, many development organisations remain reluctant to pursue risk reduction as a key objective, or even to protect their own projects against potential hazards.

This paper outlines how such evidence could, in fact, be relatively easily obtained by integrating natural hazard related risks concerns into the design and evaluation of potential projects using standard appraisal and evaluation tools. It shows that there is nothing intrinsically difficult about either appraising risks or monitoring and evaluating the impact of related mitigation measures as part of these broader analyses - if this task is approached thoughtfully and knowledgeably, and adequately resourced.

Provision of appropriate methodological tools is not sufficient in itself, however, to secure improvements in the management of risk. The paper identifies a series of further critical factors that need to be addressed in order to secure long-term commitment to risk reduction, as reflected in the broad policies, objectives and priorities of both governments and development organisations, and actual practice on the ground. In particular, development organisations and governments need to accept greater accountability for disaster-related losses.

The paper is based on the findings of an ongoing ProVention Consortium project, 'Measuring Mitigation': Methodologies for Assessing Natural Hazard Risks and the Net Benefits of Mitigation.

Risk-based land-use planning is a major tool for reducing risks and enabling communities to design for and mitigate against natural hazard events. Moving towards a risk-based approach to land-use planning involves changes in planning and public communication practice for local government agencies. However, talking to people about how decisions made in the present may increase risk in the future is notoriously hard and requires carefully crafted public discussion. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper explores the case of a local government planning agency (the Bay of Plenty Regional Council (BOPRC)) who adopted a risk-based approach to the development of their regional policy statement (RPS). The BOPRC designed an innovative approach to talking to their communities about future land use and acceptable risk based on a framework and toolkit of resources (the RBPA – risk-based planning approach).

The process addressed several common challenges of risk engagement for land-use planning as it: integrated input from policy and planning professionals, technical experts and community development specialists across local government organisations; used locally relevant community sessions that developed participants’ understanding of risk; linked ideas about risk tolerance to potential policy implications for local government; and built capacity amongst participants for judgment about risk acceptability and options for safeguard.

The process met public engagement planning criteria for robustness, i.e., valid process design and interpretation of feedback, and transparent integration into the final decisions. It enabled public views on natural hazards to be evaluated alongside technical input and incorporated into final decisions on thresholds for acceptable and unacceptable risk.

The approach taken has made significant contribution to risk engagement and land-use planning practice in New Zealand. In 2017, the BOPRC risk-based approach to their RPS received a national award from the New Zealand Planning Institute for contribution to advancing best practice. In 2018, it received further recognition through the Commonwealth Association of Planners Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Commonwealth.

This brief is designed to inform disaster risk reduction and management in Philippine jails and prisons. It draws upon research conducted in nine jails and prisons between July 2015 and January 2016. This research included 44 interviews with stakeholders, including inmates and prisoners, and nine focus groups with inmates and prisoners in different regions of the country. The research indicates that natural hazards are one amongst the many threats that inmates and prisoners face in their everyday life. Natural hazards are significant because inmates and prisoners are particularly vulnerable. Inmates' and prisoners' vulnerability stems from a thread of proximate and root causes that range from insalubrious and overcrowded facilities and limited resourcing from the government, to the neoliberal nature of the Philippine state. However, inmates and prisoners are not helpless “victims” in dealing with natural hazards. They display a wide range of skills, resources and knowledge (i.e. capacities) that are grounded in everyday practices and values reflective of the broader Philippine society. This policy brief finally makes some recommendations for strengthening hazard prevention, fostering vulnerability mitigation, enhancing preparedness, and reinforcing disaster management in Philippine jails and prisons. These recommendations emphasise the contributions of a number of stakeholders, including the active role of inmates and prisoners who are the first line of defence in facing disasters in jails and prisons.

Two worldwide trends in recent decades are commonly noted and sometimes linked in discussing disasters. First, the reported global cost of natural disasters has risen significantly, with a 14-fold increase between the 1950s and 1990s (Munich Re, 1999). During the 1990s, major natural catastrophes are reported to have resulted in economic losses averaging an estimated US$ 54 billion per annum (in 1999 prices) (ibid). Record losses of some US$ 198 billion were recorded in 1995, the year of the Kobe earthquake – equivalent to 0.7 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) (ibid).

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the improvements in technology that enhance community understanding of the frequency and severity of natural hazards also increased the risk of potential liability of planning authorities in negligence. In Australia, the National Strategy imposes a resilience-based approach to disaster management and stresses that responsible land-use planning can reduce or prevent the impact of natural hazards upon communities.

This paper analyses how the principles of negligence allocate responsibility for loss suffered by a landowner in a hazard-prone area between the landowner and local government.

The analysis in this paper concludes that despite being able to establish a causal link between the loss suffered by a landowner and the approval of a local authority to build in a hazard-prone area, it would be in the rarest of circumstances that a negligence action may be proven.

The focus of this paper is on planning policies and land development, not on the negligent provision of advice or information by the local authority.

This paper identifies the issues a landowner may face when seeking compensation from a local authority for loss suffered because of the occurrence of a natural hazard known or predicted to be possible in the area.

The paper establishes that as risk managers, local authorities must place reliance upon scientific modelling and predictive technology when determining planning processes to fulfil their responsibilities under the National Strategy and to limit any possible liability in negligence.