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Article
Publication date: 7 August 2017

Charlie Labarda, Meredith Del Pilar Labarda and Exaltacion Ellevera Lamberte

Resilient health facilities, particularly hospitals, are critical for a responsive local health system in post-disaster settings. The purpose of this paper is to look at the…

Abstract

Purpose

Resilient health facilities, particularly hospitals, are critical for a responsive local health system in post-disaster settings. The purpose of this paper is to look at the experiences of two hospitals (public and private) in Tacloban City, Philippines in the aftermath of a super typhoon and their respective delivery of health services in such setting.

Design/methodology/approach

It described the impact of Typhoon Haiyan on health services delivery capacity and the factors instrumental in the resilience of the case hospitals. Lessons learned from the hospitals’ experiences, both at the level of the hospital staff and the institution, were also drawn. Disaster preparedness of case hospitals were assessed along several domains of resilience. Key informant interviews among stakeholders were conducted with key themes on disaster resilience extracted.

Findings

Disaster preparedness scores for case hospitals were different from each other and were reflected in their experiences of health services delivery in the aftermath of the disaster.

Research limitations/implications

This study on hospital resilience of two case hospitals, in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, is exploratory in nature. The retrospective design of the study made it prone to recall bias. Further, the use of self-report measures for hospital resilience needs to be validated by more objective measures. The lack of baseline pre-disaster resilience indicators and the unpredictability of disasters could perhaps be addressed by a longitudinal study on hospital resilience in disasters in the future.

Originality/value

This study revealed several key findings. Some of the themes that emerged were: public health in disaster is the responsibility of both public and private hospitals; need for flexibility in disaster preparedness and planning, disaster resilience is an emergent process not a static construct, chaos results from zeal without coordination, and the need for integration of disaster preparedness in daily processes and structures of hospital facilities.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 26 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 June 2018

Liezel Longboan

Studies which look at disaster affected people’s use of communications technologies often fail to take into account people’s communication rights in their analyses, particularly…

1267

Abstract

Purpose

Studies which look at disaster affected people’s use of communications technologies often fail to take into account people’s communication rights in their analyses, particularly their right to freedom of expression. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to this issue by exploring the link between freedom of expression, community participation and disaster risk reduction in the use of digital feedback channels offered by aid and government agencies in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.

Design/methodology/approach

Ethnographic fieldwork was undertaken in the Philippines between 2014 and 2015 in Tacloban City and Sabay Island, both in the Visayas, which have been affected by Typhoon Haiyan. A total of 101 in-depth interviews were conducted with affected people, local and national officials, community leaders, civil society groups, telecommunications companies and humanitarian agencies.

Findings

The interviews reveal that majority of disaster-affected Filipinos chose not to engage with formal feedback platforms offered by government and aid agencies out of fear of giving critical feedback to those in authority. They were concerned about the possibility of losing their entitlement to aid, of being reprimanded by government officers, and of the threat to their lives and of their loved ones if they expressed criticism to the government’s recovery efforts. Nonetheless, 15 per cent used backchannels while 10 per cent availed of the formal means to express their views about the recovery.

Research limitations/implications

The paper sought to draw links between people’s lack of engagement with the formal feedback mechanisms offered by government and aid agencies in the wake of Haiyan and the restrictive sociopolitical environment in the Philippines. Further research could be undertaken to examine how freedom of expression plays a role in disaster prevention and mitigation. Research into this area could potentially provide concrete steps to help prevent the occurrence of disasters and mitigate their impacts.

Originality/value

Freedom of expression and its place in disaster risk reduction is rarely explored in disaster studies. The paper addresses this oversight by examining the lack of engagement by communities affected by Haiyan with digital feedback channels provided by aid agencies and government. The findings suggest that despite the provisions for community participation in DRR under the Philippine Disaster Law, people are prevented to express criticism and dissent which puts into question the spirit and purpose of the law.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 4 December 2018

Gregory Coutaz

Abstract

Details

Coping with Disaster Risk Management in Northeast Asia: Economic and Financial Preparedness in China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78743-093-8

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 25 August 2020

Abstract

Details

Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery from Disasters: Perspectives from Southeast Asia
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-791-1

Content available
Article
Publication date: 4 March 2014

Dilanthi Amaratunga

836

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

Article
Publication date: 26 June 2020

Aruna Apte

The purpose of this research is to understand whether an organization knows if it is ready to respond to a disaster and whether it has the capabilities to deliver relief. Our…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to understand whether an organization knows if it is ready to respond to a disaster and whether it has the capabilities to deliver relief. Our initial motivation was to identify unique resources possessed by the United States Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) due to their unique and critical capabilities for humanitarian operations. The recent frequency of disasters around the world suggests these events will continue to create demand for relief capabilities. For this reason we need to understand readiness metrics not just for USN and USMC but for humanitarian organizations (Hos) in general.

Design/methodology/approach

We survey relevant literature for understanding how HOs define and develop readiness metrics and associated factors. We studied documents including peer-reviewed scholarly articles, government documents, white papers, research papers and Department of Defense (DoD) briefings. We study literature that is significantly written for DoD, one, the vast experience of USN and USMC and two, the lessons learned have been documented. The literature offers substantial information on what readiness means and why it is important. This documented information is critical because it is known to the researchers in humanitarian operations that data is hard to come by.

Findings

The framework for readiness proposed at the end of this article is context the emergency responder probably uses in an informal fashion. The validation of readiness framework, we find exists in the supporting literature we review.

Originality/value

The understanding of readiness metrics for humanitarian operations for the organizations we study may offer insight into other HOs. The insights we gain may not be pivotal or counterintuitive to the conclusions based on commonsense. However, they are supported by the literature review. We formalize the concept based on conclusions of a set of diverse set of researchers and practitioners such as academic scholars, DoD personnel and government officials involved in humanitarian missions, USAID representatives that are repeatedly tasked for being ready, military and government officers from host and foreign countries and many more.

Details

Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, vol. 10 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-6747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2017

Shi Shen, Nikita Murzintcev, Changqing Song and Changxiu Cheng

The purpose of this study is to propose a method to retrieve data on an event based on a preliminary collection of event-specific hashtags.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose a method to retrieve data on an event based on a preliminary collection of event-specific hashtags.

Design/methodology/approach

Extra knowledge, or a list of events with recorded features that can be used to characterize an event and separate it from other simultaneously occurring social phenomena, is employed. The first step involves the estimation and use of the impact area to retrieve messages from Twitter. This is followed by an extraction of hashtags from these messages. After that, the noisy hashtags would be filtered out by some heuristic rules. Finally, hashtags are used to collect relevant messages from not only Twitter but also other social media platforms.

Findings

The proposed method has high selectivity and is able to collect distinct sets of hashtags even for similar simultaneous events. In addition, spatial and temporal features are sufficient to improve collecting information of disaster events.

Originality/value

This work discusses a method of information retrieval of an event from cross-platform social media. The proposed method can be applied to other studies of geographically related events.

Details

Information Discovery and Delivery, vol. 45 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-6247

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 June 2023

Abhijeet Ghadge

Each stage in disaster management faces different challenges concerning information gathering, sharing, interpretation and dissemination. However, a comprehensive understanding of…

Abstract

Purpose

Each stage in disaster management faces different challenges concerning information gathering, sharing, interpretation and dissemination. However, a comprehensive understanding of different information and communication technology (ICT) systems utilised for humanitarian disaster management is limited. Therefore, the paper follows a systems thinking approach to examine ten major man-made and/or natural disasters to comprehend the influence of ICT systems on humanitarian relief operations.

Design/methodology/approach

A longitudinal, multi-case study captures the use of ICT tools, stakeholders involvement, disaster stages and zones of operations for relief operations over the past two decades. A systems thinking approach is utilised to draw several inferences and develop frameworks.

Findings

Multiple ICT tools such as geographic information systems, online webpages/search engines, social media, unmanned aerial vehicles/robots and artificial intelligence are used for rapid disaster response and mitigation. Speed and coordination of relief operations have significantly increased in recent years due to the increased use of ICT systems.

Research limitations/implications

Secondary data on the past ten disasters is utilised to draw inferences. The developed ICT-driven model must be validated during upcoming humanitarian relief operations.

Practical implications

A holistic understanding of a complex inter-relationship between influential variables (stakeholders, disaster stages, zones of operation, ICT systems) is beneficial for effectively managing humanitarian disasters.

Originality/value

Broadly classifying the ICT systems into surveillance, decision support and broadcasting systems, a novel ICT-enabled model for humanitarian relief operations is developed.

Details

The International Journal of Logistics Management, vol. 34 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-4093

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2016

Soledad Natalia Dalisay and Mylene T. De Guzman

The purpose of this paper is to look into the socio-cultural contexts that shaped people’s evacuation decisions during typhoon Haiyan in three affected areas in the Philippines.

2263

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to look into the socio-cultural contexts that shaped people’s evacuation decisions during typhoon Haiyan in three affected areas in the Philippines.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a multi-sited ethnography that utilized interviews, focus group discussion and participatory risk mapping among selected women and men in areas affected by typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

Findings

Coastal communities encounter threats from storm surges as brought about by typhoons. During such periods, disaster evacuation programs are implemented. In some instances, evacuation programs are met with resistance from community members. Such resistance has been attributed to the people’s hard headedness and ignorance of the potential impacts of living in hazard prone areas. This paper argues that it is not solely for these reasons that people refused to evacuate. Results showed that hesitance may also be due to other considerations and priorities vital to people. It is also because people had faith in the knowledge and strategies that they were able to develop by engaging with hazards through time. Furthermore, previous experiences with disaster evacuation programs cast doubt on their value in saving their lives. Life in the evacuation areas can be as dangerous if not more compared with living in their coastal homes. Some of the informants believed that they were being moved from hazard zones to death zones. This paper ends with recommendations for the development of evacuation programs that build people’s resilience while taking into consideration the local moral world in identified hazard zones in the Philippines.

Research limitations/implications

The study focused on three areas affected by typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, namely, Tacloban City, Guiuan, Eastern Samar, and San Francisco, Cebu.

Originality/value

Most research on disaster mitigation looked into the engineering and technology aspects. This paper looks into the socio-cultural contexts of disaster evacuation.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 May 2020

Dharyll Prince Mariscal Abellana, Donna Marie Canizares Rivero, Ma. Elena Aparente and Aries Rivero

This paper aims to propose a hybrid-forecasting model for long-term tourism demand forecasting. As such, it attempts to model the tourism demand in the Philippines, which is a…

3413

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to propose a hybrid-forecasting model for long-term tourism demand forecasting. As such, it attempts to model the tourism demand in the Philippines, which is a relatively underrepresented area in the literature, despite its tourism sector’s growing economic progress.

Design/methodology/approach

A hybrid support vector regression (SVR) – seasonal autoregressive integrated moving averages (SARIMA) model is proposed to model the seasonal, linear and nonlinear components of the tourism demand in a destination country. The paper further proposes the use of multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches in selecting the best forecasting model among a set of considered models. As such, a preference ranking organization method for enrichment of evaluations (PROMETHEE) II is used to rank the considered forecasting models.

Findings

The proposed hybrid SVR-SARIMA model is the best performing model among a set of considered models in this paper using performance criteria that evaluate the errors of magnitude, directionality and trend change, of a forecasting model. Moreover, the use of the MCDM approach is found to be a relevant and prospective approach in selecting the best forecasting model among a set of models.

Originality/value

The novelty of this paper lies in several aspects. First, this paper pioneers the demonstration of the SVR-SARIMA model’s capability in forecasting long-term tourism demand. Second, this paper is the first to have proposed and demonstrated the use of an MCDM approach for performing model selection in forecasting. Finally, this paper is one of the very few papers to provide lenses on the current status of Philippine tourism demand.

Details

Journal of Tourism Futures, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-5911

Keywords

1 – 10 of 180