Emergency and Disaster Management Commons^™

Ensuring Accountability To Affected Populations In Humanitarian Settings: "Holding Humanitarian Organizations Accountable To People.", Jazmin Williamson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Aim: This research aims to examine what guidelines and regulations help ensure that humanitarian organizations are held accountable to their beneficiary populations.

Background: Although people have always been the focus of humanitarian aid, their voice and participation didn't become a centralized part of the conversation until the 1990s and later gained real traction in the early 2000s. During these times, many new foundational documents were created to highlight the "centrality of local participation in aid." Among the documents that enshrined this new principle of population participation included the 1992 Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent …

Covid 19 In U.S. Migrant Detention Centers: The Call For Freedom In The Face Of A Global Pandemic, Salma Rojas

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My research paper investigates the responses of the U.S. immigration detention system to the COVID 19 pandemic and determines the capacity of the detention centers to keep detained individuals alive and healthy. As I analyze their capacities, I look to past detention center outbreaks, updated public health resources, reports on ICE facility conditions and the testimonies of migrant people who were detained during the COVID 19 crisis. The urgency of the COVID 19 pandemic is why I dedicate part of my paper to what needs to be done to prevent the situation from worsening. In drawing from these various sources, …

Non-State Actors’ Covid-19 Response In Nepal, Jenna Mae Biedscheid

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research explores the ways in which non-state actors have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal and the needs present in the months before drastic increases in cases began on May 11th. In doing so, it describes how social and political inequality within Nepal has caused people experiencing the most need to be left out of early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic relief effort. This research includes a literature review which situates Nepal amidst the global pandemic as well as interviews with non-state actors currently responding in Nepal. It finds that migrant workers, daily wage earners, Dalits, Janajati/Adivasi peoples, …

The Sustainability Of Child Protection Services In The Republic Of Kosovo, Shpetim Bylykbashi

Capstone Collection

Today, in Kosovo, are services provided for the children most in need sustainable? Do these services have stable and long-term funding? Did the decentralization of the Kosovo government strengthen or weaken the existing child protective environment? In an attempt to answer these questions, a review of available literature was completed, as well as direct interviews conducted with relevant stakeholders engaged in Kosovo’s child protection services at both the governmental and civil society levels. The main finding of my research is that vulnerable children in Kosovo, such as children without parental care, children with special needs, and child victims of domestic …

New York State’S Older Adults In Assisted Living Facilities Need All Of Us To Help Them Avoid The Coronavirus, Mary Helander, Claire Pendergrast

Population Health Research Brief Series

Older adults in assisted living facilities are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus because of how quickly it can spread in close-knit settings. This data slice aims to advocate for the health and safety of older adults and features an interactive map showing the saturation of assisted living facilities in New York State.

Unhealthier States Have Lower Covid-19 Testing Rates, Kent Jason G. Cheng

Population Health Research Brief Series

This data slice dissects the various rates of state testing for COVID-19 across the country, and explains implications of the low test rates in the unhealthier states.

Across Racial Lines: Three Accounts Of Transforming Urban Institutions After A Natural Disaster, James Carter, Nolan Rollins, Gregory Rusovich

New England Journal of Public Policy

At 1:30 p.m. on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina grazed the mostly evacuated city of New Orleans, reserving its most devastating force for coastal Mississippi, just to the east. During the next two days, the federal levees protecting the city failed in multiple places. Sixteen hundred people died in the metropolitan area. Residences and businesses in 80 percent of the city went underwater. Public officials warned residents and business owners that they might not be able to return for two to three months. The scope of devastation in certain parts of the city made ever returning questionable for many residents. …

Beacons Of Hope: How Neighborhood Organizing Led Disaster Recovery, Denise Thornton

New England Journal of Public Policy

The goal of this article is to broaden the scope of your knowledge about New Orleans neighborhoods by describing our revitalization strategies and our common goals, which may be of value to civil society, business, and government leaders in other cities facing social and economic decay. Many have studied us, many have tried to blend into the colorful fabric of our society, but most fall short in truly understanding our rich and diverse culture and our remarkable social structure. This lack of understanding was detrimental to our recovery and is explained in the coming paragraphs.

Slaying Two Sacred Cows: One Group’S Part In Helping New Orleans Reform, Rebuild, And Renew, Ruthie Frierson

New England Journal of Public Policy

Citizens for One Greater New Orleans was a volunteer group of women that exemplified the surge of citizen activism that flourished in New Orleans after Katrina. Alarmed by their realization that local government was too dysfunctional to direct a successful comeback, citizens mobilized and charged at two seemingly untouchable local institutions they deemed ripe for reform, the ineffectual levee board and the notoriously biased board of tax assessors. Using skills honed through years of volunteer work, they mobilized public opinion, lobbied reluctant state lawmakers, and finally achieved success through the passage of constitutional amendments in two separate statewide referendum elections. …

Arising: Hurricane (Superstorm) Sandy’S Impact On Design/Planning Professionals, Maxinne R. Leighton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Standing by my bedroom window, looking out at the ocean, a huge wave comes and swallows up my building. Everything around me is gone, including me. I wake up. I am 13 years old and living in the Coney Island Houses on Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. With ongoing anthropogenic changes to the natural environment such as sea level rise and intensifying storms, coastal communities, especially ones segregated by class and culture, are particularly vulnerable in this context that challenges a way of life, and in some instances, threatens that life's survival. This dissertation focuses specifically on what one massive …

Life In Hampton Roads Survey Press Release #3: Hurricanes And Covid-19, Social Science Research Center, Old Dominion University

Life in Hampton Roads Survey Report

Hurricane Evacuation & Sheltering During COVID-19

The 2020 Life in Hampton Roads (LIHR) survey includes several questions concerning how residents plan to prepare for and respond to hurricanes during the COVID19 pandemic.

Empirical Evaluation Of Disaster Preparedness For Hurricanes In The Rio Grande Valley, Dean Kyne, Leslie Cisneros, Josue Delacruz, Bianca Lopez, Cristina Madrid, Rebecca Moran, Alma Provencio, Felix Ramos, Maria Fernanda Silva

Sociology Faculty Publications

Individual emergency preparedness is critical to mitigate and minimize the negative impacts from disasters. Preparing for future disasters could enhance capacity to better cope with the external shocks and achieve a faster return to normalcy after the disaster event. This study investigates how individuals living in the Rio Grande Valley prepare themselves for the future hurricane disasters. The study investigates the state of objective and subjective preparedness and any discrepancy between the two types of disaster preparedness. Using collected data from590 respondents via an online survey instrument, the study examines the relationships between the states of individual preparedness and selected …

Measuring Disaster Resiliency In The Rio Grande Valley, Alma R. Provencio

Theses and Dissertations

People are now becoming more conscious of the effects of climate change. They are seeking to understand how to manage their resources and prepare for when a disaster strikes. The growing studies of disaster resilience lend that opportunity. In this spatial and temporal study, disaster resilience was measured for each census tract within the four counties of the Rio Grande Valley. Utilizing GIS tools and methods, the study examines resilience patterns between 2010 and 2017.

Results showed that even though various census tracts from each of the four counties increased in resilience from 2010 to 2017, the overall total resilience …

Logistic And Structural Considerations For The Use Of Psychological First Aid In Humanitarian Emergencies, Taylor Johnson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Following the IASC recommendations for implementation of psychological first aid (PFA) in 2007, providing PFA in humanitarian emergencies as a method of psychosocial support has become one of the standard interventions in the wake of crises. However, the impact of PFA on future mental health outcomes remains largely unstudied and many structural and logistic factors (e.g. training of PFA providers, reviewing evidence to inform practice, and policy considerations) must be managed in order to ensure appropriate, high-quality PFA in humanitarian emergencies. This research aims to synthesize both primary interview data and the existing literature surrounding PFA in humanitarian emergencies to …

Checking A Box Or Creating Change? Examining The Overall State Of Gender Mainstreaming In Humanitarian Action, Jenna Thoretz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Humanitarian organizations provide aid and assistance to millions of individuals impacted by natural disasters and armed conflict every day. However, not all individuals are equally impacted by humanitarian crises. Since the 1995 Beijing Conference on Women introduced the term ‘gender mainstreaming’, humanitarian organizations have recognized and taken steps to address gender specific needs in crisis situations.

While there is an abundance of research concerning these gender specific needs, there is little research on the overall state of gender mainstreaming in humanitarian policy. This paper seeks to fill this gap by examining gender mainstreaming in the humanitarian community through some of …

La Sostenibilidad De La Reconstrucción 2014-2019 Tras El Gran Incendio En Valparaíso: Una Mirada Desde La Habitabilidad, Resiliencia Y Preparación En La Gestión De Desastres, Dana Kulma

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The beautiful port city of Valparaíso, Chile is home to 42 colorful hills that overlook the Pacific Ocean. This unique city, however, is also home to multiple disasters, including urban and forest fires, tsunamis, landslides and earthquakes. This descriptive study explores the case of the 2014 “mega-fire” that destroyed 3,000 homes and affected the lives of 11,000 residents. Through five semi-structured interviews and the review of several academic and official documents, the present study analyzes the process of post-disaster reconstruction, seeking to understand the habitability and the resiliency of the reconstructed houses and neighborhoods. In order to understand the challenges …

There She Blows: Public Perceptions Of Mt. Merapi And Mt. Agung, Trey Atticus Spadone

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the archipelago is repeatedly affected by tsunamis, landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Indonesia has the most active volcanoes of any country in the world due to subduction zones between the Eurasian and Indo-Australian plates. The last major eruptions were in 2017 (Mt. Agung in Bali) and 2010 (Mt. Merapi in Central Java) which both required thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes. Since volcanoes have such a geological presence in the country, I was interested in investigating how aware the public is of volcanoes and their associated risks. Where …

Book Review: Forced Confrontation: The Politics Of Dead Bodies In Germany At The End Of World War Ii, Christiane K. Alsop

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Hurricane Relief & Humanitarian Action, Israel Fregoso

Student Engagement Posters

Israel Fregoso discusses student engagement at Linfield College with regard to his disaster relief and humanitarian work through the Community Service and Engagement Office and the Chaplain's Office.

Game Of Floods: Water Is Coming, Lily Daniels, Andrew Lindgren, Michael Neczyporuk, Madison Perry

Undergraduate Research Symposium

Through user experience testing and observation of player interactions, we examined the potential for a game to serve as a vehicle for risk communication and knowledge transmission. Our subject of study, Game of Floods, is a role-playing tabletop simulation game with the goal of educating participants on the threats climate change poses to coastal cities, with a specific focus on the drastic implications of sea level rise and increased rainfall. This game was originally designed by city planners in Marin County, California as a tool for public outreach regarding sea level rise adaptations (including, but not limited to seawalls, levees, …

The Venezuelan Crisis Within The Context Of Us Interventions In Latin America, Gloria D. Bravo

2019 Symposium

Venezuela, due to economic and political sabotage, has been experiencing a humanitarian crisis since the late part of 2018. This oil-exporting nation was faced with economic decline after 9/11, the 2008 economic recession and again in 2014; as a result of oil prices tanking. Under Cesar Chavez’s presidency the Venezuelan Bolivar faced destabilizing inflation rates surged in part by the ‘economic war’ against private enterprise and the bourgeoisie class, as well as a lack of diversification of exports and a dependency on imported goods. After Chavez's death in 2013, Nicolás Maduro took office and social unrest intensified.

Since 2014:

• Over …

Ua12/8 Annual Campus Safety & Security Report, Wku Police

WKU Administration Documents

This report is designed to provide students, potential students, parents, facility and staff with crime statistics and information on university services and crime prevention programs.

Residential Fire Impacts On Richmond, Virginia: A Plan For Identifying And Educating Our Most Vulnerable Communities, Jennifer L. Tillett

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

In 2017, 1.3 million fires in the U.S. caused 3,400 deaths, 14,600 injuries, and $23 billion in loss. Vulnerable populations are less resilient due to their lack of adequate access to financial, medical, and community resources as well as their propensity to reside in substandard housing. This plan studies the impacts of Richmond’s residential fires (2015-2017) on vulnerable communities within the city. Its purpose is to provide an understanding of where fires occurred in vulnerable communities and to recommend actions for prevention education.

The plan is divided into six sections: Introduction, Background, Methodology, Findings, Recommendations, and Implementation. A Social Vulnerability …

Terrorism In The Middle East: Implications On Egyptian Travel And Tourism, Tamer Z.F Mohamed, Tamer S. Elseyoufi

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper attempts to shed the light on challenging issues affecting travel and tourism industry especially in the Middle East such as political, socio-economic and security instability. Due to its geopolitical and historical importance, the paper focuses on the situation in Egypt as a descriptive case study. The methodology relies on historical review and impact assessment to understand the roots and extended branches of instability in the Middle East that led to the Arab Spring, by focusing on the Egyptian case in the last half century. The assessment explains the negative effect of Western and Egyptian policy on extending the …

Puerto Rican Exodus: One Year Since Hurricane Maria, Jennifer Hinojosa

CUNY Centro, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies

One year since Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, nearly 160,000 residents of the island have relocated to the United States. This exodus represents one of the most significant movements of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. mainland in the island’s history in terms of both volume and duration. The new emigration estimates — of 159,415 with an upper bound confidence interval of 176,603 — is as high as the net migration flow in the previous two years combined (144,801).1

However, measuring population movement in real time, especially after a natural disaster like Hurricane Maria, continues …

Puerto Rico: Two Years After Hurricane Maria, Center For Puerto Rican Studies

CUNY Centro, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies

Two years since Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, between 220,000 to 255,000 residents of the island have relocated to the United States. This exodus represents one of the most significant movements of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. mainland in the island’s history in terms of both volume and duration. Two-years post-Hurricane Maria, we expect that an estimate of 60,000 to as high as 78,751 left the Island in 2019. One year since Hurricane-Maria, emigration estimates — of 159,415, with an upper bound confidence interval of 176,603 — is as high as the net migration …

Climate Change, Colonialism, And Second-Class Citizenry: A Case Study Of The Impacts Of Hurricane María In Puerto Rico, Aislyne Calianos

Senior Honors Projects

The hurricane season of 2017 was a historic one, with mammoth storms making landfall one after another, in what seemed like an unrelenting assault on our coastal cities and communities. Hurricane Harvey inundated Houston, Irma plowed through Florida, and Maria devastated Puerto Rico, but one of these storms was unlike the others. Why is it that the American citizens of our southern states were able to recover so much more quickly than our citizens in Puerto Rico? In the era of climate change, we will be forced to reckon with the modern legacy of colonialism, as vulnerable communities must face …

Storm Surge: Report On The Findings From The Hartford Foundation For Public Giving Survey On Impact Of Post- Maria Displacement Of Puerto Ricans And U.S. Virgin Islanders On Households In The Greater Hartford Region, February, Carlos Vargas-Ramos, Charles R. Venator-Santiago

CUNY Centro, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico as a category 4 cyclone, with minimum sustained winds blowing at 145 mph, peaking at 155 mph as it made landfall. The northwest trajectory of the storm assured that the entire island would be affected by its effects. One month henceforth, the island’s authorities indicate that 49 people had died as a direct result of the hurricane. The Puerto Rican government figures indicated 64 deaths were directly related to the hurricane, even though journalistic accounts pointed to more than 1,000 deaths and a Harvard University Study estimated the count at 4,645.1 …

Who Will Stay, Who Will Leave: Decision-Making Of Residents Living In Potential Hurricane Impact Areas During A Hypothetical Hurricane Event In The Rio Grande Valley, Dean Kyne, Arlett Sophia Lomeli, William Donner, Erika Zuloaga

Sociology Faculty Publications

The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) has been impacted by various hurricanes throughout history. While Hurricane evacuation has been studied extensively in other contexts, there is limited systematic research on the warning and response to a large-scale severe weather event in South Texas. This study attempts to understand the evacuation decision-making behavior of Southern residents in the event of a Hurricane making landfall over the Rio Grande Valley. The study uses an online survey questionnaire with 1060 participants: 275 students attending the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley and the remaining 785 are members of the community. Throughout the course of the …

Approaches To Communicating Flooding Information In Hampton Roads: Results From Surveys Of Local Government Staff, Ashley M. Gordon, Michelle Covi

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

The objectives of this report are to identify current communication strategies regarding coastal flooding and present opportunities for improvement and collaboration within the Hampton Roads region. The Hampton Roads Planning District Commission partnered with Old Dominion University to design two surveys of local government staff, the first regarding flooding outreach and the second regarding flooding notification methods. This report summarizes the results of each survey and synthesizes challenges described by respondents. Opportunities and resources, including local initiatives and guides developed by federal agencies and emergency notification providers, are highlighted to assist local government staff in addressing challenges related to flooding …