Emergency and Disaster Management Commons^™

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 …

Perceptions And Expected Immediate Reactions To Severe Storm Displays, Ihnji Jon, Shih-Kai Huang, Michael K. Lindell

Research, Publications & Creative Work

The National Weather Service has adopted warning polygons that more specifically indicate the risk area than its previous county-wide warnings. However, these polygons are not defined in terms of numerical strike probabilities (p_s). To better understand people’s interpretations of warning polygons, 167 participants were shown 23 hypothetical scenarios in one of three information conditions—polygon-only (Condition A), polygon + tornadic storm cell (Condition B), and polygon + tornadic storm cell + flanking nontornadic storm cells (Condition C). Participants judged each polygon’s p_s and reported the likelihood of taking nine different response actions. The polygon-only condition replicated the …

Mid-Atlantic Oil Spill Workshop: Are We Ready? A Regional Workshop As Part Of The National Academies And Sea Grant Collaborative Workshop Series, G. Walker, M. Covi

OES Faculty Publications

(First paragraph) In 2017, the Gulf Research Program (GRP) and the Health and Medical Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine hosted a workshop to prepare for and respond to major marine oil spills. To address gaps identified at the workshop, GRP reached out to the Sea Grant Oil Spill Science Outreach Program to host a series of regional workshops. The Sea Grant Oil Spill team, based in the Gulf, partnered with state Sea Grant programs across the country to plan and deliver regional workshops in 2018-2019. The goals of the workshops were to raise awareness of …

Donor Intent, Disaster Relief, Education, And Policy, Marian Conway Ph.D.

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Inflection Point For Disaster Relief: Superstorm Sandy, Danshera Wetherington Cords

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trial By Water: Reflections On Superstorm Sandy, Thomas Maligno, Benjamin Rajotte

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Disaster Legal Tech: Strategies For Providing Legal Information To Survivors, Jeanne Ortiz-Ortiz, Jessica Penkoff

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Calm After The Storm: 45 Years Of The Aba Young Lawyers Division’S Disaster Legal Services Program, Andrew Jack Vansingel

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

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 …

Project Proposal: The Jentay Group, Edward Vasquez

CUP Undergraduate Research

The following document contains material that connects to the emergency preparedness side of homeland security. The Jentay Group is a small company that brings advanced composites to the industrial market. Their work can be seen in the aerospace and unmanned vehicle industry, the automotive industry and the medical industry (Jentay, 2018). The team of 11 works out of a 4500 ft building located in Beaverton, Oregon. Beaverton is located in the Portland metropolitan area, which boasts a population of approximately 2.4 million (Beaverton Oregon, 2018). These statistics place the headquarters in a heavily populated area, which could bring good business …

Emergency Preparedness Among Salem’S Hispanic Population: Proposal To Improve Emergency Preparedness And Engagement, John C. Pegg Ii

CUP Undergraduate Research

The emergency preparedness of the residents of the City of Salem is of great importance to the City and the resilience of the community. The City’s emergency management mission states “to ensure that the City is prepared for a disaster by ensuring coordination of protection, prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery activities that increase the City’s capabilities to minimize loss of life and reduce impacts from disasters” (City of Salem, 2014). Oregon and the City of Salem are susceptible to a variety of emergencies and disasters. These disasters are infrequent compared to other areas of the country that face a recurring …

Hilton Garden Inn Emergency Operations Analysis And Proposal, Mikaela Mcdaniel

CUP Undergraduate Research

This project is assigned as a senior practicum by Concordia University for seniors to demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired throughout their college education in pursuit of a degree in Homeland Security. The ability to identify and assess threat and risk in a company’s emergency operations is a definite demonstration of a student’s acquired knowledge and skill. Such an assessment was done for the Hilton Garden Inn located in Corvallis, Oregon. Through assessment of their current emergency operations, concerns were found regarding their lack of employee training, updates to the emergency operations plan, and documents. This project outlines the concerns …

Marion County, Oregon Integration Of School Emergency Preparedness, Mitch Sechler

CUP Undergraduate Research

Collaboration between schools and emergency managers is paramount in addressing the whole community approach to emergency management for increasing preparedness (FEMA, 2011). As every disaster is local, a unified and collaborative approach should be taken to ensure schools are not a hindrance but rather an asset for preparedness, response and recovery efforts. Schools must have ownership and accountability for ensuring they are prepared for emergencies. Additionally, local emergency management agencies with their capabilities, capacity and knowledge must take action in response to the opportunity to build partnerships and expanded their efforts to create a resilient community.

Local Disaster Planning And Preparedness Coordination In The Rio Grande Valley, Cristina L. Madrid

Theses and Dissertations

Hurricanes and flooding events yield complex social and environmental consequences to coastal communities. Disaster preparedness and recovery is a multidisciplinary and multi-jurisdictional effort that requires coordination and planning across many actors.

Existing research recognizes the link between social capital and a community’s ability to respond to and ‘bounce back’ to normalcy after such hazardous events. However, few studies have examined the institutional dimension of social capital among communities noted for high levels of poverty situated in disaster-prone areas along the U.S. Mexico border. We aim to fill this gap by using survey data collected from emergency management practitioners in the …

Building A National Maritime Security Policy, Adriana Avila-Zúñiga Nordfjeld

World Maritime University Ph.D. Dissertations

The issue of port security raised concerns at the highest levels after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 against the United States. Security threats against ports and vessels acquired a new perspective and in 2002 the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, introducing Chapter XI-2 - Special measures to enhance maritime security. This set of regulations enshrines the International Ship and Port Facilities Security Code (ISPS Code), which entered into force on 1 July 2004.

This Code establishes a set of measures to enhance the security …

Assessment Of Kenya's Capacity To Effectively Prepare For And Respond To Oil Spill Incidents, Stellamaris Ndeve Muthike

World Maritime University Dissertations

This dissertation assesses Kenya’s capacity to effectively prepare and respond to oil spill incidents and compares it to recommended international practice. The study is based on analysis of available data and questionnaires administered to personnel involved in oil spill preparedness and response in Kenya as well as International Organizations involved in oil spill response and training. Globally sea borne trade has been increasing and this has reflected in Kenya where the country has embarked on expanding its shipping industry. This exposes the country to the risk of oil spill and further compounded by busy tanker route through the territorial sea …

Micronutrient Availability In Alternative Foods During Agricultural Catastrophes, David Denkenberger, Joshua M. Pearce

Civil and Architectural Engineering Faculty Research

Several catastrophes could block the sun, including asteroid/comet impact, super volcanic eruption, and nuclear war with the burning of cities (nuclear winter). Previous work has analyzed alternate food supplies (e.g., mushrooms growing on dead trees, bacteria growing on natural gas). This was shown to be technically capable of feeding everyone with macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and lipids) and minerals, although economics and politics remain uncertain. The present work analyzes vitamin availability in such alternative food scenarios. The vitamin content of various alternate foods is compared to the US recommended daily allowance (RDA) as well as the average requirement defined by the …

The 'New Normal' Of Flooding In Portsmouth, Virginia: Perspectives, Experiences, And Adaptive Responses Of Residents And Business Owners In Low To Moderate-Income Communities, Donta Council, Michelle Covi, Wie Yusuf, Joshua Behr, Makayla Brown, Old Dominion University Resilience Collaborative, Virginia Sea Grant

Presentations, Lectures, Posters, Reports

[First three paragraphs from the Summary]

This project is a part of a broader initiative - the Resilience Adaptation Feasibility Tool (RAFT) - that addresses the daunting challenges coastal communities are facing related to sea level rise and climate change (more information about RAFT is available here: https://ien.virginia.edu/raft).

This aim of this project was to investigate how residents and business owners in low-to-moderate income communities in Portsmouth, Virginia cope with flooding, and to assess implications for how the local government can better engage with residents to better meet their information needs so they can be more resilient to flooding. The …

Rebuild Puerto Rico: A Guide To Federal Policy And Advocacy, Center For Puerto Rican Studies

CUNY Centro, The Center for Puerto Rican Studies

Puerto Rico is in a unique position as a beneficiary of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act, 1974), the law that structures federal natural disaster assistance for state and territories. As explained in this report, disaster support often requires multiple and special appropriations from Congress and the funding allocated for this purpose goes to a multiplicity of local and federal agencies that include Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and many others. Funding includes short-term assistance, disaster recovery efforts, and multiple assistance programs to individuals, businesses and …

We Provided Psychological First Aid After The Las Vegas Shooting – Here’S What We Learned., Michelle Paul, Heather Dahl, John A. Nixon, Noelle Lefforge

Psychology Faculty Research

What is “psychological first aid”? How do mental health experts like you work side by side with traditional first responders? The goal of psychological first aid is to sooth, assist and help people function and cope in a healthy way in the wake of a traumatic event. It’s employed in the hours and days following the event, when people’s immediate needs, including medical care, as well as basic needs like food, shelter and water, must be met, along with their psychological and physical safety needs.