Immigrant populations in the United States continue to receive inadequate attention in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery despite the increasing frequency and intensity of disasters and... Show More

Immigrant populations in the United States continue to receive inadequate attention in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery despite the increasing frequency and intensity of disasters and catastrophic events. This analysis documents the experiences and challenges of Vietnamese Americans in the Houston metropolitan area after 2017 Hurricane Harvey. Findings highlight diverse experiences and unequal successes and challenges among this population. It is critical for planners and emergency managers to take into account such recovery asymmetries to better prepare for and plan their responses to natural disasters and the current or future pandemics.

This qualitative exploratory single case study identified strategies for lessening population vulnerability during a hydrological disaster. The research occurred in a densely populated county in the... Show More

This qualitative exploratory single case study identified strategies for lessening population vulnerability during a hydrological disaster. The research occurred in a densely populated county in the South Atlantic region of the United States. Semi-structured interviews and thematic data analysis served to address the research question. Methods involved n = 15 semi-structured interviews with uniformed and sworn personnel working in emergency management and public safety roles from agencies and divisions within the county. The data analysis found four generic strategies for lessening population vulnerability to hydrological disasters, (1) resiliency management, (2) resiliency partnership, (3) safety preparedness, and (4) backup preparedness. These four strategies support previous empirical findings and identified best practices. The four generic strategies offer practical approaches that can become a part of a community's overall emergency management plan to assist in lessening the challenges associated with hydrological disaster vulnerability.

The spread of the COVID-19 virus across the globe has permanently changed life for billions of people. Manual contact tracing has been utilized to assist in limiting the spread of contagious... Show More

The spread of the COVID-19 virus across the globe has permanently changed life for billions of people. Manual contact tracing has been utilized to assist in limiting the spread of contagious diseases for many years. The ubiquitous use of smartphones and similar wireless devices has allowed this process to become digital in nature through contact tracing applications installed on these devices. Various countries, and even various regional units within those countries, developed contact tracing applications. Such applications relied on location and short-range communication technologies associated with wireless devices and found varying degrees of success. This work reviews research conducted by universities, governmental organizations, and other entities with respect to the adoption, use, and ultimate success of, digital contact tracing applications across various countries and points to their rather limited success in fighting the spread of the disease. The authors also briefly discuss some implications regarding privacy and security that affected their use in certain countries.

In Thailand, 9% of people with disabilities are visually impaired (VI). VI children are vulnerable when disasters occur. This study investigates risk situations and disaster risk reduction (DRR)... Show More

In Thailand, 9% of people with disabilities are visually impaired (VI). VI children are vulnerable when disasters occur. This study investigates risk situations and disaster risk reduction (DRR) methods in VI schools to identify present and potential ways that students can be provided skills. An interview was administered in two schools to schoolteachers and administrators. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data based on core keywords. DRR for daily risk exposure and fires is the priority. Concerns over VI students are based on the difficulty in orientation. Support is considered crucial for student safety. Supervisory means to limit risk among the VI is uncertain in times of disaster. Students are capable of learning about DRR and, combined with assistive techniques, can limit their risk. DRR policies in VI schools are primarily reactive. Uncomplicated risk awareness information and training could foster an appropriate approach to bringing self-efficacy to deal with risk.

Wildfires are extremely harmful to the environment. While producing gaseous pollutants and particles that cause smoke, wildfires also release carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas that will... Show More

Wildfires are extremely harmful to the environment. While producing gaseous pollutants and particles that cause smoke, wildfires also release carbon dioxide (CO2), a greenhouse gas that will continue to warm the planet after the wildfire ends. This article delves into the impact of wildfires and air quality on human living conditions. The authors' machine learning models use wildfire data to forecast air quality with detailed indexes and geographic information during a wildfire. The work evaluates the performance of each machine learning model via statistical metrics like mean absolute error (MAE), R-squared (R2), and root mean squared error (RMSE). The experimental results used neural networks to predict a specific value for carbon monoxide (CO), ozone, and PM2.5. These are both promising and accurate, providing meaningful insight into air quality within a region. This work will be useful for cities, governments, citizens, and public safety.

In Kenya, arid and semi-arid lands are more affected by drought due to their fragile ecosystems and unfavorable climate. The main objective of this study was to determine the level of community... Show More

In Kenya, arid and semi-arid lands are more affected by drought due to their fragile ecosystems and unfavorable climate. The main objective of this study was to determine the level of community resilience to drought in Kitui County, based on the conceptual framework of community resilience building to drought. The results indicate that social (F (860.969) =397, p = 0.000 < 0.05) and economic factors (F (5316.236) = 397, p = 0.000 < 0.05) significantly influenced community resilience to drought; however, environmental factors did not have much effect. The study recommends the need to adopt appropriate strategic policy options for enhancing community resilience to drought through capacity building on successful humanitarian aid interventions. The research findings will be beneficial to policy makers and stakeholders generally to improve strategies for enhancing community resilience to drought against the effects of climate change.