Disasters like terrorist attacks, earthquakes, hurricanes, and volcano eruptions are usually unpredictable events that affect a high number of people. We propose an approach that could be used as a decision support tool for a post-disaster response that allows the assignment of victims to hospitals and organizes their transportation via emergency vehicles. By exploiting the synergy between Mixe...

The field of crisis management knowledge and expertise is associated with a wide range of fields. Knowledge-based crisis management is a combination of science, art and practice. Iran is an earthquake-prone country. Through years several earthquakes have happened in the country resulting in many human and financial losses. According to scientific standards, the first 24 hours following an earth...

Why do relatively few individuals voluntarily purchase coverage against natural disasters? This question has important implications for public policy for two principal reasons: Uninsured victims of natural disasters may incur severe financial losses which will affect their future well-being. After a disaster the common lament is, "I wish that I had purchased insurance." General taxpayers may be...

Microblogging sites like Twitter are increasingly being used for aiding relief operations during disaster events. In such situations, identifying actionable information like needs and availabilities of various types of resources is critical for effective coordination of post disaster relief operations. However, such critical information is usually submerged within a lot of conversational conten...

This article explores certain international law aspects of the Bhopal disaster, namely the principles and rules of international law establishing international accountability for environmental damage; the criteria for determining the liability of the Union Carbide Company (U. S. A.) for the Bhopal disaster; the criteria for determining compensation; and the international remedies available to t...

This 4-year prospective study (N=662) of victims of a fireworks disaster examines the independent predictive value of peritraumatic dissociation for self-reported intrusions, avoidance reactions, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity at both 18-months (T2) and almost 4-years postdisaster (T3). Peritraumatic dissociation was measured 2-3 weeks after the disaster (T1). Hierarc...

The present study examined social media activities of people in an area affected by disaster during the restoration period. The purposes of the study were to examine whether social media can substitute for the real relationships of communities, and to propose how social media can be utilized to support and restore the lives of disaster victims after a disaster. The study consists of bibliograph...

Historically, flooding has resulted in considerable losses, both in property damage and lives lost, throughout the world. According to a report by Guha-Sapir et al. (2013), 53 percent of the total number of victims of natural disasters worldwide in 2012 was victims of floods. Data from the International Disaster Database (2013) likewise show that flooding affects millions of people1 and causes ...

A U.S. mental health consultant worked closely with medical personnel soon after a volcanic eruption and mud avalanche killed about 22,000 persons and devastated the area around Armero, Colombia. The consultant conducted workshops and courses on crisis intervention for health personnel operating disaster relief units and for mental health professionals, pediatric nurses, and family workers; she...

The increasing number of victims from disasters in recent years results in several challenges for authorities aiming to protect and provide support to affected people. Humanitarian logistics represents one of the most important fields during preparedness and response in cases of disaster, seeking to provide relief, information and services to disaster victims. However, on top of the challenges ...