Stations are the main components of the subway systems. Despite the progress in the construction and maintenance, stations have always been exposed to the natural and man-made disasters. In such incidents, the station’s evacuation capability has a direct relation with a passenger's life. Various factors affect the station's evacuation capability. Investigation of these factors and evaluation of...

The study of complex phenomena, such as the interplay between human and natural systems, requires models. To allow for an orderly study of the effects of individual actions the model must comprise different scales of granularity, individuals and aggregates. In a joint research project between IIASA (Austria), DSV (Sweden) and the Hungarian Academy of Science, the flooding problem of Upper Tisza...

As we depend more and more on software intensive systems, safety is of paramount importance. This paper attempts to address the often-neglected topic of safety assessment for software intensive systems. A thorough analysis of system hazards, and related catastrophic events, allows the developers to assess the system safety by identifying all potential catastrophic events and their impact on req...

Catastrophic events such as oil spills, hypoxia, disease, and major predation events occur in marine ecosystems and affect fish populations. Previous evaluations of the performance of spatial management alternatives have not considered catastrophic events. We investigate the effects of local and global catastrophic events on populations managed with and without no-take marine reserves and with ...

This article describes how a mental health disaster response plan, which resulted from a collaborative effort between the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, was used successfully to meet the needs of more than 1,000 displaced survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Included is a discussion of how the components of established disaster r...