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Outbreaks of infectious diseases can occur after natural disasters as vital services are disrupted and populations move into evacuation centres. National notifiable disease surveillance may be inadequate in these situations because of resource-consuming disease confirmation or system interruptions. Although syndromic surveillance has been used as an alternative in post-disaster situations, no systematic evaluations of it have been published. We evaluated the ad hoc paper-based syndromic surveillance system implemented in evacuation centres in Ibaraki prefecture after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. We assessed the simplicity, acceptability, data quality, timeliness and portability of this system and reviewed its usefulness. We concluded that the system was simple, acceptable, portable and useful. The documentation and monitoring of disease events and trends were useful for developing interventions in evacuation centres and have since been used to improve post-disaster infectious disease and surveillance knowledge in Japan. We believe timeliness was a challenge due to the chain of data transmission and communication passing through an intermediary. Future implementations of this system could consider a more direct chain of data transmission and communication from collectors to analysers. Too few key informant interviewees and the inability to obtain original paper-based data from evacuation centres limited our findings; we conducted this evaluation four years after the response occurred. Future evaluations should be completed closer to when operations cease. The usefulness of the system suggests adopting it in future disasters. A simple, plain-language manual should be developed to improve future employment.

This document is an editorial for a special issue of the journal Remote Sensing, which focuses on using satellite data and new methodologies to understand the preparatory phase of medium-large earthquakes. The issue includes 15 papers from authors in various countries, covering topics such as seismo-electromagnetic processes, lithospheric structure, atmospheric anomalies, ionospheric disturbances, and interactions between the lithosphere, atmosphere, and ionosphere. The editorial emphasizes the need for further research to explain the different patterns observed in earthquakes and the potential role of tectonic settings and water in these phenomena. Additionally, there is an acknowledgment section from a research paper published in the journal, expressing gratitude to the academic editors who helped evaluate the papers in the special issue. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The Mediterranean Sea is a region characterized by high seismic activity, with at least 200 tsunami events recorded from the fourth century to the present twenty-first century. Numerous studies have been conducted to understand past tsunami events, earthquake–tsunami generation, tsunami recurrence periods, tsunami vulnerability zones, and tsunami hazard mitigation strategies. Therefore, gaining insights into future trends and opportunities in Mediterranean Sea tsunami research is crucial for significantly contributing to all relevant aspects. This study aims to assess such trends and opportunities through a scientometric analysis of publications indexed by Web of Science from 2000 to 2023. Results: Based on a selection of 329 publications, including research articles, review articles, book chapters, and conference papers, published between 2000 and 2023, Italy has the highest number of publications and citations in this field. The number of publications has increased significantly, especially after the 2004 Indian Ocean, 2011 Tohoku, and 2018 Palu tsunamis. According to the keyword analysis, the terms "tsunami", "earthquake", "hazard", "wave", "Mediterranean", "coast", and "tectonic" were the most frequently used in these publications. Research themes consist of four classifications: motor themes, such as seismic hazard; specific but well-developed themes, like tsunamiite; emerging or disappearing themes, for example, climate change; and general or basic themes, such as equations and megaturbidite. The number of publications related to the motor theme classification continued to grow throughout 2000–2023. Topics from 2011–2023 are more complex compared to 2000–2010, characterized by the emergence of new keywords such as evacuation planning, risk reduction, risk mitigation, building vulnerability, coastal vulnerability, climate change, probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment (PTVA-3 and PTVA-4). However, topics that were popular in the 2000–2010 period (e.g., paleotsunami deposits, earthquake, and tsunami propagation analysis) also increased in 2011–2023. Conclusions: Research topics with high centrality and density such as seismic hazard will continue to develop and prospect. The cluster network of this topic includes seismoturbidites, sedimentary features, tsunami modeling, active faults, catalog, and historical earthquakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Iran is a country with a high rate of natural disasters like earthquake. The environmental conditions slow down the delivery of health services, especially in the event of disasters. The modern technologies such as telemedicine are appropriate for facilitating disaster relief operations after an earthquake. This study aimed to develop a model for the implementation of telemedicine in an earthquake. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out using a mixed-methods research in three phases: 1. Review of the literature; 2. Qualitative study (modeling); and 3. Delphi method (validation of the model). Databases of Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed were searched from 1990 to 2019 with the keywords of "telemedicine" AND "disaster" OR "emergency" AND "earthquake". After screening of the retrieved records, 13 articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review study. Ten experts extracted all key elements of telemedicine in the disaster from the articles and categorized them in 6 themes with 38 subthemes. The model of telemedicine in the earthquake was finalized with 2 rounds of Delphi with groups of selected volunteer experts. Results: In the first phase of the study, 6 key themes (telecommunication infrastructure, technical infrastructure, financial infrastructure, health infrastructure, organizational infrastructure, social infrastructure, and cultural infrastructure) with 38 subthemes of telemedicine for implementing in the disaster were obtained. At the conclusion of the third phase of the study, 6 key themes with 33 subthemes contributed to the model of telemedicine in the earthquake. Telecommunication infrastructure with a maximum score of 9.24 earned the priority, and social and cultural infrastructure themes with the minimum score of 7.53 came in the end. Conclusion: The model derived from this study can be used as an applied telemedicine model in an earthquake. We suggest that the results of this study be implemented as a theoretical model, or in a pilot study in a region of the country, and to be evaluated by regarding mortality reduction. We also recommend that a comparative study for using telemedicine in other types of disasters be undertaken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2005 Kashmir earthquake has triggered widespread landslides in the Himalayan mountains in northern Pakistan and surrounding areas, some of which are active and are still posing a significant risk. Landslides triggered by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake are extensively studied; nevertheless, spatio-temporal landslide susceptibility assessment is lacking. This can be partially attributed to the limited availability of high temporal resolution remote sensing data. We present a semi-automated technique to use the Sentinel-2 MSI data for co-seismic landslide detection, landslide activities monitoring, spatio-temporal change detection, and spatio-temporal susceptibility mapping. Time series Sentinel-2 MSI images for the period of 2016-2021 and ALOS PALSAR DEM are used for semi-automated landslide inventory map development and temporal change analysis. Spectral information combined with topographical, contextual, textural, and morphological characteristics of the landslide in Sentinel-2 images is applied for landslide detection. Subsequently, spatio-temporal landslide susceptibility maps are developed utilizing the weight of evidence statistical modeling with seven causative factors, i.e., elevation, slope, geology, aspect, distance to fault, distance to roads, and distance to streams. The results reveal that landslide occurrence increased from 2016 to 2021 and that the coverage of areas of relatively high susceptibility has increased in the study area., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Earthquakes nucleate when large amounts of elastic energy, stored in the earth's crust, are suddenly released due to abrupt sliding over a fault. Fluid injections can reactivate existing seismogenic faults and induce/trigger earthquakes by increasing fluid pressure. Here we develop an analogous experimental system of simultaneously loaded and wetted absorbent porous paper to quantify theoretically the process of wetting‐induced earthquakes. This strategy allows us to gradually release the stored energy by provoking low intensity tremors. We identify the key parameters that control the outcome of the applied injection strategy, which include the initial stress state, fault segmentation, and segment‐activation rate. Subsequent injections, initiated at high stress levels, can drive the system faster toward its instability point, nucleating a large earthquake. Starting at low stress levels, however, they can reduce the magnitude of the natural event by at least one unit. Plain Language Summary: Understanding natural and anthropogenic seismicity is a major scientific challenge. Here we present a novel analogue fault model using absorbent porous paper, which gives new insights on earthquake mitigation. When scaled to in‐situ conditions, the porous paper model represents a natural seismic rupture of magnitude Mw = 5.9. By progressively wetting it, we simulate fluid injections in the earth's crust and draw analogies to large‐scale industrial projects. In our experiments, each injection is accompanied by tremors, which progressively release energy and modify the energy budget of the system. Without precise knowledge of the fault properties, we risk driving the system faster toward an unexpected large seismic event. However, provided that the model's key parameters–fault segmentation, segment‐activation rate, and stress state–are well known or controlled, the natural rupture can be mitigated by at least one unit. We expect that these results will facilitate risk reduction in current fluid injection projects and inspire earthquake mitigation strategies for real tectonic faults. Key Points: From an energetic point of view, absorbent porous paper can be an ideal, low‐cost surrogate rock material for studying induced seismicitySegmentation of faults and sequential fluid injection in each segment can mitigate potential earthquakes by at least one order of magnitudeWe show that fault segmentation, segment‐activation rate and stress state predominantly control the result of applied injection strategies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents aspects of the scientific production of three 'ilustrados' who worked in South America: José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva (1763-1838), José Hipólito Unanúe (1755-1833), and Dámaso Antonio Larrañaga (1771-1848). These naturalists, whose trajectories, territories and beliefs were different, built their particular version of Nature in America and contributed with their scientific work to the construction of American geohistory. They were chosen in this research by criteria of territorial dispersion and by different approaches about specific aspects of Earth Sciences – themes that up to now have not received full attention among Latin-American historians of sciences. This paper contends that these personalities built their own knowledge about 'temperament' (climate) and territories, and also used their scientific knowledge to implement political agenda for their respectives countries that were being conformed.

Background: Iran is one of the earthquake-prone countries in the world that have experienced earthquakes with a magnitude of more than seven on the Richter scale, which has caused significant financial, human, economic, and social losses in society. In earthquakes where the vital arterial system is severely damaged, the community's life is threatened and sometimes causes significant damage. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the earthquake on vital arteries and to design a new approach to earthquake crisis management in the classification of vital arteries. Materials and Methods: This study was descriptive applied. The study population consisted of technicians and experts in management and civil engineering in Isfahan Province, Iran. Considering that the study population is 265 people, all of them were studied with the assumption of a confidence interval of 0.95 and an error of 0.05. The study data were collected by a questionnaire. Because of the normality of the data, the data were analyzed with the Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS software. Results: The results of data analysis and Pearson correlation coefficient test show a significant relationship between the classification of vital arteries based on new structuring with crisis management and its key role in earthquake crisis control. The passive defense was the most important component and the most relevant among effective approaches to managing vital arteries crises. Conclusion: By creating this proposed model of earthquake crisis management, a new classification was made for the system of vital arteries. Also, It provides a proper performance in different situations of before, during, and after social crises. It is also necessary to form a headquarter called the Social Crisis Management Headquarter based on efficient strategies and the necessary implementation and training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earthquake research has expanded over the past few decades. Also, over the past 30 years, earthquakes have become a major study because earthquakes occur every year in each region. The aims of this research is to analyze the top 100 cited articles in the earthquake field from 1991 to 2021. Research give an idea of citation, author, year, journal and country characteristics of these articles using literature review, bibliometric analysis and VOSViewer which the data from Scopus database. The research found that articles is most document type of top 100 cited papers which 2005 was the most published year for the article. The average number of citations per article was calculated as 727 citations per paper. The journal Nature is the primary source of the Nature Publishing Group, which governs the publication of the most influential earthquake studies. Kanamori is recognized as the most productive author who received the highest number of quotes and the most incredible link strength. The United States dominates the production of highly cited articles. The research areas in these papers are mainly emphasized on earthquake, states, geological, sciences, earth, and japan. Further research related to earthquakes can also be directed to the relevance of the tsunami. The results of the Scopus database show 2,098 document results [January 17, 2022] with the title “earthquake tsunami.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Iran is an earthquake-prone country, and a considerable rural population lives in earthquake-prone areas. With many worn-out areas, incompetent houses, and relatively underdeveloped rural areas, it is necessary to pay special attention to risk reduction and subsequent measures in these areas. Materials and Methods: Among the current methods, HAZUS is one of the most common methods in estimating potential losses in an earthquake. We used it to calculate the buildings' estimated losses in the earthquake based on the instructions. Because one of the main issues in disaster management is to choose locations for emergency or temporary settlement of population affected by the distracter, this research tries to carry this out based on the derived results from the damage using fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). After reviewing the previous studies and the experts' opinions, the major and minor criteria affecting the selection of temporary settlement locations were identified. Results: Results suggested that using the damage rate of the studied buildings in the studied area and after choosing six priorities in the pilot village of Vaneshan, priority number 1 was chosen as the best option for temporary settlement in this village. Ultimately, the required items for the evacuees were determined by using the standards of supplying the essentials for the evacuees. Conclusion: Regarding the study area, the results of the damage analysis of the area show that the rate of damage with extensive and complete levels in the villages is very high, which leads to a large number of homeless people with the urgent need to provide adequate shelter. This endower requires a lot of money, and the relevant managers should already be thinking about finding financial resources for it. This issue is not only related to the study area and applies to the whole of Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: After the Kermanshah earthquake on November 12, 2017, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences dispatched a response team to the earthquake-stricken areas. This team provided the affected people with health services for 10 days. This article intends to examine the experience of this team in Kermanshah earthquake-stricken areas. Materials and Methods: After the team's return from Kermanshah, a meeting was held to examine the challenges and review the learned lessons with 60 participants, including authorities and the people who were members of the team. The discussed issues were coded using content analysis. The similar codes were merged, and then categories were extracted. Results: The analysis of discussions led to 9 categories of experiences that included delay in recalling process and its challenges, lack of preparedness, use of the virtual space capacity, lack of proper assessment of the health needs and the estimation of facilities, management experience of the team on the dispatch, shortcomings, and imperfections, managerial challenges, lack of coordination, and setting up of field hospitals without planning. Conclusion: Iran is susceptible to natural disasters, and from time to time, parts of the country are affected by these disasters. One of the priorities in these disasters is people's need for health services. Since health facilities in the area usually encounter problems in these circumstances, other medical universities should provide help and relief. The present experience shows that there are still many challenges that should be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Natural disasters are out of human control, often leading to loss of life and property, and particularly affecting public health. Natural disasters influence human lives in different ways. They may have severe, obvious, or hidden consequences. Therefore, the present study aimed at examining the environmental health condition of the cities affected by 2017 earthquake in Kermanshah Province. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The environmental health experts gathered and analyzed the study data regarding the environment health condition of public places, food safety, solid waste management, types and number of water supplies, number of healthcare facilities and local health centers, etc. Results: According to the results, the lowest and highest number of damaged villages in Kermanshah Province were located in Sarpol-e Zahab (205 villages) and Qasr-e Shirin (29 villages), respectively. In addition, Eslamabad-e Gharb and Salas-e Babajani had the highest and lowest urban and rural populations, respectively. A total of 138564 people were affected by the earthquake. The improved water sources in the affected areas included 51 low-risk water sources, 171 moderate-risk water sources, 2 high-risk water sources, and 0 very high-risk water sources. In addition, 5059 m³ water was chlorinated by the environmental health experts and 1805 households were under the coverage of methoxymethyl chloride. Moreover, public healthcare centers (1059 intact and 605 damaged), 4564 food safety centers (3204 intact and 1360 damaged), and 20 solid waste management centers (16 intact and 4 damaged) were available in the area after the earthquake. Conclusion: Overall, the results indicate that the environmental health activities in the areas affected by the earthquake were adequate in terms of providing healthy drinking water, garbage and wastewater management, distribution of healthy foods, and so on. Thus it can be used as a good model to response the needs of the survivors from the future natural disasters and crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disastrous earthquake of 1693 AD caused over 60,000 causalities and the total destruction of several villages and towns in south-eastern Sicily. Immediately after the earthquake, a tsunami struck the Ionian coasts of Sicily and the Messina Strait and was probably recorded even in the Aeolian Islands and Malta. Over the last few decades, the event has been much debated regarding the location of the seismogenic source and the possible cause of the associated tsunami. The marine event has been related to both a submarine landslide and a coseismic displacement at the seafloor. To better define the most reliable sources and dynamics of the tsunami, we couple high-resolution marine seismic survey data with hydrodynamic modelling to simulate various scenarios of tsunami generation and propagation. Results from the simulations are compared with geomorphological evidence of past tsunami impacts, described in previous work along the coast of south-eastern Sicily, and within historical chronicles and reports. The most reliable scenario considers the 1693 event composed by two different tsunami waves: a first wave generated by the coseismic fault displacement at the seafloor and a second wave generated by a submarine landslide, triggered by the earthquake shaking. Tsunami modelling shows that a simultaneous movement between fault displacement and submarine mass movement could determine a destructive interference on the tsunami waves, resulting in a reduction in wave height. For this reason, the second tsunami wave probably occurred with a maximum delay of few minutes after the one generated by the earthquake and induced a greater flooding. The double-source model could explain the observation because in the course of other destructive earthquakes in south-eastern Sicily, such as that of 1169 AD, the associated tsunami caused less damages. This implies the need to better map, define and assess the hazard responsible for this type of tsunami events., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Volcanic activity can induce flank failure, sometimes generating large earthquakes and tsunamis. However, the failure structures have never been fully characterized and the failure mechanism is still debated. Magmatic activity is a possible trigger, either through fault slip, which might be induced by dyke intrusions, or through sill intrusions, which might be undergoing coeval normal displacements and slip. At the Piton de la Fournaise volcano, satellite imagery combined with inverse modeling highlights the pathways of 57 magmatic intrusions that took place between 1998 and 2020. We show that a major arcuate dyke intrusion zone is connected at depth to a sill intrusion zone, which becomes a fault zone towards the sea, forming a spoon-shaped structure. Some sills are affected by coeval normal displacement and seaward slip. Overall, the structure is characterized by a continuum of displacement from no slip, to sheared sills and finally pure slip. Repeated intrusions into this spoon-shaped structure could trigger catastrophic collapses., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Earthquake disasters are marked by their unpredictability and potential for extreme destructiveness. Accurate information on building damage, captured in post-earthquake remote sensing images, is critical for an effective post-disaster emergency response. The foundational features within these images are essential for the accurate extraction of building damage data following seismic events. Presently, the availability of publicly accessible datasets tailored specifically to earthquake-damaged buildings is limited, and existing collections of post-earthquake building damage characteristics are insufficient. To address this gap and foster research advancement in this domain, this paper introduces a new, large-scale, publicly available dataset named the Major Earthquake Damage Building Feature Set (MEDBFS). This dataset comprises image data sourced from five significant global earthquakes and captured by various optical remote sensing satellites, featuring diverse scale characteristics and multiple spatial resolutions. It includes over 7000 images of buildings pre- and post-disaster, each subjected to stringent quality control and expert validation. The images are categorized into three primary groups: intact/slightly damaged, severely damaged, and completely collapsed. This paper develops a comprehensive feature set encompassing five dimensions: spectral, texture, edge detection, building index, and temporal sequencing, resulting in 16 distinct classes of feature images. This dataset is poised to significantly enhance the capabilities for data-driven identification and analysis of earthquake-induced building damage, thereby supporting the advancement of scientific and technological efforts for emergency earthquake response. Dataset:  https://github.com/ziwen-hash/MEDBFS (accessed on 22 April 2024). Dataset License: CC-BY-NC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hospital systems play a critical role in treating injuries during disaster emergency responses. Simultaneously, natural disasters hinder their ability to operate at full capacity. Thus, cities must develop strategies that enable hospitals' effective disaster operations. Here, we present a methodology to evaluate emergency response based on a model that assesses the loss of hospital functions and quantifies multiseverity injuries as a result of earthquake damage. The proposed methodology can design effective plans for patient transfers and allocation of ambulances and mobile operating rooms. This methodology is applied to Lima, Peru, subjected to a disaster scenario following a magnitude 8.0 earthquake. Our results show that the spatial distribution of healthcare demands mismatches the post-earthquake capacities of hospitals, leaving large zones on the periphery significantly underserved. This study demonstrates how plans that leverage hospital-system coordination can address this demand-capacity mismatch, reducing waiting times of critically injured patients by factors larger than two.

Earthquake nowcasting has been proposed as a means of tracking the change in large earthquake potential in a seismically active area. The method was developed using observable seismic data, in which probabilities of future large earthquakes can be computed using Receiver Operating Characteristic methods. Furthermore, analysis of the Shannon information content of the earthquake catalogs has been used to show that there is information contained in the catalogs, and that it can vary in time. So an important question remains, where does the information originate? In this paper, we examine this question using stochastic simulations of earthquake catalogs. Our catalog simulations are computed using an Earthquake Rescaled Aftershock Seismicity ("ERAS") stochastic model. This model is similar in many ways to other stochastic seismicity simulations, but has the advantage that the model has only 2 free parameters to be set, one for the aftershock (Omori‐Utsu) time decay, and one for the aftershock spatial migration away from the epicenter. Generating a simulation catalog and fitting the two parameters to the observed catalog such as California takes only a few minutes of wall clock time. While clustering can arise from random, Poisson statistics, we show that significant information in the simulation catalogs arises from the "non‐Poisson" power‐law aftershock clustering, implying that the practice of de‐clustering observed catalogs may remove information that would otherwise be useful in forecasting and nowcasting. We also show that the nowcasting method provides similar results with the ERAS model as it does with observed seismicity. Plain Language Summary: Earthquake nowcasting was proposed as a means of tracking the change in the potential for large earthquakes in a seismically active area, using the record of small earthquakes. The method was developed using observed seismic data, in which probabilities of future large earthquakes can be computed using machine learning methods that were originally developed with the advent of radar in the 1940s. These methods are now being used in the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence models in a variety of applications. In recent times, methods to simulate earthquakes using the observed statistical laws of earthquake seismicity have been developed. One of the advantages of these stochastic models is that it can be used to analyze the various assumptions that are inherent in the analysis of seismic catalogs of earthquakes. In this paper, we analyze the importance of the space‐time clustering that is often observed in earthquake seismicity. We find that the clustering is the origin of information that makes the earthquake nowcasting methods possible. We also find that a common practice of "aftershock de‐clustering", often used in the analysis of these catalogs, removes information about future large earthquakes. Key Points: Earthquake nowcasting tracks the change in the potential for large earthquakes, using information contained in seismic catalogsWe analyze the information contained in the space‐time clustering that is observed in earthquake seismicityWe find that "aftershock de‐clustering" of catalogs removes information about future large earthquakes that the nowcasting method uses [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Geophysics, topographic factors are observations that can be directly measured, but they are often ignored to simplify the model. Studying the coseismic deformation caused by earthquakes helps accurately determine the epicenter's parameterization. It provides a reference for the reasonable layout of coseismic observation stations and GNSS observation stations. After the Mw7.8 earthquake in Nepal in 2015, GCMT, USGS, GFZ, CPPT, and other institutions released their epicenter parameter. However, according to their parameters, the coseismic displacements simulated by the spectral-element method are quite different from the GNSS observations. Firstly, this paper inverts the geometric parameters of the seismogenic fault with Nepal's coseismic GNSS displacement. The spectral-element method determines the source's location and depth under the heterogeneous terrain and outputs the source parameters. Among the results of many studies, the surface source is more consistent with the generation mechanism of large earthquakes. Secondly, this paper calculates the fault slip distribution of this earthquake using SDM (Steepest Descent Method) based on GNSS and InSAR data, which is divided into 1500 subfaults, and the moment tensor of each subfault is calculated. This paper investigates the distribution characteristics of the coseismic deformation field of the 2015 Mw 7.8 earthquake in Nepal under three different models. The results show that the influence of topographic factors is ~ 20%, and the influence of heterogeneous factors is ~ 10%. This paper concludes that the influence of topographic factors is much more significant than that of heterogeneous factors, and the influence of both should be addressed in coseismic deformation calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For regions lack of strong ground motion records, a method is developed to predict strong ground motion by small earthquake records from local broadband digital earthquake networks. Sichuan and Yunnan regions, located in southwestern China, are se- lected as the targets. Five regional source and crustal medium parameters are inversed by micro-Genetic Algorithm. These parameters are adopted to predict strong ground motion for moment magnitude (Mw) 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0. Strong ground motion data are compared with the results, most of the result pass through ideally the data point plexus, except the case of Mw 7.0 in Sichuan region, which shows an obvious slow attenuation. For further application, this result is adopted in probability seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) and near-field strong ground motion synthesis of the Wenchuan Earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake-induced landslides destroyed larger areas of mountain vegetation and produced large volume of landslide-debris, which made the vegetation's hydrological adjusting function diminished and made the hydrological progresses in slopes changed, resulting in severe erosion and catastrophic debris flows for a rather long time. Since 2008, the landslide-damaged vegetation and its hydrological function have been recovering. In this paper, the Minjiang Upstream watersheds around Yingxiu Town were selected. First, the landslide-damaged vegetation was identified and monitored via multi-temporal (2001-2014) satellite images. Then, the slope materials stabil ity was assessed through topographic analysis of the vegetation survival environments. Then, the hydrological connectivity index (HCI) was defined to describe the upstream sediment production and downstream transport pathway. Finally, results indicated that HCI decreased annually with the vegetation recovery after the obvious increases during the earthquakes. While, analysis of 2008-2013 debris flow events indicated that the areas, the vertical drop to river<1000m and the horizontal distance to river<2500m, have high HCI increases and are more susceptible for debris flow formation. Monitoring the landslide-damaged vegetation recovery processes can contribute to assess the hydrological connectivity changes and understand the debris flow formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Strong earthquake geological hazards cause significant social and economic losses. The assessment of post-earthquake socioeconomic development levels is one of the important bases from which to measure the recovery capacity of hazard areas. However, the long-term impact of geological hazards is rarely considered in the assessment of the socioeconomic development level of a mountainous earthquake-stricken area. The purpose of this paper is to study the complex relationship between earthquake geological hazard effects and socioeconomic development in the long-term post-earthquake development and reconstruction of mountainous extremely earthquake-stricken areas, to provide a reference for the study area to achieve regional sustainable development goals and high-quality development. On this basis, using the economic, social, ecological environment and other relevant data from 2008 to 2016, and using unsupervised machine learning algorithms, a socioeconomic development level evaluation model based on spectral clustering was established, and the effects of different kernel function scale parameters on the model were analyzed. The optimal parameters were determined, and the spatiotemporal analysis of the socioeconomic development level of the study area was carried out. The research results show that the performance of the evaluation model is optimal when the output category is 4 and the scale parameter is 0.26, and the scale parameter of the kernel function is an important indicator that affects the accuracy of the model. From 2008 to 2016, the socioeconomic development level of Qingchuan has always been at a very low level, Wenchuan and Beichuan have always been at a low level, Shifang and Mianzhu have always been at a high level, and Pengzhou and Dujiangyan have always been at a very high level. The socioeconomic development level of Anxian, Maoxian and Pingwu fluctuates greatly over time. Another interesting finding is that the socioeconomic development level of the mountainous earthquake-stricken area has a strong correlation with its own industrial structure and landslide hazard effects. The work done in this paper is of great significance for understanding the temporal and spatial effects of hazards and understanding the complexities of regional disaster systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome the reliance on large samples and high-quality data in existing evaluation methods, while also improving evaluation efficiency and accuracy, this paper proposes a method for rapid landslide hazard assessment. This method utilizes existing research findings and specific analytical techniques for the study area to conduct rapid assessments. Taking the landslide in Yongxing Town, Mingshan Area, Ya'an City, Sichuan Province as an example, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is combined with the Information Value (IV) method, Certainty Factor (CF) method, and Frequency Ratio (FR) method from previous studies, The AHP-IV and AHP-FR methods assess the study area as a moderately hazardous zone, while the AHP-CF method assesses it as a slightly hazardous zone. Affected by the strong 2013 Lushan earthquake, the landslide in the study area caused permanent damage. Field investigation results show that the landslide hazard in the study area is moderate, and the AHP-IV and AHP-FR methods are more consistent with the actual field results. The AHP-CF method, due to not considering the water system factor and having certain errors in its discrimination method, leans towards a safer assessment, The results of the three evaluation methods are somewhat consistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On April 6, 2009, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck L'Aquila, Italy, causing extensive damage and loss of life, and raising significant issues around the communication of scientific risk. In the preceding weeks, increased seismic activity had alarmed the population, prompting authorities to seek expert advice. Public authorities reassured the population that the chances of a dangerous shock were slim. These assurances given by officials led many to remain in their homes when the earthquake struck. The subsequent legal actions against the scientists involved ignited a global debate on the responsibilities and challenges in scientific communication. This paper explores the complexities of conveying probabilistic risk information to the public and decision-makers. It highlights how different formats for presenting probabilistic data can significantly influence understanding and decision-making. In particular, it canvasses how the use of natural frequencies to convey probabilistic information makes it cognitively easier to understand and manipulate them, given how they make more salient and transparent the so-called base rate. However, the benefits of using natural frequencies decrease when dealing with low-probability, high-consequence (LPHC) events like major earthquakes, where even significant increases in relative probability remain small in absolute terms. Moreover, the paper investigates the social dimensions of earth science, examining the multifaceted role of scientists as both technical experts and social actors. The L'Aquila case exemplifies the need for integrating scientific accuracy with an understanding of its social implications. Effective risk communication must address cognitive limitations and the presence of social context to reach appropriate public behavioral responses. In order to achieve that, communication should be handled by actors that have specific expertise in its complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the first results of the application of an innovative methodology for the development of a walkability overall index for urban street infrastructure, aimed at the application of urban design techniques to improve the urban form and its use by pedestrians. The general objective of the research is to identify the performance of the current city walkable network, to structure public policies and strategies consistent with it aimed at rebalancing settlements and infrastructure, and above all at the development of active mobility. The methodology defined integrates three approaches on walkability analysis: geometric–morphological, proximity, and sociality. In this paper, the analysis process related to the geometric–morphological component and partly to that of proximity will be described. It will be applied to the case study of the city of L'Aquila (Italy), a city undergoing reconstruction after the 2009 earthquake. From the first results of the application of the methodology to the case study, it emerges that the urban area analyzed is not capable of hosting walkable infrastructures unless urban design interventions are aimed at structuring an efficient network of pedestrian paths. In the future development of the study, it is expected to conclude the analysis of the proximity and social components, the other two groups of analysis considerations for walkability, which will complete the experimentation of the general methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The national earthquake and national volcanic eruption prediction programs of Japan started in 1965 and 1974, respectively, based on the recommendation of the Geodesy Council. As a result, observations of seismic and volcanic activity have been enhanced and our understanding of the mechanisms of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions has made significant advances. However, these research results did not fully contribute to mitigating the damage caused by the 1995 Kobe earthquake or the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. In order to make further contributions to disaster mitigation, we recognize the importance of research to apply the scientific understanding of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in collaboration with researchers in related research fields. The Earthquake and Volcano Hazards Observation and Research Program (2014–2018) was thus started on the basis of a recommendation of the Council for Science and Technology. In this Program, research in the area of forecasting the hazards of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions has become one of the main pillars of research. Disaster information and knowledge of the disaster process, which involve the interaction of hazards and natural and social vulnerability, have been investigated in cooperation with earth scientists, engineers, and social scientists. On the basis of our results, research on literacy for disaster resilience was selected as one of the main pillars of research in the Second Observation and Research Program of Earthquake and Volcano Hazards (2019–2023), because a better understanding of and immediate information about disasters are important for disaster mitigation. This special issue, which aims to disseminate the results of almost five years of research activities on literacy for disaster resilience in that Program, includes 15 papers and survey reports from multidisciplinary fields of study. The collection begins with Kimura and Ikeda's important paper discussing the conceptual structure of the knowledge and abilities necessary to build disaster resilience capacities by analyzing school and community-based efforts, followed by a variety of empirical studies that are loosely categorized into two groups. The first group of papers concerns the understanding of disaster processes and mechanisms themselves as a factor inducing disaster prevention and mitigation. First, Ebina and Sugawara, and Sugimori attempt to learn lessons from the pre-modern earthquake disasters based on past picture maps and scrolled records, respectively, followed by Ohkura's interesting paper that points to problems in the Aso Volcano disaster mitigation system by analyzing the 2021 phreatic eruption process. Next, utilizing information and communication technology to support effective evacuation, Inoguchi, and Shiozaki and Hashimoto develop a disaster management toolkit and the tsunami drill program, respectively. The following two papers of Takubo et al. discuss behavioral mechanisms in a disaster period based on their simulation experiments from a cognitive science perspective. The second group investigates methods of enhancing people's literacy for disaster resilience, paying special attention to the interaction between science and civil society, led by Sawada and Sato, and Muroi, both discussing the disaster risk reduction efforts of small and medium-sized enterprises and of community-based organizations, respectively, in anticipation of the Nankai Trough earthquake and tsunami. Next, Kimura and Aikawa propose an education program to enhance the disaster awareness of high school students who have never experienced disasters. Further, four papers deal with the issue of people's access to scientific knowledge focusing on the roles of university institutes, including case studies of so-called open science initiatives, by Yamori, Nakamichi, and Sakamoto and Nakamichi, and finally, a comparative study of several research centers in volcanic localities by Horii et al. These studies argue for the importance of the concept of literacy for disaster resilience to embed scientific knowledge in society and interconnect theory and practice, but the study of such a concept, especially in relation to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, has just begun. We hope that this issue will encourage discussions from a wide range of scientists, experts in education and disaster management, and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]