Search

Key Takeaways: As critical infrastructure, water systems must be designed to withstand seismic hazards where earthquakes are expected. While several planning tools and design solutions exist for seismic hazards, they are not standardized for the water community. Designing buried infrastructure to withstand differential ground movement and severe shaking comes with several challenges for water systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workers in the oil and gas industry are exposed to numerous health risks, ranging from poor health behaviours to the possibility of life-threatening injuries. Determining the most appropriate models of healthcare for the oil and gas industry is difficult, as strategies must be acceptable to multiple stakeholders, including employees, employers, and local communities. The purpose of this review was to broadly explore the health status and needs of workers in the oil and gas industry and healthcare delivery models relating to primary care and emergency responses. Database searches of PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus were conducted, as well as grey literature searches of Google, Google Scholar, and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers website. Resource-sector workers, particularly those in 'fly-in fly-out' roles, are susceptible to poor health behaviours and a higher prevalence of mental health concerns than the general population. Evidence is generally supportive of organisation-led behaviour change and mental health-related interventions. Deficiencies in primary care received while on-site may lead workers to inappropriately use local health services. For the provision of emergency medical care, telehealth and telemedicine lead to favourable outcomes by improving patient health status and satisfaction and reducing the frequency of medical evacuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 20 July 2021, an extreme rainstorm battered Zhengzhou in China's Henan Province, killing 302 people, including 14 individuals who drowned in a subway tunnel and 6 who drowned in a road tunnel. As the global climate warms, extreme weather events similar to the Zhengzhou flood will become more frequent, with increasingly catastrophic consequences for society. Taking a case study-based approach by focusing on the record-breaking Zhengzhou flood, this paper examines the governance capacity of inland cities in North China for managing extreme precipitation and flooding events from the perspective of the flood risk management process. Based on in-depth case analysis, our paper hypothesizes that inland cities in North China still have low risk perceptions of extreme weather events, which was manifested in insufficient pre-disaster preparation and prevention, poor risk communication, and slow emergency response. Accordingly, it is recommended that inland cities update their risk perceptions of extreme rainfall and flooding events, which are no longer low-probability, high-impact "black swans", but turning into high-probability, high-impact "gray rhinos." In particular, cities must make sufficient preparation for extreme weather events by revising contingency plans and strengthening their implementation, improving risk communication of meteorological warnings, and synchronizing emergency response with meteorological warnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable sensing of roadway conditions during flooding is a long-standing, challenging problem with societal importance for roadway safety. Tools that provide real-time data on road conditions during floods can facilitate safer mobility, reduce vehicle-related drownings, enhance flood response efficiency, and support emergency response decision-making. Following the tenets of user-centered design, such tools ideally should address the needs of diverse stakeholders involved in flood response. Currently, the existing literature lacks a thorough understanding of stakeholder needs to guide situational awareness tool development in the area of roadway mobility during flood events. This paper addresses this gap by studying the needs of stakeholders responsible for managing flood response in Houston. Semi structured one-on-one interviews were conducted with stakeholders from different Houston-based organizations responsible for managing and responding to flood hazard events in the downtown metropolitan area. Interview responses were systematically analyzed to identify (1) data needs for facilitating efficient and safe emergency response, (2) the most and least valuable information available during flooding, (3) communication and visualization strategies, (4) factors influencing stakeholder trust, and (5) factors influencing occupational stress during flood response. Finally, interview insights were used to develop a conceptual situational awareness framework and a prototype map-based tool that provides real-time road condition data during flood events. This study elucidates vital information for improving existing tools and providing preliminary guidance for future mobility-centric situational awareness tools that promote safer mobility and facilitate emergency response decision-making during flooding. Although the study focused on Houston, insights gained may be useful for comparable flood-prone regions. In developed countries, 40%–60% of flood fatalities are attributed to vehicle-related incidents. Flooded roads and lack of real-time road condition data pose safety risks to first responders and reduce emergency response efficiency. Understanding stakeholder needs and developing tools that address them are essential for improving the safety and efficiency of emergency response, especially considering a potential increase in flood risk to urban mobility due to climate change and other factors. Following the tenets of the user-centered design process, this study identified stakeholder needs, conceptualized a framework for sensing road conditions, and developed an open-source prototype tool in the context of flood response in Houston. Insights gained in this study can improve the efficacy of existing mobility-centric situational awareness tools and provide preliminary guidance for quick prototyping of new situational awareness tools. Furthermore, organizations can use the insights presented here to help reduce work-related stress among emergency response personnel, thereby improving emergency response efficiency and organizational resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to establish a comprehensive workflow for developing emergency response plans for both actual and scenario oil spill incidents in the Taiwan waters while addressing the resource allocation for oil spill containment as well. This workflow comprises two vital components. The first component involves the integration of numerical tools and observational data, which includes the incorporation of wind data from sources such as the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) or meteorological stations. Additionally, it incorporates ocean current data simulated by the semi-implicit cross-scale hydroscience integrated system model (SCHISM) into the general NOAA operational modeling environment (GNOME) model, which is a new approach for this purpose. In order to assess the efficacy of this component, two distinct case studies were conducted. The first case study focused on an incident in a northern coastal area of Taiwan under open sea conditions, whereas the second case study examined an incident within a major commercial harbor in central Taiwan. The second component of this workflow involves creating oil risk maps by integrating the results from the first component with specific geographical factors into Google Earth. These oil risk maps serve multiple purposes. They offer real-time information to emergency response commanders regarding oil spill hazard prediction, and they also enable the effective development of emergency response strategies and disposal plans for potential oil spill incidents. This is achieved by generating risk maps for various scenarios using the approach outlined in the first component. Additionally, these maps assist in the assessment and planning of resource allocation for oil containment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Petroleum Refinery Engineering is the property of Petroleum Refinery Engineering Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Simple Summary: Australian horticulture is at risk from incursions by exotic tephritid fruit fly species, particularly oriental fruit fly. An incursion by exotic fruit flies is likely to result in global trade restrictions and will cause significant economic losses. In this study, we investigated global management strategies for exotic fruit fly species and compared them with available local strategies in Australia to identify areas where Australian management practices could be improved. We identified that although Australia has a good understanding of the main exotic fruit fly threats, there remains no species-specific emergency response plan available to implement in the case of an incursion. Australia has effective tools for exotic fruit fly detection, an early warning surveillance network is in place across Australia and control measures used successfully for eradication elsewhere are available in Australia. However, the speed at which Australia could respond to an incursion is currently limited by the lack of a response plan, and this could have major implications for the effectiveness of management strategies for containment and eradication, likely leading to a more severe and costly incursion outcome. Exotic tephritid incursions are of high concern to Australia's biosecurity and its horticultural industries. It is vital that Australia remains ready to respond to incursions as they arise, as an incursion of tephritid fruit fly species will result in significant economic losses. In this review, we compared Australian incursion management strategies for fruit flies with global management strategies and identified possible areas where improvements could be made in an Australian context. Overall, Australia has a good understanding of the main tephritid threats, of which Bactrocera species from across the Torres Strait (northern Australia) are of most concern. Effective tools for tephritid detection and early warning surveillance at points of entry are in place at ports and in horticultural areas Australia-wide and provide the basis for initiating biosecurity responses in the event of an incursion. Area-wide control measures used in successful eradication attempts globally are available for use in Australia. However, a specific tephritid emergency response plan identifying suitable response measures and control options for species of concern is not yet available. We have identified that Australia has the policies and management tools available to respond to an exotic tephritid incursion, but the speed at which this could be accomplished would be greatly improved by the development of species-specific emergency response plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, governmental responses to homelessness in Canada have defaulted to the most basic of services such as food and shelter. Even under exceptional circumstances, such as the current coronavirus pandemic, governments still demonstrate reluctance to guarantee permanent, adequate and affordable housing to all. In this policy review we argue that this pattern suggests that reticence is an apt term for describing homelessness responses in Canada and that this condition is rooted in the continued dominance of liberalism in Canadian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On December 29, 2020, nine months after the March Mw 5.4 Zagreb earthquake and amidst the COVID-19 lockdown, a devastating Mw 6.4 earthquake struck near the town of Petrinja, about 50 km SE from the country's capital Zagreb. It was preceded by the Mw 4.9 foreshock from the day before. The main shock claimed 7 fatalities and caused widespread damage. Historical centers of nearby cities with invaluable heritage buildings were significantly affected as were the many residential buildings, built mainly of unreinforced masonry. Damage was observed as far as 60 km from the epicenter. This paper summarizes the seismological aspects of the Mw 6.4 Petrinja earthquake, the emergency response and the main impacts to people and buildings. The description and findings are based on the field observations and a series of post-earthquake activities led by the team of the Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Zagreb. Typical damage to buildings and usability data are presented with examples based on 50,000 inspection results. By far the most affected were the unreinforced masonry buildings, followed by confined masonry, whereas reinforced concrete buildings were the least affected. The total direct and indirect losses are estimated to 4.8 billion EUR. The provided information represents a useful basis and impetus for improving emergency action and long-term disaster reduction plans in other regions with similar building exposure and seismotectonic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters have many roles and responsibilities, including communication with core partners throughout the forecast and warning process to ensure that the information they are providing is relevant, understandable, and actionable. Although the NWS communicates to many groups, members of the emergency management community are among the most critical partners. However, little is known about the diverse population of emergency managers (EMs) and how they receive, process, and use forecast information. The Extreme Weather and Emergency Management Survey (WxEM) aims to fill this knowledge gap by 1) building a nationwide panel of EMs and 2) fielding routine surveys that include questions of relevance to NWS operations. The panel was built by creating a database with contact information from more than 4000 EMs across the country. An enrollment survey was sent to the list, and over 700 EMs agreed to participate in the project. Following enrollment, WxEM panelists receive surveys three–four times per year that address how EMs use NWS forecast information. These surveys cover a variety of subjects, with the goal of working with other researchers to develop surveys that address their research needs. By collaborating with other research groups to design short, focused surveys, the WxEM project will reduce the research burden on EMs and, at the same time, increase the quality and comparability of research data in the weather enterprise. The results will be shared with the NWS and the research community, and all data gathered from these surveys will be publicly available. Significance Statement: The Extreme Weather and Emergency Management Survey aims to better understand how emergency managers use National Weather Service (NWS) forecast information via a series of surveys regularly distributed to a panel of emergency managers across the country. By collaborating with other researchers, these surveys will cover broad topics and should limit the number of participation requests sent to emergency managers. Results will be distributed to participants, researchers, and NWS forecasters. All data will be publicly available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common disaster-phase models provide a useful heuristic for understanding how disasters evolve, but they do not adequately characterize the transitions between phases, such as the forecast and warning phase of predictable disasters. In this study, we use tweets posted by professional sources of meteorological information in Florida during Hurricane Irma (2017) to understand how visual risk communication evolves during this transition. We identify four subphases of the forecast and warning phase: the hypothetical threat, actualized threat, looming threat, and impact subphases. Each subphase is denoted by changes in the kinds of visual risk information disseminated by professional sources and retransmitted by the public, which are often driven by new information provided by the U.S. National Weather Service. In addition, we use regression analysis to understand the impact of tweet timing, content, risk visualization and other factors on tweet retransmission across Irma's forecast and warning phase. We find that cone, satellite, and spaghetti-plot image types are retweeted more, while watch/warning imagery is retweeted less. In addition, manually generated tweets are retweeted more than automated tweets. These results highlight several information needs to incorporate into the current NWS hurricane forecast visualization suite, such as uncertainty and hazard-specific information at longer lead times, and the importance of investigating the effectiveness of different social media posting strategies. Our results also demonstrate the roles and responsibilities that professional sources engage in during these subphases, which builds understanding of disasters by contextualizing the subphases along the transition from long-term preparedness to postevent response and recovery. Significance Statement: Visual information is an important tool for communicating about evolving tropical cyclone threats. In this study, we investigate the kinds of visualizations posted by professional weather communicators on Twitter during Hurricane Irma (2017) to understand how visual information shifts over time and whether different visuals are more retweeted. We find that visual information shifts substantially in the days before Irma's impacts, and these shifts are often driven by changes in Irma's strength or forecast track. Our results show that cone, satellite, and spaghetti-plot visualizations are retweeted more frequently, while watch/warning imagery is retweeted less. These results help us to understand how visual information evolves during predictable disasters, and they suggest ways that visual communication can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Military field hospitals typically provide essential medical care in combat zones. In recent years, the United States (US) Army has deployed these facilities to assist domestic humanitarian emergency and natural disaster response efforts. As part of the nation's whole-of-government approach to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, directed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services, during New York City's (NYC) initial surge of COVID-19, from 26 March to 1 May 2020, the US Army erected the Javits New York Medical Station (JNYMS) field hospital to support the city's overwhelmed healthcare system. The JNYMS tasked a nutrition operations team (NuOp) to provide patient meals and clinical nutrition evaluations to convalescent COVID-19 patients. However, few guidelines were available for conducting emergency nutrition and dietary response efforts prior to the field hospital's opening. In this case study, we summarize the experiences of the NuOp at the JNYMS field hospital, to disseminate the best practices for future field hospital deployments. We then explain the challenges in service performance, due to information, personnel, supply, and equipment shortages. We conclude by describing the nutrition service protocols that have been implemented to overcome these challenges, including creating a standardized recordkeeping system for patient nutrition information, developing a meal tracking system to forecast meal requirements with food service contractors, and establishing a training and staffing model for military-to-civilian command transition. We highlight the need for a standardized humanitarian emergency nutrition service response framework and propose a Nutrition Response Toolkit for Humanitarian Crises, which offers low-cost, easily adaptable operational protocols for implementation in future field hospital deployments.

Abstract Background Response to COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh was led by the Government of Bangladesh aided by Non-Government Organisations (NGO) among others. The aim of the study was to explore the activities of such an NGO to understand the philosophy, aspiration and strategy to plan and implement an effective response to COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Methods A case study of a Bangladeshi NGO called SAJIDA Foundation (SF) is presented. From September to November 2021, using document review, field observation and in-depth interviews, four aspects of their COVID-19 pandemic related activities was explored – a) why and how SF initiated their COVID response; b) what adaptations were made to their usual programmes; c) how SF’s response to COVID-19 were designed and what were the anticipated challenges including overcoming measures; and d) perception of the staff about SF’s activities related to COVID-19. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted with three groups of SF staff: frontliners, managers and leaders. Result The impact of COVID-19 has been beyond health emergencies and posed multidimensional challenges. SF took a two-pronged approach – aid the government to respond to the emergency and adopt an all-inclusive plan to address diverse challenges related to overall well-being of the population. The underlying strategy of their response has been to: define the challenge of COVID-19 and identify required expertise and resources, ensure people’s health and social wellbeing, adjust existing organisational processes, ensure functional partnership with other organisations for effective resource and task sharing, and safeguard health and wellbeing of the organisation’s own employees. Conclusion The findings suggest a ‘4C framework’ including four components as the basis of a comprehensive response to emergencies by NGOs: 1. Capability assessment to identify who are in need and what is needed; 2. Collaboration with stakeholders to pool resources and expertise; 3. Compassionate leadership to ensure health and social safety of the employees which ensures their dedication in managing the emergency; and 4. Communication for quick and effective decision making, decentralisation, monitoring and coordination. It is expected that this ‘4C framework’ can help NGOs to embark on a comprehensive response to manage emergencies in resource constrained low- and middle-income countries.

Abstract Introduction The simulation exercise (SimEx) simulates an emergency in which an elaboration or description of the response is applied. The purpose of these exercises is to validate and improve plans, procedures, and systems for responding to all hazards. The purpose of this study was to review disaster preparation exercises conducted by various national, non-government, and academic institutions. Methodology Several databases, including PubMed (Medline), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), BioMed Central, and Google Scholar, were used to review the literature. Information was retrieved using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and documents were selected according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). To assess the quality of the selected articles, the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) technique was utilized. Results A total of 29 papers were selected for final review based on PRISMA guidelines and the NOS quality assessment. Studies have shown that many forms of SimEx commonly used in disaster management including tabletop exercises, functional exercises, and full-scale exercises have their benefits and limitations. There is no doubt that SimEx is an excellent tool for improving disaster planning and response. It is still necessary to give SimEx programs a more rigorous evaluation and to standardize the processes more thoroughly. Conclusions Drills and training can be improved for disaster management, which will enable medical professionals to face the challenges of disaster management in the 21st century.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a growing network of interconnected devices used in transportation, finance, public services, healthcare, smart cities, surveillance, and agriculture. IoT devices are increasingly integrated into mobile assets like trains, cars, and airplanes. Among the IoT components, wearable sensors are expected to reach three billion by 2050, becoming more common in smart environments like buildings, campuses, and healthcare facilities. A notable IoT application is the smart campus for educational purposes. Timely notifications are essential in critical scenarios. IoT devices gather and relay important information in real time to individuals with special needs via mobile applications and connected devices, aiding health-monitoring and decision-making. Ensuring IoT connectivity with end users requires long-range communication, low power consumption, and cost-effectiveness. The LPWAN is a promising technology for meeting these needs, offering a low cost, long range, and minimal power use. Despite their potential, mobile IoT and LPWANs in healthcare, especially for emergency response systems, have not received adequate research attention. Our study evaluated an LPWAN-based emergency response system for visually impaired individuals on the Hazara University campus in Mansehra, Pakistan. Experiments showed that the LPWAN technology is reliable, with 98% reliability, and suitable for implementing emergency response systems in smart campus environments.

Remote sensing techniques have emerged as an essential tool for conducting damage assessments and are commonly used to improve disaster recovery planning and community resilience policies. The objective of this study was to use aerial imagery data and LiDAR to identify the hardest hit areas, quantify the extent of damages, and compare pre- and post-storm beach morphology conditions in Estero Island, Florida, relating to Hurricane Ian in 2022. This study identified >2400 structures that were impacted by Hurricane Ian, with 170 structures suffering extensive damage. Clustering of heavily damaged buildings was observed on the northern and central portions of the island, with lower levels of damage clustered on the southern part. Among the ‘severely damaged’ and ‘destroyed’ structures were seven mobile home subdivisions. The total assessed value of the heavily damaged structures was estimated at over USD 200 million. The results also indicated substantial post-storm debris and sand deposition across the entire island. Remote sensing provides advanced techniques that can help prioritize emergency response efforts after catastrophic impacts from a natural disaster.

When the coronavirus pandemic struck the United States, the country demonstrated significant shortfalls in preparedness and response. Diagnostic testing came late and was inadequate. Desperate for ventilators and personal protective equipment, states were thrust into a chaotic competition over the limited supplies. The network of federal, state, and local officials who had trained together on how to respond to a pandemic was torn as the Trump administration created the Coronavirus Task Force. And to top it off, the federal government had failed for decades to develop an efficient and well-resourced biodefense system to monitor and respond to biological threats like a pandemic virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need for developing rapid response protocols for rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones. It highlights the challenges faced by areas prone to tropical cyclones, particularly in terms of insufficient time to execute civil protection procedures. Experts from various fields, including meteorology, disaster management, and coastal engineering, gathered to address this issue and emphasized the importance of public education, increased measurements and weather radars, and comprehensive training initiatives. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of ongoing collaboration and the adoption of insights from tsunami protocols to fortify responses and protect communities. [Extracted from the article]

Background: The fulfilment of the emergency response to the disaster area not only prioritises foods or medicines but also helps in mobilisation of equipment, facilities, and infrastructures in the form of logistics. The suitable warehouses will be able to provide every logistic needed and this will have a positive impact on the government as one of the relief institutions that is responsible for helping the refugees as quickly as possible. Objectives: The objectives of the study are to determine the logistic needs from disaster area, analyse and evaluate all assets from the 35 warehouses, identify the key indicators to generate the parameter, and to generate several mathematical formulas to be used in the simulation case. Method: Euclidean-based methodology is applied to calculate every fitness distance as a gap value of each parameter. All stock quantity from 35 warehouses will be the source of the data, with the logistic needs play role as the initial input for the calculation processes. Results: The logistic needs and the distance resulted in this study became the key indicators to determine the criteria. The study also generates seven equations for the disaster’s case simulation. Conclusion: To conclude, the outcomes resulted from the simulation indicate that from 35 warehouses alternatives, the fitness gap calculation completed at the 31st warehouse and the public hydrant became the fastest logistic, which completed all demand by two warehouses. Contribution: The study will be useful for the decision makers as the recommendation and guideline to improve the acceleration of emergency response of the logistic mobilisation from selected and prioritised warehouses.

Recent research has shown that multiagency emergency response is beset by a range of challenges, calling for a greater understanding of the way in which these teams work together to improve future multiagency working. Social psychological research shows that a shared identity within a group can improve the way in which that group works together and can facilitate effective outcomes. In the present study, 52 semistructured interviews were conducted with 17 strategic and/or tactical responders during the COVID‐19 pandemic to understand the possible role of shared identity in the multiagency response to COVID‐19 and whether this was linked to factors that facilitated or challenged interoperability. Findings show evidence of a shared identity at a horizontal intergroup level among responders locally. However, there was limited evidence for a shared identity at the vertical intergroup level between local and national responders. Three key factors linked to shared identity appeared to contribute to effective multiagency working. First, pre‐existing relationships with other responders facilitated the ease with which responders were able to work together initially. Second, a sense of 'common fate' helped bring responders together, and finally, group leaders were able to strategically reinforce a sense of shared identity within the group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergency response is crucial in preventing and mitigating urban floods. Both remote sensing and social media data offer distinct advantages in large-scale flood monitoring and near-real-time flood monitoring. However, current research lacks a thorough exploration of the application of social media data and remote sensing imagery in the urban flood emergency response. To address this issue, this paper, while extracting disaster information based on social media data, deeply mines the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and dynamic spatial accessibility of rescue points. Furthermore, SAR imagery and social media data for monitoring urban flooding are compared. This study took the Zhengzhou 7.20 urban flood as a case study and created a methodological framework to quickly extract flood disaster information (flood, landslide, and rescue points) using these two types of data; spatiotemporal analysis and random forest classification were also conducted to mine valuable information. Temporally, the study revealed that disaster information did not increase proportionally with the amount of rainfall during the rainfall process. Spatially, specific regions with higher susceptibility to flooding, landslides, and rescue points were identified, such as the central region characterized by low drainage standards and high-density urban areas, as well as the eastern region with low-lying terrain. Moreover, this study examined the spatial accessibility of rescue resources in real flood scenarios and found that their service coverage varied throughout the day during and after the disaster. In addition, social media excelled in high-density urban areas' flood point extraction, while SAR performed better in monitoring floods at the edges of low-density urban areas and large water bodies, allowing them to complement each other, to a certain extent. The findings of this study provide scientific reference value for the optimal selection of rescue paths and the allocation of resources in the emergency response to urban floods caused by extreme rainstorms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents design and implementation of a high-availability, low-bandwidth requirement vehicular and portable connectivity system which allows first responders to communicate relevant and timely information. Since first responders may often handle remote areas with challenging communication networks, the system developed addresses an important research question, namely, can a Connected Vehicle technology be developed that would optimize selection of the communication mode based on availability, signal strength, noise, and bandwidth? The system developed and tested supports reliable connectivity even in harsh environments allowing responders to provide information on the scene of incidents to others in or outside their organization. The system integrates computing and communications technologies, including smartphone and tablet systems, and software stacks to facilitate deployment. This paper provides background, system design, and implementation details of the field-ready Connected Vehicle as a First Responder Connected Vehicle/Portable (FRCVP) system both in terms of its hardware and its software. Experimental validation of the system’s Communications Arbiter is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers more‐than‐care as a framework for analysing how vulnerability emerges in the lives of people with intellectual disability beyond relations of care. More‐than‐care detaches vulnerability from the identity category of disability. It provides a framework for conceptualising vulnerability in an unequal, neoliberalising, and ableist world and sheds new light on the ever‐evolving constitution of vulnerability and disability. This intervention breaks with conceptions of vulnerability centred on care needs that leave other circumstances that inform vulnerabilities unexamined. Importantly, the framework shifts responsibility for managing vulnerabilities away from carers alone. The more‐than‐care framework is grounded in socio‐material conceptualisations of disability and advances a tripartite framing of vulnerability. First, it grounds studies of vulnerability in histories of spatially uneven investment in infrastructure and resources that shape how care and other practices can assemble to produce, challenge, and manage vulnerability. Second, it recalibrates dominant conceptions of the temporality of vulnerability to ensure sensitivity to the unpredictability of emergent vulnerabilities. Third, in following a socio‐material conceptualisation of intellectual disability, more‐than‐care expands discussions about agency in the context of vulnerability. These concepts are empirically examined through an analysis of how vulnerability emerges in the lives of four self‐advocates with intellectual disability during Melbourne's first and second COVID‐19 lockdowns. The analysis shows that vulnerability was highly dynamic and unpredictable as it emerged in complex socio‐material assemblages that included care arrangements, embodied experiences and agencies, and past instances of neglect and exploitation. This paper offers more‐than‐care as a framework for analysing how vulnerability emerges in the lives of people with intellectual disability beyond relations of care. The framework breaks with conceptions of vulnerability centred on care needs that leave other circumstances that inform vulnerabilities unexamined. Applying the framework to the emergence of vulnerability in the lives of self‐advocates with intellectual disability during Melbourne's COVID‐19 lockdowns showed that vulnerability was highly dynamic and that the self‐advocates actively managed emerging vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid detection and quantification of gross alpha/beta-emitting radionuclides by liquid scintillation counting (LSC) is vital in guiding response to a nuclear or radiological incidents. Liquid scintillation counters use signal pulse shape to discriminate alpha and beta events in samples but require precise optimization to minimize the spillover, or misclassification, of those events. In this study, samples at varying activity levels were analyzed by LSC to determine the effect of activity level, emitter type, and sample matrix on spillover. Analysis proved a matrix effect and a direct correlation of activity level on spillover percentage for both alpha and beta emitting-nuclides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) leverage emerging vehicle connectivity and automation technologies to enhance traffic safety. Extensive research has been done to examine the safety impacts of CAVs on road users (including vehicle occupants and vulnerable road users). Still, the impacts on first responders, who respond to traffic incidents and assist road users, are under-discussed. Road users show growing interest in CAVs, but it is uncertain whether first responders would feel the same way. First responders face the risk of being struck by passing vehicles when they perform their duties on road or roadside. In addition, it is unknown whether CAVs can or will do a better job than human drivers in conventional vehicles when passing an incident scene. This study conducted a national survey among first responders in the US to understand their knowledge and incident management experiences related to CAVs, as well as their attributes and concerns towards CAV technologies, including advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), connected vehicle (CV) and self-driving or autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies. Over 1000 first responders participated in the survey, and the survey had representation from all 50 states, Washington DC, and US Territories. The survey results showed that 82% of first responders have not received any CAV-related safety training, and 41% of first responders self-reported having little knowledge about CAVs. Regarding the roles of AVs in emergency responses, only a tiny portion (3%) of first responders would trust AVs more than human drivers passing an incident scene, and the majority (86%) of first responders do not think AVs will outperform human drivers. Only 1% of first responders said they trust AVs, and 44% stated that they do not trust AVs at all. A statistical model was developed to identify the correlates of first responders' trust in AVs. Modeling results showed that education positively correlates to the likelihood of trusting AVs. This study found significant differences in perceptions towards CAVs across emergency response agencies and geographic regions. Law enforcement officers exhibit higher trust in AVs compared to firefighters; responders from DOT or public works are associated with the lowest levels of trust among all emergency response agencies. FEMA Region 3, which includes Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, shows the lowest levels of trust in AVs compared to human drivers among all regions in the country. This study provides valuable information for stakeholders to prepare responders for next-generation transportation emergency responses. • National survey conducted among US first responders to assess their knowledge and perceptions towards CAVs. • 82% of first responders lack CAV-related safety training, and 41% have limited knowledge about CAVs. • 86% of first responders do not trust CAVs more than human drivers passing incident scenes. • Significant variations in CAV perceptions observed among incident response agencies and geographic regions. • Strong recommendation for the development of safety training programs focused on CAV technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Oklahoma Hudson College of Public Health launched the Achieving a Healthy Oklahoma (AHO) initiative in 2021. The goals of AHO were to assess lessons learned in Oklahoma from COVID-19 and set the foundation for enhanced public–private community collaboration by developing recommendations to prepare for future public health crises and promote health across all major economic sectors. Over 700 stakeholders were engaged in surveys, interviews, workgroup meetings, community listening sessions, and steering committee meetings over 8 months to accomplish these goals. Stakeholders produced 60 sector- and stakeholder-specific policy recommendations to address the major issues uncovered during the initiative. The AHO team then distilled them into 5 recommendations: (1) invest in the future of Oklahoma's health workforce to include critically needed public health professions in Oklahoma's healthcare loan repayment programs; (2) establish contracts between higher education institutions in Oklahoma and state and local health departments to monitor health sector workforce needs and provide training; (3) strengthen the delivery of coordinated public health services within local communities during emergencies and daily operations by dedicating health department roles to coordinate public health projects and services; (4) improve preparedness by coordinating annual emergency management exercises across local and state health departments; and (5) emphasize the efficiency and effectiveness of cross-sector collaborative efforts between public, private, and tribal partners. The AHO initiative serves as an action guide for assessing and improving state-level public health emergency responses and strengthening public health infrastructure. Implementing the recommendations in Oklahoma and assessing and addressing similar needs across the nation are necessary to prepare the United States for future public health emergencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) are facing unprecedented challenges due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Congregate living, and conditions associated with NDD place increased challenges during infectious disease outbreaks and there is a need to understand evidence-based response procedures. The aim was to (1) map and synthesize literature regarding emergency response protocol in supported living environments for individuals with NDD and (2) identify gaps in the literature of response protocols in supported living environments for individuals with NDD. Methods: A scoping review was conducted to understand the published literature on emergency response across supported living environments for individuals with NDD during emergency situations and infectious disease outbreaks. Results: The ten studies included in the review detailed protocols including treatment, testing, isolation, surveillance, improved cleaning, use of protective equipment, and contact with public health professionals. The environment of supported living settings, and symptoms associated with NDD impacted the spread and severity of disease. Conclusion: The research findings highlight the susceptibility, severity and impact of infectious disease outbreaks for individuals with NDD in supported living environments. This research will promote the establishment and development of appropriate care and response during emergency situations in supported living environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an equilibrium-based modeling framework for emergency response (ER) workload balancing for robust operations in metropolitan areas. The problem is formulated as a non-linear mathematical program (NLP), which determines the optimal maximum workload for each ER station such that the weighted sum of the area-wide expected response time and its variation is minimized. The concept of Marginal Cost of Uncertainty (MCU) is introduced to measure the impact of a station's workload increase on the robustness of the area-wide service performance. The solution of the NLP is proved to be equivalent to a state of equilibrium in which all stations have a minimum MCU. An iterative solution methodology is developed, which adopts a modified version of the Frank-Wolfe decomposition algorithm for convex optimization. The workload is iteratively balanced among adjacent stations until the state of equilibrium is achieved. At equilibrium, no station can reduce its MCU value by unilaterally shifting a part of its workload to any other station(s) in the area. The developed framework is applied to determine the optimal workload balancing strategy for 58 fire stations serving the City of Dallas. The framework is shown to enhance the robustness of the ER service performance especially in situations with imbalanced workloads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Food Conference in 1974 emphasized the significance of establishing global nutrition surveillance to monitor and address nutritional challenges effectively. However, many countries, especially in the EMRO region, continue to encounter substantial difficulties in regularly generating disaggregated data on nutrition. The current study aimed to review the existing nutrition surveillance systems in the region and to identify their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the challenges they face in functioning optimally. Methods: This study focused on the functional nutrition surveillance systems in eight Arab countries; namely Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The study's analysis involved utilizing primary data collected from both published and unpublished reports. Additionally, a structured checklist was employed to gather information from all countries involved in the study. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with the EMRO offices to gain deeper insights into the challenges, if any, that these nutrition surveillance systems face in functioning optimally. Results: All countries use health facilities as a basic source of data for their nutrition surveillance, some countries triangulate their nutrition surveillance reports with data from other sources of information such as community or school surveys. Identified nutrition surveillance approaches are closely split between those who operate in stable settings and use routine health information systems (Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait) and other countries that operate in fragile settings; for example, Yemen, Syria, Palestine, and Sudan struggle to provide early warning reports for rapid nutritional responses. Conclusions: Nutrition surveillance systems that utilize existing health information systems are the most sustained in the EMRO region. However, by integrating data from multiple sources, such as health facilities, surveys, and population censuses, countries can provide a holistic view of the nutritional situation, enhance their response to any emergency, and can leverage the infrastructure and resources already in place for health data collection and reporting. Collaboration between countries in the region through sharing experiences and success stories is important in order to reach a standardized system that can be implemented in different settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Organized volunteer initiatives can reduce response times and improve outcomes in emergencies such as cardiac arrests or fires. Retention of volunteers is important to maintain good coverage and capabilities. The current study explores factors underlying volunteers' motivation to continue as volunteers. Methods: Data from 5347 active volunteers were collected through an online survey. An exploratory factor analysis was used to identify underlying factors that were then used in a regression analysis to predict intention to continue as a volunteer. Group differences based on, among others, number of alarms and prior professional experience in emergency response were explored. Results: The results showed that the factors community, self-image, and competence were the strongest positive predictors for the motivation to continue, whereas alarm fatigue and negative experience were the strongest negative predictors. Volunteers with professional background had higher competence and lower Alarm fatigue. Volunteers from rural areas and small cities had higher community than those in large cities. Conclusions: Alarm fatigue can make it hard to retain volunteers, which could be addressed using improved dispatch algorithms. Support after dispatch is important to prevent negative experiences. Finally, increased competence, e.g. through education and training, can improve volunteer's motivation to continue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testbeds have become integral to advancing the transfer of knowledge and capabilities from research to operational weather forecasting in many parts of the world. The first high-impact weather testbed in tropical Africa was recently carried out through the African Science for Weather Information and Forecasting Techniques (SWIFT) program, with participation from researchers and forecasters from Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, the United Kingdom, and international and pan-African organizations. The testbed aims were to trial new forecasting and nowcasting products with operational forecasters, to inform future research, and to act as a template for future testbeds in the tropics. The African SWIFT testbed integrated users and researchers throughout the process to facilitate development of impact-based forecasting methods and new research ideas driven both by operations and user input. The new products are primarily satellite-based nowcasting systems and ensemble forecasts at global and regional convection-permitting scales. Neither of these was used operationally in the participating African countries prior to the testbed. The testbed received constructive, positive feedback via intense user interaction including fishery, agriculture, aviation, and electricity sectors. After the testbed, a final set of recommended standard operating procedures for satellite-based nowcasting in tropical Africa have been produced. The testbed brought the attention of funding agencies and organizational directors to the immediate benefit of improved forecasts. Delivering the testbed strengthened the partnership between each country's participating university and weather forecasting agency and internationally, which is key to ensuring the longevity of the testbed outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The influencing factors of emergency response to acute occupational poisoning accidents were analyzed in order to provide a basis for relevant departments to strengthen their emergency response capabilities against these accidents. Methods Based on the 4 R theory of crisis management, the influencing factors of emergency response to acute occupational poisoning accidents were extracted from four aspects: emergency preparedness, emergency plan, response, and recovery. The multi-level hierarchical structure of the influencing factors was determined using interpretative structural modeling (ISM), and then the driving force and dependence of each influencing factor were calculated using the cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC), and targeted emergency response strategies were proposed. Results A total of 12 influencing factors for emergency response to acute occupational poisoning accidents were identified. Among them, emergency plans, emergency drills, emergency training, and organizational scheduling were not only the most fundamental, deep-seated factors affecting emergency response to acute occupational poisoning accidents but also the factors with the strongest driving force. Controlling poisons and isolating hazardous areas were the most critical direct factors in the emergency response to acute occupational poisoning accidents. Conclusions In the emergency response to an accident, priority should be given to controlling poisons and isolating hazardous areas. Simultaneously, efforts should be made to strengthen the construction of emergency plans, emergency drills, emergency training, and organizational scheduling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, as much as 20 percent of the land surface is considered karst, and 40 percent of the groundwater for municipal and domestic consumption comes from karst aquifers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized karst aquifers as the groundwater type most vulnerable to contamination from anthropogenic sources, including hazardous materials and other pollutants. This paper presents a series of recommendations to assist first responders, water resource managers, and community leaders during a hazardous materials release in karst terrains. Hazardous materials releases have the potential to adversely impact human health and the environment. Karst aquifers are noted for rapid and direct recharge through caves, sinkholes, and sinking streams; groundwater velocities can exceed 1 km per day and are often complex and poorly understood. Best management practices in karst include pre-event planning, response, remediation, and long-term monitoring for hazardous materials releases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how toxicological considerations are an essential component of acute chemical incident response, and how the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), as Category 1 responders under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004), provide that expert, authoritative, and timely advice to protect people from exposure to harmful substances. Background information about the general response to emergencies is provided, which gives context to how scientific advice has a positive impact. The importance of chemical identification and speciation, local, and systemic effects, and exposure characteristics are described. The public health risk assessment is considered in conjunction with mixtures, mass casualties, recovery, and psychological impacts. A brief summary of the type of incidents that the UKHSA are notified about is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Opioid overdose is the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. Individuals who overdose outside of clinical settings have more positive clinical outcomes when they receive naloxone, an opioid antagonist, from a bystander as an early intervention before emergency personnel arrive. However, there is a gap in knowledge about successful instantaneous learning and intervention in a real-life stressful environment. The objective of this study is to explore the efficacy of different instructional delivery methods for bystanders in a stressful environment. We aim to evaluate which methods are most effective for instantaneous learning, successful intervention, and improved clinical outcomes. Methods: To explore instantaneous learning in a stressful environment, we conducted a quantitative randomized controlled trial to measure how accurately individuals responded to memory-based survey questions guided by different instructional methods. Students from a large university in the Midwest (n = 157) were recruited in a public space on campus and accessed the six-question survey on their mobile devices. The intervention group competed the survey immediately while the research team created a distracting environment. The control group was asked to complete the survey later in a quiet environment. Results: The intervention group correctly answered 0.72 questions fewer than the control group (p =.000, CI [0.337, 1.103]). Questions Q1 and Q5 contained direct instructions with a verbal component and showed the greatest accuracy with over 90% correct for both stressful and controlled environments. Conclusions: The variability in the responses suggests that there are environmental factors as well as instructional design features which influence instantaneous learning. The findings of this study begin to address the gap in knowledge about the effects of stress on instantaneous learning and the most effective types of instruction for untrained bystanders in emergency situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether there is a direct correlation between the physical fitness of the general population, specifically students, and the response times to fire-emergency-related building evacuations and to identify which physical fitness factors more significantly influenced emergency movement times. (2) Methods: In this quantitative investigation, 21 students (both men and women of the same age) volunteered to participate. We first evaluated their physical fitness; then, we analyzed their reaction times and speed. (3) Results: The results of this study revealed a relationship between emergency response times and evaluations of muscular strength, muscular endurance, muscle power, cardiorespiratory fitness, and body composition. The physically active group demonstrated a stronger initial response (i.e., a shorter time to reach a safe location) to fictitious emergency scenarios. The reduction in the necessary response time did not, however, appear to be related to the degree of flexibility. (4) Conclusions: This study showed how physical fitness might alter initial emergency response times and lessen the effects of a disaster on the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart cities represent a new perspective on modern urban development. They involve an information infrastructure environment with application intelligence to improve operational efficiency and welfare effectively. However, understanding how to overcome the barriers of data fragmentation and heterogeneity to exploit the strengths of existing resources and create integration effects remains a key challenge in smart city development. This research focuses on the effective management of heterogeneous sensor systems across different domains to improve quick disaster responses. Metadata serve as the core of this proposed framework, which is designed to not only describe the common and unique characteristics of various IoT-based devices and services, but also to provide necessary information to support the searching, requesting, and updating of required sensors and observation, as well as responding to the upcoming disaster. A workflow consisting of four list types was proposed and used to guide the response procedure. This research specifically aims to enable heterogeneous sensor systems available to all public or private stakeholders to be integrated in a collaborative fashion. While a flooding response was chosen for demonstration in this research, the proposed standard-based framework can be further promoted for other types of smart city applications, not limited to disaster response. The study's results and implications underscore the importance of effective management of heterogeneous sensor systems and the role of metadata in enabling disaster responses in smart cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we address the time-critical work of emergency services in the field of disaster and emergency response. Aiming at saving valuable human and time resources during emergency operations, we present one exact and one heuristic approach for the automatic placement of tactical symbols in situation maps. Such maps are used to establish situational awareness and to convey mission-relevant information to emergency personnel. Usually, the information is communicated through the visualization of descriptive symbols which are predominantly placed in a manual process. We automate this process based on an established map layout used by emergency services in Germany that distributes the symbols to the map boundaries. Following general principles and observations from existing literature, we formalize the symbol placement as an optimization problem. We take into account the relevance of tactical symbols as well as short and crossing-free leaders and allow the grouped representation of symbols of similar semantics and spatially close map locations. In experiments with real-world data, we determine a balance between the optimization criteria and show that our heuristic generates high-quality results in less than a second. In an assessment by an expert, we get confirmation that our maps are suitable for use in emergency scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cases of accidental or deliberate incidents involving a harmful agent in urban areas, a detailed modelling approach is required to include the building shapes and spatial locations. Simultaneously, when applied to crisis management, a simulation tool must meet strict time constraints. This work presents a Lagrangian particle model (LPM) for computing atmospheric dispersion. The model is implemented in the nuclear decision support system ESTE CBRN, a software tool developed to calculate the atmospheric dispersion of airborne hazardous materials and radiological impacts in the built-up area. The implemented LPM is based on Thomson's solution for the nonstationary, three-dimensional Langevin equation model for turbulent diffusion. The simulation results are successfully analyzed by testing compatibility with Briggs sigma functions in the case of continuous release. The implemented LPM is compared with the Joint Urban 2003 Street Canyon Experiment for instantaneous puff releases. We compare the maximum concentrations and peak times measured during two intensive operational periods. The modeled peak times are mostly 10–20% smaller than the measured. Except for a few detector locations, the maximum concentrations are reproduced consistently. In the end, we demonstrate via calculation on single computers utilizing general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) that the implementation is well suited for an actual emergency response since the computational times (including dispersion and dose calculation) for an acceptable level of result accuracy are similar to the modeled event duration itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality services for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health needs (IDD-MH) requires timely access to services that are responsive to their needs and preferences. This study explores virtual service delivery from the perspectives of family caregivers of persons IDD-MH during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recorded clinical interviews from 577 family caregivers, collected as part of START (Systemic, Therapeutic, Assessment, Resources, and Treatment) service implementation between March and July 2020, were retrospectively analyzed using a qualitative content analysis approach. Four factors influenced quality: accessibility of teleservices for persons with IDD-MH; confluence of demands on the caregiver setting; telecommunications infrastructure; and adaptability of services. Perceptions fluctuated with the interaction of these factors. While many may benefit from teleservices during future public health emergencies, providers should consider individual, family, community, and service system factors to ensure teleservice access, appropriateness, and accountability for family caregivers of persons with IDD-MH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the most important urban infrastructure systems, the road network plays a vital role in post-earthquake emergency response. Quantitative evaluation of the emergency response functionality of road network under earthquakes can provide decision support for emergency planning and future construction. In this paper, a novel network performance metric is proposed to consider both the special traffic demand in emergency response and the supply capability of road network. On this basis, an integrated probabilistic assessment framework for post-earthquake network emergency response functionality is presented, considering various uncertainties. In the framework, a penalty-based approach is proposed to consider the impact of partially degraded links on network functionality. At last, the proposed methodology is illustrated on the road network of Tangshan city, China, under different seismic scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taiwan was one of the places most affected by SARS in 2003—but one of the least affected by COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic. Taiwan deployed a centralised approach and has been able to effectively eliminate the threat of the spread of COVID-19 through swift decisions and effective action. This paper compares and evaluates the Taiwanese government's emergency responses to two health crises: SARS in 2003 and COVID-19 in 2020. The policy responses to both are mapped out on easily comprehensible timelines. The study also explores how one crisis governance influences another—how the mishandling of the SARS outbreak influenced early governmental responses to COVID-19. These are described in more detail, divided into thematic sections, and accompanied by illustrative images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic had an extreme exogenous impact on society and the economy. This paper aims to explore the impacts of the national emergency response and the subsequent emergency response termination on air quality and its policy implications through regression discontinuity design (RDD) estimation by employing panel data on daily air quality from January 1, 2019, to July 31, 2020, for 290 cities in China. The empirical results showed that the emergency response resulted in a significant decrease in most of the major pollutant concentrations within a short time frame, and the average air quality index (AQI) decreased by approximately 11.0%. The concentrations of PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2 , NO 2 , and CO decreased by approximately 18.8%, 13.1%, 13.5%, 11.1% and 6.7%, respectively, while the O 3 concentration did not change significantly. Further causal analysis found that mandatory traffic restrictions and the shutdown of industries were two important factors that contributed greatly to air quality improvement. Moreover, since the process of returning to normal daily activities and promoting the economy were gradual, the results showed that air pollution did not rebound immediately after the government called for the "resumption of production and work" and announced the "termination of the emergency response". Our findings suggest that to achieve a substantial and sustainable improvement in air quality, it is necessary to continuously implement strict emission control routines and take co-control measures for various VOCs precursors of ozone. [Display omitted] • Emergency response to COVID-19 (ER) had spill-over effect on air quality. • Empirical analysis was made with RDD to evaluate the impact of ER on air quality. • AQI and PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2 and NO 2 concentrations decreased by approximately 10%. • Traffic restrictions and shutdown of industries during ER were important factors. • Socioeconomic resumption and ER termination did not affect air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional "forecast-response" paradigm is facing significant practical challenges. For example, when different scenarios require different reaction mechanisms, the applicability of this method is weak since this paradigm describes the crisis itself from a macroperspective, neglecting analyzing emergency response measures from a microperspective. Hence, in this paper, the research paradigm will be shifting to "scenario-response" paradigm, which analyzes the impact of corresponding measures on events from a microscopic perspective. In 2021, an expected and torrential rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan, China, causing caused 398 deaths and an estimated direct economic loss of 120.6 billion RMB. Accordingly, an empirical analysis was conducted for this heavy rain event to examine the intricate evolution of emergency response utilizing a constructed scenario Bayesian network. This network was constructed by fusing the knowledge meta-theory, scenario evolution and Dempster's rule of combination along with 362 relevant historical representative events, and it has the capability to identify the development of the various emergency events and fuse the assessments of different experts. The effects of each measure on the probability of response outcomes were analyzed in an event-driven Bayesian network. The counterfactual outcomes of the interventions were also explored through causal inference to determine the priority measures in the emergency response process. The similarity between each target scenario and each source scenario reached more than 0.7, among which the highest similarity reached 0.78. The evolutionary accuracy of the incident response process was examined by comparing the scenario similarity. The method proposed in this study can help as a theoretical basis for implementing the "scenario response" paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]