This paper analyzes the pattern of earthquake mitigation messages using critical discourse analysis (CDA). It does so to seek the language patterns to understand how the texts represent earthquake mitigation procedures to target audiences. Materials and Method: Earthquake mitigation warning messages and infographics in offline and online public spaces were collected as data and analyzed using Fairclough’s framework. The texts that appeared in spaces like universities were too comprehensive, as emergency signs should be direct and straightforward. Other venues tended to focus on providing a persuasive and instructive message. Evaluation of the message should ensure that such messages are transparent and readable. Results: This paper’s findings can prevent unnecessary loss of life and property based on continuous disaster risk management through appropriate language usage in the mitigation warning system. Conclusion: It is hoped that society realizes the importance of warning messages. This is not only a sign for earthquake mitigation, but also a tool for communicating information regarding earthquakes and appropriate disaster emergency risk response.

Building damage maps that show the damage status of buildings are an essential information source for various disaster countermeasures, such as evacuation, rescue, and reconstruction. Therefore, they must be generated as quickly as possible. However, to generate a building damage map, it is necessary to collect disaster information and estimate the damage situation over a wide area, which is time consuming. (In this paper, we consider disaster information collection as capturing aerial images.) In recent years, crowdsourcing has been widely used to understand the damage situation. Crowdsourcing achieves large-scale work by dividing it into microtasks that can be solved by anyone and by distributing the microtasks among an unspecified number of workers. We believe that crowdsourcing is suitable for gathering information and assessing damage situations as it can adjust the type and number of workers in a scalable manner and allocate resources according to the size of the disaster. Therefore, crowdsourcing has been used for gathering information and assessing the situation during disaster management. However, usually, the two types of crowdsourcing tasks (i.e., gathering information and assessing the damage) are performed independently; consequently, the collected information is often not utilized effectively. More efficient work can be expected by linking the two crowdsourcing tasks. This paper proposes a framework for efficiently generating a building damage map by combining the two methods of information collection on disaster areas and assessment of disaster situations using aerial image processing. The results of an experiment using a prototype of our proposed framework clarify the range of applications in the collection and assessment crowdsourcing tasks. The experimental results indicate the feasibility of understanding disaster situations using our method. In addition, it is possible to install artificial intelligence workers that can support human workers to estimate the damage situation more quickly.

This paper statistically analyzes residents’ understanding of problems related to radioactively contaminated water discharged from nuclear power and nuclear reprocessing plants. Moreover, this paper examines their impact on the surrounding fisheries by using the cases of La Hague, Sellafield, and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Survey data shows that more than 60% respondents disagree with the release of contaminated water, and this sentiment is particularly strong among both British and French respondents. Regarding seafood caught in the vicinity of the nuclear power and nuclear reprocessing plants, although British respondents noted that they hold it in high regard, many people do not purchase this seafood. In contrast, many Japanese respondents reported that they were less concerned, and thus, willingly purchase seafood caught off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture. In all three countries, many people did not trust government information on the release of contaminated water. Compensation to the affected people was provided by the central government, companies involved, and local governments, in that order. Japanese and British respondents reported higher expectation for compensation as compared to French respondents. Japanese and French respondents noted that they have knowledge of radioactive materials and contaminated water, and many of them purchased seafood caught in the vicinity of the nuclear power and reprocessing plants. British respondents were the most opposed to the release of contaminated water, whereas Japanese respondents were the least reliant on government information about the release of contaminated water. Finally, among those who trusted information from the government and retailers, French respondents were the least concerned about contamination. French respondents were also the least likely to expect any compensation for the fishermen affected by contamination. Both British and French residents around the affected plants expected the central government to compensate the affected fishermen, whereas those who did not reside around the affected plants did not expect the fishermen to be compensated. French respondents were more likely to expect compensation from the local governments; affluent respondents were more likely to expect the compensation to be funded by taxation, whereas less affluent respondents expected them to be funded by donations. Respondents who were more skeptical of government information wanted the companies involved to compensate the fishermen. British respondents reported a tendency for wanting the companies involved to provide this compensation, and did not support the concept of compensation provided through donations.

There is an increasing demand for establishing pre-emptive measures for disaster management. However, there is a lack of support systems available for vulnerable individuals living in disaster-prone regions in Korea. This study constructs a multi-agent simulation model to analyze the evacuation time for Dongnae district and Yeonje district in Busan, Korea. In disaster-prone regions, vulnerable people experience difficulties, such as, obtaining updated information about the disaster situation, and this reduces their evacuation speed. Additionally, there is a possibility that the evacuation speed, while evacuating vulnerable people, may decrease due to environmental and geographic factors, including the slope and elevation of the areas. Therefore, this section of the society requires special attention and policies that are different from those made for people who may not face such calamities and are physically abled. An analysis based on factors such as road slopes and delays in evacuation due to flooding, was conducted to formulate realistic evacuation plans for people who are vulnerable. The location of shelters in the case of flooding in Dongnae and Yeonje district, have been better identified. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the evacuation time could be reduced if wide-area evacuation is implemented. This study provides a base for developing suitable shelters and evacuation plans for disaster-prone regions.

The utilization of Incident Command Systems (ICS) and Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) in public health emergency and disaster response are cornerstones of the capabilities prescribed for Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP). To assess the use of ICS and EOCs by public health agencies during the COVID-19 response, we conducted a content analysis of online materials available from 62 health departments funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for PHEP. Bivariate associations between evidence of ICS utilization in COVID response were assessed using relative risk regression. Risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were reported. 58% (36 of 62) of PHEP grantees had accessible information regarding the use of ICS in COVID-19 public health response. PHEP grantees with online information about PHEP, Hospital Preparedness Program linkages, public health seats at state or jurisdictional EOCs, exercises, and ICS generally were more likely to have COVID-specific ICS information. COVID-19 has placed significant strain on the operational response capacity of public health agencies. Given that this is the most significant event in which PHEP Capabilities have been tested, both in terms of geographic spread and duration, assessment of both preparedness and response capacities is critical for recognizing strengths and addressing shortcomings to improve PHEP operations in future incidents.

Central America and the Caribbean islands are among the regions most exposed to socio-natural threats due to numerous underlying risk factors, such as poverty, inadequate management of natural resources, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and urban conglomeration, which particularly influence sociocultural factors. This region is also characterized by widespread cultural diversity, sizable indigenous regions, and various ethnic groups, as well as social and cultural characteristics that cannot be compared to each other. Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams intervene directly within the environment described above to perform rescue operations for people in situations that entail some damage to the surrounding infrastructure or environment. These teams comprise highly-trained specialists with technical knowledge. However, in some cases, these teams may face disadvantages due to their lack of knowledge regarding the sociocultural components, which would allow them to develop an understanding of human behavior in a broader sense. In the current paper, we provide a detailed examination of the sociocultural factors that significantly impact the success or failure of operations led by USAR teams in the Central American and Caribbean communities. To reduce the high losses caused by disasters in the region and inequity in the missions of these teams, we conclude that increased attention should be directed toward sociocultural components in the work of rescuers.

Background: By March, 2021, the COVID-19 outbreak had reached its highest peak at the end of December, 2020. Nevertheless, no remarkable excess mortality attributable to COVID-19 has been observed. Object: We sought to quantify excess mortality in April using the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) model. Method: We applied the NIID model to deaths of all causes from 1987 through February, 2021 for all of Japan and through October for Tokyo. Results: Results obtained for Japan show very few excess mortality cases in August and October, 2020, estimated respectively as 12 and 104. However, in Tokyo, 595 cases of excess mortality were detected during August and October: they were, respectively, 3.1% and 1.7% of baseline numbers. Discussion and Conclusion: We detected considerable excess mortality in Tokyo but not throughout Japan. Continued careful monitoring of excess mortality of COVID-19 is expected to be important.