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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Hazards and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2023) | Viewed by 30177

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Abu Reza Md. Towfiqul Islam

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Guest Editor

Department of Disaster Management, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, Rangpur 5400, Bangladesh
Interests: climate change; disaster management; natural hazard and water quality; sustainability and human health risk
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Shamsuddin Shahid

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Hydraulics & Hydrology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, M46-332, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Interests: water resources ranagement; groundwater hydrology; climate variability and changes; climate change impacts on hydrological processes and water resources; droughts and water scarcity; hydrological data analysis and modeling; and hydrological hazards and risk mapping
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change exacerbates many of our planet's problems. Several studies have been conducted on climate change and its related problems. Many questions have been raised about the future of sustenance while much pressure is being exerted on the natural system over time. Decision-making appears to be a major concern in the face of adverse climate change impacts in order to ensure local and global sustainability. We hope to provide critical knowledge on climate change and potential climate change mitigation measures through evidence-based research and its implications. New research insights can provide guidelines for the next generation by ensuring environmental and social sustainability. Our Special Issue extends the scope of how climate change impacts threaten world food security through damaging agricultural systems from scientific and social perspectives, how people adapt to climate-induced food insecurity locally, and which knowledge and practices might be effective or contribute to reducing risks. We welcome research on agro-meteorology, climate change mitigation, agricultural adaptation, climate-induced food insecurity, agricultural sustainability, and relevant policies that could contribute to secure food and policy formulations. For this purpose, empirical and theoretical research is welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Abu Reza Md. Towfiqul Islam
Dr. Shamsuddin Shahid
Guest Editors

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Keywords

climate change
sustainability
disaster management

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 5605 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study on the Accessibility of the Emergency Medical Services for Urban Kindergartens and Nursing Homes Based on Urban Pluvial Flooding Scenarios

by Hongbin Shi, Miao Zhou, Nana Kong, Yongling Zhang and Xin Li

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10443; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310443 - 3 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1323

Abstract

Vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly are the focus of emergency medical rescue during urban pluvial floods. Taking the Erqi District of Zhengzhou City as an example, the SCS-CN model and Chicago rainfall model are used to simulate pluvial flooding based on the comprehensive consideration of urban rainfall, runoff, topography, and drainage. Additionally, the accessibility of emergency medical aid for kindergartens and nursing homes is evaluated in the Erqi District of Zhengzhou under different pluvial flooding scenarios using GIS network analysis technology. The results showed that the number of kindergartens and nursing homes without timely access to emergency medical rescue increased with the increase in precipitation return periods. Under the 500-year and 1000-year pluvial flooding scenarios, kindergartens and nursing homes that can obtain emergency medical rescue had delayed response times. Furthermore, with the increase in the precipitation return periods, both the number and delay time of kindergartens and nursing homes significantly increased. The accessibility and delay time of emergency medical rescue in kindergartens and nursing homes were determined by the intensity of pluvial flooding (including inundation area and depth), road traffic conditions, and the number and location of medical institutions, nursing homes, and kindergartens. The research results can provide a scientific basis for improving the refinement level of urban flood disaster management and emergency response services. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Disaster Management)

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19 pages, 555 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identifying Demographic, Social and Professional Characteristics for Effective Disaster Risk Management—A Case Study of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

by Ali AlGahtani, Naill Al Momani, Amanda Jane Davies and Edris Alam

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15399; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215399 - 19 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2195

Abstract

The aim of this study is to address a gap in the literature associated with the influence of demographic characteristics of personnel working in disaster risk management on the organisational level of preparedness in this field. The study further aims to identify the impact of human, organisational, technological, coordination and environmental factors on the level of readiness in Saudi Arabia in dealing with crises and disasters. The case study applied a purposeful sampling approach in collecting 550 questionnaires from representatives of five geographical regions, 20 government organisations comprising 13 administrative regions. The study tested two hypotheses with the single-variance analysis test (P) performed for each stage (level) of the readiness of the relevant government departments inclusive of the demographics—age, education, position/job title, academic specialisation, number of disaster risk management related short courses completed and residential region of the study members. The findings suggest the influence of disaster management short course education and the region in which the respondent is located impacted significantly on the level of crisis and disaster organisational preparedness. Lesser impact on level of readiness for dealing with crises and disasters was identified for demographics of age, education level, position held and academic specialisation. Further, in the second area of the study findings indicate minimal variation in the impact of human, organisational, technological, coordination and environmental factors on the readiness of government departments in all phases of disaster risk management with all factors trending neutral and consistent with the weighed response averages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Disaster Management)

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15 pages, 1676 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mainstreaming Ecosystem-Based Disaster Risk Reduction: Towards a Sustainable and Just Transition in Local Development Planning in Rural South Africa

by Ephias Mugari and Nthaduleni Samuel Nethengwe

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12368; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912368 - 28 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2314

Abstract

Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) is gaining momentum globally and is also considered to enhance climate change adaptation and sustainable transition to a low-carbon economy in South Africa. However, there is little evidence regarding how the approach is applied at the local level. It also remains unclear to what extent the approach is integrated into local development planning and what opportunities exist for further integration in rural areas. Therefore, our study examined opportunities for mainstreaming Eco-DRR into local development planning in South Africa. Fourteen integrated development plans from ‘mostly rural’ local municipalities in Limpopo Province were systematically assessed to understand the process of mainstreaming Eco-DRR into their current development plans under the following aspects: localized climate trends, hydroclimatic risks considered, risk and vulnerability assessments, disaster risk reduction (DRR) actions, early-warning systems, financing mechanisms, integration of traditional and technical knowledge, stakeholder engagement, and alignment with district, provincial, and national priorities. Although all plans address DRR, none explicitly addresses Eco-DRR, despite a few similar actions. DRR actions are not aligned to any hydroclimatic risks, and most plans lack localized climate trends and/or vulnerability assessments to indicate the severity of hazards and/or identify populations and areas at risk. Several measures in the plans address disaster preparedness, but none includes early-warning systems. Public participation features prominently in all plans, but the process is marred by challenges and lacks genuineness, e.g., prioritized actions are not reflective of community needs. Based on the findings, we discuss measures to enhance the mainstreaming of ecosystem-based approaches into DRR. We conclude that a huge opportunity exists to institutionalize and mainstream Eco-DRR into local development planning in South Africa’s rural areas. If carefully seized, such an opportunity can also help attract external finance to complement the currently constrained budgets related to addressing hydroclimatic risks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Disaster Management)

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19 pages, 574 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Social Media on Perceived Levels of National Security and Crisis: A Case Study of Youth in the United Arab Emirates

by Nadir Al Naqbi, Naill Al Momani and Amanda Davies

Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10785; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710785 - 30 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5137

Abstract

The increase in the use of social media as a 21st century communication tool is in parallel increasing the threat to national security globally. This study explores the perception of United Arab Emirate community members (specifically youth) on the influence of social media as a threat; the wide use of SM platforms for Emirate of Sharjah (Dibba Al-Hisn, Khor Fakkan, Kalba) were analyzed utilizing a descriptive-analytical method. The results of the study on the effects and consequences of social media on national security in the UAE, rates social media as having the highest level of influence on political implications followed in decreasing order of influence by, economic, cultural and societal, ethical and religious dimensions, and the least potential influence being on perceived national security implications. Further, the results of a one-way variance analysis indicate the potential for the perceived level of national security experienced by youth community members in the UAE to be predicted through social media. A unique feature of this study is the analysis of the influence of the five dimensions of national security on each other and national security collectively from an Arab youth perspective. Further, the study design is replicable and offers, (a) an opportunity for wider utilization as an avenue for contributing to understanding the impact of social media on the perception of a country’s national security, and (b) a fundamental baseline for future research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Disaster Management)

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23 pages, 21431 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Automated Analysis of Australian Tropical Cyclones with Regression, Clustering and Convolutional Neural Network

by Fahim Sufi, Edris Alam and Musleh Alsulami

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 9830; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14169830 - 9 Aug 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2274

Abstract

Tropical cyclones take precious lives, damage critical infrastructure, and cause economic losses worth billions of dollars in Australia. To reduce the detrimental effect of cyclones, a comprehensive understanding of cyclones using artificial intelligence (AI) is crucial. Although event records on Australian tropical cyclones have been documented over the last 4 decades, deep learning studies on these events have not been reported. This paper presents automated AI-based regression, anomaly detection, and clustering techniques on the largest available cyclone repository covering 28,713 records with almost 80 cyclone-related parameters from 17 January 1907 to 11 May 2022. Experimentation with both linear and logistic regression on this dataset resulted in 33 critical insights on factors influencing the central pressure of cyclones. Moreover, automated clustering determined four different clusters highlighting the conditions for low central pressure. Anomaly detection at 70% sensitivity identified 12 anomalies and explained the root causes of these anomalies. This study also projected parameterization and fine-tuning of AI-algorithms at different sensitivity levels. Most importantly, we mathematically evaluated robustness by supporting an enormous scenario space of 4.737 × 10⁸²³⁴. A disaster strategist or researcher can use the deployed system in iOS, Android, or Windows platforms to make evidence-based policy decisions on Australian tropical cyclones. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Disaster Management)

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25 pages, 5796 KiB

Open AccessArticle

GIS and Remote Sensing-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis for Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones: A Case Study for Industrial Zones in Bangladesh

by Md. Mizanur Rahman, Faisal AlThobiani, Shamsuddin Shahid, Salvatore Gonario Pasquale Virdis, Mohammad Kamruzzaman, Hafijur Rahaman, Md. Abdul Momin, Md. Belal Hossain and Emad Ismat Ghandourah

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6667; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116667 - 30 May 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3799

Abstract

Groundwater is a crucial natural resource that varies in quality and quantity across Bangladesh. Increased population and urbanization place enormous demands on groundwater supplies, reducing both their quality and quantity. This research aimed to delineate the groundwater potential zone in the Gazipur district, Bangladesh, by integrating eleven thematic layers. Data and information were gathered from Landsat 8, the digital elevation model, the google earth engine, and several ancillary sources. A multi-criterion decision-making (MCDM) based analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used in a GIS platform to estimate the groundwater potential index. The potential index values were finally classified into five sub-groups: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high to generate a groundwater water potential zone (GWPZ) map. The results show that groundwater potential in about 0.002% (0.026 km²) of the area is very low, 3.83% (63.18 km²) of the area is low, 56.2% (927.05 km²) of the area is medium, 39.25% (647.46 km²) of the area is high, and the rest 0.72% (11.82 km²) of the area is very high. The validation of GWPZ maps based on the groundwater level data at 20 observation wells showed an overall accuracy of 80%. In addition, the ROC curve showed 84% accuracy of GWPZ maps when validated with water inventory points across the study region. Overall, this study presents an easy and practical approach for identifying groundwater potential zones, which may help improve planning and sustainable groundwater resource management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Disaster Management)

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18 pages, 8454 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

A New Decision Support System for Analyzing Factors of Tornado Related Deaths in Bangladesh

by Fahim Sufi, Edris Alam and Musleh Alsulami

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6303; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106303 - 22 May 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2832

Abstract

Tropical cyclones devastate large areas, take numerous lives and damage extensive property in Bangladesh. Research on landfalling tropical cyclones affecting Bangladesh has primarily focused on events occurring since AD1960 with limited work examining earlier historical records. We rectify this gap by developing a new Tornado catalogue that include present and past records of Tornados across Bangladesh maximizing use of available sources. Within this new Tornado database, 119 records were captured starting from 1838 till 2020 causing 8735 deaths and 97,868 injuries leaving more than 102,776 people affected in total. Moreover, using this new Tornado data, we developed an end-to-end system that allows a user to explore and analyze the full range of Tornado data on multiple scenarios. The user of this new system can select a date range or search a particular location, and then, all the Tornado information along with Artificial Intelligence (AI) based insights within that selected scope would be dynamically presented in a range of devices including iOS, Android, and Windows. Using a set of interactive maps, charts, graphs, and visualizations the user would have a comprehensive understanding of the historical records of Tornados, Cyclones and associated landfalls with detailed data distributions and statistics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Disaster Management)

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24 pages, 7783 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sustainable Groundwater Potential Zoning with Integrating GIS, Remote Sensing, and AHP Model: A Case from North-Central Bangladesh

by Ujjayini Priya, Muhammad Anwar Iqbal, Mohammed Abdus Salam, Md. Nur-E-Alam, Mohammed Faruque Uddin, Abu Reza Md. Towfiqul Islam, Showmitra Kumar Sarkar, Saiful Islam Imran and Aweng Eh Rak

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5640; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095640 - 7 May 2022

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 3725

Abstract

Groundwater is one of the most valuable natural resources, and the most dependable source of fresh water. For sustainable groundwater management, the present study aimed to model groundwater potential zones in the north–central region of Bangladesh using GIS, remote sensing, and the analytical hierarchy process. The present study included eight thematic layers: lineament density, geomorphology, soil types, slope, land use/land cover, drainage density, elevation, and rainfall features to delineate a groundwater potential zone of the area. Integration of the eight thematic layers was performed through weighted overlay analysis, which assisted in delineating groundwater potential zones. This simple and systematic method successfully provides a satisfactory result concerning the delineation of groundwater potential zones. The study resulted in a groundwater potential zone map, which identifies about 11.51% of the study area as being under a very high groundwater potential zone, covering an area of 504.09 km². The AHP analysis shows that the physiographical parameters, such as lineament density, slope, and drainage density, and meteorological factors such as annual rainfall, have greater influence over groundwater potentiality. The result obtained from the weighted overlay analysis was verified with actual well yield and groundwater depth data, which show a significant positive correlation. The outcome of the study will help in taking effective measures to ensure sustainable use and extraction of groundwater in this region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Disaster Management)

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Review

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24 pages, 1865 KiB

Open AccessReview

Flood Damage Assessment: A Review of Microscale Methodologies for Residential Buildings

by Oluwatofunmi Deborah Aribisala, Sang-Guk Yum, Manik Das Adhikari and Moon-Soo Song

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13817; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113817 - 25 Oct 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5247

Abstract

Flood damage assessment (FDA) is an essential tool for evaluating flood damage, vulnerability, and risk to civil systems such as residential buildings. The outcome of an FDA depends on the spatial limits of the study and the complexity of the data. For microscale FDA, a high level of detail is required to assess flood damage. This study reviewed the existing methodologies in microscale FDA based on empirical and synthetic data selection methods for model development. The merits and challenges of these approaches are discussed. This review also proposes an integrated step for assessing the stages of FDA. This study contributes to the literature by providing insights into the methodologies adopted, particularly on a microscale basis, which has not been comprehensively discussed in the previous reviews. The findings of this study reveal that univariate modeling of flood damage is nevertheless popular among researchers. New advanced approaches, such as advanced machine learning and 3D models, are yet to gain prominence when compared with the univariate modeling that has recorded a high success. This review concludes that there is a need to adopt a combined empirical–synthetic approach in the selection of data for developing damage models. Further research is required in the areas of multivariate modeling (advanced machine learning), 3D BIM-GIS modeling, 3D visualization of damages, and projection of probabilities in flood damage predictions to buildings. These are essential for performance flood-based building designs and for promoting building resilience to flood damage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Sustainable Disaster Management)

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