Disaster Risk Science: A Geographical Perspective and a Research Framework

Abstract

In this article, we recall the United Nations’ 30-year journey in disaster risk reduction strategy and framework, review the latest progress and key scientific and technological questions related to the United Nations disaster risk reduction initiatives, and summarize the framework and contents of disaster risk science research. The object of disaster risk science research is the “disaster system” consisting of hazard, the geographical environment, and exposed units, with features of regionality, interconnectedness, coupling, and complexity. Environmental stability, hazard threat, and socioeconomic vulnerability together determine the way that disasters are formed, establish the spatial extent of disaster impact, and generate the scale of losses. In the formation of a disaster, a conducive environment is the prerequisite, a hazard is the necessary condition, and socioeconomic exposure is the sufficient condition. The geographical environment affects local hazard intensity and therefore can change the pattern of loss distribution. Regional multi-hazard, disaster chain, and disaster compound could induce complex impacts, amplifying or attenuating hazard intensity and changing the scope of affected areas. In the light of research progress, particularly in the context of China, we propose a three-layer disaster risk science disciplinary structure, which contains three pillars (disaster science, disaster technology, and disaster governance), nine core areas, and 27 research fields. Based on these elements, we discuss the frontiers in disaster risk science research.

Risk Assessment of Population Loss Posed by Earthquake-Landslide-Debris Flow Disaster Chain: A Case Study in Wenchuan, China

“…V is the vulnerability to a specific hazard intensity, and E is the exposure of the element at risk [54,55]. According to the theory of multi-disaster risk [20,40,41], the expression of the disaster chain risk is the accumulation of the primary disaster risk and the secondary disasters risks:…”

“…The earthquake-geological disaster chain is a common manifestation of multiple disasters, and it often causes serious damage due to the indirect strengthening effect of earthquakes that are extensive, persistent, and clustered [18][19][20]. Great earthquakes can not only cause a large number of landslides, but they can also aggravate the instability of slopes for a long time after the earthquake [7,11,12,21,22].…”

“…The disaster risk is dependent on the hazard, vulnerability, and exposure in terms of the population, ecology, and society, which have been widely used to effectively quantify the potential loss [37,[40][41][42]. During the risk assessment process of the earthquake-landslide-debris flow disaster chain, one of the difficult points in such research is the hazard assessment of debris flows in areas affected by earthquake-triggered landslides [20,[43][44][45][46][47]. Mathematical analysis and numerical simulation are the main methods used in this research field [20,46].…”

“…During the risk assessment process of the earthquake-landslide-debris flow disaster chain, one of the difficult points in such research is the hazard assessment of debris flows in areas affected by earthquake-triggered landslides [20,[43][44][45][46][47]. Mathematical analysis and numerical simulation are the main methods used in this research field [20,46]. Mathematical analysis is mainly based on the establishment of an indicator system, including rainfall, topography, lithology, and vegetation, to evaluate the hazards in potential areas [6,44].…”

The impact of super typhoon lekima on the house collapse rate and quantification of the interactive impacts of natural and socioeconomic factors

“…This study considered four typhoon-related aspects (hazard, characteristics of the disaster environment, vulnerability of hazard targets and disaster prevention and reduction capacity), the results from previous studies (Shen et al 2009;Hu et al 2018;Shi et al 2020), and the data availability when selecting the potential impact factors to be used for the analysis; thus, 14 potential driving factors were selected for the analysis (Figure 2). Data on the house structures, including the ratio of steel-concrete houses (RS), ratio of brick-wood houses (RW), ratio of brick-concrete houses (RC), and data on building floors, including the ratio of bungalows, ratio of two-three floor houses (RTT), ratio of four-six floor (RFS), and ratio of seven-nine floor houses (RSN), were compiled.…”