Understanding and mitigating cascading crises in the global interconnected system

Abstract

Cascading crises and disasters in the global interconnected system are emerging topics in today's disaster risk reduction research. The primary objective is improving the capability of our societies to cope with such events and mitigate their detrimental consequences through an evolved understanding of their nature. Rather than being merely considered as an outcome of low-probability/high-impact processes, cascading events can be associated with the cross-scale accumulation of vulnerability paths constituted by events waiting to happen. In this context, instead of focusing solely on triggering events, it seems important to point out the interactions orienting the escalation of secondary emergencies through vulnerability paths.This special issue integrates those emerging aspects with an operational approach that considers cascades as the complex, non-linear escalation of secondary emergencies. Key topics addressed by the contributions include: cross-domain modelling of interdependent systems; decision support systems; economic impact assessment of critical events; and cascades in the built environment, in social domains, and in applied emergency management. Our conclusions support the work of academia, and of public and private stakeholders, by providing a comprehensive analysis of the topic for the improvement of theory, the assessment of resilience, the formulation of policies for managing crises, and operational planning for emergencies.

Characterising Local Knowledge across the Flood Risk Management Cycle: A Case Study of Southern Malawi

“…LK does bring benefits to communities affected by flooding and contributes to resilience, but these benefits are limited, as the underlying causes of flooding and generators of vulnerabilities are beyond their control. Thus, it is important to draw attention to vulnerability paths rather than merely the hazards themselves [98]. These findings add to the global literature on the topic of LK, and are in line with previous research ( [26,60]) focusing on LK for floods in Namibia and Bangladesh, respectively.…”

What are Cascading Disasters?

“…16 New cross-disciplinary literature has been developed to support the understanding of cascading crises in the global interconnected system, including cross-domain modelling of interdependent systems, decision support systems, impact assessments. 17 These academic works tend to merge together quantitative and qualitative methodologies, producing both algorithms and scenarios for end users. The predictive evaluation of cascading effects has been improved and applied to multi-hazard analysis, including for example new modelling tools for assessing disruptions and losses.…”

Why We Can No Longer Ignore Consecutive Disasters

“…The literature recognizes different drivers of disaster, the interconnectedness of which characterizes the complex nature of risk (Cutter et al, 2015;Peduzzi, 2019;Pescaroli et al, 2018;Pescaroli & Alexander, 2015). We discuss these drivers based on the three components of risk.…”