مطالب

INTRODUCTION: The occurrence of natural disasters leads to economic, social, and personal infrastructure damage. Moreover, the government capacities increase rapidly following a direct and major demand for assistance. In these situations, timely communication, information gathering, and coordination to respond to the needs are of critical importance. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of new technologies on dealing with natural disasters in Sistan and Baluchistan Province, Iran. METHODS: This practical study was conducted based on a descriptive-survey method. The population included 100 experts and key members of the Sistan and Baluchistan Crisis Management Coordination Council. In total 80 cases were selected using Cochran's formula and purposive (snowball) sampling method. The data were collected through a 46-item researcher-made questionnaire. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts, and the reliability of the questionnaire was estimated at 0.94 using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which indicated acceptable reliability of this scale. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 22) through multiple regression to evaluate the research hypotheses. FINDINGS: According to the results of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the data distribution was normal. Moreover, the results of the multiple regression test showed the effectiveness of new technologies in dealing with natural disasters. Furthermore, operational equipment had the most significant effects on dealing with natural disasters.

INTRODUCTION: Iran has always been prone to natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, which are followed by heavy financial and bodily harms. In this regard, it is crucial to have disaster management in the schools of Iran to protect the significant number of young people studying in schools. Therefore, school principals must be constantly prepared for disasters and develop disaster management plans. METHODS: The present study aimed to identify and prioritize the factors that affect the natural disaster preparedness of schools using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) method. Moreover, another objective of this research was to rank the elementary schools in District 6 of Mashhad regarding their disaster preparedness with the fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS). In this research, first, the criteria and sub-criteria for disaster preparedness were obtained using the Delphi method and according to the opinions of experts. Afterward, the collected criteria and sub-criteria were ranked using the FAHP method. The statistical population of this research consisted of experts, including principals and experts in the studied schools (schools in District 6 of Mashhad) who were familiar with disaster management issues. In total, 10 experts were selected as the sample using the purposive sampling method. FINDINGS: Based on the results, the most important disaster preparedness factors in schools were building retrofit, adherence to basic standards, and committee formation, in that order. CONCLUSION: Finally, the elementary schools of District 6 of Mashhad were ranked in terms of disaster preparedness using the obtained model and the FTOPSIS. This ranking can help the managers in making decisions to prioritize the conduction of building retrofit of the schools in the studied area.

INTRODUCTION: Crisis management is of critical importance in the oil and gas industries due to the increasing occurrence of accidents in these areas. One of the most important issues regarding crisis management in such industries is the identification of safety assembly points where employees should gather in emergencies. This study aimed to identify the safe points in a refinery using geographic information system (GIS) and fuzzy logic for emergency assembly. METHODS: Regarding the aim of the study purpose, the required data were collected, and a focus group meeting was held with experts to determine the criteria influencing the safety point zoning as well as high-risk units using the HAZOP method. After the identification of the criteria and sub-criteria affecting the zoning, the weight of each zoning parameter was calculated, and the safety zones were determined using the fuzzy logic model and its operators in the GIS environment. FINDINGS: According to the results of the risk assessment, the criteria and sub-criteria affecting zoning were divided into three categories of inconsistent (layer weight: 0.740), consistent (layer weight: 0.094), and access to exit routes (layer weight: 0.167). Moreover, the map results based on the fuzzy logic model revealed three safe points, including the vicinity of the fire station, clinic, and wastewater treatment plant in this refinery where the employees should gather in the event of emergencies. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that the selection of appropriate criteria in safe point zoning is of great importance in the emergencies in the industries. Moreover, an initial risk assessment can be effective in determining these criteria and sub-criteria. In addition, the fuzzy logic model has high accuracy and precision in determining the appropriate safe places.

INTRODUCTION: Comprehensive healthcare centers should be able to provide primary healthcare services during disasters; therefore, it is necessary to assess their safety and preparedness to ensure that they can have acceptable functionality in critical situations. In this regard, the present study aimed to evaluate the level of safety and disaster preparedness of comprehensive healthcare centers in Babol, Iran. METHODS: The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 to investigate the safety level and disaster preparedness of 232 comprehensive healthcare centers in Babol, using observation and checklists. The used checklist consisted of three parts, namely functional, structural, and non-structural safety assessment. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. FINDINGS: Based on the data analysis, the studied centers were more prone to weather hazards than other types of disasters. Moreover, the evaluation of the different aspects of the functionality of the centers showed that the best functionality was observed in firefighting, provision of the environmental health services, organization and structure, and provision of infectious disease management services, in that order. The non-structural safety obtained the highest average score (37.49) while the scores of functional and structural safety were 21.76 and 9.27, respectively. CONCLUSION: Based on the results, all the studied comprehensive healthcare centers had a moderate level of structure and functional safety, while no center had a completely desirable level. Therefore, it is recommended to develop proper plans and monitor the comprehensive healthcare centers to eliminate their defects and improve the level of their safety.