Les groupes ethniques minoritaires sont parmi les secteurs de la société qui sont menacés en permanence par des risques plus élevés de catastrophes. Le fondement d'un tel constat est les impacts négatifs disproportionnés de catastrophes passées. Il est de ce fait nécessaire d'intégrer tous les groupes ethniques en particuliers les minorités dans la réduction des risques de catastrophe (RRC). Pourtant, la communauté scientifique a peu étudié le rôle de l’ethnicité dans la vulnérabilité et la capacité des populations exposées à divers aléas. Ainsi les praticiens sur le terrain et les organisations non-gouvernementales (ONG), ne possèdent pas de méthodes et d’outils appropriés pour intégrer les minorités ethniques dans la RRC. En plus, des exemples de méthodologies et de politiques visant à rendre cet objectif opérationnel et institutionnalisés sont également limités. Cette étude vise à répondre à ces lacunes, en prenant l’exemple des communautés multiethniques autour de Mont Kanlaon situé sur l'île de Negros aux Philippines. La zone d'étude se caractérise par une grande diversité ethnique composé d'au moins trois grands groupes ethniques (Ilonggos, Cebuanos et Bukidnons). Les résultats de cette étude suggèrent que cette mosaïque constitue une dimension importante de la RRC puisque chaque groupe ethnique possède ses propres formes de vulnérabilité et de capacité face aux aléas volcaniques et d’autres origines. Ces minorités ethniques sont parmi les secteurs les plus vulnérables de la société philippine en raison de leur statut marginalisés. En outre, les résultats de cette étude suggèrent que chaque groupe ethnique possède des capacités issues en grande partie de ressources locales qui sont utiles aux fins de la RRC. / The ethnic minority groups are among the sectors of the society who are permanently threatened by higher risk of disasters. The basis of such claim is the disproportionate negative impacts of both major and minor disasters. There is thus a pressing need to integrate ethnic minority groups in disaster risk reduction (DRR). However, within the scientific community, there are limited studies in the current literature of disaster that investigated the role of ethnicity in shaping the vulnerability and capacity of the ethnic groups. The authorities, non-government organizations (NGOs), and researchers have limited defined methods and tools to make such as objective operational in the field. Finally, plans, actions and policies to make such objective institutionalized are also limited. This study aimed to fulfill those gaps. The study has adapted an integrated DRR framework and a methodology that follows the ideals and principles of Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR). The present study focuses on the multiethnic communities surrounding Mt. Kanlaon located in the island of Negros, Philippines. The study area is characterized by a great ethnic diversity composed of at least three major ethnic groups (Ilonggos, Cebuanos, and Bukidnons). The results of the study suggest that this ethnic mosaic constituted a major dimension of DRR because each ethnic group portrays different vulnerabilities and capacities in the face of volcanic hazards and other natural hazards. These ethnic minorities are among the most vulnerable sectors of the Philippine society due to their marginalized and minority status. In addition, the results of this study also suggest that each ethnic group possesses capacities derived from local resources that are useful for the purpose of DRR.

This thesis aims to explore the theme of isolation in the dramatic works of Tennessee Williams using his essay “The Catastrophe of Success” as the base theory text. The essay attacks the American idea of success though an in-depth examination of the “Cinderella myth” that Williams claims is so prevalent in both Hollywood and American Democracy. Williams’ deconstruction of this myth reveals that America’s love for stories like it results the isolation of three groups: homosexuals, women and the physically disabled and terminally ill. Williams passes no judgment on his characters, instead showing their lives as they truly are. Through The Glass Menagerie (1945), A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Orpheus Descending (1957) and Vieux Carre (1977), Williams gives readers and audiences a glimpse into the lives of isolated individuals, and the struggles each group faces.

La catastrophe est un événement ponctuel ou sériel, d'origine naturelle ou humaine et qui touche de nombreuses victimes en causant d'importants dégâts. Générateur d'un fort impact émotionnel, elle est un fait d'actualité justifiant un traitement médiatique. Ce traitement a vocation à informer le public. Il va osciller entre recherche de vérité et quête de profit pour les médias. Si la recherche de vérité est louable, elle peut parfois aboutir à la mise en cause de personnes ou d'institutions. Cette mise en cause participe du travail d'information et n'est, dès lors qu’elle est justifiée, pas contestable. En revanche, si cette dernière est abusive, elle entrera dans le champ pénal et aura vocation à être sanctionnée par le biais des infractions de presse. Le fait de rapporter la catastrophe peut également emporter d'autres conséquences judiciaires. Si la préservation du droit à l'information est primordiale, l'exposition d'un événement, particulièrement celui de la catastrophe est parfois abusif. Cet abus est le fruit d'une surenchère dans le sensationnalisme, comportement justifié par une quête de profit. Constitutifs d'infractions ou source de préjudice, ces comportements sont sanctionnés et ouvrent droit à réparation. Au delà, l'exposition de la catastrophe peut parfois, en dehors de tout abus, être source de préjudice qu'il convient d'indemniser. / The disaster is a punctual or serial event, of natural or human origin, which touches many lives by causing extensive damage. Generator of a strong emotional impact, it's a news requiring a media coverage. This coverage is intended to inform the public. It will oscillate between truth-seeking and profit-seeking for the media. If the search for truth is commendable, it can sometimes lead to the questioning of persons or institutions. This questioning is part of the work of information and is, therefore it is justified, indisputable. However, if it is misused, it will enter the criminal field and will have vocation to be sanctioned by the means of the infringements of press. The reporting of the disaster can also create other legal consequences. If preserving the right to information is of primary importance, the exposure of an event, especially the disaster, is sometimes abusive. This abuse is the result of an escalation in sensationalism, behavior justified by a pursuit of profit. Constitutive of infringements or sources of damage, these behaviors are sanctioned and open entitlement to compensation. In addition, the exposure of the disaster can sometimes, without any abuse, be a source of harm that should be compensated.

Title: Actuarial and Exposure-based Models for Hail Peril Author: Bc. Matúš Drobuliak Department: Department of Probability and Mathematical Statistics Supervisor: RNDr. Michal Pešta, Ph.D., Department of Probability and Mathe- matical Statistics Abstract: This thesis covers an introduction to catastrophe modelling and focuses on statistical methods for extreme events. This includes methods of estimating parameters of claim distribution with a focus on probability weighted moments estimation technique. Furthermore, times series modelling, skew t-distribution, and two model clustering techniques are examined as well. This is later utilised in the practical application part of this thesis, which uses real data provided by an insurance company operating in the Czech Republic. Probability distribution fitting of large claims caused by hailstorms and Monte Carlo simulation of future losses are demonstrated later. Keywords: Catastrophe modelling, Hail peril, Probability weighted moments, Extreme events, ARMA-GARCH, Monte Carlo simulation iii

台灣由於特殊的地理位置，所以地震、颱風等巨災所造成之損失時有所聞。這些巨災除造成交通、農業等經濟損失，更造成人員傷亡、房屋倒塌，也在每個人心中都刻畫難以抹滅的傷痛。為了因應這些巨災帶來的損失，台灣政府撥出許多補助費用予死傷及失蹤人民或其家屬，也提供某些房屋損失的補助。巨災不只危害個人，也同樣衝擊政府財政。 本文以台灣的地震風險為研究對象，並將地震損失劃分為經濟損失與財政損失。經濟損失泛指因地震所造成之一切直接損失，財政損失係指政府因災後所需之賑災與重建經費。因此本文不僅考慮地震所帶來的直接損失，同時也涵蓋政府對於災後的各項補助措施，以完整描述地震全面性的影響範圍。除描述地震整體影響外，本文另設計三種政府預算保險（比例式、自負額、給付最高額度與自負額並行等）作為風險管理機制。模擬說明有無風險管理機制輔助之下對地震損失所帶來之影響及其差異，可從中分析此保險的成本和效益。 本文主要使用國家地震工程研究中心提供之一般建築物損失資料表，輔以中央政府各主管機關對於其下轄業務範圍內之損失統計年報，從中取得因地震所造成之損失統計資料，例如傷亡與失蹤人數、房屋倒塌數、交通損失以及農業損失等，來建立損失模型。損失模型之建立係以模擬出之一般建築物損失為基礎，用迴歸分析評估其與其他損失之相關性，再建立其他損失模型。 本文之分析說明政府若能落實巨災風險管理，將產生極大的利益，在減少社會經濟損失方面尤為顯著。巨災風險管理是正面且必要之事，無論是住宅地震保險基金或政府預算保險，依初始規劃角度來看，政府皆扮演風險管理者的角色。 / Taiwan is usually hit and hurt by some natural catastrophes several times in a year due to its special location. Natural catastrophes brought not only losses of personal properties, agricultural products, and infrastructures but also casualties that brought painful, lasting feelings. In order to deal with the losses caused by natural catastrophes, Taiwan government released significant amount of consolation money for the dead, missing, and injured people. The government also compensate for some house losses. Catastrophes affect not only the private sector economy but also the public finance. This paper focuses on the impacts of the earthquake risk on economic losses and public finance losses of Taiwan. The economic losses include all reported losses while the public finance losses reflect the expenses paid for the post-disaster need, including disaster relief and reconstruction. Considering both the economic losses and public finance losses give us a better-informed picture about the consequences of natural catastrophes. After establishing the models for various types of losses, we analyze how government budget insurances can mitigate the natural catastrophe risks. We employ simulations to display the differences in the loss distributions with and without the insurance. The costs and benefits of the insurance can then be analyzed. Our model of the earthquake risk is based upon the scenario output generated by a model of the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering of Taiwan. We coupled the scenarios and official statistics on the earthquake losses to construct the building loss model. The models for other types of losses are then established using regression analyses. The above analyses demonstrate how the risk management on natural catastrophes taken by the government can benefit Taiwan. The benefits on the economic losses of the society are particularly apparent. Catastrophe risk management is positive and necessary. The Taiwan Residential Earthquake Insurance Fund and government budget insurance are the measures for the risk manager - the government.

<p>Samhället är mer eller mindre konstant utsatt för risker. De flesta av dem är så små, och har kanske till och med så pass obetydande effekter för individen om de realiseras, att vi negligerar dem i våra dagliga beslut. Vid vissa tillfällen står vid dock inför beslut som är betydligt svårare, t.ex. i vilken mån vi ska handla kostsamma försäkringar för stora olyckor som högst osannolikt inträffar men skulle få katastrofala konsekvenser. Liknande situationer uppstår för centrala beslutsfattare där man fattar beslut att genomföra riskreducerande åtgärder i samband med potentiella katastrofer. Sådana åtgärder finansieras genom skattemedel och kanske kan man då kräva att myndigheter åtminstone försöker redovisa de förväntade kostnaderna och fördelarna som följs av besluten. För detta ändamål kan man använda kostnads-nyttoanalys, vilket vanligtvis rekommenderas för riskhantering inom t.ex. vägtrafik, eller i viss mån den mindre avancerade kostnads-effektanalysen. Riskanalysens utformning är bl.a. beroende av om man hanterar risk (man kan tilldela utfallen sannolikheter) eller osäkerhet (man känner till utfallen men kan inte tilldela dem sannolikheter) och begränsas vanligtvis av en mängd ovissheter, såsom värden för olika ingående parametrar (t.ex. värdet på ett statistiskt liv).</p><p>Detta arbete tar upp teori angående värdering ex ante av kostnader i samband med potentiella katastrofer och hur dessa värden kan användas under risk eller osäkerhet i en kvantitativ riskanalys. Med hjälp av det försöker jag beskriva i stora drag hur man skulle kunna värdera den ekonomiska nyttan av riskreducerande åtgärder i samband med den s.k. fågelinfluensan. Mina slutsatser är att en probabilistisk ansats och en kvantitativ riskanalys försvåras av bl.a. ett knapphändigt material för sannolikhetstolkningar, förekomsten av kollektiv risk och svårigheter i att värdera t.ex. statistiska liv. Socialstyrelsen är nationell samordnare av arbetet med förebyggande åtgärder i samband med potentiella pandemier men varken använder eller rekommenderar andra myndigheter att använda nyttobaserade beslutskriterier som en del av beslutsunderlaget i samband med den s.k. fågelinfluensan (i detta fall). Kanske borde det tillhöra deras uppgifter att se över möjligheterna att använda samhällsekonomiska utredningar vid sådana situationer. Istället använder de vad som liknar en försiktighetsprincip, vilket också kan försvaras under förutsättningen att riskerna är påtagliga. För stora och långsiktiga beslut borde man istället införa en snävare anti-katastrof-princip innefattande en prioriteringsordning för när man, baserat på om det är möjligt och utredningsekonomiskt motiverat, ska genomföra kostnads-nyttoanalyser och när man istället ska genomföra kostnads-effektanalyser. De kan sedan vara en del av ett större beslutsunderlag.</p> / <p>Our society is constantly exposed to risks. Most of them are so small, and maybe even have so little effect if they occur, that we disregard them in our daily decisions. Quite often, however, we face decisions that are harder for us to make, as whether or not to buy expensive insurance to cover for accidents that have only a small probability to occur but also catastrophic consequences. Similar situations appear for central decision makers when they decide whether or not to reduce a certain catastrophic risk for the society as a whole. Those actions are financed through taxes and therefore it might be fair to say that the authorities should at least try to account for the possible benefits and costs associated with a risk reducing programme. For this you may use Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), which is usually recommended for use in, for example, risk management for traffic risks, or the less advanced Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA). The shape and form of the risk analysis is to a great deal dependent of whether you are dealing with risk (it’s possible to assign the predicted states probabilities) or uncertainty (it’s not possible to assign the predicted states probabilities) and is also usually limited by a number of other uncertainties, say in value parameters (e.g. the value of a statistical life, VSL).</p><p>This paper deals with theories regarding how to value (ex ante) the costs of potential catastrophes and how these values could be used in dealing with risk or uncertainty in a quantitative risk analysis. From there I try to describe how, possibly, you could value the benefits from programmes reducing risks of an avian influenza. My conclusions are that a probabilistic approach in a quantitative analysis is complicated by, among other things, the short amount of data necessary to compute objective probabilities, the existence of collective risks and for example difficulties in measuring VSL. The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) is the national coordinator for all work regarding risk reducing actions for potential pandemics, but the board neither uses nor recommends other authorities to use utility-based criteria as a part of their decision material when dealing with, in this case, the bird flue. Quite possibly it should be a part of their work to look into the possibilities of using economic evaluations in these situations. Instead they use what resembles a Precautionary Principle, which also can be used on justified grounds as long as the risks are highly present. What should be done for large and long term decision making, though, is to define a narrower Anti-Catastrophe Principle containing orders of priorities for when, based on if its possible and financially motivated, to use CBA and when to use CEA. Those analyses could then be used along with any other decision material.</p>

Samhället är mer eller mindre konstant utsatt för risker. De flesta av dem är så små, och har kanske till och med så pass obetydande effekter för individen om de realiseras, att vi negligerar dem i våra dagliga beslut. Vid vissa tillfällen står vid dock inför beslut som är betydligt svårare, t.ex. i vilken mån vi ska handla kostsamma försäkringar för stora olyckor som högst osannolikt inträffar men skulle få katastrofala konsekvenser. Liknande situationer uppstår för centrala beslutsfattare där man fattar beslut att genomföra riskreducerande åtgärder i samband med potentiella katastrofer. Sådana åtgärder finansieras genom skattemedel och kanske kan man då kräva att myndigheter åtminstone försöker redovisa de förväntade kostnaderna och fördelarna som följs av besluten. För detta ändamål kan man använda kostnads-nyttoanalys, vilket vanligtvis rekommenderas för riskhantering inom t.ex. vägtrafik, eller i viss mån den mindre avancerade kostnads-effektanalysen. Riskanalysens utformning är bl.a. beroende av om man hanterar risk (man kan tilldela utfallen sannolikheter) eller osäkerhet (man känner till utfallen men kan inte tilldela dem sannolikheter) och begränsas vanligtvis av en mängd ovissheter, såsom värden för olika ingående parametrar (t.ex. värdet på ett statistiskt liv). Detta arbete tar upp teori angående värdering ex ante av kostnader i samband med potentiella katastrofer och hur dessa värden kan användas under risk eller osäkerhet i en kvantitativ riskanalys. Med hjälp av det försöker jag beskriva i stora drag hur man skulle kunna värdera den ekonomiska nyttan av riskreducerande åtgärder i samband med den s.k. fågelinfluensan. Mina slutsatser är att en probabilistisk ansats och en kvantitativ riskanalys försvåras av bl.a. ett knapphändigt material för sannolikhetstolkningar, förekomsten av kollektiv risk och svårigheter i att värdera t.ex. statistiska liv. Socialstyrelsen är nationell samordnare av arbetet med förebyggande åtgärder i samband med potentiella pandemier men varken använder eller rekommenderar andra myndigheter att använda nyttobaserade beslutskriterier som en del av beslutsunderlaget i samband med den s.k. fågelinfluensan (i detta fall). Kanske borde det tillhöra deras uppgifter att se över möjligheterna att använda samhällsekonomiska utredningar vid sådana situationer. Istället använder de vad som liknar en försiktighetsprincip, vilket också kan försvaras under förutsättningen att riskerna är påtagliga. För stora och långsiktiga beslut borde man istället införa en snävare anti-katastrof-princip innefattande en prioriteringsordning för när man, baserat på om det är möjligt och utredningsekonomiskt motiverat, ska genomföra kostnads-nyttoanalyser och när man istället ska genomföra kostnads-effektanalyser. De kan sedan vara en del av ett större beslutsunderlag. / Our society is constantly exposed to risks. Most of them are so small, and maybe even have so little effect if they occur, that we disregard them in our daily decisions. Quite often, however, we face decisions that are harder for us to make, as whether or not to buy expensive insurance to cover for accidents that have only a small probability to occur but also catastrophic consequences. Similar situations appear for central decision makers when they decide whether or not to reduce a certain catastrophic risk for the society as a whole. Those actions are financed through taxes and therefore it might be fair to say that the authorities should at least try to account for the possible benefits and costs associated with a risk reducing programme. For this you may use Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), which is usually recommended for use in, for example, risk management for traffic risks, or the less advanced Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA). The shape and form of the risk analysis is to a great deal dependent of whether you are dealing with risk (it’s possible to assign the predicted states probabilities) or uncertainty (it’s not possible to assign the predicted states probabilities) and is also usually limited by a number of other uncertainties, say in value parameters (e.g. the value of a statistical life, VSL). This paper deals with theories regarding how to value (ex ante) the costs of potential catastrophes and how these values could be used in dealing with risk or uncertainty in a quantitative risk analysis. From there I try to describe how, possibly, you could value the benefits from programmes reducing risks of an avian influenza. My conclusions are that a probabilistic approach in a quantitative analysis is complicated by, among other things, the short amount of data necessary to compute objective probabilities, the existence of collective risks and for example difficulties in measuring VSL. The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) is the national coordinator for all work regarding risk reducing actions for potential pandemics, but the board neither uses nor recommends other authorities to use utility-based criteria as a part of their decision material when dealing with, in this case, the bird flue. Quite possibly it should be a part of their work to look into the possibilities of using economic evaluations in these situations. Instead they use what resembles a Precautionary Principle, which also can be used on justified grounds as long as the risks are highly present. What should be done for large and long term decision making, though, is to define a narrower Anti-Catastrophe Principle containing orders of priorities for when, based on if its possible and financially motivated, to use CBA and when to use CEA. Those analyses could then be used along with any other decision material.

There is mounting evidence that sustainable scale thresholds are now being exceeded worldwide and environmental resource shocks (e.g. climate change, water and oil shortages) may be inevitable in some regions of the world in the near future. These could result in severe economic breakdowns, welfare loss, and in the worst-case, the collapse of modern civilization. Therefore, a pre-eminent challenge of our times is to determine how to design a resilient (safe-fail) economy – one that can endure, adapt to and successfully recover from breakdowns when they occur. Surprisingly, while ecological economic theory relies heavily on natural science concepts such as thermodynamics, insufficient attention has been paid to the important ecological concept of resilience, particularly as it applies to economic design. The three major policy goals of current ecological economic theory (sustainable scale, just distribution and efficient allocation) focus instead on preventing environmental resource shocks and breakdowns, but given their unpredictability prevention may not always be possible. How resilience can inform the blossoming field of ecological economics is thus explored in this theoretical, transdisciplinary paper. Drawing on literature as diverse as archaeology and disaster planning, it develops six key principles of economic resilience and applies them to analyze the resilience of key societal systems including our money, electricity, water, transportation, information/communication and emergency response systems. Overall, economic resilience appears to be a unique concern that is not readily subsumed under any of the three existing ecological economic policy pillars. In fact, efforts to build in resilience have the potential to both complement and at times contradict the other three goals, especially efficiency. The need to further study these possible tradeoffs provides strong justification for adding a fourth distinct policy pillar, namely “Resilient Design”, to core ecological economic theory. Indeed, ecological economist’s longstanding criticism of economic growth meshes readily with the Resilience Alliance’s own figure-8 adaptive cycle theory critiquing the resilience costs of growth, providing significant opportunities for the future collaboration of these two fields in broadening global system theory.

Der Dauerregen Anfang August in Ostsachsen ließ uns in Zittau unmutig zum grauen Himmel blicken. Am 7. August, einem Samstag, spitzte sich innerhalb kürzester Zeit alles dramatisch zu. Regenmengen von 160 l/m2 ließen die Neiße und ihren kleinen Nebenfluss Mandau bis zu ihren Dammkronen ansteigen. Die Hochschulbibliothek Zittau/Görlitz war im Jahre 2006 am Standort Zittau in einen Neubau nahe der Mandau eingezogen. Die Haupträume befinden sich im Erdgeschoss und in der ersten Etage, das Magazin wurde jedoch im Kellergeschoss untergebracht. Das Bibliotheksteam wies während der Bauphase nachdrücklich auf mögliche Hochwassergefahren für das Magazin hin. Die Bedenken wurden mit der Begründung abgewiesen, dass sie nur bei einem „Jahrhunderthochwasser“ berechtigt seien. Dieses „Jahrhundert“ war am 7. August 2010 um 18.30 Uhr abgelaufen.

Am 5. November 2010 hat der Beauftragte für Kultur und Medien der Bundesregierung, Staatsminister Bernd Neumann, zusätzliche 500.000 EUR für den Schutz schriftlichen Kulturguts in Deutschland bewilligt. In Sachsen erhalten u.a. das Kloster Marienthal und das Schumann-Haus in Zwickau Fördermittel. Die Koordinierung für Sachsen hat die Landesstelle für Bestandserhaltung an der SLUB Dresden übernommen. Das erneute Hochwasser an Oder und Neiße im August 2010 hat gezeigt, dass die Notfallvorsorge ganz oben auf der Tagesordnung stehen muss.