A National Emergency Preparedness Plan for Kuwaiti Community during Sand and Dust Storms

A National Emergency Preparedness Plan: for Kuwaiti
Community during Sand and Dust Storms
Student: Musaed Al-Qattan (@00477001)
Supervisor: Dr. Zeeshan Aziz
Co-Supervisor: Amanda Marshall-Ponting

TABLES OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................1
1.1 STUDY BACKGROUND................................................................................................1
1.2 RESEARCH RATIONALE.............................................................................................3
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT..............................................................................................4
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS..............................................................................................5
1.5 RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVES..........................................................................6
1.6 STUDY SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS...........................................................................6
1.7 STUDY CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE.............................................................6
1.8 WORK PLAN..................................................................................................................6
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW...............................................................................8
2.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................8
2.2 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT...................................................................................8
2.2.1 Various Definition of Emergency Management........................................................9
2.2.2 Emergency Management Lifecycle.........................................................................10
2.2.2.1 Mitigation.........................................................................................................12
2.2.2.2 Preparedness....................................................................................................12
2.2.2.3 Response...........................................................................................................13
2.2.2.4 Recovery...........................................................................................................13
2.2.3 Emergency Management Principles........................................................................14
2.3 SAND AND DUST STORMS.......................................................................................15
2.3.1 Sand and Dust Storms Definition............................................................................15
2.3.2 Sand and Dust Storms Mechanisms.........................................................................17
2.3.3 Nature and Trends....................................................................................................19
2.3.3.1 Kuwait..............................................................................................................20
2.3.4 Impacts of SDSs.......................................................................................................22
2.3.4.1 Human Health..................................................................................................22
2.3.4.2 Cardio Vascular Issues....................................................................................23
2.3.4.3 Environmental..................................................................................................25

2.3.4.4 Economic..........................................................................................................29
2.3.4.5 Households.......................................................................................................31
2.4 GLOBAL BEST PRACTICES FOR SAND AND DUST STORMS............................32
2.4.1 WMO Warning Advisory and Assessment System – SDSs....................................36
2.4.2 Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)...........................................36
2.4.3 International Cooperative for Aerosol Prediction (ICAP).......................................37
2.4.4 A Global Dust-Health Early Warning System.........................................................38
2.5. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS...............................................................................41
2.5.1. Emergency Preparedness – Definition....................................................................41
2.6 VARIOUS PREPAREDNESS MODELS......................................................................42
2.6.1 The Australian Model..............................................................................................42
2.6.2 UK Model................................................................................................................43
2.6.3 Pelfrey’s Model........................................................................................................45
2.6.4 US Model.................................................................................................................47
2.7 HOUSEHOLD PREPAREDNESS................................................................................50
2.7.1 Hazard Knowledge..................................................................................................51
2.7.2 Management, Direction and Coordination (MDC)..................................................52
2.7.3 Formal and Informal Response Plans and Agreements...........................................52
2.7.4 Supportive Resources..............................................................................................53
2.7.5 Life Safety Protection..............................................................................................54
2.7.6 Property Protection..................................................................................................54
2.7.7 Emergency Coping and Restoration of Key Functions...........................................54
2.7.8 Initiation of Recovery..............................................................................................55
2.8 EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLANNING...........................................................56
2.9 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK...................................................................................58
2.9.1 Protective Action Decision Model (PADM)...........................................................59
2.9.3 Resource-related Attributes.....................................................................................60
2.9.4 Risk Area.................................................................................................................60
2.9.5 Efficacy Attributes...................................................................................................60
2.9.6 Risk Perception........................................................................................................61
2.9.7 Demographic Characteristics...................................................................................61
2.9.8 Adoption Intentions / Preparedness.........................................................................61

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY CHAPTER...................................................................63
3.1 INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................................63
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN....................................................................................................63
3.3 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHIES...................................................................................64
3.4 QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH...............................................66
3.5 RESEARCH APPROACHES........................................................................................67
3.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGICAL CHOICE.............................................................68
3.7 RESEARCH STRATEGIES..........................................................................................69
3.7.1 Justification of the Choice of Kuwaiti city as a Case Study....................................71
3.7.2 Unit of analysis........................................................................................................72
3.8 TIME HORIZON...........................................................................................................74
3.9 APPLICATION TO THE PRESENT STUDY..............................................................74
3.10 DATA COLLECTION METHODS.............................................................................74
3.11 PILOT STUDY............................................................................................................76
3.12 TRIANGULATION.....................................................................................................76
3.13 DATA ANALYSES.....................................................................................................77
3.14 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS.................................................................................77
CHAPTER 4: QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS........................................................78
CHAPTER 5: QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS.........................................................101
5.1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................101
5.2 PROFILE OF THE INTERVIEWEES.........................................................................101
5.3 ANALYSIS OF THE INTERVIEW FINDINGS.........................................................102
5.4 EXPERIENCE OF THE INTERVIEWEES................................................................103
5.5 SOURCE OF SDS........................................................................................................104
5.6 IMPACTS OF SDS ON COMMUNITIES..................................................................106
5.7 PRIORITIES AND CRITERIA OF IMPACTS...........................................................108

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 STUDY BACKGROUND
Sand and dust storms (SDSs) are described as “lower atmosphere events that result from wind
erosion liberating sediment particles from the ground surface” (Shepherd et al., 2016; UNEP,
2016). Generally speaking, SDSs originate from desert and semi-desert areas, which may
explain why the material they carry is commonly referred to as “desert dust” (N. J.
Middleton, 2017). The likelihood of a dust storm forming depends on the wind speed and the
soil’s level of vulnerability to surface disturbance (Gemma et al., 2016; UNEP, 2013). Main
areas with high SDSs intensity extend from the west coast of North Africa, over the Middle
East, Central and South Asia, to China. Small SDS concentrations are found in the North
America Great Basin, South America, Australia and southern Africa (Prospero, Ginoux,
Torres, Nicholson, & Gill, 2002).
The Middle East region in particular is described as a major source of dust (N. J. Middleton,
1986; Moridnejad, Karimi, & Ariya, 2015). Although much dust in the Middle East is locally
generated, substantial amounts of dust arrive from the Sahara and north eastern Africa (N.
Middleton & Goudie, 2006). According to climate change projections (UNEP, 2016), areas
in the Middle East are expected to become drier, hence increasing the intensity and frequency
of SDSs (Shepherd et al., 2016). In this regard, the UNEP, (2016) report state that dust
emissions showed an annual increase of 20 to 50%. SDSs frequency and intensity do not
follow a fixed pattern, and their seasonal timing is governed by a range of factors, including
rainfall and snow patterns. They are result of interlinked factors like: wind, dry and arid land,
and human interventions.
Although SDSs have some positive impacts like providing ocean waters with nutrients and
fertilises forests (Goudie, 2014; Wiggs, 2011), they have negative impacts on the economy,
environment and human health, which is the main focus of most studies. In terms of
economy, SDSs can have an immediate term effect, a long term effect, or both (Shepherd et
al., 2016) (UNEP, 2016). Immediate term impacts relate to material costs pertaining to
immediate human health problems and mortality; annual and perennial crop damage;
livestock mortality; infrastructural damage; costs of removing sand from infrastructure;
interruption to transport and communication, and air and road traffic accidents. On the other
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hand, long term impacts refer to economic costs over a long period of time. These include:
cumulative health problems; soil erosion and reduced soil quality; soil pollution through
deposition of toxic materials; and disruption of global climate regulation. Research on the
economic costs of SDSs remains somewhat limited, and a comprehensive and accurate
analysis that would cover all segments of the economy is virtually non-existent (Tozer &
Leys, 2013). Hence, reported figures on economic losses are often deflated, and the real
economic damage of SDSs can be higher than reported (N. Middleton, Tozer, & Tozer,
2019).
The negative impact of SDSs on the environment is disturbing the earth’s radiative balance
because airborne dust affects solar radiation (CNN, 2018; Goudie, 2014; N. Middleton, 2018;
N. J. Middleton, 2017; N. Middleton et al., 2019; Yahya & Seker, 2018). Therefore, this
alteration can result in climatic variations and drought intensification (Highwood & Ryder,
2014; Yahya & Seker, 2018). It has been also reported that cloud optical properties can be
altered as a result of interaction with dust particles. Put differently, dust can affect cloud
formation and may inhibit precipitation (Maley, 1982). Moreover, when dust falls on glaciers,
it can speed up their melting process (R. V Martin, Jacob, Yantosca, Chin, & Ginoux, 2003).
It has been also demonstrated that wind erosion is a major contributor to land degradation
(Arimoto, 2001; Ravi et al., 2011). This is because it removes fine soil particles that retain
organic and nutrient matter. In turn, land degradation not only leads to reduced soil
productivity, but also, it contributes to climate change through the production of greenhouse
gases.
The main negative impact of SDSs is on human health. In other words, the exposure to SDSs
can result in serious health problems. Such problems are attributed to the biological and
chemical properties of dust. According to World Health Organisation (WHO, 2013) reports,
it has been found that airborne dust pollution affects more people than any other pollutant.
This is because when dust particles are transported, they absorb both atmospheric and
anthropogenic pollutants, including nitrate ions, sulphate, ammonium and different metal
compounds (Onishi et al., 2012; Xiao, Murray, & Lenzen, 2018). SDSs can also carry
bacteria, spores, fungi and potential allergens (Behzad, Mineta, & Gojobori, 2018;
Schweitzer et al., 2018). Not surprisingly, researchers have found that lower respiratory
infections, lung cancer and cardiovascular problems are associated with chronic exposure to
fine dust particulates (Smith, Griffin, McPeters, Ward, & Schuerger, 2011).
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A strong connection has been also found between exposure to dust particulates and a range of
respiratory disorders such as pneumonia, tracheitis, spergillosis and non-industrial silicosis,
better known as the “desert lung syndrome” (Behzad et al., 2018; Chien, Lien, Yang, & Yu,
2014; Nieder, Benbi, & Reichl, 2018; Schweitzer et al., 2018). Researchers have also found
that a number of diseases can be caused or aggravated by airborne dust. These include:
bronchitis, emphysema, cardiovascular disorders (e.g., stroke), eye infections (Chien et al.,
2014), skin irritations, meningitis (García-Pando et al., 2014), and valley fever (Shepherd et
al., 2016; W. A. Sprigg et al., 2014). Added to this, reduced visibility as a result of SDSs is
reported to contribute to mortalities and injuries in motorway accidents (Call, Wilson, &
Shourd, 2018; Goudie, 2014). Furthermore, De Longueville, Ozer, Doumbia, & Henry,
(2013) indicate that compared to healthy individuals, people with pre-existing cardio-
pulmonary conditions have higher mortality and morbidity rates as a result of inhaling dust.
Managing SDSs, like other types of emergencies, requires considering four interrelated
phases of disaster management cycle including: Mitigation, Preparedness, Response and
Recovery (Cao, Zhu, Han, & Zhu, 2018; Himes-Cornell et al., 2018). The preparedness is
important as the emergency occurs after this phase. This phase consists of range of critical
tasks and activities that are required to build, sustain, and improve the operational capability
of related organisation to prevent, protect, respond, mitigate, and recover from emergencies
like SDSs.
1.2 RESEARCH RATIONALE
Given the adverse effects of SDSs, there have been growing concerns over their negative
impacts on part of researchers, governments and the global community as a whole. According
to UNEP (2016) report, such concerns are reflected in the increasing number of studies on
SDSs since the early years of the 20th century (Gemma et al., 2016). Those studies have been
influenced by research in the field of disaster, or emergency, management and risk
information technologies (Dempsey, 2014; García-Pando et al., 2014; Gemma et al., 2016),
and they cover a wide range of issues, including the natural and anthropogenic drivers of
SDS; their sources, causes, economic and environmental impact; as well as policies and
measures for their mitigation at local, regional and global levels. However, researchers’
efforts, the protective measures, and initiatives they propose have resulted in important
reductions in the desertification process and, consequently, in less frequent and less intense
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