The Zeebrugge ferry disaster

On Friday 6 March, 1987, at approximately 19:30 the Herald of Free Enterprise ferry boat capsized just outside the Belgian harbour of Zeebrugge. Almost 200 people died as the ship sank very quickly. This article examines the emergency operations that followed the disaster from the perspective of information and communication dynamics. Five specific aspects are thus analyzed in greater detail and elements of an alternative scenario are suggested for each of them: the initial alert and the subsequent mobilization of the emergency services; the informationhandling performance of the crisis center; interorganizational communication between disasterrelief agencies; external communication to survivors, families and next of kin; the management of the mass media. It is concluded that, when examining the crisis management operations more closely, the alleged success of Belgian disaster relief operations at Zeebrugge appears in many respects something of a myth.The paper is commented on by John P. Heck, Head of Civil Defense at the Dutch Ministry of the Interior.     

全球重大灾难对中国城市防灾减灾的警示

文章简介了近年我国若干城市安全减灾应急工作及系统的快速发展，阐述了我国国家、省市及社会安全减灾应急现状，SARS及印度洋特大地震海啸灾害对其的促进和警示教训；进而纵论国际安全减灾应急体系近年概况，美、俄、日、法等国近年建立部级政府机构由来；最后指出我国这一领域的问题并提出我国安全减灾应急体系建设的体制、机制、法制；经费及国际合作等相应建议。     

The Lockerbie disaster and other aircraft breakups in midair

This is a review of the experiences and activities of various specialty groups that constituted the organization developed to investigate the Lockerbie air disaster. Circumstances surrounding other aircraft midair breakup crashes are also discussed.     

The gander disaster: dental identification in a military tragedy

The authors record the contributions of dentistry to the identification of victims of one of the most significant disasters in aviation and U.S. military history--the December 1985 crash of a DC-8 charter airliner near Gander, Newfoundland (now known as Newfoundland and Labrador), Canada, which killed 248 Army personnel and 8 crewmembers. Most of the dental records of the military victims were destroyed in the crash, and, as a result, this loss hampered dental identification. Nevertheless, dental identification was the primary means of identification for many because a very high percentage of the bodies were severely burned and fragmented. Many phases of the U.S. identification efforts have been reported, but the dental-investigation aspects have been mentioned only in passing. Therefore, this article documents the dental team's organization, methodology, and a variety of remarkable problems that the team encountered.     

The efficiency of an X-ray screening system at a mass disaster

This is a study to determine the efficiency and efficacy of using an X-ray security screening system to locate both dental fragments and other foreign objects that might be commingled with fragmented remains in a mass disaster. A controlled study by the Pennsylvania Dental Identification Team (PADIT) revealed that a manual examination of simulated body bags containing commingled dental parts and foreign objects by a team of trained forensic odontologists was very effective in locating dental fragments and in finding foreign objects. Although this was effective, it was not efficient, because it was very time consuming. With the use of an X-ray security screening system, the time factor could be reduced. This study also revealed that even though this sophisticated equipment could reduce the time factor in locating commingled dental and foreign objects, a forensic odontologist should be utilized to be most effective.     

The USS Iowa disaster: success of the forensic dental team

The authors record the contributions of dentistry to the identification of the crew members who were in one of the most significant peacetime military accidents in U.S. Navy history-the April 1989 explosion in a gun turret on the battleship USS Iowa and the deaths of 47 U.S. Navy personnel. Dental identification was the primary means of identification for most because a very high percentage of the bodies were burned or fragmented. The dental-identification team's success was a direct result of its preparedness, its use of dental personnel with mass-disaster experience, and the overall excellent quality of the antemortem dental records. The dental-identification team's successful involvement in the USS Iowa tragedy was considered a model for success and therefore was instrumental in contributing to the development of the American Board of Forensic Odontology "Guidelines for the Development of a Disaster Dental Identification Team."     

The contribution of DNA to the disaster victim identification (DVI) effort

As part of the disaster victim identification (DVI) response to the 2009 Victorian bushfires disaster, a number of scientific disciplines contributed to the human identification process--forensic pathology, anthropology and odontology, as well as fingerprinting and DNA profiling. The DNA laboratory received 182 post-mortem (PM) samples from 120 DVI cases and 236 reference samples corresponding to 163 missing persons (and two non-DVI cases). DNA analysis yielded full DNA profiles for 102 DVI cases and 190 ante-mortem (AM) samples (relating to all 163 missing persons), respectively. Subsequent comparison of DNA profiles, through direct and kinship matching, resulted in the submission of 76 DNA reports to the DVI Reconciliation Centre which assisted in the identification of 67 deceased. This paper describes the contribution of DNA analysis towards the DVI response to the 2009 Victorian bushfires disaster.