Fatalities associated with the severe weather conditions in the Czech Republic, 2000–2019
<p>This paper presents an analysis of fatalities attributable to weather conditions in the Czech Republic during the 2000–2019 period. The database of fatalities deployed contains information extracted from <i>Právo</i>, a leading daily newspaper, and <i>Novinky.cz</i>,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/21/1355/2021/nhess-21-1355-2021.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818597019501985792 |
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| author | R. Brázdil R. Brázdil K. Chromá L. Dolák L. Dolák J. Řehoř J. Řehoř L. Řezníčková L. Řezníčková P. Zahradníček P. Zahradníček P. Dobrovolný P. Dobrovolný |
| author_facet | R. Brázdil R. Brázdil K. Chromá L. Dolák L. Dolák J. Řehoř J. Řehoř L. Řezníčková L. Řezníčková P. Zahradníček P. Zahradníček P. Dobrovolný P. Dobrovolný |
| author_sort | R. Brázdil |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>This paper presents an analysis of fatalities attributable to weather conditions in the Czech Republic during the 2000–2019 period. The database of fatalities deployed contains information extracted from <i>Právo</i>, a leading daily newspaper, and <i>Novinky.cz</i>, its internet equivalent, supplemented by a number of other documentary sources. The analysis is performed for floods, windstorms, convective storms, rain, snow, glaze ice, frost, heat, and fog. For each of them, the associated fatalities are investigated in terms of annual frequencies, trends, annual variation, spatial distribution, cause, type, place, and time as well as the sex, age, and behaviour of casualties. There were 1164 weather-related fatalities during the 2000–2019 study period, exhibiting a statistically significant falling trend. Those attributable to frost (31 %) predominated, followed by glaze ice, rain, and snow. Fatalities were at their maximum in January and December and at their minimum in April and September. Fatalities arising out of vehicle accidents (48 %) predominated in terms of structure, followed by freezing or hypothermia (30 %). Most deaths occurred during the night. Adults (65 %) and males (72 %) accounted for the majority of fatalities, while indirect fatalities were more frequent than direct ones (55 % to 45 %). Hazardous behaviour accounted for 76 %. According to the database of the Czech Statistical Office, deaths caused by exposure to excessive natural cold are markedly predominant among five selected groups of weather-related fatalities, and their numbers exhibit a statistically significant rise during 2000–2019. Police yearbooks of the fatalities arising out of vehicle accidents indicate significantly decreasing trends in the frequency of inclement weather patterns associated with fatal accidents as well as a decrease in their percentage in annual numbers of fatalities. The discussion of results includes the problems of data uncertainty, comparison of different data sources, and the broader context.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T11:41:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3842d1fe3f304f23b6042077ac0ac956 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1561-8633 1684-9981 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T11:41:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-3842d1fe3f304f23b6042077ac0ac9562022-12-21T22:32:56ZengCopernicus PublicationsNatural Hazards and Earth System Sciences1561-86331684-99812021-05-01211355138210.5194/nhess-21-1355-2021Fatalities associated with the severe weather conditions in the Czech Republic, 2000–2019R. Brázdil0R. Brázdil1K. Chromá2L. Dolák3L. Dolák4J. Řehoř5J. Řehoř6L. Řezníčková7L. Řezníčková8P. Zahradníček9P. Zahradníček10P. Dobrovolný11P. Dobrovolný12Institute of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech RepublicCzech Hydrometeorological Institute, Brno, Czech RepublicInstitute of Geography, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech RepublicGlobal Change Research Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic<p>This paper presents an analysis of fatalities attributable to weather conditions in the Czech Republic during the 2000–2019 period. The database of fatalities deployed contains information extracted from <i>Právo</i>, a leading daily newspaper, and <i>Novinky.cz</i>, its internet equivalent, supplemented by a number of other documentary sources. The analysis is performed for floods, windstorms, convective storms, rain, snow, glaze ice, frost, heat, and fog. For each of them, the associated fatalities are investigated in terms of annual frequencies, trends, annual variation, spatial distribution, cause, type, place, and time as well as the sex, age, and behaviour of casualties. There were 1164 weather-related fatalities during the 2000–2019 study period, exhibiting a statistically significant falling trend. Those attributable to frost (31 %) predominated, followed by glaze ice, rain, and snow. Fatalities were at their maximum in January and December and at their minimum in April and September. Fatalities arising out of vehicle accidents (48 %) predominated in terms of structure, followed by freezing or hypothermia (30 %). Most deaths occurred during the night. Adults (65 %) and males (72 %) accounted for the majority of fatalities, while indirect fatalities were more frequent than direct ones (55 % to 45 %). Hazardous behaviour accounted for 76 %. According to the database of the Czech Statistical Office, deaths caused by exposure to excessive natural cold are markedly predominant among five selected groups of weather-related fatalities, and their numbers exhibit a statistically significant rise during 2000–2019. Police yearbooks of the fatalities arising out of vehicle accidents indicate significantly decreasing trends in the frequency of inclement weather patterns associated with fatal accidents as well as a decrease in their percentage in annual numbers of fatalities. The discussion of results includes the problems of data uncertainty, comparison of different data sources, and the broader context.</p>https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/21/1355/2021/nhess-21-1355-2021.pdf |
| spellingShingle | R. Brázdil R. Brázdil K. Chromá L. Dolák L. Dolák J. Řehoř J. Řehoř L. Řezníčková L. Řezníčková P. Zahradníček P. Zahradníček P. Dobrovolný P. Dobrovolný Fatalities associated with the severe weather conditions in the Czech Republic, 2000–2019 Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |
| title | Fatalities associated with the severe weather conditions in the Czech Republic, 2000–2019 |
| title_full | Fatalities associated with the severe weather conditions in the Czech Republic, 2000–2019 |
| title_fullStr | Fatalities associated with the severe weather conditions in the Czech Republic, 2000–2019 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fatalities associated with the severe weather conditions in the Czech Republic, 2000–2019 |
| title_short | Fatalities associated with the severe weather conditions in the Czech Republic, 2000–2019 |
| title_sort | fatalities associated with the severe weather conditions in the czech republic 2000 2019 |
| url | https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/21/1355/2021/nhess-21-1355-2021.pdf |
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