The Marine and Coastal Access Bill, when it becomes law, may well be considered a welcome addition to the legislation protecting the marine coastal environment. It is argued, however, in this paper that the Bill could have addressed a number of issues including the matter of shipowners’ privileges, locus standi, the designation and setting up of an environmental fund, and the difficulties associated with places of refuge for vessels in distress. 相似文献
Large boulder accumulations have been observed on various coasts bordering the Mediterranean and have been associated with extreme wave events such as powerful storms or tsunamis. This study provides an in-depth analysis of 430 boulder deposits, located along a 3.5 km stretch of rocky coast situated on the SE of the Maltese Islands. It includes a geomorphometric analysis of the observed boulders and use of numerical modelling to estimate wave height required to initiate boulder movement. Comparisons of aerial imagery over a period of 46 years have made it possible to identify boulder movement that could only be attributed to storm waves, given that no local tsunamigenic event has been recorded over this time period. Positioned in the central Mediterranean, the Maltese Islands are exposed to potential tsunamis generated by seismic activity associated with the Malta Escarpment, and the Calabrian and Hellenic arcs. Although imprints from historic tsunami impact cannot be excluded, results indicate that the area is exposed to strong storm waves that are capable of displacing some of the very large boulders observed on site. 相似文献
The city-island-state of Malta is traditionally viewed as a low-hazard country with the lack of a long historical catalogue of extreme events and their impacts acting as an obstacle to formulating evidence-based policies of disaster risk reduction. In this paper, we present the first multi-hazard historical catalogue for Malta which extends from the Miocene to 2019 CE. Drawing on over 3500 documents and points of reference, including historical documentary data, official records and social media posts, we identify at least 1550 hazard events which collectively have caused the loss of at least 662 lives. Recognising that historical materials relating to Malta are complicated by the presence of a strong temporal bias, we establish a four-point reliability indicator and apply this to each of the 1065 recordings, with the result that some 79% show a high degree of reliability. For an island state where there are significant gaps in the knowledge and understanding of the environmental extremes and their impacts over time, this paper addresses and fills these gaps in order to inform the development of public-facing and evidence-based policies of disaster risk reduction in Malta.
Large boulder accumulations have been observed on various coasts bordering the Mediterranean and have been associated with extreme wave events such as powerful storms or tsunamis. This study provides an in-depth analysis of 430 boulder deposits, located along a 3.5 km stretch of rocky coast situated on the SE of the Maltese Islands. It includes a geomorphometric analysis of the observed boulders and use of numerical modelling to estimate wave height required to initiate boulder movement. Comparisons of aerial imagery over a period of 46 years have made it possible to identify boulder movement that could only be attributed to storm waves, given that no local tsunamigenic event has been recorded over this time period. Positioned in the central Mediterranean, the Maltese Islands are exposed to potential tsunamis generated by seismic activity associated with the Malta Escarpment, and the Calabrian and Hellenic arcs. Although imprints from historic tsunami impact cannot be excluded, results indicate that the area is exposed to strong storm waves that are capable of displacing some of the very large boulders observed on site.
International comparisons of disaster risk frequently classify Malta as being one of the least hazard exposed countries. Such rankings may be criticised because: (1) they fail to take into account historic increases in population and its seasonal variation; (2) they are based on inadequately researched and incomplete historical catalogues of damaging events; and (3), for small island states like Malta, they do not take into account the implications of restricted land area, which can be disproportionately impacted by even small hazardous events. In this paper, we draw upon a variety of data to discuss disaster risk in the Maltese Islands. In particular, the notion that Malta is one of the ‘safest places on earth’ is not only misleading, but also potentially dangerous because it engenders a false sense of security amongst the population. We argue that Malta is exposed to a variety of extreme events, which include: the distal effects of major earthquakes originating in southern Italy and Greece, plus their associated tsunamis; major ash producing eruptions of Mount Etna (Sicily) and their putative impacts on air transport; storm waves; coastal/inland landslides; karstic collapse; flooding and drought. In criticising international rankings of the islands’ exposure, we highlight the issues involved in formulating hazard assessments, in particular incomplete catalogues of extreme natural events. With Malta witnessing swelling resident, seasonal (i.e. tourist) plus foreign-born populations and increases in the urban area, further research into hazards is required in order to develop evidence-based policies of disaster risk reduction (DRR). 相似文献
