Identifying and providing basic solutions using a collaborative approach in earthquake-stricken cities of Iran has not yet been addressed. This article focuses on an area of practice and views disaster risk management from the point of view of volunteer groups to illustrate how the main components of disaster risk management affect the strengthening of public participation. In this article, Buein Zahra, a small city in Iran, is considered as a high-risk earthquake zone. The basic components of risk management are identified, namely public awareness, knowledge, skills, enabling environment, organisational development and social participation. An assessment of these indicators was done, and multidimensional relationships were established between them to enable an increase in the capacity for public participation. Accordingly, the results indicate that a mere increase in public awareness and knowledge, as seen today, and an improvement in enabling environment, although affecting disaster risk reduction, cannot by themselves lead to real public participation. Organisational development and strengthening of crisis coping skills are two key components to improving participation during crises in the small cities of Iran. According to the results of this study, institutional capacity and unreal political commitment have caused inefficiency of public participation in earthquake preparedness.

This research presents recent advances on morphodynamic modeling over gravel dunes. Boundary-layer separation over gravel fixed dunes is investigated by Acoustic Doppler Velocimetry (ADV). Using the measurements of flow over dunes at laboratory scale, examined the influence of dune lee sides on the separation of flow. Experiments were conducted in a horizontal flume. A train of 2D fixed dunes were installed on the bottom of the flume starting just downstream of the entrance on the flume. Experiments were carried out using 2 types of dunes with different lee slopes, (38 and 8 degree). The results of quadrant analyses base on the stress fraction SHf versus the hole size at two elevations near the bed and near water surface for two angles of lee side, ,at the central axis of the flume also investigated. Both experimental observations and quadrant results were in agreement about the influence of dune characteristics on the flow separation in different dune lee angles.