Download or read book A Safer Future written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1991-02-01 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Initial priorities for U.S. participation in the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction, declared by the United Nations, are contained in this volume. It focuses on seven issues: hazard and risk assessment; awareness and education; mitigation; preparedness for emergency response; recovery and reconstruction; prediction and warning; learning from disasters; and U.S. participation internationally. The committee presents its philosophy of calls for broad public and private participation to reduce the toll of disasters.
Download or read book Decades of Disasters written by United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Hunger and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Decade of Disaster written by Ann Larabee and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gives voice to a diverse cast of disaster participants, including Bhopal widows, people with AIDS, Chernobyl tourists, NASA administrators, international nuclear power authorities, and corporate spokespeople.
Download or read book Disasters and History written by Bas van Bavel and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-22 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disasters and History offers the first comprehensive historical overview of hazards and disasters. Drawing on a range of case studies, including the Black Death, the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the Fukushima disaster, the authors examine how societies dealt with shocks and hazards and their potentially disastrous outcomes. They reveal the ways in which the consequences and outcomes of these disasters varied widely not only between societies but also within the same societies according to social groups, ethnicity and gender. They also demonstrate how studying past disasters, including earthquakes, droughts, floods and epidemics, can provide a lens through which to understand the social, economic and political functioning of past societies and reveal features of a society which may otherwise remain hidden from view. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Download or read book The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters written by Debarati Guha-Sapir and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-05-23 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work combines research and empirical evidence on the economic costs of disasters with theoretical approaches. It provides new insights on how to assess and manage the costs and impacts of disaster prevention, mitigation, recovery and adaption, and much more.
Download or read book The Social Roots of Risk written by Kathleen Tierney and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2014-07-23 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “This book about risk and disaster—and how they get amplified—is fascinating and hugely important as we face an ever-more-turbulent world.” —Rebecca Solnit, award-winning author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost The first decade of the twenty-first century saw a remarkable number of large-scale disasters. Earthquakes in Haiti and Sumatra underscored the serious economic consequences that catastrophic events can have on developing countries, while 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina showed that first world nations remain vulnerable. The Social Roots of Risk argues against the widespread notion that cataclysmic occurrences are singular events, driven by forces beyond our control. Instead, Kathleen Tierney contends that disasters of all types—be they natural, technological, or economic—are rooted in common social and institutional sources. Put another way, risks and disasters are produced by the social order itself—by governing bodies, organizations, and groups that push for economic growth, oppose risk-reducing regulation, and escape responsibility for tremendous losses when they occur. Considering a wide range of historical and looming events—from a potential mega-earthquake in Tokyo that would cause devastation far greater than what we saw in 2011, to BP’s accident history prior to the 2010 blowout—Tierney illustrates trends in our behavior, connecting what seem like one-off events to illuminate historical patterns. Like risk, human resilience also emerges from the social order, and this book makes a powerful case that we already have a significant capacity to reduce the losses that disasters produce. A provocative rethinking of the way that we approach and remedy disasters, The Social Roots of Risk leaves readers with a better understanding of how our own actions make us vulnerable to the next big crisis—and what we can do to prevent it. “Brilliant . . . Drawing on a trove of timely case studies, Tierney analyses how factors such as speculative finance and rampant development allow natural and economic blips to tip more easily into catastrophe.” —Nature
Download or read book Dull Disasters written by Daniel Jonathan Clarke and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY 3.0 IGO licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Dull Disasters? shows how countries and their partners can better prepare for natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, floods, and drought. By harnessing lessons from finance, political science, economics, psychology, and the naturalsciences, it is possible for governments, civil society, private firms, and international organizations to work together to achieve better preparedness, thereby reducing the risks to people and economies and enablingquicker recoveries. In this way, responses to disasters become less emotional, less political, less headline-grabbing, and more business as usual and effective.
Download or read book Natural Disasters written by David C. Alexander and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 1993-07-29 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a well balanced and fully illustrated introductory text, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the physical, technological and social components of natural disaster. The main disaster-producing agents are reviewed systematically in terms of geophysical processes and effects, monitoring, mitigation and warning. The relationship between disasters and society is examined with respect to a wide variety of themes, including damage assessment and prevention, hazard mapping, emergency preparedness, the provision of shelter and the nature of reconstruction. Medical emergencies and the epidemiology of disasters are described, and refugee management and aid to the Third World are discussed. A chapter is devoted to the sociology, psychology, economics and history of disasters.; In many parts of the world the toll of death, injury, damage and deprivation caused by natural disasters is becoming increasingly serious. Major earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts, floods and other similar catastrophes are often followed by large relief operations characterized by substantial involvement of the international community. The years 1990-2000 have therefore been designated by the United Nations as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.; The book goes beyond mere description and elevates the field of natural catastrophes to a serious academic level. The author's insights and perspectives are also informed by his practical experience of being a disaster victim and survivor, and hence the unique perspective of a participant observer. Only by surmounting the boundaries between disciplines can natural catastrophe be understood and mitigation efforts made effective. Thus, this book is perhaps the first completely interdisciplinary, fully comprehensive survey of natural hazards and disasters. It has a clear theoretical basis and it recognizes the importance of six fundamental approaches to the field, which it blends carefully in the text in order to avoid the partiality of previous works. It covers the earth and social sciences, as well as engineering, architecture and development studies. This breadth is made possible by virtue of a strong emphasis on simple principles of the interaction of geophysical agents with human vulnerability and response.; All students of environmental sciences/studies and geography should find this book useful. It is an introductory text which treats this dramatic subject area as something demanding serious academic treatment and not just as an assemblage of horror stories.; This book is intended for undergraduate students in geography and environmental studies/sciences. The book should also appeal to any professional or researcher concerned with man- environment relations, whether in social science or natural science or engineering.
Download or read book A Decade Against Natural Disasters written by International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Natural Disasters Cultural Responses written by Christof Mauch and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2009-03-16 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Catastrophes, it seems, are becoming more frequent in the twenty-first century. According to UN statistics, every year approximately two hundred million people are directly affected by natural disasters_seven times the number of people who are affected by war. Discussions about global warming and fatal disasters such as Katrina and the Tsunami of 2004 have heightened our awareness of natural disasters and of their impact on both local and global communities. Hollywood has also produced numerous disaster movies in recent years, some of which have become blockbusters. This volume demonstrates that natural catastrophes_earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, etc._have exercised a vast impact on humans throughout history and in almost every part of the world. It argues that human attitudes toward catastrophes have changed over time. Surprisingly, this has not necessarily led to a reduction of exposure or risk. The organization of the book resembles a journey around the globe_from Europe to North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and from the Pacific through South America and Mexico to the United States. While natural disasters appear everywhere on the globe, different cultures, societies, and nations have adopted specific styles for coping with disaster. Indeed, how humans deal with catastrophes depends largely on social and cultural patterns, values, religious belief systems, political institutions, and economic structures. The roles that catastrophes play in society and the meanings they are given vary from one region to the next; they differ_and this is one of the principal arguments of this book_from one cultural, political, and geographic space to the next. The essays collected here help us to understand not only how people in different times throughout history have learned to cope with disaster but also how humans in different parts of the world have developed specific cultural, social, and technological strategies for doing so.
Download or read book Disasters and Democracy written by Rutherford H. Platt and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-07-16 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, the number of presidential declarations of “major disasters” has skyrocketed. Such declarations make stricken areas eligible for federal emergency relief funds that greatly reduce their costs. But is federalizing the costs of disasters helping to lighten the overall burden of disasters or is it making matters worse? Does it remove incentives for individuals and local communities to take measures to protect themselves? Are people more likely to invest in property in hazardous locations in the belief that, if worse comes to worst, the federal government will bail them out? Disasters and Democracy addresses the political response to natural disasters, focusing specifically on the changing role of the federal government from distant observer to immediate responder and principal financier of disaster costs.
Download or read book Economic Effects of Natural Disasters written by Taha Chaiechi and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2020-10-16 with total page 665 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Economic Effects of Natural Disasters explores how natural disasters affect sources of economic growth and development. Using theoretical econometrics and real-world data, and drawing on advances in climate change economics, the book shows scholars and researchers how to use various research methods and techniques to investigate and respond to natural disasters. No other book presents empirical frameworks for the evaluation of the quality of macroeconomic research practice with a focus on climate change and natural disasters. Because many of these subjects are so large, different regions of the world use different approaches, hence this resource presents tailored economic applications and evidence. - Connects economic theories and empirical work in climate change to natural disaster research - Shows how advances in climate change and natural disaster research can be implemented in micro- and macroeconomic simulation models - Addresses structural changes in countries afflicted by climate change and natural disasters
Download or read book Global Catastrophes and Trends written by Vaclav Smil and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2012-09-14 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A wide-ranging, interdisciplinary look at global changes that may occur over the next fifty years—whether sudden and cataclysmic world-changing events or gradually unfolding trends. Fundamental change occurs most often in one of two ways: as a “fatal discontinuity,” a sudden catastrophic event that is potentially world changing, or as a persistent, gradual trend. Global catastrophes include volcanic eruptions, viral pandemics, wars, and large-scale terrorist attacks; trends are demographic, environmental, economic, and political shifts that unfold over time. In this provocative book, scientist Vaclav Smil takes a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary look at the catastrophes and trends the next fifty years may bring. Smil first looks at rare but cataclysmic events, both natural and human-produced, then at trends of global importance, including the transition from fossil fuels to other energy sources and growing economic and social inequality. He also considers environmental change—in some ways an amalgam of sudden discontinuities and gradual change—and assesses the often misunderstood complexities of global warming. Global Catastrophes and Trends does not come down on the side of either doom-and-gloom scenarios or techno-euphoria. Instead, Smil argues that understanding change will help us reverse negative trends and minimize the risk of catastrophe.
Download or read book There is No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster written by Gregory Squires and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is No Such Thing as a Natural Disaster is the first comprehensive critical book on the catastrophic impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans. The disaster will go down on record as one of the worst in American history, not least because of the government’s inept and cavalier response. But it is also a huge story for other reasons; the impact of the hurricane was uneven, and race and class were deeply implicated in the unevenness. Hartman and. Squires assemble two dozen critical scholars and activists who present a multifaceted portrait of the social implications of the disaster. The book covers the response to the disaster and the roles that race and class played, its impact on housing and redevelopment, the historical context of urban disasters in America and the future of economic development in the region. It offers strategic guidance for key actors - government agencies, financial institutions, neighbourhood organizations - in efforts to rebuild shattered communities.
Download or read book Historical Disaster Experiences written by Gerrit Jasper Schenk and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-03-20 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historical disaster research is still a young field. This book discusses the experiences of natural disasters in different cultures, from Europe across the Near East to Asia. It focuses on the pre-industrial era and on the question of similarities, differences and transcultural dynamics in the cultural handling of natural disasters. Which long-lasting cultural patterns of perception, interpretation and handling of disasters can be determined? Have specific types of disasters changed the affected societies? What have people learned from disasters and what not? What adaptation and coping strategies existed? Which natural, societal and economic parameters play a part? The book not only reveals the historical depth of present practices, but also reveals possible comparisons that show globalization processes, entanglements and exchanges of ideas and practices in pre-modern times.
Download or read book Rapid Health Assessment Protocols for Emergencies written by World Health Organization and published by World Health Organization. This book was released on 1999 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a collection of ten protocols for conducting rapid health assessments in the immediate aftermath of different types of emergencies. Noting the vital importance of rapid and accurate information in the earliest stage of an emergency, the protocols respond to the urgent need for common standardized technical tools for assessing damage, gauging health risks, and gathering the information immediately needed by decision-makers at the national and international level. The protocols were prepared by WHO in collaboration with a large number of international agencies and experts with broad experience in the field of emergency management. Although all protocols follow a common format, each is specific to the circumstances, potential hazards, and immediate information needs that characterize a distinct type of emergency. Emphasis is placed on the exact information needed, the best sources of data and methods for rapid collection, and the specific questions that need to be answered in order to draw initial conclusions and direct immediate actions. Although the advantages of using experienced assessments teams are stressed, the book also explains how the protocols can be used to train general health workers as part of emergency preparedness. The book opens with an introductory protocol covering the aims and methods, responsibilities, complexities, and inherent difficulties of rapid health assessments. Addressed to health authorities as well as assessment teams, the chapter also includes abundant advice on preparedness for emergencies. Details range from the comparative need for speed in different types of emergencies, through a suggested format for presenting the results of assessments, to a list of common logistic, organizational, and technical errors. Advice on the best working practices, including ways to avoid being an "emergency tourist", is also provided. Against this background, the additional nine protocols are presented according to a common format which covers the purpose of the assessment, preparedness, the steps to follow during the assessment, assessing the impact on health, assessing local response capacity and immediate needs, and presenting results. A general protocol on epidemics of infectious origin is followed by protocols specific to meningitis outbreaks, outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fever, including yellow fever, and outbreaks of acute diarrhoeal disease, with information specific to dysentery and cholera. Sudden-impact natural disasters are covered in the next protocol, which includes a day-by-day list of information priorities for different stages of the disaster. A protocol dealing with sudden population displacements offers guidelines for conducting rapid health assessments in all emergencies caused by sudden displacement of refugees or population groups within a country. Included are a sample checklist for rapid assessments and a sample form for weekly reports on morbidity and mortality. Subsequent protocols deal with the special situations of nutritional emergencies and chemical emergencies, including those caused by food contaminated with chemicals or toxins. The final protocol addresses the difficult task of conducting assessments in complex emergencies in which the cause of the emergency, as well as the assistance to the afflicted, is complicated by intense levels of political considerations. The protocol includes a form which has recently been used for rapid health assessment at local level in Bosnia and Herzegovnia. The book concludes with a brief summary of survey techniques, followed by a tabular presentation of reference values for assessing needs, hazards, and logistic requirements in developing countries.
Download or read book Disaster Diplomacy written by Ilan Kelman and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2011-08-26 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When an earthquake hits a war zone or cyclone aid is flown in by an enemy, many ask: Can catastrophe bring peace? Disaster prevention and mitigation provide similar questions. Could setting up a flood warning system bring enemy countries together? Could a regional earthquake building code set the groundwork for wider regional cooperation? This book examines how and why disaster-related activities do and do not create peace and reduce conflict. Disaster-related activities refer to actions before a disaster such as prevention and mitigation along with actions after a disaster such as emergency response, humanitarian relief, and reconstruction. This volume investigates disaster diplomacy case studies from around the world, in a variety of political and disaster circumstances, from earthquakes in Greece and Turkey affecting these neighbours’ bilateral relations to volcanoes and typhoons influencing intra-state conflict in the Philippines. Dictatorships are amongst the case studies, such as Cuba and Burma, along with democracies such as the USA and India. No evidence is found to suggest that disaster diplomacy is a prominent factor in conflict resolution. Instead, disaster-related activities often influence peace processes in the short-term—over weeks and months—provided that a non-disaster-related basis already existed for the reconciliation. That could be secret negotiations between the warring parties or strong trade or cultural links. Over the long-term, disaster-related influences disappear, succumbing to factors such as a leadership change, the usual patterns of political enmity, or belief that an historical grievance should take precedence over disaster-related bonds. This is the first book on disaster diplomacy. Disaster-politics interactions have been studied for decades, but usually from a specific political framing, covering a specific geographical area, or from a specific disaster framing. As well, plenty of quantitative work has been completed, yet the data limitations are rarely admitted openly or thoroughly analysed. Few publications bring together the topics of disasters and politics in terms of a disaster diplomacy framework, yielding a grounded, qualitative, scientific point of view on the topic.
