Download or read book The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake Revisited written by Luiz Mendes-Victor and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-10-14 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1755 earthquake and tsunami were influential not only in Portugal but in all European and North African countries where the devastating effects were felt. The entire world was deeply impressed and the discussion of its causes generated a large amount of scientific and metaphysical speculation. It inspired philosophers, poets and writers. The socio-economic consequences of the event were great and affected the future organization and development of Portugal. The possibility of a similar occurence urges society and the scientific community to reflect on its lessons. Audience This work is of interest to experts in seismology, earthquake engineering, civil protection, urban planning and it is a reference book for doctoral students.
Download or read book Faith Doubt Aid and Prayer written by Susan Bassnett and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Cities at Risk written by Pierre Filion and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-03 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As levels of urbanization increase around the world, the growing concentrations of population and economic activity increases vulnerability to natural disasters. Interdependencies among urban populations mean that damage to the built environment, including water, sewer and energy infrastructure, can affect millions. Even if there is no change in the rate of occurrence of natural disasters (an unlikely prospect in the face of ongoing climate change) the potential for human and economic loss will continue to increase, along with the time required to recover. How do cities prepare for and recover from natural disasters? In this book, the authors provide a broad overview of the issues related to the impacts of disasters on cities around the world, from assessing risks to accounting for damages. The comparative approach across different types of disasters in a range of urban locations is useful in identifying opportunities for policy transfer. While there is no ’one size fits all’ solution to hazard mitigation, valuable lessons can be learned from the experiences of others. The chapters emphasize different modes for assessing hazard risk, as well as strategies for increasing the resiliency of vulnerable populations.
Download or read book Catastrophe Gender and Urban Experience 1648 1920 written by Deborah Simonton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As Enlightenment notions of predictability, progress and the sense that humans could control and shape their environments informed European thought, catastrophes shook many towns to the core, challenging the new world view with dramatic impact. This book concentrates on a period marked by passage from a society of scarcity to one of expenditure and accumulation, from ranks and orders to greater social mobility, from traditional village life to new bourgeois and even individualistic urbanism. The volume employs a broad definition of catastrophe, as it examines how urban communities conceived, adapted to, and were transformed by catastrophes, both natural and human-made. Competing views of gender figure in the telling and retelling of these analyses: women as scapegoats, as vulnerable, as victims, even as cannibals or conversely as defenders, organizers of assistance, inspirers of men; and men in varied guises as protectors, governors and police, heroes, leaders, negotiators and honorable men. Gender is also deployed linguistically to feminize activities or even countries. Inevitably, however, these tragedies are mediated by myth and memory. They are not neutral events whose retelling is a simple narrative. Through a varied array of urban catastrophes, this book is a nuanced account that physically and metaphorically maps men and women into the urban landscape and the worlds of catastrophe.
Download or read book This Gulf of Fire written by Mark Molesky and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2016-10-18 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the Phi Alpha Theta Best Subsequent Book Award A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist The captivating and definitive account of the Great Lisbon Earthquake--the most consequential natural disaster of modern times. On All Saints’ Day 1755, tremors from an earthquake measuring approximately 9.0 or perhaps higher on the magnitude scale swept furiously toward Lisbon, then one of the wealthiest cities in the world and the capital of a vast global empire. Within minutes, much of the city lay in ruins. A half hour later, a giant tsunami unleashed by the quake smashed into Portugal’s coastline and barreled up the Tagus River, carrying countless thousands out to sea. To complete Lisbon’s destruction, a hellacious firestorm then engulfed the city’s shattered remains, killing thousands more and incinerating much of what the earthquake and tsunami had spared. Drawing on a wealth of new sources, the latest scientific research, and a sophisticated grasp of European history, Mark Molesky gives us the gripping, authoritative account of the Great Lisbon Earthquake disaster and its impact on the Western world—including descriptions of the world’s first international relief effort, the rise of a brutal, yet modernizing, dictatorship in Portugal, and the effect of the catastrophe on the spirit and direction of the European Enlightenment.
Download or read book Religion at Ground Zero written by Christopher Craig Brittain and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2011-07-14 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The world will never be the same!' How many times have human beings uttered this cry after a tragic event? This book analyzes how such emotive reactions impact on the way religion is understood, exploring theological responses to human tragedy and cultural shock by focusing on reactions to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and 7/7, the two World Wars and the Holocaust, the 2004 South-East Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. It discusses themes such as the theodicy question, the function of religious discourse in the face of tragedy, and the relationship between religion and politics. The book explores the tension between religion's capacity to both cause and enhance the suffering and destruction surrounding historical tragedies, but also its potential to serve as a powerful resource for responding to such disasters. Analyzing this dialectic, it engages with the work of Slavoj Žižek, Karl Barth, Theodor Adorno, Emil Fackenheim and Rowan Williams, examining the role of belief, difficulties of overcoming the influence of ideology, and the significance of trust and humility.
Download or read book Three Great Tsunamis Lisbon 1755 Sumatra Andaman 2004 and Japan 2011 written by Harsh K. Gupta and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2014-07-08 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tsunamis are primarily caused by earthquakes. Under favourable geological conditions, when a large earthquake occurs below the sea bed and the resultant rupture causes a vertical displacement of the ocean bed, the entire column of water above it is displaced, causing a tsunami. In the ocean, tsunamis do not reach great heights but can travel at velocities of up to 1000 km/hour. As a tsunami reaches shallow sea depths, there is a decrease in its velocity and an increase in its height. Tsunamis are known to have reached heights of several tens of meters and inundate several kilometres inland from the shore. Tsunamis can also be caused by displacement of substantial amounts of water by landslides, volcanic eruptions, glacier calving and rarely by meteorite impacts and nuclear tests in the ocean. In this SpringerBrief, the causes of tsunamis, their intensity and magnitude scales, global distribution and a list of major tsunamis are provided. The three great tsunamis of 1755, 2004 and 2011are presented in detail. The 1755 tsunami caused by the Lisbon earthquake, now estimated to range from Mw 8.5 to 9.0, was the most damaging tsunami ever in the Atlantic ocean. It claimed an estimated 100,000 human lives and caused wide-spread damage. The 2004 Sumatra Andaman Mw 9.1 earthquake and the resultant tsunami were the deadliest ever to hit the globe, claiming over 230,000 human lives and causing wide-spread financial losses in several south and south-east Asian countries. The 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and the resultant tsunami were a surprise to the seismologists in Japan and around the globe. The height of the tsunami far exceeded the estimated heights. It claimed about 20,000 human lives. The tsunami also caused nuclear accidents. This earthquake has given rise to a global debate on how to estimate the maximum size of an earthquake in a given region and the safety of nuclear power plants in coastal regions. This Brief also includes a description of key components of tsunami warning centres, progress in deploying tsunami watch and warning facilities globally, tsunami advisories and their communication, and the way forward.
Download or read book Political Leadership in Disaster and Crisis Communication and Management written by Hamish McLean and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-08-17 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the role of elected leaders in disaster management. Filling a significant gap in disaster literature, the authors take a pragmatic approach to the relationships between the public under threat, the operational response, and the interests and actions of elected officials. Key tactics are explored, from the ways operational managers strategically deal with unreasonable political demands to what disaster officials argue is the responsibility of elected officials at all levels of government – that is, to ensure vital life-saving information reaches the people who need it most. The book draws on case studies such as the mismanagement of public perceptions by President George W. Bush during Hurricane Katrina in the United States and the widely acclaimed, heartfelt messages delivered by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh during the 2010–11 South-East Queensland floods in Australia. Drawing on a series of interviews with senior disaster managers in ten countries, this book is highly relevant for students, scholars and practitioners interested in disaster communication.
Download or read book Advances in Geophysics written by and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2010-11-18 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The critically acclaimed serialized review journal for over 50 years, Advances in Geophysics is a highly respected publication in the field of geophysics. Since 1952, each volume has been eagerly awaited, frequently consulted, and praised by researchers and reviewers alike. Now in its 52nd volume, it contains much material still relevant today--truly an essential publication for researchers in all fields of geophysics.
Download or read book Tsunami written by James Goff and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2021 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Tsunamis, the giant waves that periodically engulf coastal areas and even the shores of lakes and rivers, have had a major impact on the world. Not only have they caused countless deaths, but have changed nations, societies and cultures from prehistoric to modern times. This book describes the science of tsunamis and the many ways they can be generated ranging from earthquakes, to volcanic eruptions and explosions, to landslides and others. It also explains how the waves travel across oceans at the speed of a jet airplane and how they focus or disperse their incredible energy. It delves into the clues that ancient tsunamis have left behind to be unraveled by modern science so that we can better understand not only what has happened in the past, but also what will happen in the future. The book also explores the human side of tsunami disasters looking at their effect on the residents of impacted communities by recounting the amazing true stories of survival, heroism and tragic loss. It discusses and provides examples of what works in mitigation, preparedness, warning, response and recovery from tsunamis, what doesn't work, and what needs to be done. It contains little-known stories about scientists struggling to better understand these catastrophic waves, while fighting government ignorance and reluctance to take action, as well as amazing chance discoveries, and the continued quest to learn more and become better prepared, as every year the odds of yet another catastrophic tsunami increase - It is not if, but when!"--
Download or read book The Ancient Sea written by Hamish Williams and published by Liverpool University Press. This book was released on 2022-11-17 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the ancient Mediterranean world, the sea was an essential domain for trade, cultural exchange, communication, exploration, and colonisation. In tandem with the lived reality of this maritime space, a parallel experience of the sea emerged in narrative representations from ancient Greece and Rome, of the sea as a cultural imaginary. This imaginary seems often to oscillate between two extremes: the utopian and the catastrophic; such representations can be found in narratives from ancient history, philosophy, society, and literature, as well as in their post-classical receptions. Utopia can be found in some imaginary island paradise far away and across the distant sea; the sea can hold an unknown, mysterious, divine wealth below its surface; and the sea itself as a powerful watery body can hold a liberating potential. The utopian quality of the sea and seafaring can become a powerful metaphor for articulating political notions of the ideal state or for expressing an individual’s sense of hope and subjectivity. Yet the catastrophic sea balances any perfective imaginings: the sea threatens coastal inhabitants with floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes and sailors with storms and the accompanying monsters. From symbolic perspectives, the catastrophic sea represents violence, instability, the savage, and even cosmological chaos. The twelve papers in this volume explore the themes of utopia and catastrophe in the liminal environment of the sea, through the lens of history, philosophy, literature and classical reception. Contributors: Manuel Álvarez-Martí-Aguilar, Vilius Bartninkas, Aaron L. Beek, Ross Clare, Gabriele Cornelli, Isaia Crosson, Ryan Denson, Rhiannon Easterbrook, Emilia Mataix Ferrándiz, Georgia L. Irby, Simona Martorana, Guy Middleton, Hamish Williams.
Download or read book Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death written by John V H Dippel and published by Algora Publishing. This book was released on 2015-04-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Almost 200 years ago the Northeast endured a dramatic, devastating series of cold spells, destroying crops, forcing thousand to migrate west, and causing many to wonder if their assumptions about a world governed by a beneficial Providence were valid. The so-called "year without a summer" also exposed weaknesses in political and theological authorities, spurring a trend toward scientific inquiry and greater democracy. An endangered New England agriculture gave impetus to that region's manufacturing sector. The alarming threat to existence in that part of the country (as well as most of Western Europe) thus helped usher in the modern era. This book is written with the parallels between 1816 and our current "climate change" in mind: it introduces informed non-specialists to the myriad of social, psychological, political, demographic, and economic consequences which can be brought about by abrupt change. A major meteorological event profoundly affected our nation’s development in 1816. This book shows how this weather phenomenon acted as an accelerator of trends which were just emerging in the early 19th-century - toward greater democracy and the spread of information; settlement of the Western frontier; use of the scientific method to investigate and understand natural phenomena; questioning of long-held religious beliefs as a result of increased knowledge; and industrialization as the means to expand the scope and wealth of the United States. Like all my books, America’s First Climate Crisis is written in an accessible, engaging style, using anecdotes and thumbnail sketches to evoke the mood and important personalities of the day. While thoroughly researched, the book avoids the pitfall of academic writing by appealing to the curiosity of intelligent readers who may be put off by uninspired or technical language. The book is organized around various consequences of the disastrous harvests of 1816: after outlining the nature and scope of this calamity, I describe how it brought about a massive exodus to the Ohio Valley and shift in political and economic might to that region; how it undermined the once-unquestioned authority of New England’s Federalist establishment; how it gave greater credence to scientific explanations for weather events and disasters; how it compelled New England merchants to abandon their opposition to manufacturing; and how it helped create a modern awareness of humanity’s place in the universe.
Download or read book The Cure for Catastrophe written by Robert Muir-Wood and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2016-09-06 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We can't stop natural disasters but we can stop them being disastrous. One of the world's foremost risk experts tells us how. Year after year, floods wreck people's homes and livelihoods, earthquakes tear communities apart, and tornadoes uproot whole towns. Natural disasters cause destruction and despair. But does it have to be this way? In The Cure for Catastrophe, global risk expert Robert Muir-Wood argues that our natural disasters are in fact human ones: We build in the wrong places and in the wrong way, putting brick buildings in earthquake country, timber ones in fire zones, and coastal cities in the paths of hurricanes. We then blindly trust our flood walls and disaster preparations, and when they fail, catastrophes become even more deadly. No society is immune to the twin dangers of complacency and heedless development. Recognizing how disasters are manufactured gives us the power to act. From the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 to Hurricane Katrina, The Cure for Catastrophe recounts the ingenious ways in which people have fought back against disaster. Muir-Wood shows the power and promise of new predictive technologies, and envisions a future where information and action come together to end the pain and destruction wrought by natural catastrophes. The decisions we make now can save millions of lives in the future. Buzzing with political plots, newfound technologies, and stories of surprising resilience, The Cure for Catastrophe will revolutionize the way we conceive of catastrophes: though natural disasters are inevitable, the death and destruction are optional. As we brace ourselves for deadlier cataclysms, the cure for catastrophe is in our hands.
Download or read book Disaster in the Early Modern World written by Ovanes Akopyan and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-11-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did early modern societies think about disasters, such as earthquakes or floods? How did they represent disaster, and how did they intervene to mitigate its destructive effects? This collection showcases the breadth of new work on the period ca. 1300-1750. Covering topics that range from new thinking about risk and securitisation to the protection of dikes from shipworm, and with a geography that extends from Europe to Spanish America, the volume places early modern disaster studies squarely at the intersection of intellectual, cultural and socio-economic history. This period witnessed fresh speculation on nature, the diffusion of disaster narratives and imagery and unprecedented attempts to control the physical world. The book will be essential to specialists and students of environmental history and disaster, as well as general readers who seek to discover how pre-industrial societies addressed some of the same foundational issues we grapple with today.
Download or read book Tsunami Warning and Preparedness written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-04-01 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many coastal areas of the United States are at risk for tsunamis. After the catastrophic 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, legislation was passed to expand U.S. tsunami warning capabilities. Since then, the nation has made progress in several related areas on both the federal and state levels. At the federal level, NOAA has improved the ability to detect and forecast tsunamis by expanding the sensor network. Other federal and state activities to increase tsunami safety include: improvements to tsunami hazard and evacuation maps for many coastal communities; vulnerability assessments of some coastal populations in several states; and new efforts to increase public awareness of the hazard and how to respond. Tsunami Warning and Preparedness explores the advances made in tsunami detection and preparedness, and identifies the challenges that still remain. The book describes areas of research and development that would improve tsunami education, preparation, and detection, especially with tsunamis that arrive less than an hour after the triggering event. It asserts that seamless coordination between the two Tsunami Warning Centers and clear communications to local officials and the public could create a timely and effective response to coastal communities facing a pending tsuanami. According to Tsunami Warning and Preparedness, minimizing future losses to the nation from tsunamis requires persistent progress across the broad spectrum of efforts including: risk assessment, public education, government coordination, detection and forecasting, and warning-center operations. The book also suggests designing effective interagency exercises, using professional emergency-management standards to prepare communities, and prioritizing funding based on tsunami risk.
Download or read book Foundations of Safety Science written by Sidney Dekker and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-04-09 with total page 446 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How are today’s ‘hearts and minds’ programs linked to a late-19th century definition of human factors as people’s moral and mental deficits? What do Heinrich’s ‘unsafe acts’ from the 1930’s have in common with the Swiss cheese model of the early 1990’s? Why was the reinvention of human factors in the 1940’s such an important event in the development of safety thinking? What makes many of our current systems so complex and impervious to Tayloristic safety interventions? ‘Foundations of Safety Science’ covers the origins of major schools of safety thinking, and traces the heritage and interlinkages of the ideas that make up safety science today. Features Offers a comprehensive overview of the theoretical foundations of safety science Provides balanced treatment of approaches since the early 20th century, showing interlinkages and cross-connections Includes an overview and key points at the beginning of each chapter and study questions at the end to support teaching use Uses an accessible style, using technical language where necessary Concentrates on the philosophical and historical traditions and assumptions that underlie all safety approaches
Download or read book This Volcanic Isle written by Robert Muir-Wood and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2024-05-23 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the natural geometry of the Giant's Causeway to the sarsen slabs used to build Stonehenge, we are surrounded by evidence for the extraordinary geological forces that shaped the British Isles. Running coast to coast through Devon is 'Sticklepath', Britain's 'San Andreas', a geological fault with the two sides displaced horizontally by several kilometres, all within the recent geological past. The Sticklepath Fault is just one manifestation of the rich tectonic history of the British region since the asteroid collision that ended the reign of the dinosaurs, 66 million years ago. Raised out of the Chalk Sea, the original Albion was a thickly forested island a thousand kilometres long, surrounded by chalk cliffs, punctuated with great volcanoes, and the site of two trial 'spreading ridge' plate-boundaries. As the volcanoes shifted west, and Greenland separated from Europe, the wind-blown volcanic ash laid the strata on which London was founded. The vertical Needles, known to every Isle of Wight sailor, are part of the northern foothills of the Pyrenees. When the collision subsided, rifting created a garland of Celtic lakes from Brittany to the Outer Hebrides. In This Volcanic Isle Robert Muir-Wood explores the rich geological history of the British Isles, and its resulting legacy. Along the way he introduces the personalities who shared a fascination for Britain's tectonic history, including Charles Darwin the geologist, Tennyson the science-poet, and Benoit Mandelbrot, the pure mathematician who labelled the west coast of Britain a fractal icon. Here is the previously untold story of how earthquakes and eruptions, plumes and plate boundaries, built the British Isles.
