Environmental Hazards and Disasters : Contexts, Perspectives and Management

by Paul, Bimal Kanti

• ISBN13: 9780470660027
• ISBN10: 0470660023
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-11-30
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

Environmental Hazards and Disasters: Contexts, Perspectives and Management focuses on manifested threats to humans and their welfare as a result of natural disasters. The book uses an integrative approach to address socio-cultural, political and physical components of the disaster process. Human and social vulnerability as well as risk to environmental hazards are explored within the comprehensive context of diverse natural hazards and disasters. In addition to scientific explanations of disastrous occurrences, people and governments of hazard-prone countries often have their own interpretations for why natural disasters occur. In such interpretations they often either blame others, in order to conceal their inability to protect themselves, or they blame themselves, attributing the events to either real or imagined misdeeds. The book contains a chapter devoted to the neglected topic of such reactions and explanations. Includes chapters on key topics such as the application of GIS in hazard studies; resiliency; disasters and poverty; climate change and sustainability and development. This book is designed as a the primary text for an interdisciplinary course on hazards for upper-level undergraduate and Graduate students. Although not targeted for an introductory hazards course, students in such a course may find it very useful as well. Additionally, emergency managers, planners, and both public and private organizations involved in disaster response, and mitigation could benefit from this book along with hazard researchers. It not only includes traditional and popular hazard topics (e.g., disaster cycles, disaster relief, and risk and vulnerability), it also includes neglected topics, such as the positive impacts of disasters, disaster myths and different accounts of disasters, and disasters and gender.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Hazards and disasters: definitions and distinctions	p. 2
Types of hazards	p. 15
Physical dimensions of natural hazards	p. 21
References	p. 33
History and Development of Hazard Studies in Geography	p. 37
Historical perspective	p. 37
The focus of hazard research	p. 44
Conclusion	p. 60
References	p. 61
Vulnerability, Resiliency, and Risk	p. 67
Vulnerability	p. 67
Resilience	p. 85
Risk	p. 93
References	p. 110
Disaster Effects and Impacts	p. 119
Disaster effects	p. 119
Disaster impacts	p. 138
References	p. 151
Disaster Cycles: Mitigation and Preparedness	p. 157
Mitigation	p. 158
Preparedness	p. 169
References	p. 192
Disaster Cycles: Response and Recovery	p. 197
Response	p. 197
Recovery	p. 217
References	p. 233
Disaster Relief	p. 237
Providers and distributors of disaster aid	p. 237
Conclusion	p. 263
References	p. 264
Hazards/Disasters: Special Topics	p. 269
Gender and natural disasters	p. 269
Global warming and climate change	p. 277
References	p. 302
Author Index	p. 307
Subject Index	p. 315
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