Natural Disasters in a Global Environment

by Penna, Anthony N.; Rivers, Jennifer S.

• ISBN13: 9781118252345
• ISBN10: 1118252349
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-04-29
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Natural Disasters in a Global Environment is a transnational, global and environmental history of natural and man-made disasters. Detailed case studies of past and present events are presented in a historical narrative, making use of the most recent scholarship. Examines a range of disasters including volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, landslides, hurricanes, famines, and more Highlights the role of science in studying natural disasters and describes the mechanisms responsible for them Features a range of case studies which can be used in conjunction with one another or as standalone examples Covers scientific material in a lucid and accessible style suited to undergraduate students or those outside of scientific disciplines Traces the transition of our understanding of disasters, from religious and superstitious explanations to contemporary scientific accounts

Author Biography

Anthony N. Penna is Professor Emeritus at Northeastern University. He is the author of Nature’s Bounty: Historical and Modern Environmental Perspectives (1999), Remaking Boston: An Environmental History of the City and Its Surroundings (co-edited with Conrad Edick Wright, 2009), and The Human Footprint: A Global Environmental History (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009).

Jennifer S. Rivers is Professor and Director of the Environmental Studies program at Northeastern University. She holds a PhD from Syracuse University in Earth Science and has over thirty published articles in the field of Environmental Science.

Table of Contents

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 01 SUPER VOLCANOES

Toba Super-Volcano – 73,000 BP

Santorini Super-Volcano 1600 BCE

Mt. Tambora 1815 and Krakatoa 1883

Mt Pinatubo- 1991

CHAPTER 02 EARTHQUAKES

San Francisco Earthquake 1906

Great Kanto Earthquake (Japan) 1923

Haitian Earthquake 2010

CHAPTER 03 TSUNAMIS

Lisbon Tsunami 1755

Lituya Bay, Alaska Tsunami 1958

Sumatra-Andaman Tsunami 2004

Japanese Tôhoku Tsunami 2011

CHAPTER 04 FIRE

Great Roman Fire 68 CE

London Fire 1666

Chicago Fire 1871

Peshtigo Fire 1871

CHAPTER 05 FLOODS

Chinese Floods 1931

The Netherlands Floods 1953

Bangladesh Floods 1987

CHAPTER 06 LANDSLIDES

Turtle Mountain, Alberta Landslide 1903

Aberfan Landslide 1966

Ancash Peru Landslide 1970

Leyte Island, Philippines Landslide 2006

CHAPTER 07 PANDEMIC DISEASES

Bubonic Plague 1347-1351 and after

Great Influenza Pandemic 1918

AIDS 1985-

CHAPTER 08 HURICANES, CYCLONES AND TYPHOONS

Florida Keys Hurricane 1935

Bangladesh Bhola Cyclone 1971

Chinese Typhoon Nina 1975

CHAPTER 09 DROUGHTS AND FAMINES

Irish Famine 1851

“Dust Bowl” Drought in the American West 1935

Chinese Great Leap Forward Famine 1959

CHAPTER 10 METEORITES

Chicxulub (Yucatan) Meteorite 65 Mya

Tunguska (Siberia) Meteorite 1908

Future Impacts 2013 and beyond