Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society

Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society PDF Author: Andrew E. Collins
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0123964741
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 425

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Book Description
Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society provides analyses of environmentally related catastrophes within society in historical, political and economic contexts. Personal and corporate culture mediates how people may become more vulnerable or resilient to hazard exposure. Societies that strengthen themselves, or are strengthened, mitigate decline and resultant further exposure to what are largely human induced risks of environmental, social and economic degradation. This book outlines why it is important to explore in more depth the relationships between environmental hazards, risk and disasters in society. It presents challenges presented by mainstream and non-mainstream approaches to the human side of disaster studies. By hazard categories this book includes critical processes and outcomes that significantly disrupt human wellbeing over brief or long time-frames. Whilst hazards, risks and disasters impact society, individuals, groups, institutions and organisations offset the effects by becoming strong, healthy, resilient, caring and creative. Innovations can arise from social organisation in times of crisis. This volume includes much of use to practitioners and policy makers needing to address both prevention and response activities. Notably, as people better engage prevalent hazards and risks they exercise a process that has become known as disaster risk reduction (DRR). In a context of climatic risks this is also indicative of climate change adaptation (CCA). Ultimately it represents the quest for development of sustainable environmental and societal futures. Throughout the book cases studies are derived from the world of hazards risks and disasters in society. - Includes sections on prevention of and response to hazards, risks and disasters - Provides case studies of prominent societal challenges of hazards, risks and disasters - Innovative approaches to dealing with disaster drawing from multiple disciplines and sectors

Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society

Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society PDF Author: Andrew E. Collins
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0123964741
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 425

Get Book Here

Book Description
Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society provides analyses of environmentally related catastrophes within society in historical, political and economic contexts. Personal and corporate culture mediates how people may become more vulnerable or resilient to hazard exposure. Societies that strengthen themselves, or are strengthened, mitigate decline and resultant further exposure to what are largely human induced risks of environmental, social and economic degradation. This book outlines why it is important to explore in more depth the relationships between environmental hazards, risk and disasters in society. It presents challenges presented by mainstream and non-mainstream approaches to the human side of disaster studies. By hazard categories this book includes critical processes and outcomes that significantly disrupt human wellbeing over brief or long time-frames. Whilst hazards, risks and disasters impact society, individuals, groups, institutions and organisations offset the effects by becoming strong, healthy, resilient, caring and creative. Innovations can arise from social organisation in times of crisis. This volume includes much of use to practitioners and policy makers needing to address both prevention and response activities. Notably, as people better engage prevalent hazards and risks they exercise a process that has become known as disaster risk reduction (DRR). In a context of climatic risks this is also indicative of climate change adaptation (CCA). Ultimately it represents the quest for development of sustainable environmental and societal futures. Throughout the book cases studies are derived from the world of hazards risks and disasters in society. - Includes sections on prevention of and response to hazards, risks and disasters - Provides case studies of prominent societal challenges of hazards, risks and disasters - Innovative approaches to dealing with disaster drawing from multiple disciplines and sectors

Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society

Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society PDF Author: Andrew E. Collins
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 9780128101544
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description
Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society provides analyses of environmentally related catastrophes within society in historical, political and economic contexts. Personal and corporate culture mediates how people may become more vulnerable or resilient to hazard exposure. Societies that strengthen themselves, or are strengthened, mitigate decline and resultant further exposure to what are largely human induced risks of environmental, social and economic degradation. This book outlines why it is important to explore in more depth the relationships between environmental hazards, risk and disasters in society. It presents challenges presented by mainstream and non-mainstream approaches to the human side of disaster studies. By hazard categories this book includes critical processes and outcomes that significantly disrupt human wellbeing over brief or long time-frames. Whilst hazards, risks and disasters impact society, individuals, groups, institutions and organisations offset the effects by becoming strong, healthy, resilient, caring and creative. Innovations can arise from social organisation in times of crisis. This volume includes much of use to practitioners and policy makers needing to address both prevention and response activities. Notably, as people better engage prevalent hazards and risks they exercise a process that has become known as disaster risk reduction (DRR). In a context of climatic risks this is also indicative of climate change adaptation (CCA). Ultimately it represents the quest for development of sustainable environmental and societal futures. Throughout the book cases studies are derived from the world of hazards risks and disasters in society. Includes sections on prevention of and response to hazards, risks and disasters Provides case studies of prominent societal challenges of hazards, risks and disasters Innovative approaches to dealing with disaster drawing from multiple disciplines and sectors

At Risk

At Risk PDF Author: Piers Blaikie
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134528612
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
The term 'natural disaster' is often used to refer to natural events such as earthquakes, hurricanes or floods. However, the phrase 'natural disaster' suggests an uncritical acceptance of a deeply engrained ideological and cultural myth. At Risk questions this myth and argues that extreme natural events are not disasters until a vulnerable group of people is exposed. The updated new edition confronts a further ten years of ever more expensive and deadly disasters and discusses disaster not as an aberration, but as a signal failure of mainstream 'development'. Two analytical models are provided as tools for understanding vulnerability. One links remote and distant 'root causes' to 'unsafe conditions' in a 'progression of vulnerability'. The other uses the concepts of 'access' and 'livelihood' to understand why some households are more vulnerable than others. Examining key natural events and incorporating strategies to create a safer world, this revised edition is an important resource for those involved in the fields of environment and development studies.

A Safer Future

A Safer Future PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309045460
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 85

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Book Description
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.

The Social Roots of Risk

The Social Roots of Risk PDF Author: Kathleen Tierney
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804791406
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
“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

Cultures and Disasters

Cultures and Disasters PDF Author: Fred Krüger
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317754646
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
Why did the people of the Zambesi Delta affected by severe flooding return early to their homes or even choose to not evacuate? How is the forced resettlement of small-scale farmers living along the foothills of an active volcano on the Philippines impacting on their day-to-day livelihood routines? Making sense of such questions and observations is only possible by understanding how the decision-making of societies at risk is embedded in culture, and how intervention measures acknowledge, or neglect, cultural settings. The social construction of risk is being given increasing priority in understand how people experience and prioritize hazards in their own lives and how vulnerability can be reduced, and resilience increased, at a local level. Culture and Disasters adopts an interdisciplinary approach to explore this cultural dimension of disaster, with contributions from leading international experts within the field. Section I provides discussion of theoretical considerations and practical research to better understand the important of culture in hazards and disasters. Culture can be interpreted widely with many different perspectives; this enables us to critically consider the cultural boundedness of research itself, as well as the complexities of incorporating various interpretations into DRR. If culture is omitted, related issues of adaptation, coping, intervention, knowledge and power relations cannot be fully grasped. Section II explores what aspects of culture shape resilience? How have people operationalized culture in every day life to establish DRR practice? What constitutes a resilient culture and what role does culture play in a society’s decision making? It is natural for people to seek refuge in tried and trust methods of disaster mitigation, however, culture and belief systems are constantly evolving. How these coping strategies can be introduced into DRR therefore poses a challenging question. Finally, Section III examines the effectiveness of key scientific frameworks for understanding the role of culture in disaster risk reduction and management. DRR includes a range of norms and breaking these through an understanding of cultural will challenge established theoretical and empirical frameworks.

Facing Hazards and Disasters

Facing Hazards and Disasters PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309101786
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 409

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Book Description
Social science research conducted since the late 1970's has contributed greatly to society's ability to mitigate and adapt to natural, technological, and willful disasters. However, as evidenced by Hurricane Katrina, the Indian Ocean tsunami, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, and other recent events, hazards and disaster research and its application could be improved greatly. In particular, more studies should be pursued that compare how the characteristics of different types of events-including predictability, forewarning, magnitude, and duration of impact-affect societal vulnerability and response. This book includes more than thirty recommendations for the hazards and disaster community.

Disaster Risk Science

Disaster Risk Science PDF Author: Peijun Shi
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9811366896
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 766

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Book Description
This is the first English language book to systematically introduce basic theories, methods and applications of disaster risk science from the angle of different subjects including disaster science, emergency technology and risk management. Viewed from basic theories, disaster risk science consists of disaster system, formation mechanism and process, covering 3 chapters in this book. From the perspective of technical methods, disaster risk science includes measurement and assessment of disasters, mapping and zoning of disaster risk, covering 4 chapters in this book. From the angle of application practices, disaster risk science contains disaster management, emergency response and integrated disaster risk paradigm, covering 3 chapters in the book. The book can be a good reference for researchers, students, and practitioners in the field of disaster risk science and natural disaster risk management for more actively participating in and supporting the development of "disaster risk science".

Landslide Hazards, Risks, and Disasters

Landslide Hazards, Risks, and Disasters PDF Author: Tim Davies
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 012396475X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 493

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Book Description
Landslides are the most costly geo-hazard in the world, and they're often the cause or the result of other hazards and disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions. Landslide Hazards, Risks, and Disasters makes a close and detailed examination of major mass movements and provides measures for more thorough and accurate monitoring, prediction, preparedness, and prevention. It takes a geoscientific approach to the topic while also discussing the impacts human-induced causes such as deforestation, blasting, and building construction—underscoring the multi-disciplinary nature of the topic. - Contains contributions from expert geologists, seismologists, geophysicists, and environmental scientists selected by a world-renowned editorial board - Presents the latest research on causality, economic impacts, fatality rates, and landslide and problem soil preparedness and mitigation - Numerous tables, maps, diagrams, illustrations, photographs, and video captures of hazardous processes - Discusses steps for prevention and treatment of problem soils, the most expensive geo-hazard in the world

Coastal and Marine Hazards, Risks, and Disasters

Coastal and Marine Hazards, Risks, and Disasters PDF Author: Jean Ellis
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0123965381
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 591

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Book Description
Sea and Ocean Hazards, Risks and Disasters provides a scientific approach to those hazards and disasters related to the Earth's coasts and oceans. This is the first book to integrate scientific, social, and economic issues related to disasters such as hazard identification, risk analysis, and planning, relevant hazard process mechanics, discussions of preparedness, response, and recovery, and the economics of loss and remediation. Throughout the book cases studies are presented of historically relevant hazards and disasters as well as the many recent catastrophes. - Contains contributions from experts in the field selected by a world-renowned editorial board - Cutting-edge discussion of natural hazard topics that affect the lives and livelihoods of millions of humans worldwide - Numerous full-color tables, GIS maps, diagrams, illustrations, and photographs of hazardous processes in action will be included