Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821381415
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
This book examines how to ensure that the preventive measures are worthwhile and effective, and how people can make decisions individually and collectively at different levels of government.
Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters
Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821381415
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
This book examines how to ensure that the preventive measures are worthwhile and effective, and how people can make decisions individually and collectively at different levels of government.
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 0821381415
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
This book examines how to ensure that the preventive measures are worthwhile and effective, and how people can make decisions individually and collectively at different levels of government.
The Economics of Natural and Unnatural Disasters
Author: William S. Kern
Publisher: W.E. Upjohn Institute
ISBN: 0880993634
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 151
Book Description
Only recently have economists understood natural and unnatural disasters as economic phenomena to be formally analyzed. Given the magnitude of many recent disasters, their impact on local, regional, and national economies, and the coverage of their consequences in the popular press, it is puzzling that the attention of economists was for so long largely diverted from analysis of these events. This book presents a noted group of contributors who stand at the forefront of this increasingly important subdiscipline of economics the economics of disasters. The chapters they contribute cover a wide variety of events and delve into the human and economic impacts disasters impose on nations around the world. Several themes dominant in this literature are discussed. These include the ability of potential disaster victims to accurately assess the risks they face, the role of incentives in ensuring that mitigation efforts are undertaken, the adequacy of our evaluation of the impact of disasters on economies, and discussion of the effectiveness of current government policies toward disaster prevention and relief. These will in all likelihood continue to be topics of discussion in the future as well.
Publisher: W.E. Upjohn Institute
ISBN: 0880993634
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 151
Book Description
Only recently have economists understood natural and unnatural disasters as economic phenomena to be formally analyzed. Given the magnitude of many recent disasters, their impact on local, regional, and national economies, and the coverage of their consequences in the popular press, it is puzzling that the attention of economists was for so long largely diverted from analysis of these events. This book presents a noted group of contributors who stand at the forefront of this increasingly important subdiscipline of economics the economics of disasters. The chapters they contribute cover a wide variety of events and delve into the human and economic impacts disasters impose on nations around the world. Several themes dominant in this literature are discussed. These include the ability of potential disaster victims to accurately assess the risks they face, the role of incentives in ensuring that mitigation efforts are undertaken, the adequacy of our evaluation of the impact of disasters on economies, and discussion of the effectiveness of current government policies toward disaster prevention and relief. These will in all likelihood continue to be topics of discussion in the future as well.
Unnatural Disasters
Author: Gonzalo Lizarralde
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231552505
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 482
Book Description
Storms, floods, fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other disasters seem not only more frequent but also closer to home. As the world faces this onslaught, we have placed our faith in “sustainable development,” which promises that we can survive and even thrive in the face of climate change and other risks. Yet while claiming to “go green,” we have instead created new risks, continued to degrade nature, and failed to halt global warming. Unnatural Disasters offers a new perspective on our most pressing environmental and social challenges, revealing the gaps between abstract concepts like sustainability, resilience, and innovation and the real-world experiences of people living at risk. Gonzalo Lizarralde explains how the causes of disasters are not natural but all too human: inequality, segregation, marginalization, colonialism, neoliberalism, racism, and unrestrained capitalism. He tells the stories of Latin American migrants, Haitian earthquake survivors, Canadian climate activists, African slum dwellers, and other people resisting social and environmental injustices around the world. Lizarralde shows that most reconstruction and risk-reduction efforts exacerbate social inequalities. Some responses do produce meaningful changes, but they are rarely the ones powerful leaders have in mind. This book reveals how disasters have become both the causes and consequences of today’s most urgent challenges and proposes achievable solutions to save a planet at risk, emphasizing the power citizens hold to change the current state of affairs.
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231552505
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 482
Book Description
Storms, floods, fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, and other disasters seem not only more frequent but also closer to home. As the world faces this onslaught, we have placed our faith in “sustainable development,” which promises that we can survive and even thrive in the face of climate change and other risks. Yet while claiming to “go green,” we have instead created new risks, continued to degrade nature, and failed to halt global warming. Unnatural Disasters offers a new perspective on our most pressing environmental and social challenges, revealing the gaps between abstract concepts like sustainability, resilience, and innovation and the real-world experiences of people living at risk. Gonzalo Lizarralde explains how the causes of disasters are not natural but all too human: inequality, segregation, marginalization, colonialism, neoliberalism, racism, and unrestrained capitalism. He tells the stories of Latin American migrants, Haitian earthquake survivors, Canadian climate activists, African slum dwellers, and other people resisting social and environmental injustices around the world. Lizarralde shows that most reconstruction and risk-reduction efforts exacerbate social inequalities. Some responses do produce meaningful changes, but they are rarely the ones powerful leaders have in mind. This book reveals how disasters have become both the causes and consequences of today’s most urgent challenges and proposes achievable solutions to save a planet at risk, emphasizing the power citizens hold to change the current state of affairs.
Unnatural Disaster
Author: Betsy Reed
Publisher: Nation Books
ISBN: 9781560259374
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster of staggering proportions. The vicious winds and surging seas that lashed the Gulf Coast on August 31, 2005, paralyzed New Orleans and left a scene of utter devastation in their wake. But when the winds and waves abated, they revealed an unnatural disaster — a social catastrophe directly caused by the government's callous indifference to the needs of the region's most vulnerable residents. This pattern of near-criminal government neglect did not begin with its response to Katrina, but the hurricane did lay bare its extraordinary depth and horrifying consequences, exposing how race and class can spell life or death in contemporary America. In the months that followed, The Nation published a series of articles and editorials documenting the gross negligence of the Bush administration and the heroic effort of community organizers and ordinary citizens to put their city back together again, as well as the attempts of political progressives to push for a 'New Deal.' Unnatural Disaster includes riveting on-the-scene reporting, columns, blogs, essays and articles from Mike Davis and Anthony Fontenot, Naomi Klein, Patricia Williams, Jeremy Scahill, Eric Alterman, Adolph Reed, Jr., Eric Foner, Curtis Wilkie, Billy Sothern, among many others.
Publisher: Nation Books
ISBN: 9781560259374
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster of staggering proportions. The vicious winds and surging seas that lashed the Gulf Coast on August 31, 2005, paralyzed New Orleans and left a scene of utter devastation in their wake. But when the winds and waves abated, they revealed an unnatural disaster — a social catastrophe directly caused by the government's callous indifference to the needs of the region's most vulnerable residents. This pattern of near-criminal government neglect did not begin with its response to Katrina, but the hurricane did lay bare its extraordinary depth and horrifying consequences, exposing how race and class can spell life or death in contemporary America. In the months that followed, The Nation published a series of articles and editorials documenting the gross negligence of the Bush administration and the heroic effort of community organizers and ordinary citizens to put their city back together again, as well as the attempts of political progressives to push for a 'New Deal.' Unnatural Disaster includes riveting on-the-scene reporting, columns, blogs, essays and articles from Mike Davis and Anthony Fontenot, Naomi Klein, Patricia Williams, Jeremy Scahill, Eric Alterman, Adolph Reed, Jr., Eric Foner, Curtis Wilkie, Billy Sothern, among many others.
Dull Disasters?
Author: Daniel Jonathan Clarke
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198785577
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
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.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198785577
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
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.
Governing Disasters
Author: A. Alemanno
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 0857935739
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 309
Book Description
'The challenges posed by risky decisions are well documented. These decisions become even more daunting when they must be made in a midst of a crisis. Using the European volcanic risk crisis as the principal case study, Alberto Alemanno and the other contributors to this thought provoking volume derive valuable lessons for how policy makers can cope with the attendant time pressures, uncertainties, coordination issues, and risk communication problems. Once the next emergency risk situation occurs, it may be too late to learn about how to respond. Governing Disasters should be required reading for all policy makers and risk analysts in advance of the next international risk crisis.' – W. Kip Viscusi, Vanderbilt University, US and Editor, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 'Catastrophes present us with a paradox. Many people don't think they will happen, so before a catastrophe, regulations are typically viewed as unnecessarily invasive. But in the aftermath of a disaster everybody suddenly blames the government for not having been strict enough. Overregulation often follows. In light of the unprecedented series of catastrophes in recent years, more than ever, top leaders in government and business must understand and overcome this regulatory challenge. Alberto Alemanno's innovative book tells you how.' – Erwann Michel-Kerjan, The Wharton School's Center for Risk Management, US 'Even the best-laid policy plans go awry. What do we do when, despite our best preventive efforts, a surprise crisis occurs? How do we regulate a disaster while it is unfolding? From volcanoes to tornadoes, and tsunamis to terrorists, extreme events test our resilience. In this illuminating volume, regulatory scholar Alberto Alemanno and his colleagues diagnose the complex combination of natural disasters and flawed institutions that make these crises so difficult to manage. They offer a set of insights and remedies that must be read by anyone concerned to deal with disasters in the future.' – Jonathan B. Wiener, Duke University, US 'This comprehensive edited volume makes an important and much needed contribution to an increasingly important dimension of risk assessment and management, namely emergency risk regulation. Drawing upon the responses of government, businesses, and the public to the 2010 volcanic eruption in Iceland – which disrupted European air travel, it offers important lessons for policy-makers who are likely to confront similar unanticipated global risks. The recent nuclear power disaster in Japan makes this volume both timely and prescient.' – David Vogel, University of California, Berkeley, US Emergency crises have always tested our ability to organise and swiftly execute a coordinated response. Both natural and unnatural disasters pose new questions to which previous experience provides only limited answers. These challenges are arguably greater than ever, in a more globalised world confronted by a truly transnational hazard. This is the first volume that addresses the complexities of the volcanic ash cloud that overshadowed Europe in April 2011, but has subsequently struck again in Australia, Chile and Europe. It does so from a multidisciplinary perspective, drawing upon research from economics, law, sociology and other fields, as well as volcanology and leading expertise in jet engineering. Whilst our knowledge base is wide-ranging, there is a common focus on the practical lessons of the ash cloud crisis both for subsequent eruptions and for emergency risk regulation more generally. Among many other insights Governing Disasters explains why it was that industry and regulators were largely unprepared for a phenomenon about which we were not scientifically ignorant. It concludes that the toolbox of risk regulation should not be expected to provide ready-made solutions but applied flexibly, creatively and with some humility. This unique and timely resource will be useful to policymakers, scholars, officials of international organizations, research institutions and consumer groups who want to acquire or further develop their capacities for risk regulation. For teaching purposes it is ideal for courses on risk regulation, disaster law and policy, and crisis management or as a supplement in courses on environmental law, transport law, space law or land use.
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 0857935739
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 309
Book Description
'The challenges posed by risky decisions are well documented. These decisions become even more daunting when they must be made in a midst of a crisis. Using the European volcanic risk crisis as the principal case study, Alberto Alemanno and the other contributors to this thought provoking volume derive valuable lessons for how policy makers can cope with the attendant time pressures, uncertainties, coordination issues, and risk communication problems. Once the next emergency risk situation occurs, it may be too late to learn about how to respond. Governing Disasters should be required reading for all policy makers and risk analysts in advance of the next international risk crisis.' – W. Kip Viscusi, Vanderbilt University, US and Editor, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 'Catastrophes present us with a paradox. Many people don't think they will happen, so before a catastrophe, regulations are typically viewed as unnecessarily invasive. But in the aftermath of a disaster everybody suddenly blames the government for not having been strict enough. Overregulation often follows. In light of the unprecedented series of catastrophes in recent years, more than ever, top leaders in government and business must understand and overcome this regulatory challenge. Alberto Alemanno's innovative book tells you how.' – Erwann Michel-Kerjan, The Wharton School's Center for Risk Management, US 'Even the best-laid policy plans go awry. What do we do when, despite our best preventive efforts, a surprise crisis occurs? How do we regulate a disaster while it is unfolding? From volcanoes to tornadoes, and tsunamis to terrorists, extreme events test our resilience. In this illuminating volume, regulatory scholar Alberto Alemanno and his colleagues diagnose the complex combination of natural disasters and flawed institutions that make these crises so difficult to manage. They offer a set of insights and remedies that must be read by anyone concerned to deal with disasters in the future.' – Jonathan B. Wiener, Duke University, US 'This comprehensive edited volume makes an important and much needed contribution to an increasingly important dimension of risk assessment and management, namely emergency risk regulation. Drawing upon the responses of government, businesses, and the public to the 2010 volcanic eruption in Iceland – which disrupted European air travel, it offers important lessons for policy-makers who are likely to confront similar unanticipated global risks. The recent nuclear power disaster in Japan makes this volume both timely and prescient.' – David Vogel, University of California, Berkeley, US Emergency crises have always tested our ability to organise and swiftly execute a coordinated response. Both natural and unnatural disasters pose new questions to which previous experience provides only limited answers. These challenges are arguably greater than ever, in a more globalised world confronted by a truly transnational hazard. This is the first volume that addresses the complexities of the volcanic ash cloud that overshadowed Europe in April 2011, but has subsequently struck again in Australia, Chile and Europe. It does so from a multidisciplinary perspective, drawing upon research from economics, law, sociology and other fields, as well as volcanology and leading expertise in jet engineering. Whilst our knowledge base is wide-ranging, there is a common focus on the practical lessons of the ash cloud crisis both for subsequent eruptions and for emergency risk regulation more generally. Among many other insights Governing Disasters explains why it was that industry and regulators were largely unprepared for a phenomenon about which we were not scientifically ignorant. It concludes that the toolbox of risk regulation should not be expected to provide ready-made solutions but applied flexibly, creatively and with some humility. This unique and timely resource will be useful to policymakers, scholars, officials of international organizations, research institutions and consumer groups who want to acquire or further develop their capacities for risk regulation. For teaching purposes it is ideal for courses on risk regulation, disaster law and policy, and crisis management or as a supplement in courses on environmental law, transport law, space law or land use.
The Next Catastrophe
Author: Charles Perrow
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400838517
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 430
Book Description
Charles Perrow is famous worldwide for his ideas about normal accidents, the notion that multiple and unexpected failures--catastrophes waiting to happen--are built into our society's complex systems. In The Next Catastrophe, he offers crucial insights into how to make us safer, proposing a bold new way of thinking about disaster preparedness. Perrow argues that rather than laying exclusive emphasis on protecting targets, we should reduce their size to minimize damage and diminish their attractiveness to terrorists. He focuses on three causes of disaster--natural, organizational, and deliberate--and shows that our best hope lies in the deconcentration of high-risk populations, corporate power, and critical infrastructures such as electric energy, computer systems, and the chemical and food industries. Perrow reveals how the threat of catastrophe is on the rise, whether from terrorism, natural disasters, or industrial accidents. Along the way, he gives us the first comprehensive history of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security and examines why these agencies are so ill equipped to protect us. The Next Catastrophe is a penetrating reassessment of the very real dangers we face today and what we must do to confront them. Written in a highly accessible style by a renowned systems-behavior expert, this book is essential reading for the twenty-first century. The events of September 11 and Hurricane Katrina--and the devastating human toll they wrought--were only the beginning. When the next big disaster comes, will we be ready? In a new preface to the paperback edition, Perrow examines the recent (and ongoing) catastrophes of the financial crisis, the BP oil spill, and global warming.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400838517
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 430
Book Description
Charles Perrow is famous worldwide for his ideas about normal accidents, the notion that multiple and unexpected failures--catastrophes waiting to happen--are built into our society's complex systems. In The Next Catastrophe, he offers crucial insights into how to make us safer, proposing a bold new way of thinking about disaster preparedness. Perrow argues that rather than laying exclusive emphasis on protecting targets, we should reduce their size to minimize damage and diminish their attractiveness to terrorists. He focuses on three causes of disaster--natural, organizational, and deliberate--and shows that our best hope lies in the deconcentration of high-risk populations, corporate power, and critical infrastructures such as electric energy, computer systems, and the chemical and food industries. Perrow reveals how the threat of catastrophe is on the rise, whether from terrorism, natural disasters, or industrial accidents. Along the way, he gives us the first comprehensive history of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security and examines why these agencies are so ill equipped to protect us. The Next Catastrophe is a penetrating reassessment of the very real dangers we face today and what we must do to confront them. Written in a highly accessible style by a renowned systems-behavior expert, this book is essential reading for the twenty-first century. The events of September 11 and Hurricane Katrina--and the devastating human toll they wrought--were only the beginning. When the next big disaster comes, will we be ready? In a new preface to the paperback edition, Perrow examines the recent (and ongoing) catastrophes of the financial crisis, the BP oil spill, and global warming.
Dynamics of Disasters
Author: Ilias S. Kotsireas
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030649733
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
Based on the “Fourth International Conference on Dynamics of Disasters” (Kalamata, Greece, July 2019), this volume includes contributions from experts who share their latest discoveries on natural and unnatural disasters. Authors provide overviews of the tactical points involved in disaster relief, outlines of hurdles from mitigation and preparedness to response and recovery, and uses for mathematical models to describe natural and man-made disasters. Topics covered include economics, optimization, machine learning, government, management, business, humanities, engineering, medicine, mathematics, computer science, behavioral studies, emergency services, and environmental studies will engage readers from a wide variety of fields and backgrounds.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030649733
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
Based on the “Fourth International Conference on Dynamics of Disasters” (Kalamata, Greece, July 2019), this volume includes contributions from experts who share their latest discoveries on natural and unnatural disasters. Authors provide overviews of the tactical points involved in disaster relief, outlines of hurdles from mitigation and preparedness to response and recovery, and uses for mathematical models to describe natural and man-made disasters. Topics covered include economics, optimization, machine learning, government, management, business, humanities, engineering, medicine, mathematics, computer science, behavioral studies, emergency services, and environmental studies will engage readers from a wide variety of fields and backgrounds.
Mitigation of Dangers from Natural and Anthropogenic Hazards
Author: Frederic R. Siegel
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319388754
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 132
Book Description
This book advances a three-step program for mitigation of natural and anthropogenic hazards, addressing mitigation economics and funding possibilities to meet the needs of at risk countries that lack the financial resources to invest in disaster reduction programs. Within the context of mitigation, this book covers prediction-prevention-preparedness for global warming/climate change as existing and progressive processes that create or abet slow developing or rapidly occurring hazards that endanger society such as sea level rise, extreme weather events, threats to food/water security, and the spread of infectious diseases.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319388754
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 132
Book Description
This book advances a three-step program for mitigation of natural and anthropogenic hazards, addressing mitigation economics and funding possibilities to meet the needs of at risk countries that lack the financial resources to invest in disaster reduction programs. Within the context of mitigation, this book covers prediction-prevention-preparedness for global warming/climate change as existing and progressive processes that create or abet slow developing or rapidly occurring hazards that endanger society such as sea level rise, extreme weather events, threats to food/water security, and the spread of infectious diseases.
Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems For Climate Change
Author: Ashbindu Singh
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401785988
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 394
Book Description
Around the world, extreme weather events are becoming increasingly "the new normal" and are expected to increase in the 21st century as a result of climate change. Extreme weather events have devastating impacts on human lives and national economies. This book examines ways to protect people from hazards using early warning systems, and includes contributions from experts from four different continents representing 14 different universities, 8 government agencies and two UN agencies. Chapters detail critical components of early warning systems, ways to identify vulnerable communities, predict hazards and deliver information. Unique satellite images illustrate the transnational impact of disasters, while case studies provide detailed examples of warning systems. With contributors from the fields of economics, ethics, meteorology, geography and biology, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in disaster risk reduction or climate change.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 9401785988
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 394
Book Description
Around the world, extreme weather events are becoming increasingly "the new normal" and are expected to increase in the 21st century as a result of climate change. Extreme weather events have devastating impacts on human lives and national economies. This book examines ways to protect people from hazards using early warning systems, and includes contributions from experts from four different continents representing 14 different universities, 8 government agencies and two UN agencies. Chapters detail critical components of early warning systems, ways to identify vulnerable communities, predict hazards and deliver information. Unique satellite images illustrate the transnational impact of disasters, while case studies provide detailed examples of warning systems. With contributors from the fields of economics, ethics, meteorology, geography and biology, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in disaster risk reduction or climate change.