The crossroads between more and more populated human communities and their transforming environment pose distinct complications than ever before. This book serves as a great source of reference for several users, interested in a better comprehension of natural hazards and their effective management. It encompasses information regarding various natural hazards leading to disasters, like avalanches, tropical storms, coastal floods, etc. The case studies illustrated in this book describe various geographical areas, and they consist of mechanisms for being moved to other spots and circumstances. The book will definitely appeal to those who invest their efforts in building communities resilient to natural disasters.

Disaster management involves the mitigation of effects of a calamity using an integrative strategy involving both human and materialistic resources. This book presents an overview of crucial disaster management issues. Original research reports by international scholars focused on disaster management present important facets of danger and disaster management. It discusses perspectives on vulnerability and advancing approaches to mitigation, approaches to improve data use and information management in distinct applications aimed at promoting prediction and communication of hazard, and the management of crisis and post-event recovery in private sector, in the design of urban space and among the victims of a disaster. This book contributes theoretical as well as practical updates to the existing disaster management literature.

Tsunami is considered an epidemic natural disaster. The purpose of this multidisciplinary text is to present numerous researches regarding development and management methods required before and after tsunami. It is planned to circulate this research among the scientific society and decision makers for tsunami risk reduction. The presented chapters are professionally researched. The book provides readers with modern techniques for tsunami measurement using various methods and instruments such as paleotsunami, GPS buoy, ionospheric sounding, ocean bottom sensors, pre-tsunami alarm system and situation based numerical modeling. This book includes an analysis of various case studies from the Caribbean, Tamil Nadu and several other regions of the world. Furthermore, it classifies tsunamis regionally, locally, and globally, and highlights their respective immediate vicinity. It also includes the effects of tsunami on the surroundings and infrastructure. Finally, the book throws light on the importance of the medical response preparedness and consequences of the affected survivors.

This encyclopedia covers response to disasters around the world, from governments to NGOs, from charities to politics, from refugees to health, and from economics to international relations, covering issues in both historical and contemporary context. The volumes include information relevant to students of sociology, national security, economics, health sciences, political science, emergency preparedness, history, agriculture, and many other subjects. The goal is to help readers appreciate the importance of the effects, responsibilities, and ethics of disaster relief, and to initiate educational discussion brought forth by the specific cultural, scientific, and topical articles contained within the work. Including 425 signed entries in a two-volume set presented in A-to-Z format, and drawing contributors from varied academic disciplines, this encyclopedia also features a preface by Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton of the 9/11 Commission. This reference resource examines disaster response and relief in a manner that is authoritative yet accessible, jargon-free, and balanced to help readers better understand issues from varied perspectives. Key Themes - Geography - Government and International Agencies - History - Human-induced Disasters - Infrastructure - Local Response - Major Disasters (Relief Case Studies) - Medicine and Psychology - Methods and Practices - Mitigation - Natural Disasters (Overviews) - Politics and Funding - Preparedness - Recovery - Response - Science and Prediction - Sociology - U.S. Geographical Response

Few subjects have caught the attention of the entire world as much as those dealing with natural hazards. The first decade of this new millennium provides a litany of tragic examples of various hazards that turned into disasters affecting millions of individuals around the globe. The human losses (some 225,000 people) associated with the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the economic costs (approximately 200 billion USD) of the 2011 Tohoku Japan earthquake, tsunami and reactor event, and the collective social impacts of human tragedies experienced during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 all provide repetitive reminders that we humans are temporary guests occupying a very active and angry planet. Any examples may have been cited here to stress the point that natural events on Earth may, and often do, lead to disasters and catastrophes when humans place themselves into situations of high risk. Few subjects share the true interdisciplinary dependency that characterizes the field of natural hazards. From geology and geophysics to engineering and emergency response to social psychology and economics, the study of natural hazards draws input from an impressive suite of unique and previously independent specializations. Natural hazards provide a common platform to reduce disciplinary boundaries and facilitate a beneficial synergy in the provision of timely and useful information and action on this critical subject matter. As social norms change regarding the concept of acceptable risk and human migration leads to an explosion in the number of megacities, coastal over-crowding and unmanaged habitation in precarious environments such as mountainous slopes, the vulnerability of people and their susceptibility to natural hazards increases dramatically. Coupled with the concerns of changing climates, escalating recovery costs, a growing divergence between more developed and less developed countries, the subject of natural hazards remains on the forefront of issues that affect all people, nations, and environments all the time. This treatise provides a compendium of critical, timely and very detailed information and essential facts regarding the basic attributes of natural hazards and concomitant disasters. The Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards effectively captures and integrates contributions from an international portfolio of almost 300 specialists whose range of expertise addresses over 330 topics pertinent to the field of natural hazards. Disciplinary barriers are overcome in this comprehensive treatment of the subject matter. Clear illustrations and numerous color images enhance the primary aim to communicate and educate. The inclusion of a series of unique “classic case study” events interspersed throughout the volume provides tangible examples linking concepts, issues, outcomes and solutions. These case studies illustrate different but notable recent, historic and prehistoric events that have shaped the world as we now know it. They provide excellent focal points linking the remaining terms in the volume to the primary field of study. This Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards will remain a standard reference of choice for many years.