At Risk: Natural Hazards, People's Vulnerability and Disasters - Softcover

Blaikie, Piers; Cannon, Terry; Davis, Ian; Wisner, Ben

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415084776 ISBN 13: 9780415084772

Publisher: Routledge, 1994

Synopsis

At Risk reasserts the significance of the human factor in disasters. Establishing that the social, political and economic environment is as much a cause of disasters as the natural environment, the book argues that disaster mitigation is rooted in the potential humans have to understand their vulnerability and to take common action.
Famines and drought, biological hazards, floods, coastal storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides: At Risk draws practical and policy conclusions with a view to disaster reduction and the promotion of a safer environment.

About this title

Review

"An excellent overview of the different human responses to natural hazards, dispelling the belief that little can be done to avoid the tragedies associated with natural hazards."-Gareth Jones, University of Strathclyde "Paradoxically in today's world safety coexists with risk. Chronic threats, novel risks, and dangerous trends ranging from new viruses to global warming crowd in on us. "At Risk offers a rational analysis of the disasters and hazards that concern us."-Allen Perry, University of Wales Swansea ""At Risk has become a classic of disasters literature. Its key argument, that the analysis of disasters should not be segregated from everyday life, is an important lesson for students, researchers, and practitioners."-Maureen Fordham, University of Northumbria

Synopsis

Many disasters are a complex mix of natural hazards and human action. At Risk argues that the social, political and economic environment is as much a cause of disasters as the natural environment. Published within the International Decade of Natural Hazard Reduction, this book suggests ways in which both the social and natural sciences can be analytically combined through a 'disaster pressure and release' model. Arguing that the concept of vulnerability is central to an understanding of disasters and their prevention or mitigation, the authors explore the extent and ways in which people gain access to resources. Individual chapters apply analytical concepts to famines and drought, biological hazards, floods, coastal storms, and earthquakes, volcanos and landslides - the hazards that become disasters'. Finally, the book draws practical and policy conclusions to promote a safer environment and reduce vulnerability.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0415084776
• ISBN 13: 9780415084772
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 298