Guide to Global Hazards (Firefly Pocket series) - Softcover

Kovach, Robert; McGuire, Bill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 155297815X ISBN 13: 9781552978153

Publisher: Firefly Books, 2004

Synopsis

Practical information about dangers around the world.

Instant communication from around the world has raised the level of interest in global hazards. Natural disasters receive immediate coverage, and in some cases their effects can be felt across continents.

This book is a compelling, richly illustrated guide to the many large-scale natural disasters that affect and afflict life on Earth -- both globally and locally. Written in clear, understandable terms, Firefly Guide to Global Hazards is essential reading for anyone interested in or concerned about the environment, geophysics and political affairs. The book provides concise descriptions of all types of hazards and the threats they pose.

Some of the global hazards covered are:

• Earthquakes, volcanoes, fires
• Flooding, coastal erosion, tsunami
• Hurricanes, tornadoes, winds
• Avalanches, landslides, snow and ice
• Desertification, drought, famine, diseases
• Pollution, ozone depletion, global warming
• Comets, meteorites, mass extinctions

The book uses case histories to explain the causes, effects and some of the solutions for each hazard or disaster. Illustrated with 200 color photographs and drawings and more than 100 maps, charts, tables and diagrams, this book is an encyclopedia for the curious and the concerned.

About this title

About the Author

Robert Kovach is Professor of Geophysics at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.

Bill McGuire is Director of the Benfield Hazard Research Centre, University College in London, England.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

There is no doubt that phenomenal disasters are ubiquitous and frequent. We live in an age of catastrophes and calamities, and the number and frequency of disasters may at times overwhelm us, encouraging a profound pessimism that the 'end of the world is nigh'. We must be aware that humans provoke nature. Urbanization and industrialization, together with land mismanagement, the depletion of natural resources, and the pollution of our air; rivers, and oceans may well set the stage for future disasters. In our endless desire for modern consumer goods, one cannot overlook the exploitation of the workers of the world who may or may not realize the causes and effects of unmanaged extraction and utilization of our natural resources because they are more concerned with placing food on their table.

Nevertheless, we continue to build in areas susceptible to hazards. We construct houses in landslide-prone areas; we live in cities vulnerable to earthquakes; and a large percentage of the world's population chooses to live in areas susceptible to hurricanes and tropical cyclones. Coastal flooding is severe during the monsoon season in China, India, and Bangladesh, yet it has the beneficial effect of providing water for agriculture. One is tempted to ask the question, originally posed by the economist Stuart Chase, whether disasters attempt to create a balanced world in which equilibrium is sought between the use of natural resources and human exploitation.

Before discussing the characteristics of individual natural disasters, it is important to define what a hazard signifies. When we speak of a hazard we are referring to the possibility of personal harm, potential losses, and damage to the environment from a natural or human-caused event. Personal harm encompasses death, injury, disease, and physical and emotional stress, while potential losses relate to property damage and disruption of the social and economic fabric of the country. Environmental considerations involve damage to the flora and fauna, the pollution of our land and water resources, and the loss of everyday amenities that we have grown accustomed to.

Identifying the risk

Detection of a natural hazard is a multifaceted process, which first involves perception and assessment. A hazard is perceived either by individual intuition awareness, or experience. Awareness of a hazard is strongly dependent on the possibility and ability for detecting it. Perception of the hazard then leads to the concept of risk. What is the specific risk? What are the consequences of the risk in terms of its size, frequency of occurrence, and its economic impact? The final aspect involves an evaluation of the risks. Are they acceptable when compared with the day-to-day risks that society faces? Certainly the public has a right to know what the worst-case outcomes or scenarios of natural hazards might be, and to be able to meaningfully evaluate the risks that directly or indirectly affect their future health and welfare.

Our attitude toward the acceptability of a risk varies among individuals, governments, and societies. But there are only three types of individuals: 1) risk prone; 2) risk averse; and 3) risk neutral. Risk 'prone-ness' is synonymous with risk equity. Broadly-speaking, equity means that it is preferable to spread a total risk (the sum of the individual risks) among as many people as possible -- the principle underpinning insurance-underwriting. Risk aversion can be equated with catastrophic avoidance. The likelihood of a major disaster is to be avoided, even at the expense of several smaller ones and possibly more expected fatalities. Risk neutral is equivalent to individual indifference -- the head-in-the-sand 'ostrich syndrome'.

Hazard vulnerability

We can regard a hazard as the initial link in a chain of events. A hazard leads to a risk that can ultimately lead to a disaster that can be quantified in terms of loss of life and property damage. However; another consideration needs to be introduced -- that of vulnerability. The vulnerability of the population at risk from a specific severe event varies widely on a global basis. Populations are far more vulnerable to the outcomes of natural disasters in less-developed countries compared to developed countries. Part of this is due to their geographic location in relation to regions where potentially damaging natural events take place. Less-developed countries do not have the expertise, financial resources, capital equipment and supplies to cope with and minimize the effects of a disaster. Often these shortcomings are compounded by a lack of information and the absence of an adequate infrastructure to deal with the aftermath of a damaging event. Unfortunately, the consequences of natural disasters are magnified on the aged and economically disadvantaged who are forced to live in more vulnerable areas.

Our vulnerability to hazards is a double-edged sword. As technology advances, it produces increasing hazards in our day-to-day activities. This, in turn, leads to the heightened exposure of the less advantaged. The reasons for this are lack of resources, limitations on the safety provisions that can be carried out, and the absence of an adequate infrastructure to respond effectively to the crisis at hand. There will always be an element of uncertainty in our assessments of natural and other hazards because of inadequate information and what can be realistically implemented. Another consideration is the irregularity in occurrence of natural disasters. There are certain elements of truth in how a Marxist might view natural hazards: 1) exploitation leads to more natural disasters; 2) the poor suffer the most; 3) disaster-relief maintains the status quo; and 4) high-technology solutions can reinforce under-development, exploitation, and poverty.

Responding to the hazard

At this point it is useful to examine some aspects of personal and group responses to a hazard. Knowledge of the imminence of a natural hazard often leads to warnings and possible evacuation. Warnings can produce either a reaction or in some cases indifference, nonchalance, or stubbornness to 'go down with the ship'. Evacuations are not always easy to implement or even acceptable in many societies. When a disaster strikes, the event produces a number of human reactions such as shock, denial, curiosity, fear, and helplessness. Anger, resentment guilt, and hopelessness are prevalent. But recovery almost always takes place, beginning with the attempt to regain control of oneself and the situation at hand. A pyramid is built. One takes care of oneself first, then family members, and finally the community as a whole. But different cultures react very differently to the effects of crisis and pain. Mediterranean cultures freely express themselves and cry out for help. North Americans and northern Europeans seem to keep a tight reign on their emotions, with crying often regarded as a sign of weakness.

Bangladesh has continually been struck by a series of terrible famines, cyclones, torrential rains, and floods that kill hundreds of thousands of individuals. On April 29, 1991, a devastating hurricane hit Bangladesh, killing an estimated 139,000 people as a result of its high wind velocities and subsequent storm surge. Mahfuz Ullah head of the Center for Sustainable Development in Bangladesh, compiled a remarkable book about survival stories of individuals from cyclones in Bangladesh:

"She told her husband that they should do something to protect themselves from the cyclone... He did not listen and... [he] beat her... She tied her children to bamboo poles... Next morning she found herself lying naked on the sands... corpses all around ... She came back home but no one was there to greet her"

Women and children are often angered, irritated, or distressed about poor or poorly conceived rescue attempts in the aftermath of a disaster. This has been repeated time and time again, particularly after mine disasters, even though the main em

About this edition

• Publisher: Firefly Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 155297815X
• ISBN 13: 9781552978153
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256