International Perspectives on Natural Disasters: Occurrence, Mitigation, and Consequences
International Perspectives on Natural Disasters: Occurrence, Mitigation, and Consequences

Author: Joseph P. Stoltman

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-03-01

Total Pages: 500

ISBN-13: 9781402028502

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Reports of natural disasters fill the media with regularity. Places in the world are affected by natural disaster events every day. Such events include earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis, wildfires – the list could go on for considerable length. In the 1990s there was a concentrated focus on natural disaster information and mitigation during the International Decade for Natural Disasters Reduction (IDNDR). The information was technical and provided the basis for major initiatives in building structures designed for seismic safety, slope stability, severe storm warning systems, and global monitoring and reporting. Mitigation, or planning in the event that natural hazards prevalent in a region would suddenly become natural disasters, was a major goal of the decade-long program. During the IDNDR, this book was conceptualized, and planning for its completion began. The editors saw the need for a book that would reach a broad range of readers who were not actively or directly engaged in natural disasters relief or mitigation planning, but who were in decision-making positions that provided an open window for addressing natural disaster issues. Those people were largely elected public officials, teachers, non-governmental organization staff, and staff of faith-based organizations. Those people, for the most part, come to know very well the human and physical characteristics of the place in which they are based. With that local outreach in mind, the editors intended the book to encourage readers to: 1.

Natural Disasters
Natural Disasters

Author: P. A. Merriman

Publisher: Thomas Telford

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 604

ISBN-13: 9780727719362

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

It has been estimated that, as a result of natural disasters, during the 1970s and 1980s three million lives were lost worldwide, the number of disasters increased threefold, the economic losses per decade almost doubled and the insurance losses quadrupled. In the light of these figures, the United Nations proclaimed the 1990s as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction and this book focuses on the British contribution to the Decade and is supplemented by papers from America, Asia, Europe and Africa.

Natural Disasters and Other Emergencies, what You Should Know
Natural Disasters and Other Emergencies, what You Should Know

Author: Gladson I. Nwanna

Publisher: FRONTLINE PUBLISHERS, INC.

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 9781890605155

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This family planning and survival guide provides comprehensive information on every type of natural disaster, as well as many man-made and technological emergencies. Also includes sources for additional information.

Natural Disasters as Interactive Components of Global-Ecodynamics
Natural Disasters as Interactive Components of Global-Ecodynamics

Author: Kirill Ya Kondratyev

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2006-08-31

Total Pages: 606

ISBN-13: 354037714X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Large-scale natural catastrophes are environmental phenomena. Numerous studies in recent years have concluded that the frequency of occurrence of such natural disasters have been incereasing. leading to an enhanced risk of very considerable human and economic losses and the widespread destruction and pollution of habitats, settlements and infrastructure. In 2001 over 650 natural disasters happened around the globe with economic losses exceeding $35 billion. 2004 ended with the South East Asian tsunami on 26th December with its huge toll on life and local economics and this demonstrated that the efffects of such disasters are most keenly felt in poorer or developing regions. The problem of natural disaster prediction and the implementation of environmental monitoring systems to receive, store and process the information necessary for solutions of specific problems in this area , have been analysed by the three authors of this book, all of whom are internationally respected experts in this field.

The Impacts of Natural Disasters
The Impacts of Natural Disasters

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1999-05-06

Total Pages: 80

ISBN-13: 0309063949

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

We in the United States have almost come to accept natural disasters as part of our nation's social fabric. News of property damage, economic and social disruption, and injuries follow earthquakes, fires, floods and hurricanes. Surprisingly, however, the total losses that follow these natural disasters are not consistently calculated. We have no formal system in either the public or private sector for compiling this information. The National Academies recommends what types of data should be assembled and tracked.

The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters
The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters

Author: Debarati Guha-Sapir

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2013-05-02

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 0199339805

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Since the turn of the millennium, more than one million people have been killed and 2.3 billion others have been directly affected by natural disasters around the world. In cases like the 2010 Haiti earthquake or the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, these disasters have time and time again wrecked large populations and national infrastructures. While recognizing that improved rescue, evacuation, and disease control are crucial to reducing the effects of natural disasters, in the final analysis, poverty remains the main risk factor determining the long-term impact of natural hazards. Furthermore, natural disasters have themselves a tremendous impact on the poorest of the poor, who are often ill-prepared to deal with natural hazards and for whom a hurricane, an earthquake, or a drought can mean a permanent submersion in poverty. The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters focuses on these concerns for poverty and vulnerability. Written by a collection of esteemed scholars in disaster management and sustainable development, the report provides an overview of the general trends in natural disasters and their effects by focusing on a critical analysis of different methodologies used to assess the economic impact of natural disasters. Economic Impacts presents six national case studies (Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Nicaragua, Japan and the Netherlands) and shows how household surveys and country-level macroeconomic data can analyze and quantify the economic impact of disasters. The researchers within Economic Impacts have created path-breaking work and have opened new avenues for thinking and debate to push forward the frontiers of knowledge on economics of natural disasters.

How to Manage the Fiscal Costs of Natural Disasters
How to Manage the Fiscal Costs of Natural Disasters

Author: Mr.Serhan Cevik

Publisher: International Monetary Fund

Published: 2018-06-11

Total Pages: 18

ISBN-13: 1484359453

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This how-to note focuses on the management of the fiscal costs associated with natural disaster risks. Unlike other types of fiscal risks (for example, unexpected macroeconomic changes or materialization of contingent liabilities), a natural disaster presents a unique challenge to fiscal risk-management and budget processes because of its exogenous nature and potentially overwhelming scale. This note discusses how governments can build fiscal resilience against natural hazards and strengthen fiscal management after a disaster, including through budgeting frameworks and other fiscal policies. The note aims to answer three central questions: How large should fiscal buffers be? How should fiscal buffers be built up? How should fiscal buffers be used efficiently and transparently once a natural disaster has struck? These three questions directly relate to fiscal policy, fiscal risk management, and the budget process—all core areas of IMF expertise. To address them, the note focuses on fiscal strategies for financing recovery efforts and considers approaches to mitigate disaster impact. The note also provides guidance on how to conduct regular risk analyses of natural disasters’ potential fiscal consequences and outlines best practices for defining and accounting for the contingent liabilities associated with natural disasters in budgeting frameworks. Finally, the note touches on approaches for risk reduction, disaster risk financing strategies, and risk transfer mechanisms, such as various insurance instruments.

Natural Disasters and Climate Change
Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Author: Stéphane Hallegatte

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-09-17

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 3319089331

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book explores economic concepts related to disaster losses, describes mechanisms that determine the economic consequences of a disaster, and reviews methodologies for making decisions regarding risk management and adaptation. The author addresses the need for better understanding of the consequences of disasters and reviews and analyzes three scientific debates on linkage between disaster risk management and adaptation to climate change. The first involves the existence and magnitude of long-term economic impact of natural disasters on development. The second is the disagreement over whether any development is the proper solution to high vulnerability to disaster risk. The third debate involves the difficulty of drawing connections between natural disasters and climate change and the challenge in managing them through an integrated strategy. The introduction describes economic views of disaster, including direct and indirect costs, output and welfare losses, and use of econometric tools to measure losses. The next section defines disaster risk, delineates between “good” and “bad” risk-taking, and discusses a pathway to balanced growth. A section entitled “Trends in Hazards and the Role of Climate Change” sets scenarios for climate change analysis, discusses statistical and physical models for downscaling global climate scenarios to extreme event scenarios, and considers how to consider extremes of hot and cold, storms, wind, drought and flood. Another section analyzes case studies on hurricanes and the US coastline; sea-level rises and storm surge in Copenhagen; and heavy precipitation in Mumbai. A section on Methodologies for disaster risk management includes a study on cost-benefit analysis of coastal protections in New Orleans, and one on early-warning systems in developing countries. The next section outlines decision-making in disaster risk management, including robust decision-making, No-regret and No-risk strategies; and strategies that reduce time horizons for decision-making. Among the conclusions is the assertion that risk management policies must recognize the benefits of risk-taking and avoid suppressing it entirely. The main message is that a combination of disaster-risk-reduction, resilience-building and adaptation policies can yield large potential gains and synergies.