Short description:

The second edition of At Risk confronts a further ten years of ever more expensive and deadly disasters since it was first published, and argues that extreme natural events are not disasters until a vulnerable group of people is exposed.

Long description:

The term 'natural disaster' is often used to refer to natural events such as earthquakes, hurricanes or floods. However, the phrase 'natural disaster' suggests an uncritical acceptance of a deeply engrained ideological and cultural myth. At Risk questions this myth and argues that extreme natural events are not disasters until a vulnerable group of people is exposed.

The updated new edition confronts a further ten years of ever more expensive and deadly disasters and discusses disaster not as an aberration, but as a signal failure of mainstream 'development'. Two analytical models are provided as tools for understanding vulnerability. One links remote and distant 'root causes' to 'unsafe conditions' in a 'progression of vulnerability'. The other uses the concepts of 'access' and 'livelihood' to understand why some households are more vulnerable than others.

Examining key natural events and incorporating strategies to create a safer world, this revised edition is an important resource for those involved in the fields of environment and development studies.

Table of Contents:

Part 1: Framework and Theory  1. The Challenge of Disasters and Our Approach  2. Disaster Pressure and Release Model  3. Access to Resources and Coping in Adversity  Part 2: Vulnerability and Hazard Types  4. Famine and Natural Hazards  5. Biological Hazards  6. Floods  7. Severe Coastal Storms  8. Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Landslides  Part 3: Action for Disaster Reduction  9. Vulnerability, Relief and Reconstruction  10. Towards a Safer Environment