This book analyses the links between climate change adaptation, resilience and the impacts of hazards. The contributors cover topics such as climate change adaptation in coastal zones, the evaluation of community land models, climate change considerations in public health and water resource management, as well as conceptual frameworks for understanding vulnerabilities to extreme climate events. The book focuses on a variety of concrete projects, initiatives and strategies currently being implemented across the world. It also presents case studies, trends, data and projects that illustrate how cities, communities and regions have been striving to achieve resilience and have handled hazards.

These proceedings contain a selection of peer-reviewed papers presented at the International Symposium on Geodesy for Earthquake and Natural Hazards (GENAH), Matsushima, Japan, 22-26 July, 2014. The scientific sessions focused on monitoring temporal and spatial changes in Earth's lithosphere and atmosphere using geodetic satellite systems, high rate GNSS as well as high resolution imaging (InSAR, Lidar). Researchers in various fields of geodesy discussed the role of geodesy in disaster mitigation and how groups with different techniques can collaborate toward such a goal.

This book focuses on the spatial distribution of landslide hazards of the Darjeeling Himalayas. Knowledge driven methods and statistical techniques such as frequency ratio model (FRM), information value model (IVM), logistic regression model (LRM), index overlay model (IOM), certainty factor model (CFM), analytical hierarchy process (AHP), artificial neural network model (ANN), and fuzzy logic have been adopted to identify landslide susceptibility. In addition, a comparison between various statistical models were made using success rate cure (SRC) and it was found that artificial neural network model (ANN), certainty factor model (CFM) and frequency ratio based fuzzy logic approach are the most reliable statistical techniques in the assessment and prediction of landslide susceptibility in the Darjeeling Himalayas. The study identified very high, high, moderate, low and very low landslide susceptibility locations to take site-specific management options as well as to ensure developmental activities in theDarjeeling Himalayas. Particular attention is given to the assessment of various geomorphic, geotectonic and geohydrologic attributes that help to understand the role of different factors and corresponding classes in landslides, to apply different models, and to monitor and predict landslides. The use of various statistical and physical models to estimate landslide susceptibility is also discussed. The causes, mechanisms and types of landslides and their destructive character are elaborated in the book. Researchers interested in applying statistical tools for hazard zonation purposes will find the book appealing.

The African Red Sea Littoral, currently divided between Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, is one of the poorest regions in the world. But the pastoralist communities indigenous to this region were not always poor-historically, they had access to a variety of resources that allowed them to prosper in the harsh, arid environment. This access was mediated by a robust moral economy of pastoralism that acted as a social safety net. Steven Serels charts the erosion of this moral economy, a slow-moving process that began during the Little Ice Age mega-drought of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and continued through the devastating famines of the twentieth century. By examining mass sedentarization after the Second World War as merely the latest manifestation of an inter-generational environmental and economic crisis, this book offers an innovative lens for understanding poverty in northeastern Africa.

This book analyzes how climate change adaptation can be implemented at the community, regional and national level. Featuring a variety of case studies, it illustrates strategies, initiatives and projects currently being implemented across the world. In addition to the challenges faced by communities, cities and regions seeking to cope with climate change phenomena like floods, droughts and other extreme events, the respective chapters cover topics such as the adaptive capacities of water management organizations, biodiversity conservation, and indigenous and climate change adaptation strategies. The book will appeal to a broad readership, from scholars to policymakers, interested in developing strategies for effectively addressing the impacts of climate change.

This collection focuses on the development of novel approaches to address one of the most pressing challenges of civil engineering, namely the mitigation of natural hazards. Numerous engineering books to date have focused on, and illustrate considerable progress toward, mitigation of individual hazards (earthquakes, wind, and so forth.). The current volume addresses concerns related to overall safety, sustainability and resilience of the built environment when subject to multiple hazards: natural disaster events that are concurrent and either correlated (e.g., wind and surge); uncorrelated (e.g., earthquake and flood); cascading (e.g., fire following earthquake); or uncorrelated and occurring at different times (e.g., wind and earthquake). The authors examine a range of specific topics including methodologies for vulnerability assessment of structures, new techniques to reduce the system demands through control systems; instrumentation, monitoring and condition assessment of structures and foundations; new techniques for repairing structures that have suffered damage during past events, or for structures that have been found in need of strengthening; development of new design provisions that consider multiple hazards, as well as questions from law and the humanities relevant to the management of natural and human-made hazards.

This book presents the outcomes of the workshop sponsored by the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China and the UK Newton Fund, British Council Researcher Links. The Workshop was held in Harbin, China, from 14 to 17 July 2017, and brought together some thirty young (postdoctoral) researchers from China and the UK specializing in geosciences, sensor signal networks and their applications to natural disaster recovery. The Workshop presentations covered the state of the art in the area of disaster recovery and blended wireless sensor systems that act as early warning systems to mitigate the consequences of disasters and function as post-disaster recovery vehicles. This book promotes knowledge transfer and helps readers explore and identify research opportunities by highlighting research outcomes in the internationally relevant area of disaster recovery and mitigation.

This book explores the nexus among food, energy and water in peri-urban areas, demonstrating how relevant this nexus is for environmental sustainability. In particular it examines the effective management of the nexus in the face of the risks and trade-offs of mitigation policies, and as a mean to create resilience to climate change. The book delineates strategies and actions necessary to develop and protect our natural resources and improve the functionality of the nexus, such as: integrated management of the major resources that characterize the metabolism of a city, stronger coordination among stakeholders who often weight differently the services that are relevant to their individual concerns, integration of efforts towards environmental protection, adaptation to and prevention of climate change and disaster risks mitigation.

This Guide supports preparation for the IDBP Geography Paper 2 exam, for SL and HL students planning to answer questions on Option D: Hazards and Disasters. Coverage includes: characteristics of hazards; vulnerability; risk and risk assessment; and adjustments and responses to hazards and disasters. Key features: case studies and exercises to help maximise the originality of your exam answers; tips on improving exam performance and on avoiding common mistakes; concise definitions of key terms; and clear and colourful diagrams.

This book presents landslide studies using the geographic information system (GIS), which includes not only the science of GIS and remote sensing, but also technical innovations, such as detailed light detection and ranging profiles, among others. To date most of the research on landslides has been found in journals on topography, geology, geo-technology, landslides, and GIS, and is limited to specific scientific aspects. Although journal articles on GIS using landslide studies are abundant, there are very few books on this topic. This book is designed to fill that gap and show how the latest GIS technology can contribute in terms of landslide studies. In a related development, the GIS Landslide Workshop was established in Japan 7 years ago in order to communicate and solve the scientific as well as technical problems of GIS analyses, such as how to use GIS software and its functions. The workshop has significantly contributed to progress in the field. Included among the chapters of this book are GIS using susceptibility mapping, analyses of deep-seated and shallow landslides, measuring and visualization of landslide distribution in relation to topography, geological facies and structures, rivers, land use, and infrastructures such as roads and streets. Filled with photographs, figures, and tables, this book is of great value to researchers in the fields of geography, geology, seismology, environment, remote sensing, and atmospheric research, as well as to students in these fields.

This book discusses that disasters, whether natural or man-made, are essentially a human phenomenon. When a city becomes gridlocked and its resources depleted, the collective resilience of those who remain on the ground becomes critical to its immediate survival and recovery. The author argues that in order to build resilient futures for our urban environment, we need more than the skills of architects, engineers, and planners. Support of local communities and policymakers is also needed. The book revisits the recent catastrophic events: the earthquakes in Port-au-Prince and Christchurch, and the hurricane in New Orleans, and places emphasis on the social, cultural, and political processes of rebuilding houses, facilities, and infrastructure that often go unnoticed. Understanding the wider context for how a built project comes to be, the author argues, is a solid indicator of its longevity than by the measure of its material characteristics alone, and gives us reasons to question the validity of our intentions as designers of the future. This book provides strategies for thinking about, assessing, and developing ways for place-makers from all disciplines to become responsible citizen designers of our cities.

This volume presents a unique interdisciplinary approach, drawing on expertise in both the natural and social sciences. A primary goal is to present a scientific and socially integrated perspective on place-based community engagement, extreme weather, and health. Each year extreme weather is leading to natural disasters around the world and exerting huge social and health costs. The International Monetary Fund (2012) estimates that since 2010, 700 worldwide natural disasters have affected more than 450 million people around the globe. The best coping strategy for extreme weather and environmental change is a strong offense. Communities armed with a spatial understanding of their resources, risks, strengths, weaknesses, community capabilities, and social networks will have the best chance of reducing losses and achieving a better outcome when extreme weather and disaster strikes.

This pioneering book addresses the entirety of river flooding issues in the Upper Vistula Basin, where considerable flood generation potential exists. It analyses the factors influencing flood risk, investigates variations in observation records and discusses projections for the future and adaptation to changing risk. It serves the general interest in understanding the floods that cause massive destruction in Europe, with dozens of fatalities and tremendous material damages. This interdisciplinary book, which covers aspects of climatology, geomorphology, hydrology, and water and flood risk management, unveils the complexity of the current situation. Access to reliable and accurate information can help solve important practical problems related to flood risk reduction strategies, and is at the core of the EU Floods Directive. As such, the book offers a valuable resource for scientists, educators and practitioners involved in water management, natural disaster reduction and adaptation to climate change.

This book reviews and assesses the various methodologies for site characterization and site effect estimation to carry out seismic zonation at micro and macro levels. Readers will learn about the suitability of these methodologies for each level of zoning that needs to be assessed in order to optimize the resources for carrying out seismic zonation. The Indian sub-continent is highly vulnerable to earthquake hazards, and past studies have focused primarily on the Himalayan region (inter-plate zone) and the northeast region (subduction zone). The book improves understanding of the Peninsular India that also has significantly high seismicity and is prone to earthquakes of sizeable magnitude. Particular attention is given to the various methodologies for assessing seismic hazards, the scales at which site characterizations are carried out, and optimal methods for zonation practices using site data and hazard indexes. Aimed at students, this book will be of use to post-graduates and doctoral students researching seismic zonation, hazard assessment and mitigation, and spatial data in earth sciences.

This book is the first comprehensive, in-depth English language study of the animals that were left behind in the exclusion zone in the wake of the nuclear meltdown of three of the four reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March 2011, triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake of magnitude 9.0.The Japanese government designated an area of 20-kilometer radius from the nuclear power station as an exclusion zone and evacuated one hundred thousand residents, but left companion animals and livestock animals behind in the radioactive area. Consequently, about 90 percent of the animals in the exclusion zone died. This book juxtaposes policies of the Japanese government toward the animals in Fukushima with the actions of grassroots volunteer animal rescue groups that filled the void of the government.

This book highlights the aeolian processes in the desert zone of Kazakhstan and Central Asian Deserts, and analyzes the current status of dust and sand storms in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. It also highlights the analyses, dynamics and long-term observations of storms on the basis of numerous cartographic materials and satellite images. Dust/sand storms are a common and important phenomenon in the arid and semi-arid regions of Kazakhstan and Central Asia as well,especially in its southern parts, where areas are covered by a great variety of deserts and offer a significant source of mineral and salt aerosols. The deserts of Kazakhstan mostly cover lowlands and extend from the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea to the piedmonts of the Tien-Shan Mountain. In Kazakhstan and Central Asia desertification processes due to wind erosion in the form of dust/sand storms were observed in semi-desert and desert landscapes.

Puerto Rico lies approximately 1,000 miles southeast of Miami and 1,500 miles from Washington, DC. Despite being far outside the continental United States, the island has played a significant role in American politics and policy since the United States acquired Puerto Rico from Spain in 1898. On 20 September 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm with sustained wind speeds of over 155 miles per hour. At that time, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico was already in recovery mode following the glancing blow struck by Hurricane Irma on 6 September 2017, which left 70% of electricity customers without power. Chapter 1 deals with the challenges to recovery in Puerto Rico and the role of the Financial Oversight and Management Board. Even before the 2017 hurricane season, Puerto Ricos electric power infrastructure was known to be in poor condition, due largely to underinvestment and the perceived poor maintenance practices of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA).Chapter 2 focuses on the recovery of Puerto Rico from the hurricanes, and the restoration of power. The two hurricanes that hit may have been historic, but they exposed a state of affairs in Puerto Rico that existed well before any of the hurricanes made landfall. Decades of mismanagement led to a paralyzing debt burden. Chapter 3 describes the factors that contributed to Puerto Ricos financial condition and levels of debt and federal actions that could address these factors. Chapter 4 examines the economic conditions in Puerto Rico as of the end of 2016, and (2) assesses the potential effects of applying the 2016 Overtime Rule to Puerto Rico. Chapter 5 provides policy and historical background about Puerto Ricos political status -- referring to the relationship between the federal government and a territorial one. Congress has not altered the islands status since 1952, when it approved a territorial constitution.

This book explores the common language of politics, ecology and risk, and crosses their conceptual divides. It seeks to shed light on the underlying structural factors, processes, players and interactions in the risk scenario, all of which influence decision-making that both increases and reduces disaster risk. The first section explores risk governance under conditions of increasing complexity, diversity and change. The discussion includes chapters on The problem of governance in the risk society; Making sense of decentralization; Understanding and conceptualizing risk in large-scale social-ecological systems; The disaster epidemic and Structure, process, and agency in the evaluation of risk governance. Part II, focused on governance in regions and domains of risk, includes nine chapters with discussion of Climate governance and climate change and society; Climate change and the politics of uncertainty; Risk complexity and governance in mountain environments; On the edge: Coastal governance and risk and Governance of megacity disaster risks, among other important topics. Part III discusses directions for further advancement in risk governance, with ten chapters on such topics as the transition From risk society to security society; Governing risk tolerability; Risk and adaptive planning for coastal cities; Profiling risk governance in natural hazards contexts; Confronting the risk of large disasters in nature and Transitions into and out of a crisis mode of socio-ecological systems. The book presents a comprehensive examination of the complexity of both risk and environmental policy-making and of their multiple-and not always visible-interactions in the context of social-ecological systems. Just as important, it also addresses unseen and neglected complementarities between regulatory policy-making and ordinary individual decision-making through the actions of nongovernmental actors. A range of distinguished scholars from a diverse set of disciplines have contributed to the book with their expertise in many areas, including disaster studies, emergency planning and management, ecology, sustainability, environmental planning and management, climate change, geography, spatial planning, development studies, economy, political sciences, public administration, communication, as well as physics and geology.

These proceedings include most of the available information on this major seismic event and its consequences. With an estimated moment magnitude of 7.7 and a heavy toll in terms of human and economic losses, it ranks as the largest intermediate-depth earthquake in Europe in the twentieth century. Nevertheless, because of the difficult conditions in the 1940s, the lessons learnt after the Vrancea earthquake were not extensively shared with the international scientific community and thus, this book fills a gap in the literature discussing the knowledge acquired after major disasters. Past experience together with current understanding of the 1940 Vrancea earthquake are presented along with the latest information on Romanian seismicity, seismic hazard and risk assessment, and seismic evaluation and rehabilitation of buildings and structures. Moreover, it includes excerpts from Romanian post-disaster reports and textbooks concerning the earthquake.

This book analyses the state of the natural environment and the causes of its degradation using the biosphere approach. Further, those issues that must be resolved immediately on the global level are identified following the ideas defined by V.I. Vernadsky, and new principles of Man-Nature interaction are pursued. The modern world currently faces three global trends inducing biosphere degradation and the aggravation of ecological hazards, namely: a) rapid and uncontrolled growth of human population on the Earth and insufficient natural resources to sustain it; (b) technogenesis development; and (c) global climate change and the aggravation of natural disasters. Ecological safety and military security are becoming the crucial conditions for the survival of modern civilization. To mitigate the ecological strain on the Earth, the technogenesis strategy should be changed and many other pressing issues must be resolved. These problems should be addressed using the biosphere approach, because the individual human being is the biosphere constituent, and his or her safety cannot be provided without maintaining the entire natural system on our planet.