Flooding is one of the most devastating natural hazards in the world. Available records suggest that both flood frequency and severity are on the rise and this is likely to worsen in the context of climate change. As population, infrastructure and poverty grow rapidly in developing countries, particularly in urban agglomerations of 10 million people or more, floods could cause widespread devastation, economic damage and loss of life. Assessment of vulnerability and risk from naturally occurring phenomena is therefore imperative in order to achieve urban sustainability. This book uses geospatial techniques to evaluate hazards, risk and vulnerability at a metropolitan scale in a data-scarce country. An empirical study was performed using remote sensing, GIS and census data. This research offers a new approach to mapping population, infrastructures and communities at risk which can greatly contribute to the deeper understanding of flood disasters in a rapidly expanding megacity. Examples shown in this book are from Dhaka Megacity, however, the techniques and methods can easily be implemented in medium to large cities of similar characteristics. The book is essential reading for hazard researchers, geospatial scientists, disaster management professionals, geographers, urban planners, and social scientists. Ashraf M. Dewan is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Spatial Sciences at Curtin University, Western Australia (on leave from his substantive position as Associate Professor in the Geography & Environment Department at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh).

Disaster risk is increasing, not only in number of events, but also in incurred losses. Such increases are being driven also by the growing exposure of assets, due to the rapid urban growth, because vulnerability decreases as countries develop, but not enough to compensate. The situation will be more and more critical, due to the growth of the amount of the building stock. Thus we need new initiatives to foster upgrading of existing building and enhancement of land planning strategies. "Safe Home" scheme is aimed at increasing urban safety requirements against hazards under an advanced labeling approach. It provides a quantitative evaluation of building performance through an objective, reproducible approach, assessing risks at a land, urban and building scale. Aim of this rating system is to result in useful information to different users, like land planning decision makers, owners, purchasers, tenants or property and real estate managers.

In the heart of Africa, a unique lake attracts the attention of scientists since the beginning of the 20th century. At the foot of the Virunga volcano chain, Lake Kivu harbors a vast amount of dissolved carbon dioxide and methane, making this lake the most dangerous lake on Earth. But the lake furnishes also many goods and services for surrounding populations and may soon become the most important energy supplier in the area. At the beginning of gas exploitation, the time has come for gathering the large amount of scientific information acquired during past and present research on Lake Kivu. The eleven chapters cover many aspects of the physics, geochemistry and biology of the lake, with a particular focus on the unique physical and geochemical features of the water column and on the ecological functioning of the surface waters. The impacts of the introduced fish species and the potential impacts of methane exploitation are also summarized. This multi-disciplinary book may also be used as an introduction to the limnology and biogeochemistry of large tropical lakes, as it covers various aspects of the physics, geochemistry, biology and ecology of the African Great Rift lakes.

Dorrik A. V. Stow Editor in Chief, Association of Geoscientists for International Development ( AGID) AGIO is particularly pleased to see published this latest hurricanes, floods-that are wreaking havoc, destroying report in its Geosciences in International Development livelihood and lives in some corner of the globe. Series, as a significant contribution to the onset of the UN As geoscientists there are perhaps three concerns that Decade of National Disaster Reduction, and as a mark of should be uppermost in our minds as we join an inter AGIO's growing concern over the potential and actual national effort to combat the adverse effects of natural effects of geohazards throughout the developing world. hazards. The first must be to improve our scientific The problem of geohazards is increasing, not because understanding of the nature and causes of such hazards and to work towards more reliable prediction of their the rate of earth processes is accelerating, nor because the voice of the media appears to be paying more and more occurrence and magnitude.

How do and how did people perceive, manage and respond to natural disasters? How are the causes of natural disasters explained in history, how are they explained today? This volume investigates relationships between forces of nature and human culture in a multidisciplinary context bridging science and the humanities. Forces of nature and cultural responses is divided into four sections: (1) ball lightnings, (2) earthquakes and tsunamis, (3) volcanic eruptions and plagues, and (4) hurricanes and floodings. Specifically, Section 1 investigates theories and case studies of ball lightning phenomena. Section 2 includes a psychological study on the impact of earthquakes on academic performance, a study on tsunami vulnerability and recovery strategies in Thailand and a study on the social and economic aftermaths of a tsunami and a hurricane in Hawaii. Section 3 consists of a chapter on volcanic eruptions and plagues as well as cultural responses in Ancient Times and a study on contemporary vulnerability and resilience under chronic volcanic eruptions. Section 4 investigates the impact of hurricane Katrina on the current jazz scene in New Orleans and cultural responses to floodings in The Netherlands in Early Modern Times.

Recent landslide events demonstrate the need to improve landslide forecasting and early warning capabilities in order to reduce related risks and protect human lives. In this thesis, local and regional investigations were carried out to analyse landslide characteristics in the Swabian Alb region, and to develop prototypic landslide early warning systems.
In the local study area, an extensive hydrological and slope movement monitoring system was installed on a seasonally reactivated landslide body located in Lichtenstein-
Unterhausen. Monitoring data was analysed to assess the influence of rainfall and snow-melt on groundwater conditions, and the initiation of slope movements.
The coupled hydrology-slope stability model CHASM was applied to detect areas most prone to slope failures, and to simulate slope stability using a variety of input data. Subsequently, CHASM was refined and two web-based applications were developed: a technical early warning system to constantly simulate slope stability integrating rainfall measurements, hydrological monitoring data and weather forecasts; and a decision-support system allowing for quick calculation of stability for freely selectable slope profiles. On the regional scale, available landslide inventory data were analysed for their use in evaluation of rainfall thresholds proposed in other studies. Adequate landslide events were selected and their triggering rainfall and snow-melting conditions were compared to intensity-duration and cumulative thresholds. Based on the results, a regional landslide early warning system was developed and implemented as a webbased application.
Both, the local and the regional landslide early warning systems are part of a holistic and integrative early warning chain developed by the ILEWS project, and could easily be transferred to other landslide prone areas.

The number of megacities worldwide is rapidly increasing and contemporary cities are also expanding fast. As a result, cities and their inhabitants are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the effects of catastrophic natural events such as extreme weather events (recently more frequent and intense as a result of the ongoing climate changes), earthquakes, tsunamis or man-induced events such as terrorist attacks or accidents. Furthermore, due to increasing technological complexity of urban areas, along with increasing population density, cities are becoming more and more risk attractors.

The resilience of cities against catastrophic events is a major challenge of today. It requires city transformation processes to be rethought, to mitigate the effects of extreme events on the vital functions of cities and communities. Redundancy and robustness of the components of the urban fabric are essential to restore the full efficiency of the city's vital functions after an extreme event has taken place. These items were addressed by an interdisciplinary and international selection of scientists during the 6th UN-World Urban Forum that was held in Naples, Italy in September 2012.

Thisvolume represents in six chapters the views from sociologists, economists and scientists working on natural risk and physical vulnerability on resilience and sustainability for future cities in relation to natural disasters."

Headwaters are fragile environments threatened by anthropogenic actions. The regeneration of headwaters calls for a practical approach through integrated environmental management. This book discusses various issues concerning headwater regions of the world under wide-ranging themes: climate change impacts, vegetal cover, sub-surface hydrology, catchment and streamflow hydrology, pollution, water quality and limnology, remote sensing and GIS, environmental impact assessment and mitigation, socio-economic impacts, public participation, education and management, and integrated watershed management. This book aims to bring about an awareness in sustainable regeneration of headwater regions and particularly highlighting the problems of environmental management in highlands and headwaters. These regions consist of great reserves of natural resources which need to be exploited and managed sustainably.

Having been the fourth largest lake on the globe roughly 50 years ago, today the Aral Sea no longer exists. Human activities caused its desiccation and the formation of a huge new desert, the Aralkum, which can be regarded as one of the greatest ecological catastrophes and - at the same time - the largest primary succession experiment of mankind.

This volume brings together the results of international and interdisciplinary long-term studies on the new desert ecosystem and is divided into four main sections. The first section provides an overview of the physical characteristics of the area and covers geological, pedological, geomorphological and climatological aspects and their dynamics, especially dust-storm dynamics. The second focuses on the biotic aspects and highlights the spatial and temporal patterns of the flora and fauna. In the third section studies and projects aiming to combat desertification by phytomelioration and to develop strategies for the conservation of biodiversity are presented. The book is rounded off with a section providing a synthesis and conclusions.

The negative consequences of natural hazard events are staggering and growing. Governments are acting to increase community resilience, reduce losses, and facilitate recovery, but these actions do not always yield anticipated consequences. This book is a compelling interdisciplinary analysis of California s efforts to ensure that acute care hospitals survive earthquakes and continue to function in the aftermath. The book weaves together several threads essential to understanding the effectiveness of public policies intended to reduce the consequences of natural hazard events: public policy design and administration, the hazard mitigation investment decision made by targeted organizations, and contextual dynamics.

""A terrific study of shortfalls in the implementation of risk-reduction policy -- highly readable, full of insights, and very policy relevant." "Peter J. May, Donald R. Matthews Distinguished Professor of American Politics, University of Washington, Seattle USA

""This is an exceptional book by three of the leading hazard mitigation researchers and must reading for both scholars and practitioners in the field."" William A. Anderson, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences."

With increased climate variability, aggravated natural hazards in the form of extreme events are affecting the lives and livelihoods of many people. This work serves as a basis for formulating a 'preparedness plan' to ensure the effective policy formulation for planned development. Increased demand and competition with a high degree of variability have forced people to struggle in order to prosper. Good governance and innovative policy formulation are necessary to create a resilient society. This may promote a paradigm shift in the mindset on and perceptions of natural hazards and their impacts on development and growth. This new perspective will make people more concerned about minimizing the loss of life, property, and environmental damage and directly safeguard the development process. This book presents a detailed methodological approach to monitoring meteorological, hydrological, and climate change aspects to help resolve issues related to our environment, resources, and economies in the changing climate situation.

This work provides an introduction to the range of potential disaster scenarios, covering the issues and organizational relationships of importance to the student of consequence management. These include the roles, responsibilities, and coordination requirements of first responders, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and the military.

The primary goal here is to present a treatise on the significance and value of coarse clastic carbonate sediments (i.e. large coral boulders) on tropical coastlines for understanding both modern and pre-historical (Holocene) high-magnitude marine inundation events. There has been a rapid groundswell of interest in large carbonate blocks on tropical coasts over the last decade, yet it is not widely appreciated that such features were observed and recorded back in the early explorations of Matthew Flinders on the Great Barrier Reef in the 1800s. This book will illuminate how various characteristics of datable carbonate blocks torn up from coral reefs and deposited on reef platforms yield importance evidence about the storms and tsunamis that emplaced them over decadal and centennial timescales. No comprehensive review has so far been published. A need now exists for a 'definitive reference' on coral boulder research, which details the earliest observations, changing terminology, sedimentology, and relevance for coastal hazard research in the tropics. A wide range of examples will be incorporated from across Asia, Australia, the Pacific and the Americas, as well as a full up-to-date review of the existing literature.

Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast in August 2005 with devastating consequences. Almost all analyses of the disaster have been dedicated to the way the hurricane affected New Orleans. This volume examines the impact of Katrina on southern Mississippi. While communities along Mississippi's Gulf Coast shared the impact, their socioeconomic and demographic compositions varied widely, leading to different types and rates of recovery. This volume furthers our understanding of the pace of recovery and its geographic extent, and explores the role of inequalities in the recovery process and those antecedent conditions that could give rise to a 'recovery divide'. It will be especially appealing to researchers and advanced students of natural disasters and policy makers dealing with disaster consequences and recovery.

Assessment of human casualties in earthquakes has become a topic of vital importance for national and urban authorities responsible for emergency provision, for the development of mitigation strategies and for the development of adequate insurance schemes. In the last few years important work has been carried out on a number of recent events (including earthquakes in Kocaeli, Turkey 1999, Niigata Japan, 2004, Sichuan, China 2008 and L'Aquila, Italy 2009). These events have created new and detailed casualty data, which has not until now been properly assembled and evaluated. This book draws the new evidence from recent events together with existing knowledge. It summarises current trends in the understanding of the factors influencing the numbers and types of casualties in earthquakes; it offers methods to incorporate this understanding into the estimation of losses in future events in different parts of the world; it discusses ways in which pre-event mitigation activity and post-event emergency management can reduce the toll of casualties in future events; and it identifies future research needs.

This book addresses current activities in strong-motion networks around the globe, covering issues related to designing, maintaining and disseminating information from these arrays. The book is divided into three principal sections. The first section includes recent developments in regional and global ground-motion predictive models. It presents discussions on the similarities and differences of ground motion estimations from these models and their application to design spectra as well as other novel procedures for predicting engineering parameters in seismic regions with sparse data. The second section introduces topics about the particular methodologies being implemented in the recently established global and regional strong-motion databanks in Europe to maintain and disseminate the archived accelerometric data. The final section describes major strong-motion arrays around the world and their historical developments. The last three chapters of this section introduce projects carried out within the context of arrays deployed for seismic risk studies in metropolitan areas. Audience: This timely book will be of particular interest for researchers who use accelerometric data extensively to conduct studies in earthquake engineering and engineering seismology.

Attention to the problems posed by natural hazards in West and Central Africa was brought into sharp focus by the deaths of an estimated 1700 people in the valleys to the north of Lake Nyos in 1986. Prior to that the only, well documented, major natural catastrophe was the 1983 earthquake which killed at least 275 people in northwestern Guinea. Though we would not wish to appear to suggest that the 1939 Accra earthquake, which killed 16 people, or the Lake Monoun disaster, which killed 37 people in 1984, were not significant events for the areas concerned. The full horror of the Lake Nyos gas disaster was exacerbated, as far as the outside world was concerned, by initial uncertainty concerning its cause. During the first phase of the investigation there were considerable disagreements between some of the participating groups of scientists. Many of these disagreements have now been resolved and it is to be hoped that the contributions in this volume will further help to resolve some of the outstanding uncertainties. However, although it is important to understand what happened at Lake Nyos in 1986, and why it happened, it is more important for the future of that area that further similar disasters should be avoided. We can only hope that this volume will help to establish a solid foundation for future research into ways of removing excess gas from the lake.

Natural disasters are increasingly affecting the world, taking lives unexpectedly and leaving many others injured and homeless. Moreover, disasters disrupt local, national and even global economies, instantly changing the direction of development. In the first half of 2011 alone, 108 natural disasters occurred, killing over 23 thousand people, affecting nearly 44 million others and causing more than 253 billion US dollars of economic damages (CRED 2011,1). Large urban settlements have become increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of natural disasters. The concentration of substandard infrastructure and housing, material assets, and inherent socio-economic inequalities increase vulnerability to disasters in large urban areas, especially in developing countries. The size, number, functions, and geographical distribution of large- and megacities create a special concern for disaster risk. Good urban management practices can be a powerful catalyst for reducing losses from natural disasters, while simultaneously helping to develop a sustainable environment. Yet, the existing situation indicates that sustainable planning and risk management measures are not taken into consideration or may not be put into practice for a variety of financial, political, and social reasons. This book argues that, on one hand, socio-economic disparities resulting from unsustainable urban development can increase vulnerability to natural hazards, and on the other hand, when paired with natural hazards this increased vulnerability can negatively affect urban areas, resulting in further inequality. This book will showcase this argument with theoretical reviews and quantitative analyses on the interplay between sustainable development and disaster vulnerability as well as an in-depth case study of the role of urban planning and risk management practices in creating the socio-economic and spatial vulnerabilities and predicted earthquake risk in the megacity of Istanbul.

Mathematically, natural disasters of all types are characterized by heavy tailed distributions. The analysis of such distributions with common methods, such as averages and dispersions, can therefore lead to erroneous conclusions. The statistical methods described in this book avoid such pitfalls. Seismic disasters are studied, primarily thanks to the availability of an ample statistical database. New approaches are presented to seismic risk estimation and forecasting the damage caused by earthquakes, ranging from typical, moderate events to very rare, extreme disasters. Analysis of these latter events is based on the limit theorems of probability and the duality of the generalized Pareto distribution and generalized extreme value distribution. It is shown that the parameter most widely used to estimate seismic risk Mmax, the maximum possible earthquake value is potentially non-robust. Robust analogues of this parameter are suggested and calculated for some seismic catalogues. Trends in the costs inferred by damage from natural disasters as related to changing social and economic situations are examined for different regions.

The results obtained argue for sustainable development, whereas entirely different, incorrect conclusions can be drawn if the specific properties of the heavy-tailed distribution and change in completeness of data on natural hazards are neglected.

This pioneering work is directed at risk assessment specialists in general, seismologists, administrators and all those interested in natural disasters and their impact on society."

Tsunamis are primarily caused by earthquakes. Under favourable geological conditions, when a large earthquake occurs below the sea bed and the resultant rupture causes a vertical displacement of the ocean bed, the entire column of water above it is displaced, causing a tsunami. In the ocean, tsunamis do not reach great heights but can travel at velocities of up to 1000 km/hour. As a tsunami reaches shallow sea depths, there is a decrease in its velocity and an increase in its height. Tsunamis are known to have reached heights of several tens of meters and inundate several kilometres inland from the shore. Tsunamis can also be caused by displacement of substantial amounts of water by landslides, volcanic eruptions, glacier calving and rarely by meteorite impacts and nuclear tests in the ocean.
In this SpringerBrief, the causes of tsunamis, their intensity and magnitude scales, global distribution and a list of major tsunamis are provided. The three great tsunamis of 1755, 2004 and 2011are presented in detail. The 1755 tsunami caused by the Lisbon earthquake, now estimated to range from Mw 8.5 to 9.0, was the most damaging tsunami ever in the Atlantic ocean. It claimed an estimated 100,000 human lives and caused wide-spread damage. The 2004 Sumatra Andaman Mw 9.1 earthquake and the resultant tsunami were the deadliest ever to hit the globe, claiming over 230,000 human lives and causing wide-spread financial losses in several south and south-east Asian countries. The 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and the resultant tsunami were a surprise to the seismologists in Japan and around the globe. The height of the tsunami far exceeded the estimated heights. It claimed about 20,000 human lives. The tsunami also caused nuclear accidents. This earthquake has given rise to a global debate on how to estimate the maximum size of an earthquake in a given region and the safety of nuclear power plants in coastal regions. This Brief also includes a description of key components of tsunami warning centres, progress in deploying tsunami watch and warning facilities globally, tsunami advisories and their communication, and the way forward.

This volume presents eighteen case studies of natural disasters from Australia, Europe, North America and developing countries. By comparing the impacts, it seeks to identify what moves people to adapt, which adaptive activities succeed and which fail, and the underlying reasons, and the factors that determine when adaptation is required and when simply bearing the impact may be the more appropriate response. Much has been written about the theory of adaptation and high-level, especially international, policy responses to climate change. This book aims to inform actual adaptation practice - what works, what does not, and why. It explores some of the lessons we can learn from past disasters and the adaptation that takes place after the event in preparation for the next. This volume will be especially useful for researchers and decision makers in policy and government concerned with climate change adaptation, emergency management, disaster risk reduction, environmental policy and planning.

Earthquakes and Atmospheric Hazards contains a selection of papers that were presented as part of the Sixth International Symposium on Natural and Man-Made Hazards (HAZARDS-96) held in Toronto, Canada during July, 1996. The Symposium was very timely, given the large number of natural disasters that have occurred in various parts of the world during the 1990s, the United Nations' International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). The human reaction to these disasters has varied widely from one event to the next and the economic and social costs have been immense with damage running into billions of dollars. Having in everyone's mind the Northridge, California (1994) and the Kobe, Japan (1995) earthquakes, the volcanoes in the Philippines, the cyclones and related storm surges in Bangladesh, and the floods in North America and Europe caused by heavy rains, the Symposium attracted more than one hundred papers covering various aspects of these events. The eleven papers included in this volume deal with the scientific and management issues of those earthquakes and atmospheric hazards that occurred during the late 1990s, with emphasis on the preparedness aspects. A summary report of the HAZARDS-96 Symposium and recommendations adopted by the participants is also included. Earthquakes and Atmospheric Hazards forms an excellent reference for scientists, students, engineers, the insurance industry, authorities specializing in public safety and natural hazards preparedness and mitigation plans.

This volume covers the floods of the major rivers of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) Delta, and storm surge related coastal floods in these regions. The book is dedicated to addressing floods from an integrated physical-social perspective to provide students and researchers with a holistic understanding of floods in terms of both human and geomorphological aspects. The systematic coverage of all the major rivers and coastal areas in the GBM delta and surrounding regions will foster a clear comprehension of this dense reservoir of population, where thousands of people are impacted every year due to flood hazards and agricultural destabilization. This comprehensive treatment of flood issues in the region covers flash floods, fluvial floods, fluvio-tidal floods, and coastal floods, and outlines flood management strategies to maintain ecological integrity and environmental stability, and prevent harmful impacts of future floods. The book is intended for students and researchers in earth and environmental sciences, especially geomorphology, hydrology, geography, geology, natural resources management, and regional planning.

Humanitarian logistics has received increasing interest both from logistics academics and practitioners as a result of the dramatic increase in both natural and man-made disasters. The impact on affected populations can be all the more limited as much as the logistics operations in response to emergencies are effective and efficient. Collaboration with various relevant actors involving in the emergency resolution can help to reduce costs, increase speed, and improve the leanness/agility level in the humanitarian supply chain, and viceversa, poor coordination among them is cited as an explanation for performance gaps. As disasters become increasingly complex better collaboration not only with government agencies, military units, humanitarian organizations, but also through partnerships with private business becomes more and more important. However, such partnerships are not easy as organizations in the two sectors are extremely different. The main aim of this study is exploring more in depth the partnership between profit and non-profit in emergency relief operations, with a specific attention to the cross-learning potential for both the logistics service provider (profit) and the humanitarian organization (non-profit).

Dendrogeomorphology Beginnings and Futures: A Personal Reminiscence My early forays into dendrogeomorphology occurred long before I even knew what that word meant. I was working as a young geoscientist in the 1960s and early 1970s on a problem with slope movements and deformed vegetation. At the same time, unknown to me, Jouko Alestalo in Finland was doing something similar. Both of us had seen that trees which produced annual growth rings were reacting to g- morphic processes resulting in changes in their internal and external growth p- terns. Dendroclimatology was an already well established field, but the reactions of trees to other environmental processes were far less well understood in the 1960s. It was Alestalo (1971) who first used the term, dendrogeomorphology. In the early 1970s, I could see that active slope-movement processes were affecting the growth of trees in diverse ways at certain localities. I wanted to learn more about those processes and try to extract a long-term chronology of movement from the highly diverse ring patterns.