They huddle low, nostrils burning from the smoke. A wave of despair flows over Tye. Nothing will survive this firestorm. The bush and everything she loves will be lost. It's the summer holidays, and Tye is staying at her grandparents' lodge at Chancy's Point in Tasmania's beautiful Central Highlands. But her plans for fun with best friend Lily and working on her pencil pine conservation project are thwarted as fire threatens the community and the bush she loves - and when Tye discovers Bailey, a runaway boy hiding out, she is torn between secretly helping him and her loyalty to her grandparents. As the fire comes closer and evacuation warnings abound, Tye is caught up in the battle of her life. Will she and Bailey survive? What will happen to her beloved pencil pines and the wildlife at risk? Can she and her close-knit community make a difference in a world threatened by climate change?

Winner of the PEN/Ackerley Prize 2014 The book opens and we are inside the wave: thirty feet high, moving at twenty-five mph, racing two miles inland. And from there into the depths of the author's despair: how to live now that her life has been undone? Sonali Deraniyagala tells her story - the loss of her two boys, her husband, and her parents - without artifice or sentimentality. In the stark language of unfathomable sorrow, anger, and guilt: she struggles through the first months following the tragedy -- someone always at her side to prevent her from harming herself, her whole being furiously clenched against the reality she can't face; and then reluctantly emerging and, over the ensuing years, slowly allowing her memory to function again. Then she goes back through the rich and joyous life she's mourning, from her family's home in London, to the birth of her children, to the year she met her English husband at Cambridge, to her childhood in Colombo while learning the balance between the almost unbearable reminders of her loss and her fundamental need to keep her family, somehow, still with her.

The new revised fifth edition of Natural Hazards remains the go-to introductory-level survey intended for university and college courses that are concerned with earth processes that have direct, and often sudden and violent, impacts on human society. The text integrates principles of geology, hydrology, meteorology, climatology, oceanography, soil science, ecology, and solar system astronomy. The textbook explains the earth processes that drive hazardous events in an understandable way, illustrates how these processes interact with our civilization, and describes how we can better adjust to their effects. Written by leading scholars in the area, the new edition of this book takes advantage of the greatly expanding amount of information regarding natural hazards, disasters, and catastrophes. The text is designed for learning, with chapters broken into small consumable chunks of content for students. Each chapter opens with a list of learning objectives and ends with revision as well as high-level critical thinking questions. A Concepts in Review feature provides an innovative end-of-chapter section that breaks down the chapter content by parts: reviewing the learning objectives, summary points, important visuals, and key terms. New case studies of hazardous events have been integrated into the text, and students are invited to actively apply their understanding of the five fundamental concepts that serve as a conceptual framework for the text. Figures, illustrations, and photos have been updated throughout. The book is designed for a course in natural hazards for nonscience majors, and a primary goal of the text is to assist instructors in guiding students who may have little background in science to understand physical earth processes as natural hazards and their consequences to society.

With a foreword by Sir David Attenborough, breathtakingly beautiful still photography, specially commissioned maps and graphics, and compelling text expanding on the remarkable TV stories and giving the reader a depth of information that is impossible on screen, this companion to the groundbreaking NETFLIX series presents a whole new view of the place we call home.

Featuring some of the world's rarest creatures and previously unseen parts of the Earth—from deep oceans to remote forests to ice caps—Our Planet takes nature-lovers deep into the science of our natural world. Revealing the most amazing sights on Earth in unprecedented ways, alongside stories of the ways humans are affecting the world’s ecosystems—from the wildebeest migrations in Africa to the penguin colonies of Antarctica—this book captures in one concise narrative a fundamental message:

What we do in the next twenty years will determine the future of not just the natural world but humanity itself. If we don't act now to protect and preserve our planet, the beauty we're lucky enough to witness on these pages will have disappeared...

This book is one out of six IAEG XIII Congress and AEG 61st Annual Meeting proceeding volumes, and deals with topics related to the advances made in engineering geology with emphasis on education, soil and rock properties, and modeling. The theme of the IAEG/AEG Meeting, held in San Francisco from September 17-21, 2018, is Engineering Geology for a Sustainable World. The meeting proceedings analyze the dynamic role of engineering geology in our changing world. The meeting topics and subject areas of the six volumes are: Slope Stability: Case Histories, Landslide Mapping, Emerging Technologies; Geotechnical and Environmental Site Characterization; Mining, Aggregates, Karst; Dams, Tunnels, Groundwater Resources, Climate Change; Geologic Hazards: Earthquakes, Land Subsidence, Coastal Hazards, and Emergency Response; and Advances in Engineering Geology: Education, Soil and Rock Properties, Modeling.

In 1931, China suffered a catastrophic flood that claimed millions of lives. This was neither a natural nor human-made disaster. Rather, it was created by an interaction between the environment and society. Regular inundation had long been an integral feature of the ecology and culture of the middle Yangzi, yet by the modern era floods had become humanitarian catastrophes. Courtney describes how the ecological and economic effects of the 1931 flood pulse caused widespread famine and epidemics. He takes readers into the inundated streets of Wuhan, describing the terrifying and disorientating sensory environment. He explains why locals believed that an angry Dragon King was causing the flood, and explores how Japanese invasion and war with the Communists inhibited both official relief efforts and refugee coping strategies. This innovative study offers the first in-depth analysis of the 1931 flood, and charts the evolution of one of China's most persistent environmental problems.

This book is one out of six IAEG XIII Congress and AEG 61st Annual Meeting proceeding volumes, and deals with topics related to geologic hazards, such as earthquakes, land subsidence, coastal hazards, and the emergency response. The theme of the IAEG/AEG Meeting, held in San Francisco from September 17-21, 2018, is Engineering Geology for a Sustainable World. The meeting proceedings analyze the dynamic role of engineering geology in our changing world. The meeting topics and subject areas of the six volumes are: Slope Stability: Case Histories, Landslide Mapping, Emerging Technologies; Geotechnical and Environmental Site Characterization; Mining, Aggregates, Karst; Dams, Tunnels, Groundwater Resources, Climate Change; Geologic Hazards: Earthquakes, Land Subsidence, Coastal Hazards, and Emergency Response; and Advances in Engineering Geology: Education, Soil and Rock Properties, Modeling.

This monograph presents the state of art of the geologic knowledge about the Spanish coast obtained through scientific research in the last 30 years.From a general point of view, coasts are the most quickly changing systems of the Earth. This is critical, since many human resources, such as the main part of economic and social activities, are located in the coastal areas. Especially in the case of Spain these coasts include cities, wide industrial areas (including harbor complexes), important ecologic systems, and our main economic resource: tourism. Understanding the dynamic functioning of each element of this coast is vital for correct future coastal management, so as to solve problems derived from bad plans developed in the last decades of the twentieth century. This is a valuable text for advanced graduate students and coastal researchers, which connects the specific dynamic functioning of the main Spanish coastal environments and their relationships with human activities.

This book is a resource for understanding why Lightning continues to be a major health hazard, especially in the developing world, and equips researchers, governments, and public health advocates with the knowledge and techniques needed to reduce lightning casualties worldwide.

This book explains the tragic tale of the Satluj floodplain since its inception. As a landscape this floodplain entity evolves and sets a niche to distinctive natural and cultural aspects. The historical reconstruction of the landscape transformation depicts the excessive human encroachment and development activities which leads to more than fifty percent of landscape transformation. Data set layers were generated in a geospatial environment, with the use of multiscale and multitemporal satellite imageries, empirical field verification, and ancillary data input. An integrated landscape model was hence formed in order to identify the causal links between natural and cultural aspects. The author shows a landscape transformation matrix and change detection maps to explain the spatial trends and patterns of land use and land cover change. Pixel wise land use and land cover gain-loss algorithm were identified and measured for a selected time period. Changing spatial pattern of land cover to land use ratio are explained with underlying local to regional level causes. The author thoroughly explains the satellite image interpretation and related methodology. This book provides the detailed transition journey of landscape conversion from resource rich natural entity to a human dominated 'hazardscape'. It also explains how the expansion of population and related activities in the close vicinity of an active floodplain accentuates the problem of flood risks and how it affects the human and livestock life and creates economic loss. The author maps and explains the vector and magnitude of increased human pressure on the landscape and its adverse ecological implications, and describes issues with reference to the hazard status of the Punjab Satluj floodplain, including increased flood risk, increased pressure on agricultural land and depletion of resources, loss of biodiversity, qualitative and quantitative loss to surface and sub-surface water, and soil degradation (soil erosion, waterlogging and soil loss). Recommendations are provided with a detailed provision of potential applications with the underlying agenda of further conversion of this ecologically highly vulnerable flood prone 'hazardscape' to a Green Habitat. This book consist of two major themes: land use/land cover change and floodplain. The author answers all the geographical questions (what, where, when, why and how) related with both themes and provides an outlook to potential future prospects. The book is targeted at stakeholders, students, researchers and policy makers to optimize their interest and to guide them towards a positive charge in sustainable resource management through suitable and best possible sustainable utilization of landscape.

Emergency First Aid, 3rd Edition, is a reference guide on how to recognize and respond to common medical emergencies. It will allow the user to check for vital signs and assess the severity of medical emergencies and when to call for help, how to care for victims until medical help arrives, or what to do if a situation requires immediate response (e.g., choking, emergency childbirth). In an emergency, it will quickly and simply instruct you of what you can do to help. Made in the USA.www.waterfordpress.com

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 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.

This book is one out six IAEG XIII Congress and AEG 61st Annual Meeting proceeding volumes, and deals with topics related to mining, aggregates, and karst. The theme of the IAEG/AEG Meeting, held in San Francisco from September 17-21, 2018, is Engineering Geology for a Sustainable World. The meeting proceedings analyze the dynamic role of engineering geology in our changing world. The meeting topics and subject areas of the six volumes are: Slope Stability: Case Histories, Landslide Mapping, Emerging Technologies; Geotechnical and Environmental Site Characterization; Mining, Aggregates, Karst; Dams, Tunnels, Groundwater Resources, Climate Change; Geologic Hazards: Earthquakes, Land Subsidence, Coastal Hazards, and Emergency Response; and Advances in Engineering Geology: Education, Soil and Rock Properties, Modeling.

This book is one out of six IAEG XIII Congress and AEG 61st Annual Meeting proceeding volumes, and deals with topics related to dams, tunnels, groundwater resources, and climate change. The theme of the IAEG/AEG Meeting, held in San Francisco from September 17-21, 2018, is Engineering Geology for a Sustainable World. The meeting proceedings analyze the dynamic role of engineering geology in our changing world. The meeting topics and subject areas of the six volumes are: Slope Stability: Case Histories, Landslide Mapping, Emerging Technologies; Geotechnical and Environmental Site Characterization; Mining, Aggregates, Karst; Dams, Tunnels, Groundwater Resources, Climate Change; Geologic Hazards: Earthquakes, Land Subsidence, Coastal Hazards, and Emergency Response; and Advances in Engineering Geology: Education, Soil and Rock Properties, Modeling.

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.

This book is one out six IAEG XIII Congress and AEG 61st Annual Meeting proceeding volumes, and deals with topics related to the geotechnical and environmental site characterization. The theme of the IAEG/AEG Meeting, held in San Francisco from September 17-21, 2018, is Engineering Geology for a Sustainable World. The meeting proceedings analyze the dynamic role of engineering geology in our changing world. The meeting topics and subject areas of the six volumes are: Slope Stability: Case Histories, Landslide Mapping, Emerging Technologies; Geotechnical and Environmental Site Characterization; Mining, Aggregates, Karst; Dams, Tunnels, Groundwater Resources, Climate Change; Geologic Hazards: Earthquakes, Land Subsidence, Coastal Hazards, and Emergency Response; and Advances in Engineering Geology: Education, Soil and Rock Properties, Modeling.

This book is the result of the work of the first international congress of the ArabGU (Arabian Geosciences Union) which took place in Algiers (Algeria) in February 2016. It presents research articles and review papers on geology of the North Africa and Arabian Middle East . It provides information to the public on various fields of earth sciences and encourages further research in this field in order to attract an international audience.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the relationship between tourism and earthquakes through all stages of a disaster. It discusses the measures available to manage tourism after earthquakes and examines the means to mitigate the potential impacts of earthquakes on tourism. The chapters address important questions such as 'are tourists who come to earthquake regions immediately after an earthquake a benefit or a burden for recovery?' and 'should priority be given to evacuate tourists after an earthquake hits?'. The volume provides insights into the ethical, commercial and socioeconomic issues facing tourism after a major earthquake. It will be useful to students and researchers in tourism studies, tourism planning and marketing, natural hazards, and destination and disaster management.

The risks posed by climate change and its effect on climate extremes are an increasingly pressing societal problem. This book provides an accessible overview of the statistical analysis methods which can be used to investigate climate extremes and analyse potential risk. The statistical analysis methods are illustrated with case studies on extremes in the three major climate variables: temperature, precipitation, and wind speed. The book also provides datasets and access to appropriate analysis software, allowing the reader to replicate the case study calculations. Providing the necessary tools to analyse climate risk, this book is invaluable for students and researchers working in the climate sciences, as well as risk analysts interested in climate extremes.

This publication presents a new and extended analysis of the regional risk-scape based on multidisciplinary research conducted. It defines risk hotspots where disasters and biological hazards, climate and health emergencies – including Covid-19 – collide. It further presents the emergence of new systemic risks and cascading hazards, alongside their impacts on peoples and economies. Identifying regional and sub-regional gaps in building resilience into the disaster-health-climate nexus, the report provides tailored, sub-regional insights into opportunities for policy actions and operational solutions to build back better with resilience. The ability to identify and address the unmet needs of those furthest behind within the new risk-scape is also considered here, as is the fiscal cost of a resilience agenda for the region.

Learn Resilience Through These Survival Stories #1 New Release in Disaster Relief Extreme Survival is the long awaited followup to New York Times best-selling author Michael Tougias's The Finest Hours. This thriller will have you mentally on the edge-of-your-seat as you read these true survival stories and learn useful survival techniques! Explore the stories and the causes of manmade disasters. To answer the question of why disasters happen and how some survive, Tougias interviewed over 100 people who survived against all odds, first chronicling their harrowing survival stories, and then discussing in detail the lessons learned. Both an exciting and informative read, this book provides the entertainment and exceptional research fans expect. Learn resilience through the mindset of a survivor. Tougias shares what a person is capable of when under pressure and facing different types of disasters. Surviving disasters requires extreme survival techniques to kick in at just the right time! All of Michael Tougias books have a level of deep survival laced within the pages. Learn how to rise against the odds in your personal and professional life. Inside, you'll find: Captivating and narrative survival stories told in true Tougias' trademark style Analysis of major man-made disasters and the faulty decisions that led to them First-person accounts and detailed survival tactics that can be utilized in your day-to-day life If you like non-fiction survival books like The Gift of Fear, Deep Survival, or If I Live Until Morning, you'll love Extreme Survival.

This book discusses existing and future global problems of physical, chemical, biological and societal origins faced by increasingly populated cities and mega-cities, and options to mitigate or eliminate them. In nine chapters, the book focuses on rehabilitation and redevelopment projects aimed at converting shantytowns/slums into well serviced neighborhoods via secure housing, clean piped water, adequate access to sanitation, and other amenities for good living conditions. Examples of rehabilitation (restore capacity, structures, efficiency) and redevelopment (redesign, rebuild, attract investment) are addressed in detail, as are the sources of major financing to support such projects and proposals. The final chapters also discuss problems faced by countries with contracting populations, and their viable solutions. The book will be of interest to academics, city planners, land-use planners, NGOs, and designers /architects specializing in urban development and redevelopment.

On April 18, 1906, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook the San Francisco region, igniting fires that burned half the city. The disaster in all its elements — earthquake, fires, and recovery — profoundly disrupted the urban order and challenged San Francisco’s perceived permanence. The crisis temporarily broke down spatial divisions of class and race and highlighted the contested terrain of urban nature in an era of widespread class conflict, simmering ethnic tensions, and controversial reform efforts. From a proposal to expel Chinatown from the city center to a vision of San Francisco paved with concrete in the name of sanitation, the process of reconstruction involved reenvisioning the places of both people and nature. In their zeal to restore their city, San Franciscans downplayed the role of the earthquake and persisted in choosing patterns of development that exacerbated risk. In this close study of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Joanna L. Dyl examines the decades leading up to the catastrophic event and the city’s recovery from it. Combining urban environmental history and disaster studies, Seismic City demonstrates how the crisis and subsequent rebuilding reflect the dynamic interplay of natural and human influences that have shaped San Francisco.