This publication is a comprehensive look at how the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have dealt with the enormous and recurring impact of natural disasters on their lives and fragile economies. Published as a contribution from this Region to the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction in 1994, the book traces the transition from an era of improvised response and poorly coordinated international assistance to the more aggressive stance on disaster preparedness and prevention taken in many countries today.--Publisher's description.

Storms, tornados, floods, wildfires—the world is full of natural disasters that do terrible damage to our homes, towns, and cities. Knowing how to prepare for a natural disaster and what you can do if one does happen is the best way to keep yourself safe.

Includes statistics.

Traces the effects of the powers of nature on the world, including disasters from earthquakes to droughts.

Be prepared with today's best, up-to-date advice on first aid, home safety, natural disasters, emergencies, and more with this complete family guide. Includes an Introduction by Randall C. Duncan, director of Emergency Management in Sedgwick County, Kansas.

Stefan Hochrainer develops a catastrophe risk management model. It illustrates which trade-offs and choices a country must make in managing economic risks due to natural disasters. Budgetary resources are allocated to pre-disaster risk management strategies to reduce the probability of financing gaps. The framework and model approach allows cross country comparisons as well as the assessment of financial vulnerability, macroeconomic risk, and risk management strategies. Three case studies demonstrate its flexibility and coherent approach.

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.

This is a comprehensive guide to all types of natural and man made disasters and their effect on buildings. It gives overall guidance and a basic technical understanding of prevention, mitigation and management of disaster, and outlines a checklist of preventive design elements for each situation. Every category is illustrated with a case study which pin points the essential information that is crucial to architects and engineers in designing buildings with disaster prevention in mind. The aim of the book is to give a clear understanding of the nature of events and problems, and to enable readers to respond with knowledge to the unique demands placed on their designs. A special emphasis is also placed on re-building as an opportunity to start again. For the specialists this is a process of constant learning and improving techniques in the light of events past.

Including 425 signed entries in a two-volume set presented in A-to-Z format, and drawing contributors from varied academic disciplines, entries examine disaster response and relief in a manner that is authoritative yet accessible, jargon-free, and balanced to help readers better understand issues from varied perspectives.