On the 11th of March 2011, an earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter scale (the most powerful to ever strike Japan) hit the Tohoku region in northern Japan. The earthquake produced a devastating tsunami that wiped out coastal cities and towns, leaving 18,561 people dead or registered as missing. Due to the disaster, the capability of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), was compromised, causing nuclear meltdown. The hydrogen blast destroyed the facilities, resulting in a spread of radioactive materials, and, subsequently, serious nuclear contamination. This combined event – earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown – became known as the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster. This book examines the response of the Japanese government to the disaster, and its attempts to answer the legal questions posed by the combination of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. Japanese law, policy, and infrastructure were insufficiently prepared for these disasters, and the country’s weaknesses were brutally exposed. This book analyses these failings, and discusses what Japan, and other countries, can learn from these events.

This edited volume brings together experts, emerging scholars, and practitioners in the field of international disaster law from North America, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia to analyze the evolution of international disaster law as a field that encompasses new ideas about human rights, sovereignty, and technology.

The book identifies the main international concepts and rules that are of special relevance in disaster settings and critically analyses how they are implemented in such contexts. It shows that, although the crucial and growing importance of disaster response has resulted in a complex framework of international obligations, it is nonetheless guided by certain general principles/values. In particular, through an in-depth analysis of sovereignty, international cooperation and solidarity, and their manifestations in disaster contexts, the book assesses the concrete scope and nature of the obligations of the state affected by the disaster, and those of the international community, respectively. Considerable attention is devoted to the applicable legal framework governing disaster response in mixed situations of disaster and armed conflict, and to the main problems and operational challenges entailed by the involvement of foreign military personnel and assets in disaster response. The book’s overall objective is to provide an authoritative overview of the development, core issues and challenges in international law with regard to disaster scenarios, and to serve as a valuable and comprehensive reference guide.

This book looks at how legal frameworks can and do reduce risks arising out of disasters. The volume: analyses existing disaster laws and the challenges on the ground; brings together case studies from some of the most vulnerable regions; and proposes solutions to avert existing and possible future crises. The book offers appropriate legal frameworks for disaster management which could not only offer sustainable institutional reforms towards community resilience and preparedness but also reduce risk within the frameworks of justice, equity and accountability. It examines the intricacies of governance within which governments function and discusses how recent trends in infrastructure development and engineering technology could be balanced within the legal principles of ethics, transparency and integrity. The chapters in the volume suggest that legal frameworks ought to resonate with new challenges of resource management and climate change. Further, these frameworks could help secure citizens’ trust, institutional accountability and effective implementation through an unceasing partnership which keeps the community better prepared and more resilient. This volume will be indispensable to scholars and researchers of disaster management, law, public policy, environment and development studies as well as policymakers and those in administrative, governmental, judicial and development sectors.

Disasters and their management are today central to public and political agendas. Rather than being understood as exclusively acts of God and Nature, natural disasters are increasingly analysed as social vulnerability exposed by natural hazards. A disaster following an earthquake is no longer seen as caused exclusively by tremors, but by poor building standards, ineffective response systems, or miscommunications. This book argues that the shift in how a disaster is spoken of and managed affects fundamental notions of duty, responsibility and justice. The book considers the role of law in disasters and in particular the regulation of disaster response and the allocation of responsibility in the aftermath of disasters. It argues that traditionally law has approached emergencies, including natural disasters, from a dichotomy of normalcy and emergency. In the state of emergency, norms were replaced by exceptions; democracy by dictatorship; and rights by necessity. However, as the disaster becomes socialized the idea of a clear distinction between normalcy and emergency crumbles. Looking at international and domestic legislation from a range of jurisdictions the book shows how natural disasters are increasingly normalized and increasingly objects of legal regulation and interpretation. The book will be of great use and interest to scholars and researchers of legal theory, and natural hazards and disasters.

In The Role of International Environmental Law in Disaster Risk Reduction, edited by Jacqueline Peel and David Fisher, expert authors from four continents offer perspectives on the growing intersection between environmental law and disaster risk management. Chapters discuss the potential for retasking environmental law tools and principles for purposes of mitigating the harms of potential disasters, including those exacerbated by climate change, and approaches for linking institutions and approaches across the environmental, climate adaptation and disaster risk management fields internationally. This book illustrates the blurring distinction between natural and manmade disasters and the consequences for legal norms and practice in the formerly distinct areas of international environmental law and international disaster law.

The Law and Practice on Disaster Issues is the first and major publication in Nigeria to present legal materials from diverse fields of Law in a single value on disaster issues. The contributors are from universities in Nigeria, the UK and South Africa. The book contains fourteen chapters covering areas such as Disaster and International Law and law in Nigeria; Rights of Children in Disaster Management; Protecting Reproductive and Sexual Health Rights; Dealing with Corporate Failures in Times of Economic Crisis; Disability and Disaster Management; The Tort of Cattle Trespass in Nigeria; Averting a Looming Disaster; and Resettlement in Disaster Affected Areas.

With a Foreword by Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Over the last decades natural and man-made disasters have been increasing in terms of frequency, size, number of people affected and material damage caused. There is growing awareness of the importance of adequate national and international legal frameworks for disaster prevention, mitigation and response. The implementation of these frameworks, however, poses serious challenges. This book analyses International Disaster Response Law as developed in recent times and identifies the main existing normative gaps. The authors address the rights and duties of States in preventing and mitigating disasters, in facilitating access to their territory for humanitarian relief actors, as well as issues related to liability and compensation. Due attention is paid to European Union law governing disaster response (and to its reform in the light of the Lisbon Treaty) and to the main trends in domestic legislation. Human rights obligations are thoroughly examined and the potential relevance of international criminal law is assessed. Additional topics such as the status of relief personnel, the hindrances to the delivery of relief consignments by customs and excise administration, the use of civilian and military defence assets in emergency situations, the mechanisms and procedures available to offer financial support for recovery and rehabilitation, risk insurance, and the issue of corruption during disaster-related activities are specifically addressed. By drawing on the expertise of lawyers, political scientists, economists and humanitarian practitioners, the book promotes much-needed interdisciplinary dialog and sheds light on a largely uncharted field of research. It is therefore essential reading for academics and practitioners in international and EU law, policy makers, civil protection and humanitarian operators and for anyone interested in exploring the legal facets of the international community’s response to large-scale calamitous events. Over the last decades natural and man-made disasters have been increasing in terms of frequency, size, number of people affected and material damage caused. There is growing awareness of the importance of adequate national and international legal frameworks for disaster prevention, mitigation and response. The implementation of these frameworks, however, poses serious challenges. This book analyses International Disaster Response Law as developed in recent times and identifies the main existing normative gaps. The authors address the rights and duties of States in preventing and mitigating disasters, in facilitating access to their territory for humanitarian relief actors, as well as issues related to liability and compensation. Due attention is paid to European Union law governing disaster response (and to its reform in the light of the Lisbon Treaty) and to the main trends in domestic legislation. Human rights obligations are thoroughly examined and the potential relevance of international criminal law is assessed. Additional topics such as the status of relief personnel, the hindrances to the delivery of relief consignments by customs and excise administration, the use of civilian and military defence assets in emergency situations, the mechanisms and procedures available to offer financial support for recovery and rehabilitation, risk insurance, and the issue of corruption during disaster-related activities are specifically addressed. By drawing on the expertise of lawyers, political scientists, economists and humanitarian practitioners, the book promotes much-needed interdisciplinary dialog and sheds light on a largely uncharted field of research. It is therefore essential reading for academics and practitioners in international and EU law, policy makers, civil protection and humanitarian operators and for anyone interested in exploring the legal facets of the international community’s response to large-scale calamitous events.

Through assessing climate disaster law in relation to international, public, private and environmental law this Research Handbook considers the unique challenges, barriers and opportunities that climate disasters pose for law and policy. Scientific and empirical evidence suggests that the laws addressing natural disasters cannot be adequately applied to disasters that are caused by climate change. Featuring contributions from leading international experts, this Research Handbook will be a useful resource for those with an interest in environmental law and international policymaking.

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey knocked power out across a wide swath of Texas, including to the Arkema plant in Crosby. Without electricity, chemicals stored there caught fire and numerous first responders tasked with enforcing the evacuation perimeter were exposed to toxic fumes. A similar situation occurred in 2010, when first responders lacked the specialized equipment and necessary expertise to deal effectively with the British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This volume provides information about the legal considerations emergency responders and managers face when dealing with disasters, whether man-made or natural. Intended to assist Texas organizations and communities, many of the issues—such as mandatory evacuations and curfews, oil spills and hazardous materials and commandeering private property—will be of interest to agencies around the country. Flowcharts are included that can be reduced to a pocket-sized guide for personnel involved in mitigating the impact of catastrophes. The authors contend that a well-structured legal framework in disaster law increases a city’s resilience and ultimately reduces human suffering and costs. This guide is divided into three parts: Disaster Response Law; Identifying Authority; and Responsibility, Accountability and Liability. It also includes appendices and tables, skillsets and agency duties. It will be indispensable for increasing disaster preparedness in order to protect human life and property.