One of the four core phases of emergency management, hazard mitigation is essential for reducing disaster effects on human populations and making communities more resilient to the impacts of hazards. Presenting an up-to-date look at the changing nature of disasters, Natural Hazard Mitigation offers practical guidance on the implementation and selec

Building upon presentations given during the conference on ‘Disaster Risk Reduction for Natural Hazards: Putting Research into Practice’, held at University College London in November 2009, the articles collected in this book examine how natural hazards research is accessed and used by practitioners and decision-makers, and conversely, how policy and practice inform research. As with the conference, this book successfully brings together views from humanitarian and development agencies, academia, business, government and funding bodies. It is rare to engage such a wide range of sectors in a discussion relating to the issues of disaster risk reduction from a natural hazards perspective, and the book captures this interaction and the resultant exchange of ideas, thus providing an insight into how stakeholders respectively undertake or engage with natural hazards research. Collectively, the articles highlight the need for greater dialogue, understanding and collaboration between all these sectors if research is to be made relevant and generate significant impact on risk reduction policy and practice. There is an urgent requirement to better understand the respective needs, ways of working, project timescales and funding mechanisms for disaster risk reduction, as well as the challenges posed by institutional and organizational structures and functions. These issues must be overcome to ensure that ultimately, and most significantly, discussions turn into positive practical actions so that research on natural hazards is relevant and applicable. The book represents a step in that journey. This book was published as a special issue of Environmental Hazards.

These chapters provide valuable and comprehensive information on a variety of hazards, including both scientific and social aspects of disasters. The work introduces the concept of large, medium and small scale hazards, and includes many useful case studies as well as working examples of theoretical concepts. As readers will acknowledge, today the distinction between natural and technological hazards is becoming blurred and a new concept of NATECH hazards is evolving. For permanent hazards (such as tides, wind waves, coastal erosion and climate change) routine predictions are made, whereas for evanescent hazards (including droughts, sea level rise, and coastal subsidence), monitoring of various parameters is the norm. Only for episodic hazards (for example hurricanes, winter storms, tsunamis, and river floods), early warning systems are used, with varying degrees of success. The book explores how, for certain episodic hazards like tornadoes, landslides, forest fires, snow avalanches, and volcanic eruptions, the early warning systems are still in various stages of development. Readers will gain knowledge of theoretical and practical concepts of risk evaluation which assist in better understanding of disaster dynamics, and readers will become better equipped in quantification of disaster risk and vulnerability. The author explains how risk reduction initiatives, taking into account stakeholders’ participation and perception, can provide a roadmap to building resilient communities and cities. This book will be useful not only to practitioners of disaster management but also to research scholars and graduate students. It is highly readable and will appeal more broadly too, to all those who are interested in the very latest thinking on, and expert analysis of, hazards and disasters.

This textbook provides a thorough introduction to natural disaster risk management. Many aspects of disaster risk management, such as those involved in earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, avalanches and mudslides call for similar prevention and preparedness instruments, management concepts, and countermeasures. This textbook assumes the viewpoint of a regional disaster risk manager who is responsible for a certain area, and for making the lives of the people who live there safer, regardless of the type of natural disaster that may occur. The same holds true for boosting preparedness and awareness in the population at risk. The book includes numerous examples of hazard mitigation concepts and techniques, as well as ways of intensively involving the local population in prevention schemes at an early stage. Furthermore, it provides an in-depth examination of the function of risk communication, both as an instrument for disseminating official information and as a function of public media. In closing, a chapter on risk splitting offers insights into insurance-based models for risk financing. This comprehensive book is a must-read for all students, researchers and practitioners dealing with natural disaster risk management.

The Handbook provides a comprehensive statement and reference point for hazard and disaster research, policy making, and practice in an international and multi-disciplinary context. It offers critical reviews and appraisals of current state of the art and future development of conceptual, theoretical and practical approaches as well as empirical knowledge and available tools. Organized into five inter-related sections, this Handbook contains sixty-five contributions from leading scholars. Section one situates hazards and disasters in their broad political, cultural, economic, and environmental context. Section two contains treatments of potentially damaging natural events/phenomena organized by major earth system. Section three critically reviews progress in responding to disasters including warning, relief and recovery. Section four addresses mitigation of potential loss and prevention of disasters under two sub-headings: governance, advocacy and self-help, and communication and participation. Section five ends with a concluding chapter by the editors. The engaging international contributions reflect upon the politics and policy of how we think about and practice applied hazard research and disaster risk reduction. This Handbook provides a wealth of interdisciplinary information and will appeal to students and practitioners interested in Geography, Environment Studies and Development Studies.

Climate change is increasingly of great concern to the world community. The earth has witnessed the buildup of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, changes in biodiversity, and more occurrences of natural disasters. Recently, scientists have begun to shift their emphasis away from curbing carbon dioxide emission to adapting to carbon dioxide emission. The increase in natural disasters around the world is unprecedented in earth's history and these disasters are often associated to climate changes. Many nations along the coastal lines are threatened by massive floods and tsunamis. Earthquakes are increasing in intensity and erosion and droughts are problems in many parts of the developing countries. This book is therefore to investigate ways to prepare and effectively manage these disasters and possibly reduce their impacts. The focus is on mitigation strategies and policies that will help to reduce the impacts of natural disasters. The book takes an in-depth look at climate change and its association to socio-economic development and cultures especially in vulnerable communities; and investigates how communities can develop resilience to disasters. A balanced and a multiple perspective approach to manage the risks associated with natural disasters is offered by engaging authors from the entire globe to proffer solutions.

This book documents the First World Landslide Forum, which was jointly organized by the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL), eight UN organizations (UNESCO, WMO, FAO, UN/ISDR, UNU, UNEP, World Bank, UNDP) and four NGOs (International Council for Science, World Federation of Engineering Organizations, Kyoto Univ. and Japan Landslide Society) in Tokyo in 2008. The material consists of four parts: The Open Forum "Progress of IPL Activities; Four Thematic Lectures in the Plenary Symposium "Global Landslide Risk Reduction"; Six Keynote Lectures in the Plenary session; and the aims and overviews of eighteen parallel sessions (dealing with various aspects necessary for landslide disaster risk reduction such as: observations from space; climate change and slope instability; landslides threatening heritage sites; the economic and social impact of landslides; monitoring, prediction and early warning; and risk-management strategies in urban area, etc.) Thus it enables the reader to benefit from a wide range of research intended to reduce risk due to landslide disasters as presented in the first global multi-disciplinary meeting.

One of the best ways to improve collective knowledge and practice is through sharing experiences and knowledge between different stakeholders. The idea for the current monograph followed such an approach. The monograph presents six best practice examples from six of the project’s Pilot Action Regions (PAR). It is one of the deliverables of the GreenRisk4ALPs project funded by the EU Interreg Alpine Space program. The project aims to develop decision support tools supporting risk-based protective forest management in the Alpine Space. All main outputs of the project have been tested, improved and operationally applied in the PARs. The monograph is primarily intended for forestry experts, decision-makers at all levels of decision-making and other professionals.

The use of regional organizations to mitigate and respond to disasters has become a global trend. This book examines the role regional organizations play in managing disaster risk through a comparative study of ten regional organizations, demonstrating their current limitations and future potential.