Introduction: Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society

Collins, Andrew, Manyena, Bernard, Jayawickrama, Janaka and Jones, Samantha (2015) Introduction: Hazards, Risks, and Disasters in Society. In: Hazards, Risks and Disasters in Society. Hazards and Disasters . Elsevier, London, pp. 1-15. ISBN 9780123964519

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

This introductory chapter outlines why it is important to explore in more depth the relationships between environmental hazards, risks, and disasters in society. It presents an introduction to the challenges presented by mainstream approaches to the human side of disaster studies, whereby perspectives on environmental hazards and human development meet policy and practice. This is informed by analyzing the influences of extreme environmental events on society, exposure factors, and the nature of emergent systems of response. In this field, people are considered as vulnerable and resilient to disaster impacts, suffering, or prospering in times of climate change, development, societal instability, and governance scenarios that can be unpredictable and out of control. This is in part balanced by hope in the emergence of new-found awareness and capacity, to be able to live with hazards and risks, cope with disaster, and prosper socially and economically. A challenge presented by hazards, risks, and disasters is to achieve the capacity to both anticipate the unexpected and act on the known. A wealth of well-grounded emergent knowledge and experience exists to facilitate this, some of the most enlightening and innovative of which is revealed in the selection of contributions to this volume.

Item Type:	Book Section
Subjects:	L700 Human and Social Geography
Department:	Faculties > Engineering and Environment > Geography and Environmental Sciences
Related URLs:	Publisher
Depositing User:	Paul Burns
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2015 10:29
Last Modified:	12 Oct 2019 22:26
URI:	http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/23953

Downloads