Regions of Risk: A Geographical Introduction to Disasters (Themes in Resource Management)

Regions At Risk Provides An Introduction To Hazards, Human Vulnerability And Disaster, Paying Particular Attention To The More Severe Or Novel Risks And Disaster That Affect The General Public. The Book Is Split Into Two Parts, The First Of Which Gives An Overview Of The Field Of Risk And Disaster In Terms Of Three Perspectives: Hazards Perspective; Vulnerability Perspective And The Active Perspective. The Second Part Illustrates And Develops These Ideas In Relation To Some Of The More Severe Dangers And Disasters Of The Twentienth Century, For Example, Earthquake Risk, Cities At Risk And The Civil Disasters Of War. It Provides Essential Reading For Senior Undergraduates Of Hazard, Disaster And Risk Courses, As Part Of Geography, Environmental Science, Resource Management Or Development Studies Degree. It Also Provides Valuable Reading For Those Concerned With Issues Of Public Safety, Services, Insurable Environmental Risks And Disaster Relief. Introduction: Danger And Modernity -- Pt. 1. Approaches To Risk And Disaster. Ch. 1. Risk And Damaging Events. Ch. 2. The 'geographicalness' Of Disaster. Ch. 3. Natural Hazards. Ch. 4. Technological Hazards. Ch. 5. Social Hazards: Violence And The Disasters Of War. Ch. 6. Vulnerability Perspectives: The Human Ecology Of Endangerment. Ch. 7. Active Perspectives: Responses To Disaster And Adjustments To Risk -- Pt. 2. Communities At Risk, Places Of Disaster. Ch. 8. 'unnatural' Disasters: The Case Of Earthquake Hazards. Ch. 9. Contexts Of Risk: Mountain Land Hazards And Vulnerabilities. Ch. 10. Risk In The City. Ch. 11. Place Annihilation: Air War And The Vulnerability Of Cities. Ch. 12. The Holocaust: Genocide And Geographical Calamity -- Concluding Remarks: The Perspective Of Ideas. Kenneth Hewitt. Includes Bibliographical Reference (p. 365-382) And Index. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 8 List of figures 12 List of tables 14 Foreword 18 Acknowledgements 20 Introduction Danger and modernity 22 Chronic and extreme dangers 25 The 'geographicalness' of risks 33 Part 1 Approaches to risk and disaster 40 Chapter 1 Risk and damaging events 42 Approaching danger 42 Perspectives on risks 45 Summary 60 Chapter 2 The 'geographicalness' of disaster 61 The space of danger and places of disaster 61 Dangerous geography 63 Where can one be safe? 71 Geographical calamities 74 Chapter 3 Natural hazards 76 Introduction 76 Domains and classes of natural hazard 84 Forms of endangerment 92 Floods and droughts 101 Chapter 4 Technological hazards 112 The scope of technological risks 112 Occasions of technological harm 114 Technological hazards in context 121 Transcendent hazards 128 Chapter 5 Social hazards: violence and the disasters of war 132 The problem of violence 132 Violent hazards 137 Forms of damage and processes of harm 149 Chapter 6 Vulnerability perspectives: the human ecology of endangerment 162 The idea and scope of vulnerability 162 The anatomy of insecurity 164 Interpreting vulnerability 172 Vulnerability and disease 178 Geographies of vulnerability 185 Chapter 7 Active perspectives: responses to disaster and adjustments to risk 190 Introduction: questions of response 190 The context and scope of action 191 Organisation, practice and public policy 209 Choices, values and powers 212 Part 2 Communities at risk, places of disaster 216 Chapter 8 'Unnatural' disasters: the case of earthquake hazards 218 Earthquake damage 223 Earthquake risk 233 The space of disaster events 240 Earthquake country 245 Chapter 9 Contexts of risk: mountain land hazards and vulnerabilities 253 Mountain habitats and risks 255 Mountain hazards and disasters 257 Mountain land vulnerabilities 274 Disasters and development: two mountain land examples 276 Chapter 10 Risk in the city 287 Urban problems 287 Hazards and urban disasters 290 Safe cities or defenceless spaces? 314 Chapter 11 Place annihilation: air war and the vulnerability of cities 317 The disasters of air war 317 The vulnerability of urban areas and civil life 326 Place annihilation: an interpretation 340 Chapter 12 The Holocaust: genocide and geographical calamity 342 The hazards: processes of the Holocaust 350 Vulnerability and genocide 357 Alternative adjustments to genocide 362 Concluding remarks The perspective of ideas 370 Appendix 382 Bibliography 386 Index 404 A Geographical Introduction to Disasters Providing a general introduction to the key concepts and existing debates within the field of hazards, human vulnerability and disaster, this text is concerned with more severe or novel disasters. The book draws upon case studies involving natural and technological hazards and social violence.