Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster (Routledge Physical Environment)

by KeithSmith (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1996

  $3.25

  Extreme geophysical events and an increasing array of technological hazards continue to put people and life at risk. The 2nd edition of Environmental Hazards offers up-to-date coverage of all major rapid-onset events - seismic, mass movement, atmospheric, hydrological and technological hazards - which directly threaten human life on a community scale. Presenting a complete introduction to enviromental hazards, this 2nd Edition has been expanded and enhanced with important new case studies, illustrations, statistical data and new material on mass movements and Third World vulnerability. Taking account of the most recent conceptual advances and insights from both earth and social sciences, this book offers an important contribution in the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.

• Used

  Paperback
  2009

  $3.25

  The expanded fifth edition of Environmental Hazards provides a balanced overview of all the major rapid-onset events that threaten people and what they value in the twenty-first century. It integrates cutting-edge material from the physical and social sciences to demonstrate how natural and human systems interact to place communities of all sizes, and at all stages of economic development, at risk. It also shows how the existing losses to life and property can be reduced.

  Part I of this established textbook defines basic concepts of hazard, risk, vulnerability and disaster. Critical attention is given to the evolution of theory, to the scale of disaster impact and to the various strategies that have been developed to minimise the impact of damaging events. Part II employs a consistent chapter structure to explain how individual hazards, such as earthquakes, severe storms, floods and droughts, plus biophysical and technological processes, create distinctive patterns of loss throughout the world. The ways in which different societies make a positive response to these threats are placed in the context of ongoing global change.

  In this extensively revised edition:

  • An entirely new and innovative chapter explains how modern-day complexity contributes to the generation of hazard and risk
  • Additional material supplies fresh perspectives on landslides, biophysical hazards and the increasingly important role of global-scale processes
  • The increased use of boxed sections allows a greater focus on significant generic issues and offers more opportunity to examine a carefully selected range of up-to-date case studies
  • Each chapter now concludes with an annotated list of key resources, including further reading and relevant websites.

  Environmental Hazards is a well-written and generously illustrated introduction to all the natural, social and technological events that combine to cause death and destruction across the globe. It draws on the latest research findings to guide the student from common problems, theories and policies to explore practical, real-world situations. This authoritative, yet accessible, book captures both the complexity and dynamism of environmental hazards and has become essential reading for students of every kind seeking to understand the nature and consequences of a most important contemporary issue.