Author Description

The text offers a comprehensive and unique perspective on disaster risk associated with natural hazards. It covers a wide range of topics, reflecting the most recent debates but also older and pioneering discussions in the academic field of disaster studies as well as in the policy and practical areas of disaster risk reduction and management. Disaster Risk offers a uniquely flexible teaching resource through its innovative structure. It emphasises two main reading pathways, the first focuses on the interactions between the human and natural dimensions of disasters and constitutes the conventional and linear structure of the book, which includes five main sections including the nature and impact of disasters; people's vulnerabilities and capacities; natural hazards; people's response to and resilience after disasters; and disaster risk reduction and management. The second pathway cuts across the previous sections and addresses transversal issues. These streams look at natural hazards, vulnerability and capacities as well as cross-cutting issues such as gender, age and health; culture, knowledge and religion; urban vs rural areas; climate change; and sustainable development. This choice of pathways and streams is limited to keep reading easy. In addition it draws upon a wide range of examples and case studies from all over the world used as in-text vignettes and more substantial boxes distributed across the different chapters and streams. An associated website provides links to additional material and teaching and learning activities The four authors have extensive experience in the field of disaster studies and provide a wide range of expertise covering both the social and physical dimensions of disasters. In addition, they have a large experience as practitioners of disaster risk reduction and management and have extensively dealt with policy makers over the past two decades