• Description
• Images (1)
• Contents
• Write a review
• Author Bio

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 give a clear account of how natural and technological processes operate to place communities of all sizes at risk.

The first section introduces the concept of hazard by outlining the evolution of theory, the nature of risk and disaster together with an appraisal of the various strategies that have been developed to minimise the impact of damaging events. The second employs a consistent chapter structure to show how individual hazards, such as earthquakes, severe storms, floods and droughts, plus biophysical and technological processes, create distinctive patterns of loss in rich and poor countries throughout the world and to demonstrate the various ways in which societies can respond to these threats.

This extensively revised edition includes an entirely new chapter explaining the complex interactions between natural and human systems in the generation of hazard and risk. Substantial amounts of new material have also been added on human vulnerability, landslides, biophysical hazards and the increasingly important role of global-scale processes in the present period of rapid environmental change.