At risk : natural hazards, people's vulnerability and disasters / Ben Wisner ... [and others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Wisner, Ben.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Natural disasters.

Physical Description:

xix, 471 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Routledge ; New York : Routledge, [2004]

Summary:

The term "natural disaster" is often used to refer to natural events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, or floods. However, the phrase suggests an uncritical acceptance of a deeply engrained ideological and cultural myth. "At Risk" questions this myth and argues that extreme natural events are not disasters until a vulnerable group of people is exposed. This new edition of "At Risk" confronts a further ten years of ever more expensive and deadly disasters since it was first published, and discusses disaster not as an aberration, but as a signal failure of mainstream development. Two analytical models are provided as tools for understanding vulnerability. One links remote and distant root causes to unsafe conditions in a progression of vulnerability. The other uses the concepts of access and livelihood to understand why some households are more vulnerable than others. The book then concludes with strategies to create a safer world.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 377-446) and index.

ISBN:

0415252156

0415252164

OCLC:

52133282