Population and Disaster

This book is concerned with natural and man-made disasters, and their immediate effects on the populations they afflict. It looks at epidemics, famines, war, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and tornadoes, as well as such man made disasters as Chernobyl, 3-Mile Island and Bhopal. Twenty-two demographers and geographers from all over the world present case studies and general articles on the causes, immediate impact and long term consequences of population catastrophes. The book as a whole focuses on the disasters in the twentieth century, particularly those that have taken place in the last twenty years. The authors examine the demographic consequences of such crises, in terms, for example, of their effect on morbidity, mortality, fertility and migration as well as their impact on social, economic and political structures. They are also concerned to assess the extent of human settlement in potentially hazardous areas (and to consider why people, even when knowing the likelihood of disaster, continue to occupy them) and to identify the range of human adjustments to extreme events.
They examine the way in which people perceive and react to disasters, and consider the adjustments and choices people make to minimize the magnitude of disaster impact, as well as the effectiveness of official relief action upon the lives of disaster victims. "Population and Disaster" covers virtually every region of the world: developed, developing, capitalist and socialist, and with reference to both short-term and the long-term consequences.