The term 'natural disaster' is often used to refer to natural events
such as earthquakes, hurricanes or floods. However, the phrase 'natural
disaster' 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.
The updated new edition confronts a further ten years of ever more
expensive and deadly disasters 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.
Examining key natural events and incorporating strategies to create a
safer world, this revised edition is an important resource for those
involved in the fields of environment and development studies.