Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research – serie

Opening a window on current research on tsunamis, this book is a selection of 16 contributions out of the 39 presentations given at the 15th International Tsunami Symposium (Vienna, August 1991), i.e. at the last of the international meetings that are organized every second year by the IUGG International Tsunami Commission, and that are the most important, awaited and attended forums for the international scientific community of experts in tsunami sciences. The papers, rigorously scrutinized by an international board of referees, cover the most prominent aspects of current tsunami research, including the experimental observations, and the theoretical, analytical and numerical modelling of the basic phenomena, such as tsunami generation, open-ocean wave propagation, and waves impacting and inundating the coasts. The important social issues of coastal protection and hazard reduction are also dealt with in specific articles. The book contains few technicalities which means that it should be suitable for people involved in tsunami research as well as for a more general public: geophysicists, oceanologists, and Earth scientists.It should also be useful for authorities responsible for social security and natural hazard mitigation plans, and for students who wish to understand and study tsunamis.

This collection of articles provides an overview of the state of the science in the prediction of and response to natural disaster events. The volume comprises more than just the physical science perspective. For each natural hazard included in this text, social scientists have provided research summaries of how public perceptions are related to the action that are likely to be undertaken when people are confronted with information about the existence of a natural hazard threat. In this book the reader can find a truly international characterization of both hazard perception and prediction. The American and European contributors provide state-of-the-science overviews of empirically-based research knowledge that expands beyond any national boundaries. This approach has resulted in broader understanding of what is currently known about predicting natural hazard events and predicting how those events, or warnings of them, will be responded to by different types of societies.

Between 1974 and 1994 the costs of natural disasters escalated significantly. The lives of over 800 million people were disrupted and the number of catastrophes nearly quadrupled. At present, the increasing global threat of natural disasters, in spite of our increased knowledge, is ominous. With the growth in world population, the increase of resources in newly developing areas, and the increasing cost and sophistication of engineering structures and technical installations, there is an urgent need to seek to understand the potential threats posed by natural hazards and to ascertain the best ways of mitigating their damaging effects. To meet this urgent threat, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly passed a Resolution on December 22, 1989 which declared the 1990s to be the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). As a contribution to the decade, the International Symposium Hazards-91 was held in Perugia, Italy, from 4-9 August 1991. The conference was attended by specialists from 34 countries, and a total of 110 papers were presented at 20 sessions, covering a broad range of topics which proved to be of significant value for future research.The 16 articles included in this book provide an overview of the state-of-the-science in geophysical hazards including climatic, atmospheric, hydrological and geological hazards. Furthermore, the results of a panel on the IDNDR and the recommendations adopted during the meeting are presented at the end of this volume. The text should thus be a useful reference source for scientists, engineers and policy makers.

The Sixteenth International Tsunami Symposium, TSUNAMI `93, drew more than 150 scientists, engineers and specialists in tsunami research and disaster mitigation from 13 countries. The leading contributions to the symposium, selected after a rigorous reviewing process, are presented here under three broad headings: Tsunami Generation, Propagation and Inundation - Their Prediction and Simulation; Tsunami Disasters - Their Prevention and Mitigation; and Tsunami Observations, and Warning Systems and Plans for Improvement. This book is intended for scientists, engineers and graduate students interested in the prediction of earthquakes and tsunamis, tsunami disasters and their prevention and mitigation. It may also be of interest to professionals in the field of coastal management and protection.

The 16 contributions to this report detail investigations into landslides, floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and groundwater pollution hazards. Methods for predicting extreme events are critically discussed, the emphasis being on the intrinsic complexity of this type of operation, requiring many spatial data, long historical records and sound models of the physical processes involved. Within this context, the potentials and limitations of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are addressed in terms of data acquisition, spatial data structures and modelling for simulation of the causal phenomena. This text is designed to aid investigators in both public and private institutions to evaluate the actual effectiveness of GIS in coping with natural disasters, and to develop new strategies for projects aimed at the assessment and mitigation of the effects of such catastrophic events.

The papers in this text cover aspects of current research in earthquake hazard and seismic risk. They address the algorithms and methodology used in seismological applications, the reliability of these techniques with the decreasing level of probability and uncertainty associated with various seismotectonic settings, the physical and statistical nature of earthquake occurrences, strong ground motions and effects of surface seismogeological conditions. The work includes papers that illustrate the assessment of earthquake hazard and seismic risk through applications at sites in either inter-plate or intra-plate tectonic settings. These papers also cover hazard assessment in regions of rare large earthquakes.

Causes of major disasters are many and diverse, and the risks associated with them endanger human lives, property, the environment, the economy, and even the country's political and social well-being. It is clear that, with rapid population growth, environmental degradation, climate change, poorly regulated industries, and continued economic uncertainty, the chances are that communities may become more vulnerable to disasters. The dramatic losses in recent years from volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and landslides, wildland fires, droughts and floods, cyclones and storm surges attest to the fact that we are still a long way from applying even the knowledge we have today to make communities safe. Tackling this problem requires a sound evaluation of disaster mitigation policies and tools. As a contribution to the International Decade for Natural Disasters Reduction (IDNDR), the fifth International Symposium HAZARDS-93 was held in Qingdao, China on 29 August - 3 September, 1993. China is a country frequently hit by almost all kinds of disasters. Its history is one of combating natural disasters and working towards their reduction.More than 250 scientists, engineers and government officials from 20 countries met for the purpose of engaging in a free exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas regarding the scientific and socio-economic aspects of mitigating losses from natural and man-made disasters. A total of 180 papers were presented at 28 sessions covering a very broad range of topics related to disaster management. The 21 articles included in this book deal with the scientific and management issues of land-based and marine hazards which cause the most severe economic losses, deaths and environmental degradation in many parts of the world. The book also includes specific recommendations addressed to the IDNDR Secretariat, national governments and scientific experts to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of disaster management.

Presenting a systematic planning approach to risk communication, this work aims to show how to improve communication processes in the management of technological, environmental, and natural risks. The systematic planning approach focuses on research activities which are considered to be diagnostic tools providing insight into the public's reactions to risks and into the public's cognitive abilities to process risk information. These studies aim to provide the ingredients for an adequate risk communication from the audience side of the risk communication process. Evaluation studies are considered necessary to monitor the effectiveness of the communication. The book provides a review of current research in risk communication, focusing on perceived trust and credibility of risk communication sources, and arguments in risk messages, risk comparison, and framing of risk. Special attention is paid to the mass media context of risks and its impact on public perception. Finally, the potential of the new interactive media for risk communication is reviewed. The authors have performed several communication studies in the risk area, working from their social psychological background.This results in a monograph which should be interesting to those working on risk communication issues on an academic level, but the systematic planning approach is also a useful frame of reference for risk communication practitioners, or for those who are just interested in the often complex risk communication issues.

Tsunamis remain an ever-present threat to lives and property along the coasts of most of the world's oceans. This volume, comprising papers presented at the 17th International Tsunami Symposium, highlights critical advances in key areas of tsunami hazard reduction. One group of papers describes observational aspects of tsunami research, including reconstruction of events during specific tsunamis, and advanced techniques for measurements and for improving our overall knowledge of tsunami events. Another section applies numerical and observational methods to understanding tsunami generation and propagation and the prediction of tsunami effects in coastal zones. A final part examines the evolving efforts to provide rapid, accurate, and comprehensive warnings to coastal populations. This emphasizes the interdisciplinary nature of tsunami research and its ultimate focus: reducing coastal hazards. This book should be of interest to researchers and graduate students involved in natural hazards research, physical oceanography, seismology, environmental impact assessment and risk assessment.

Presenting first-hand longitudinal research on the riverine hazards in Bangladesh, this interdisciplinary text addresses the profound significance of the societal aspects and human-geographical dimensions of natural disasters. The characteristics and nature of responses to floods and riverbank-erosion hazards are examined, as well as the assessment of their impact. The book argues that disaster impacts are caused as much by social, economic, political and cultural factors as they are by the fickle physical environment of the quaternary alluvial flood-plains, and that massive physical-structural intervention in event controlling could become ineffective. A new approach is offered which considers the ecological sensitivity and dynamics of the Ganges-Brahmaputra deltaic system, and the related socio-cultural adaptations of people to these riverine events. Intended for research scientists and students of geography, anthropology, ecology and environmental, population and development studies, the book is also aimed at professionals specializing in natural and anthropogenic disasters.

This volume contains papers presented at The First International Workshop on Vrancea Earthquakes. Strong earthquakes in the Tomanian Vrancea area have caused a high toll of casualties and extensive damage over the last several centuries. With a moment magnitude of 7.4, the 1977 earthquake caused more than 1500 casualties, the majority of them in Bucharest. The contributions address key problems of seismotectonics of the Vrancea area and related strong ground motion, hazard assessment, site effects and microzonation, structural damage and earthquake resistant design, risk assessment and disaster management from an international and regional perspective. This list of topics shows the diverse contributions from the multidisciplinary fields of geosciences, geophysics, seismology, geology, civil engineering, city planning, and emergency relief practices. This book is of value for scientists interested in earthquake hazard and seismic risk research as well as for seismologists, geophysicists and Earth scientists.

This volume contains selected presentations made at the Second International Conference on Earthquake Hazard and Seismic Risk Reduction held in Yerevan, Armenia, on 14-21 September 1998. The 46 contributions from authors from over 20 countries provide an overview of the achievements and experiences of different countries in disaster reduction since 1988. These contributions are presented in the volume in three parts, namely Disaster Reduction, Earthquake Hazards, and Earthquake Engineering. This text should help to shape the direction that international disaster prevention will take by identifying crucial program functions and essential institutional responsibilities in the field of disaster reduction after the IDNDR. Audience: This volume contains valuable information for seismologists, geophysicists, earth scientists, engineers, architects, and psychologists interested in earthquake hazard and seismic risk research. It should also be useful for authorities responsible for public safety and natural hazards mitigation plans, and for insurance companies.

This volume contains descriptions of about 300 tsunami and of similar known phenomena in the Mediterranean Sea. Earthquakes and other processes generating tsunami are also described. The intensity of tsunami waves is estimated, and the causes of tsunami generation are given together with the reliability of the information. The literary data are given on coordinates and magnitudes of tsunamigenic earthquakes. 18 zones of tsunami generation are identified, which have been subdivided into four groups according to the maximum intensity and periodicity.

Drought is one of the major natural hazards, resulting in significant economic, social, and environmental costs. In Europe, water shortage is an important problem in many regions. However, despite the increasing awareness of this hazard, there is no European drought policy and institutional frameworks to cope with drought situations are only weakly developed. This book is dedicated to furthering an understanding of the drought problem in Europe and to discussing policy and management options to mitigate its impacts. It covers aspects from the detection of water stress to the planning of mitigation strategies. The contributions are written by recognised experts in their field.

Crises like the BSE and GM food crisis, and the Concorde crash in July 2000, have illustrated that large business and public sector organizations are vulnerable and can suffer from major disruption to their business. Awareness of the need to develop expertise in risk management has grown. As a result, new programmes of research and teaching in all areas of risk and crisis management have been developed at various universities. The contributions in this volume are selected by adopting a multi-disciplinary approach to risk, and by considering the implications for management, business and society. The contributions are written by recognized experts in their fields and represent a unique collection of papers on the topic. The book should be of benefit to scientists, managers, politicians and trainers in academia, business and industry involved in risk analysis, assessment and management, regulation and deregulation of risk, crisis management and accidents and disasters.

This work highlights the use of historical data in natural hazard assessments. Different types of data, such as historical data from written documents, are linked to technically measured data such as stream gauge height and consequently river discharge in order to archive new possibilities of probability determination of respective hazardous processes. In addition, this book strengthens this interdisciplinary approach through the application to different processes of earthquakes, floods, and landslides. Based on worldwide examples, the book introduces how various disciplines address the use of historical data in their respective analyses. These studies might give suggestions of new approaches in their own field derived from applications shown by other disciplines.

This volume, derived from the 1999 International Tsunami Symposium, presents a unique look at the state of tsunami research at the end of the 20th century. It displays recent progress both in data recovery and reconstructions of historical tsunamis and in detail examination of recent disasters. It shows the tsunami community using both traditional methods of data gathering - searching archives and attempting to simulate past events - and integrating modern technologies - side-scan sonar, GPS, global communications, supercomputers - in the quest to understand tsunamis and improve mankind's ability to mitigate the disastrous consequences of these unpredictable and unstoppable events. It chronicles recent advances in mitigation efforts while illuminating the continuing need for increased efforts. The papers range from descriptive texts for the non-specialists to fairly technical discussions for those familiar with tsunami research. Audience: This book will be of interest to researchers and graduate students involved in natural hazards research, physical oceanography, seismology, environmental impact assessment and risk assessment.

Did you know that the Grand Bank earthquake of 1929 triggered a huge submarine mass movement which broke submarine cables over a distance of up to 1000 km from its source and generated a tsunami which devastated a small village in Newfoundland killing 27 people? The same happened in Papua New Guinea in 1998 with more than 2000 casualties. Submarine mass movements of various sizes and styles are shaping the sea floor and are of concern for many facets of human activities both onshore and offshore. These include the development of natural resources, energy and communication transport, coastal infrastructures and communities. This book provides a world-wide perspective of submarine mass movements and their consequences. This has been made possible by assembling excellent contributions from active researchers, groups, or institutions, thus providing full coverage of the many scientific and engineering aspects of this type of marine and coastal geo-hazard.It covers fundamental as well as site specific studies from many areas including the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, inner seas like the Mediterranean Sea, and fjords using the most recent technologies from multibeam sonar imaging techniques, 3D seismic analysis, slope stability analysis, to debris flow and tsunami modeling. Audience: This book is of interest to any researcher in the field of marine and coastal geo-hazards. It will be useful for planners, scientists and engineers involved in the development of offshore and near-shore resources and also to those in charge of the management and mitigation of coastal hazards. For graduate students, this book provides an up-to-date vision of the process of submarine mass movements and their consequences from both a scientific and an engineering standpoint, and it includes a unique collection of the existing literature on marine geo-hazards. CD-Rom included. This volume contains a CD-Rom which in addition to an electronically searchable version of the contributions, has full colour versions of figures which are printed in black and white in the book.

Caribbean Tsunamis - A 500-Year History from 1498-1998 broadly characterizes the nature of tsunamis in the Caribbean Sea, while bearing in mind both scientific aspects as well as potential interest by the many governments and populations likely to be affected by the hazard. Comprehension of the nature of tsunamis and past effects is crucial for the awareness and education of populations at risk. Audience: This book provides a thorough, yet highly accessible review of tsunamis in the Caribbean. It is of interest not only to tsunami and natural hazards specialists at academia and governmental institutes, but also to policy makers and to the general public.

Reports of natural disasters fill the media with regularity. Places in the world are affected by natural disaster events every day. Such events include earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis, wildfires – the list could go on for considerable length. In the 1990s there was a concentrated focus on natural disaster information and mitigation during the International Decade for Natural Disasters Reduction (IDNDR). The information was technical and provided the basis for major initiatives in building structures designed for seismic safety, slope stability, severe storm warning systems, and global monitoring and reporting. Mitigation, or planning in the event that natural hazards prevalent in a region would suddenly become natural disasters, was a major goal of the decade-long program. During the IDNDR, this book was conceptualized, and planning for its completion began. The editors saw the need for a book that would reach a broad range of readers who were not actively or directly engaged in natural disasters relief or mitigation planning, but who were in decision-making positions that provided an open window for addressing natural disaster issues. Those people were largely elected public officials, teachers, non-governmental organization staff, and staff of faith-based organizations. Those people, for the most part, come to know very well the human and physical characteristics of the place in which they are based. With that local outreach in mind, the editors intended the book to encourage readers to: 1.

In 1992 Australia’s Commonwealth and State governments announced the introduction of a National Drought Policy adopting an innovative risk management approach, which received broad support from Australia’s major political parties and the policy community. This trail-blazing attempt and the experiences with the development and implementation of this policy over the past decade have intrigued the international scientific and policy communities. The present book comprises an academically focused collection of papers, which the Editors hope will provide others moving in a similar direction with the benefit of experience. The work highlights the successes and challenges of a move from disaster to risk management in responding to drought.As such it will be a valuable and useful addition to the international literature on drought preparedness and response.

This book contains 20 papers reflecting the state-of-the-art tsunami research. Most of them were presented at the two international meetings held in 2003: the 21st International Tsunami Symposium, held on July 9 and 10th as a part of IUGG general assembly in Sapporo, Japan, and an International Workshop on Tsunamis in the South Pacific, held on September 25 and 26th in Wellington, New Zealand. More recent work, including the field survey report of the Tokachi-oki earthquake tsunami of September 26, 2003, is also included. Synolakis and Okall summarize the survey results of International Tsunami Survey Teams, as well as seismological and numerical modelling studies of 15 tsunami events occurred between 1992 and 2002. In this active decade of tsunami disasters, the tsunami community has learned how to organize ITST, describe, document and share the results of surveys. The authors also propose a method to discriminate the seismic tsunamis from landslide tsunamis based on the observed runup heights, and demonstrate it for the recent tsunamis. Power et al. report the tsunamis generated by the 2003 Fiordland, New Zealand, earthquake (M 7. 2). This earthquake generated two kinds of tsunamis; a local large (4-5 m) tsunami generated by rockslide in a sound, and a smaller tsunami generated by earthquake fa aulting and detected on tide gauges in Australia. Three papers discuss volcanic tsunamis in the western Pacific region. Nishimura et al. report the tsunami from the 1994 eruption of Rabaul volcanoes.

Tsunamis are among the world’s most dangerous and destructive natural phenomena. The catastrophic tsunami of December 26, 2004 claimed over 300000 lives. These numerous catastrophic tsunamis have caused a significant increase in scientific interest of this natural hazard. About 85% of all tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean and are the products of submarine earthquakes around the Pacific Rim, where collisions of tectonic plates form highly active seismic subductive zones. The Great Cascadia Earthquake of January 26, 1700, which occurred near the west coast of Canada, produced a catastrophic tsunami which affected the entire coast of the Pacific Ocean. Assembling data on observed tsunamis and cataloguing historical tsunamis are key problems for scientific examination of tsunami waves, estimation and mitigation of tsunami risk for coastal areas, and improvement of the existing Tsunami Warning Service. The purpose of the present book is to present the historical and modern data on the Canadian coast of the Pacific Ocean and to complete the existing tsunami database. At the same time, the book is intended to present some modern achievements in instrumentation, data analyses, numerical modelling, and estimation of tsunami risk and may be of interest for specialists in wave dynamics, seismology, geophysics, coastal engineering and natural hazard mitigation.

In recent years major floods have occurred across Europe causing serious damages and huge financial implications. Flood risk and vulnerability is increasing with increased frequency of occurrence of extreme events due to climate change, changes in land-use, encroachment into floodplains and increasing economic value of assets and businesses. Human lives, property, environment and socio-economics are at increasing risk due to flooding. Recent alarming events in Central Europe, UK and The Netherlands have provided renewed impetus to the development of improved policies and techniques for flood risk management across Europe. Sharing of knowledge and understanding of the practical problems, dilemmas and challenges will aid in the development and implementation of new technologies and strategies of the challenging issues of flood risk management in Europe.This valuable edition brings together 26 peer reviewed articles on technical, socio-economic, environmental and policy aspects of flood risk management. These articles contribute to the five sections with the general themes: i) flood risk management practice, ii) flood events and impacts, iii) flood analysis and modelling iv) flood forecasting and v) flood risk management policy. Some emerging technologies are presented and several future challenges are identified. Thus the book Flood Risk Management in Europe: Innovation in Policy and Practice with a multi-disciplinary combination of articles will form an excellent reference for the engineers, scientists, planners, policy-makers, researchers, insurance industry and all the practitioners involved in flood risk management, and its sub-disciplines in engineering, hydrology, environmental studies, coastal management, economics and public policy.

Submarine mass movements and their consequences are of major concern for coastal communities and infrastructures but also for the exploitation and the development of seafloor resources. A tragic example of the vulnerability of coastal communities has been provided by the Indonesian tsunami of December 2004. Since 2005, as part of the scientific community efforts to minimize the impact of such natural disasters, the International Union of Geological Science (IUGS) and the United Nation, Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have sponsored an International Geoscience Program on Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequences (IGCP-511). One of the main objectives of IGCP-511 members is to hold bi-annual symposia on these types of marine and coastal geohazards. The first symposium of this series was held in Nice (2003) and the second in Oslo (2005). This 3rd Symposium on submarine Mass Movements and Their consequences provides an opportunity to review the state of the art in risk evaluation from submarine landslides, deposit characterization and its implication for coastal and offshore development. By bringing together professionals from the industry and academia with a range of different expertise, these proceedings hope to cover the full spectrum of aspects related to subaqueous mass movements and related consequences. The interdisciplinary views gathered in this book, arising from the conference, help identify future challenges, mitigation strategies and better management of the seafloor. To that effect, the Santorini is quite a unique venue for scientists and engineers interested in marine and coastal geohazards.

Over the last three decades drought episodes have resulted in severe social problems in Mediterranean countries, receiving broad attention from the international scientific and policy communities. The experiences in the development and implementation of drought management plans highlight the success and challenges of coping with drought for societies with different vulnerabilities and emphasize risk-based drought management as a critical approach to mitigate the impacts associated to drought-induced water shortages. Based on these experiences and the current methods for evaluating risk, the book synthesises guidelines for drought management that link science and policy and that can be applied to other regions. The book comprises a collection of papers divided into four sections that appeal to a broad audience. First, the social and hydrological context of Mediterranean countries is presented, discussing the interactions that have resulted in the complex institutional framework, and highlighting the importance of stakeholder involvement and awareness building for successful drought management. This section emphasises the role of organizations, institutions, and civil stakeholders involved in drought preparedness and mitigation and/or on water management for designing effective risk based strategies that mitigate the effects of drought in agriculture and water supply systems. Second, the book presents an academic approach to risk evaluation, including characterization of drought episodes, development of indicators of risk in hydrological and agricultural systems, and analysis of the role of economic instruments and groundwater for risk mitigation. This section finalises with the description of an integrated method for evaluating social vulnerability based on indicators that include the capacity to anticipate, cope, and respond to drought.The third section includes a collection of case studies that include the description of effective measures taken in the past. These case studies provide the context for developing demand driven guidelines that may be applied to other regions. The authors of these chapters can be viewed as stakeholders in drought management, since they represent a broad range of sectors and institutions from Mediterranean European and North African countries. The topics addressed have implications for the international policy community interested in disaster mitigation, agricultural policy, and development. Finally a synthesis of the management actions is presented in four chapters. Monitoring and preparedness planning is the essential first step for moving from disaster to risk management in response to drought. The management actions related to agriculture and water supply systems are presented in two different chapters but with a common conceptual framework based on the use of drought indicators for evaluating the levels of drought risk (pre-alert, alert, and emergency), that allow establishing linkages between science and policy. The final chapter discuses the lessons learned and application to other regions.

This book, with contributions from international landslide experts, presents in-depth knowledge of theories, practices, and modern numerical techniques for landslide analysis. Landslides are a reoccurring problem across the world and need to be properly studied for their mitigation and control. Due to increased natural and anthropogenic activities, chances of landslide occurrence and associated hazards have increased. The book focuses on landslide dynamics, mechanisms and processes along with hazard mitigation using geo-engineering, structural, geophysical and numerical tools. The book contains a wealth of the latest information on all aspects of theory, practices and modelling tools and techniques involved in prediction, prevention, monitoring, mitigation and risk analysis of landslide hazards. This book will bring the reader up to date on the latest trends in landslide studies and will help planners, engineers, scientists and researchers working on landslide engineering.

This book provides a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to addressing geohazards, with topics such as social vulnerability reduction, risk prevention, institutional preparedness, and community resilience.

This book provides a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to addressing geohazards, with topics such as social vulnerability reduction, risk prevention, institutional preparedness, and community resilience.