Session No. 7

Course Title: Theory, Principles, and Fundamentals of Hazards,
Disasters, and U.S.

Emergency Management

Session Title: Overview of U.S. Hazards

Time: 3 Hours

**Objective:**

7.1 To provide a perspective on the range and state of hazards in the
U.S.

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

**Scope:**

The professor introduces this session by soliciting student input on the
hazards that face the United States. Noting that, for the purposes of
this session, hazards are categorized as geological, meteorological, and
technological/manmade, the professor may distribute handouts on each of
these types. While several examples from the handouts are included in
these discussion notes, the professor may wish to draw upon the
information in the handouts to elaborate on the list of hazards that the
students have suggested. Next, the discussion turns to the incidence
rates for U.S. hazards, followed by frequency rates. Then, the class
focuses on the rise in disaster losses, including human losses, national
economic losses, and government and insurance industry costs.
Projections of worsening losses are examined, followed by a discussion
of risks to people and property. Next, the students examine a national
analysis of U.S. hazards by rank, along with an analysis of regional
vulnerability. Finally, the professor concludes the session by
presenting an outlook on the effectiveness of current practices in
dealing with hazards in the United States.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

**Suggested Instructor Readings:**

Tobin, Graham A., and Burrell E. Montz. Chapter 2, "Physical Dimensions
of Natural

> Hazards," pp. 48--132, in *Natural Hazards: Explanation and
> Integration*. New York and London: The Guilford Press, 1997.

**Additional Sources to Consult:**

NOAA. 1998 (on-line). *State of the Coast Report*. Silver Spring, MD:
NOAA.

URL: <http://state-of-coast.noaa.gov/bulletins/html/pop_01/pop.html>.

#### General Requirements:

PowerPoint slides have been prepared to support this session. The
session is not dependent upon the utilization of these visual aids. They
are provided as a tool that the instructor is free to use as PowerPoints
or overhead transparencies.

Several handouts have also been prepared for this session. *Geological
Hazard and* *Disaster Basics; Meteorological Hazard and Disaster
Basics*; and *Technological/Human Hazard and Disaster Basics* contain
lists, descriptions, and examples of each of those types of hazards.
There is a summary handout that lists weather-related natural disasters
for which the costs exceeded \$1 billion U.S. dollars ordered by rank in
economic cost. This handout also includes an alphabetical listing of
specific U.S. hazards.

####  

#### Objective 7.1: To provide a perspective on the range and state of hazards in the U.S.

**The U.S. Experiences a Very Broad Range of Hazards:**

**Note:** *To introduce this session, you may wish to ask the class to
name some of the hazards that the U.S. faces. You might want to put
these on chart paper or a board.*

-   There is more than a single way to categorize hazards. This session
    uses geological, meteorological and technological/manmade.

+-------------+------------------+-------------------------------------+
| **G         | **               | **Technological/Human Caused**      |
| eological** | Meteorological** |                                     |
+-------------+------------------+-------------------------------------+
| -           | -   Beach        | -   Airplane crashes                |
| Earthquakes |     erosion      |                                     |
|             |                  | ```{=html}                          |
| ```{=html}  | ```{=html}       | <!-- -->                            |
| <!-- -->    | <!-- -->         | ```                                 |
| ```         | ```              | -   Bridge/over-pass failure        |
| -           | -   Drought      |                                     |
|  Landslides |                  | ```{=html}                          |
|             | ```{=html}       | <!-- -->                            |
| ```{=html}  | <!-- -->         | ```                                 |
| <!-- -->    | ```              | -   Civil disorder or disturbance   |
| ```         | -   Floods       |     (strikes, riots)                |
| -   Sink    |                  |                                     |
|     holes/  | ```{=html}       | ```{=html}                          |
|             | <!-- -->         | <!-- -->                            |
| subsidence  | ```              | ```                                 |
|             | -   Heat waves   | -   Dam failure                     |
| -           |                  |                                     |
|    Tsunamis | ```{=html}       | ```{=html}                          |
|             | <!-- -->         | <!-- -->                            |
| -   Volcano | ```              | ```                                 |
|             | -   Hurricanes,  | -   Explosions                      |
|   eruptions |     Nor'Easters, |                                     |
|             |     tropical     | ```{=html}                          |
|             |     storms       | <!-- -->                            |
|             |                  | ```                                 |
|             | ```{=html}       | -   Fires (urban, rural)            |
|             | <!-- -->         |                                     |
|             | ```              | ```{=html}                          |
|             | -   Ice and snow | <!-- -->                            |
|             |     storms       | ```                                 |
|             |                  | -   Hazardous materials incidents   |
|             | ```{=html}       |     in business and industry        |
|             | <!-- -->         |                                     |
|             | ```              | ```{=html}                          |
|             | -   Lightning    | <!-- -->                            |
|             |                  | ```                                 |
|             | ```{=html}       | -   Hazardous materials             |
|             | <!-- -->         |     transportation accidents        |
|             | ```              |                                     |
|             | -                | ```{=html}                          |
|             |   Thunderstorms, | <!-- -->                            |
|             |     wind and     | ```                                 |
|             |     hail storms  | -   Hazardous waste sites           |
|             |                  |                                     |
|             | ```{=html}       | ```{=html}                          |
|             | <!-- -->         | <!-- -->                            |
|             | ```              | ```                                 |
|             | -   Tornadoes    | -   Highway transportation          |
|             |                  |     accidents                       |
|             | ```{=html}       |                                     |
|             | <!-- -->         | ```{=html}                          |
|             | ```              | <!-- -->                            |
|             | -   Wildfires    | ```                                 |
|             |                  | -   Nuclear power plant "incidents" |
|             | ```{=html}       |                                     |
|             | <!-- -->         | ```{=html}                          |
|             | ```              | <!-- -->                            |
|             | -   Winter       | ```                                 |
|             |     storms       | -   Oil spills                      |
|             |                  |                                     |
|             |                  | ```{=html}                          |
|             |                  | <!-- -->                            |
|             |                  | ```                                 |
|             |                  | -   Pipeline breaks and ruptures    |
|             |                  |                                     |
|             |                  | ```{=html}                          |
|             |                  | <!-- -->                            |
|             |                  | ```                                 |
|             |                  | -   Power failures                  |
|             |                  |                                     |
|             |                  | ```{=html}                          |
|             |                  | <!-- -->                            |
|             |                  | ```                                 |
|             |                  | -   Radiological incidents --       |
|             |                  |     transportation                  |
|             |                  |                                     |
|             |                  | ```{=html}                          |
|             |                  | <!-- -->                            |
|             |                  | ```                                 |
|             |                  | -   Rail transport accidents        |
|             |                  |                                     |
|             |                  | ```{=html}                          |
|             |                  | <!-- -->                            |
|             |                  | ```                                 |
|             |                  | -   Sabotage                        |
|             |                  |                                     |
|             |                  | ```{=html}                          |
|             |                  | <!-- -->                            |
|             |                  | ```                                 |
|             |                  | -   Terrorism                       |
|             |                  |                                     |
|             |                  | ```{=html}                          |
|             |                  | <!-- -->                            |
|             |                  | ```                                 |
|             |                  | -   Weapon storage facility         |
|             |                  |     incidents/releases              |
+-------------+------------------+-------------------------------------+

**Note***: At this point, you may wish to distribute the handouts:*
Geological Hazard and Disaster Basics; Meteorological Hazard and
Disaster Basics*; and* Technological/Human Hazard and Disaster Basics*.
You could draw upon the information in these handouts to elaborate on
the list of hazards that the students have suggested. A few examples
from each of the handouts are included below.*

-   One of the most well known of the recent earthquakes was the
    Northridge quake that occurred on January 17, 1994.

> **"Moderate to severe damage was reported for about 12,500 structures,
> including the collapse of 11 overpasses** on some of the busiest
> freeways in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.[^1] **More than
> 56,000 residential units** (mostly apartments) **were heavily damaged
> or destroyed**. . . **More than** **19,000 single-family homes
> sustained damages in excess of \$10,000**. (Comerio 1995)."
> (Bolin/Stanford 1998, 83)

**Note*:*** *You may wish to offer a word of caution about over- or
underestimating the overall costs of disasters. This issue is addressed
later in this session.*

-   While earthquakes are arguably the best known type of geological
    hazards, subsidences and sinkholes also cause significant damage. A
    subsidence is defined as *a vertical displacement or downward
    movement of a generally level ground surface*.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Quarantelli on subsidences:

> **"More than 40,000 square kilometers of the United States in 38
> states is slowly sinking** because of human activities, of which
> recent sinkholes in Florida and Ohio are only dramatic manifestations.
> In fact, **structural damage done by expansive soils costs about six
> billion dollars a year** in America alone."[^2]

-   Turning to meteorological hazards, a notable example from the recent
    past is the **1993** **Midwest Floods** that occurred when thousands
    of miles of nonfederal levees were breached or overtopped despite
    heroic sandbagging and levee-saving efforts. (Platt 1996, p. 50).
    Anywhere **from 38 to 48 deaths** were attributed to the flooding.

-   And what may seem to be a relatively mundane winter function is
    actually extremely costly:

> **"Keeping streets and roads clear of snow and ice (including plowing)
> costs approximately \$2 billion annually."** (Baker \[forthcoming\])

-   In terms of technological hazards, most people have passing
    familiarity with the 1871 Chicago fire during which 18,000 houses
    burned and 250-300 people died (Smith 1996), 317). Similarly, a well
    known historic flood was the May 1889 Johnstown Flood in which 2,200
    people died when an earthen dam failed (FEMA and NOAA 1996, p.
    III-28). In the last session, we discussed the 1972 dam failure in
    Buffalo Creek, West Virginia that killed 125 people and left
    4,000-5,000 homeless. (Smith 1996, 260)

-   Consider the fact that, according to FEMA, in 1991, **10 deaths and
    436 injuries were attributed to hazardous materials transportation
    incidents. The resulting property damage, however, was estimated at
    over \$38 million**. (FEMA 1993, 48)

-   Disaster researchers study other high-profile technological hazards
    such as the 1979 incident at Three Mile Island. But the cost in
    dollars and lives from human-caused incidents also includes, in a
    typical year, the **300 people who die and \$190 million in property
    damage caused by fires that can be attributed to child's play**.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **Obviously, the range of hazards is extremely broad. The range is
    also growing**. Consider the example of U.S. nuclear power and the
    incident at Three Mile Island.

> "Currently, there are 107 operating commercial nuclear power plant
> units in 32 states, which represent 14 percent of the nation's
> existing electrical generating capacity. Although the number of
> nuclear power plants is small in comparison to the other 10,421 U.S.
> power plants (coal, petroleum, hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, and
> wind), many suggest that the hazard potential is significantly
> greater. . . There have only been a few nuclear power plant accidents
> in this country, the most notable being the 1979 Three Mile Island
> incident.[^3]

-   Sociologist Kai Erikson studied the Three Mile Island incident, and
    reported on the population's reaction to a feared radiological
    release. Although **the Governor of Pennsylvania recommended that
    fewer than 4,000 people evacuate** for a period of time,

> **". . . some 150,000 people were alarmed enough to take to the public
> highways, and they fled, on the average, a remarkable hundred miles**.
> For every person advised to leave home, almost 45 did. . . . I want to
> suggest, in fact, that **radiation is but one strain of a whole new
> species of trouble that we are sure to see more of in years to
> come."**[^4]

-   Erikson sees not only the number of technological disasters growing,
    but also the scale:

> **"Technological disasters have clearly grown in number**, as we
> humans test the outer limits of our competence, **but more to the
> point, they have also grown in scale.** This is true in the sense that
> events of local origin can have consequences that reach across huge
> distances, as was the case, say, with Chernobyl. It is also true in
> the sense that news of it is broadcast so quickly and so widely that
> it becomes a moment in everyone's history, a datum in everyone's store
> of knowledge, a part of our collective consciousness, as was the case
> with Three Mile Island.[^5]

-   Susan Cutter, the author of *American Hazardscapes,* on hazardous
    materials spills:

> "Two peak years stand out for fatalities and injuries---1992 and 1996.
> 61 deaths occurred in Wisconsin in 1992 and 111 occurred in Florida in
> 1996. The injuries in 1992 are the result of multiple events in
> several states, whereas a single event accounts for the large number
> of fatalities and injuries in 1996."[^6]
>
> **"Cumulatively, hazardous materials incidents account for greater
> losses of life than earthquakes and volcanoes combined**."[^7]

-   The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, unprecedented in the
    United States, have evidenced the cost in human life wrought by
    human-caused technological hazards. And the cost in dollars is
    expected to continue to rise:

> **"Federal funds distributed by the Federal Emergency Management
> Agency (FEMA), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and the State
> of New York have reached more than \$1 billion for the World Trade
> Center attack, State and Federal recovery officials said today.
> 'Although the amount committed to date represents significant Federal
> funding, this only represents the beginning of President Bush and the
> Federal government's commitment to ensure New York City\'s recovery
> from the World Trade Center attack,' said FEMA Director Joe M.
> Allbaugh."**[^8]
>
> "The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today obligated
> **\$5.9 million to the State of New York to assist New York
> University** recover from damages resulting from the Sept. 11 attacks
> on the World Trade Center."[^9]
>
> "The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved a grant
> for **\$4.4 million to the State of New York to assist the State court
> system recover and rebuild** following the collapse of the World Trade
> Center."[^10]

-   These examples illustrate just a portion of the impact that the
    growing range of hazards has on the United States.

**The Incidence Rate for Hazards in the U.S. is Large:**

-   "The United States has more severe weather and flooding than any
    other nation in the world."[^11]

> In an average year "the United States can expect some **10,000 violent
> thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, more than 800 tornadoes, and several
> hurricanes...**" (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration;
> quoted in Pugh 1993, 85)

**Frequency Rate Increase:**

-   Not only do we experience large numbers of disasters but **the
    numbers are growing.** In the **twenty years between 1965 and 1985**
    there were about **500 Federally-declared disasters in the U.S.**
    (Rubin et al. 1986.)

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   In the **seven years** between **1989 and 1995** the U.S.
    experienced a sizable increase in the number and expense of its
    natural disasters, with roughly **300** disasters large enough to
    warrant a Presidential Disaster Declaration.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Data compiled by the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of
    Disasters (CRED), at the University of Louvain, Belgium, for the
    years 1963-1992 reveal:

> "...a consistent upward trend over a 30-year period. Whilst the number
> of disasters claiming at least 100 deaths has more than doubled,
> disasters creating economic damage equivalent to 1 percent or more of
> GNP \[Gross National Product\] have risen well over four-fold. This
> evidence for rapidly rising economic losses can be supported by
> insurance data, which tends to reflect conditions in the MDCs \[more
> developed countries\]. Berz (1990) showed that major natural disasters
> increased approximately five-fold from the 1960s to the 1980s. (Smith
> 1996, 38)
>
> "Over the past four decades, the frequency of natural catastrophes has
> tripled, inflation-adjusted economic losses have multiplied by a
> factor of nine and insurance losses by a factor of fifteen." (Berz
> 1999, 12)

-   Before getting into statistics on disaster damages and costs, a
    **word of warning** should be provided, for as Ian Burton, et al.
    have written:

> "much of the **collection of data** is based on **poorly defined
> concepts** of economic effects. **Measurement of disaster and its
> effects are highly subjective**.[^12]
>
> For example, a published statement that an earthquake or a coastal
> hurricane 'has caused property losses of X dollars' may **differ from
> the true figure** by a **factor of two or three**....and,
>
> Losses may be **underestimated in areas remote from centers of
> government and mass media**. (Burton, Kates, and White 1993, 9-10)
>
> These authors go on to state that "only when consistent criteria for
> assessing all social losses---life and health, property, income, and
> environmental --- are in place will there be a sound base for broad
> generalizations." (Burton, Kates, and White 1993, 10)

**Disaster Losses Are Enormous and They Are Going Up:**

**Note*:*** *You may wish to remind the students that the enormity of
U.S. disaster losses was first discussed in Session 1. You could ask the
students to recall some of that discussion, and then elaborate with the
following.*

-   Disaster losses per hazard in the United States total about **\$34
    billion per year**, **not including** losses from **drought, heat
    waves, hazardous materials** accidents and releases, **train
    derailments, air crashes**, or **wildfires**.

***Human Costs:***

-   Disasters that used to cost millions of dollars and a few thousand
    victims now can cost many billions of dollars and affect hundreds of
    thousands of victims.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   It has been stated that on average, 1,500 people lose their lives
    due to natural hazards per year in the United States.[^13]

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   As an example, as a result of the **Northridge earthquake** of 1994
    in the Los Angeles, California area, some **670,000 individuals and
    families** registered for disaster assistance in the Los Angeles
    area.

-   **Severe weather in the US results in 300-500 deaths and billions of
    dollars in economic damage.** (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
    Administration; quoted in Pugh 1993, 85)

## Dr. Dennis S. Mileti addresses the number of lives lost:

> **"From 1975 to 1994, natural hazards killed over 24,000 people and
> injured some 100,000 in the United States and its territories."**
> (Mileti 1999, 4)
>
> **"The United States has succeeded in saving lives and reducing
> injuries from some natural hazards such as hurricanes over the last
> two decades.** However, **casualties from floods---the nation's most
> frequent and injurious natural hazard---have failed to decline
> substantially.** And **deaths from lightning and tornadoes have
> remained constant.** Meanwhile **injuries and deaths from dust storms,
> extreme cold, wildfire, and tropical storms have grown."** (Mileti
> 1999, 4)

***National Economic Losses:***

-   Mileti on direct losses from natural disasters:

> "In **1970 total U.S. direct losses from natural disasters were
> estimated at \$4.5 billion annually. Today, estimates range from \$6
> billion to \$10 billion annually;** some claim the figure will reach
> **\$17 billion by the year 2000** (all in 1970 dollars). Still others
> claim that **by including crop damage from hail and the impacts of
> extreme heat and cold the annual losses today would be \$20 billion.**
> These estimates **do not include indirect losses such as downtime for
> businesses, lost employment, environmental impacts, or emotional
> effects on victims. At least one broader estimate puts U.S. losses
> since 1989 at \$52 billion annually."** (Mileti 1999, 25)

-   This latter figure is supported by the Assistant to the President
    for Science and Technology, John Gibbons, who wrote in 1996 that:

> "Between August 1992 and December 1995, the United States experienced
> **structural losses amounting, on average, to approximately one
> billion dollars a week due to natural disasters**."[^14]

-   In terms of the increasing cost of disasters, Mileti writes:

> "The dollar losses associated with most types of natural hazards are
> rising. **A conservative estimate of total dollar losses during the
> past two decades is** **\$500 billion** (in 1994 dollars). More than
> 80 percent of these costs stemmed from climatological events, while 10
> percent resulted from earthquakes and volcanoes. Only 17 percent were
> insured." (Mileti 1999, 4-5)

-   Elsewhere Mileti (1999, 66) notes that the estimated range was from
    \$230 billion to \$1 trillion in 1994 dollars standardized on the
    basis of the Consumer Price Index.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Writing in 1999 about the 1989-1994 timeframe, Mileti states:

> **"Seven of the ten most costly disasters**---based on dollar
> losses---in U.S. history **occurred between 1989 and 1994**. In fact,
> **since 1989 the nation has frequently entered periods in which losses
> from catastrophic natural disasters averaged about \$1 billion per
> week."** (Mileti 1999, 5)

-   Commenting on the above noted estimate of \$1 billion per week
    losses in the U.S. to natural disasters, William Hooke of NOAA has
    written that:

> **"Even after adjusting for inflation, these costs appear to be
> doubling each decade."** (Hooke 2000, 6)

***Federal Government Costs:***

-   The General Accounting Office (GAO), which some have called the
    Federal fiscal "watchdog agency," in its 1998 report, *Disaster
    Assistance: Information on Federal* *Costs and Approaches for
    Reducing Them*, states that:

> "Outlays for **Federal disaster assistance,** which follow
> presidential **disaster declarations, have risen from** a paltry **\$5
> million** appropriated in the original **1950** Federal Disaster
> Relief Act **to several billion dollars annually in the 1990s.**
>
> **"...Federal agencies obligated about \$119.7 billion** (in constant
> 1993 dollars) for disaster assistance during fiscal years **1977
> through 1993**...FEMA accounted for about 22 percent of this..." (GAO
> 1998, 1)

-   Writing in 1995 in the *Washington Post*, two U.S. congressmen state
    that:

> **"Over the past five years** the cost of natural disasters has been
> rising at an
>
> **alarming rate**. In that time, 11 catastrophes have cost the nation
> more than \$1 billion each. Hurricane **Andrew** and California's
> **Northridge** earthquake together **cost more (\$28 billion)** than
> what the government spends annually on running **the Federal court
> system, aiding higher** **education and pollution control,
> combined."** (Emerson and Stevens, 1995; quoted by Kunreuther 1998, 1)

**Note:** *The expenditures noted here are also cited in a report by the
Institute for Business and Home Safety, which will be discussed in the
section on losses incurred by the insurance industry.*

-   And in *Disaster Resistant Communities* (1997), the Central U.S.
    Earthquake Consortium reports:

> "From 1992 to 1997**, disasters have cost the federal government alone
> nearly \$14 billion** in aid to individuals and local governments,
> four times the amount from the previous four years." (CUSEC 1997, 5)

-   Not only has the number of disaster declarations risen, but also the
    cost to the Federal government has climbed enormously. Michael J.
    Armstrong, a previous Associate Director of FEMA's Mitigation
    Directorate, describes an astounding increase:

> **"In the past 10 years, 460 major disasters** have been declared by
> the President, nearly **double the declarations for the previous
> 10-year period**." . . . "Comparing the 3-year period from 1989 to
> 1991 and 1997 to 1999, the **Federal costs of severe weather disasters
> rose by 337%**."[^15]

-   FEMA's costs are large, but they are just the tip of the iceberg:

> "The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has spent more than
> **\$25 billion in repairs and rebuilding over the past ten
> years**."[^16]

-   The enormity of the cost is even more remarkable when one considers
    that the **\$25 billion does not reflect the rest of the Federal
    government, State and local governments, the insurance industry,
    business and industry, or individuals**.

***State and Local Government Costs:***

-   The foregoing is essentially in reference to more or less direct
    Federal disaster costs. During the 1980s, it has been estimated that
    **State and local governments lost roughly \$1 billion per year to
    floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural hazards.**
    (Roenigk, 1993, 207; citing Burby et al. 1991)

***Insurance Industry Costs:***

-   Another yardstick for measuring disaster losses can be found **in
    insurance industry outlays**:

> **"Prior to Hurricane Hugo in 1989** (where insured losses were over
> \$4 billion), the insurance industry **had never suffered any loss of
> over \$1 billion** from a single disaster**. Since that time 10
> disasters have exceeded this amount** in 1997 dollars." (Kunreuther
> 1998, 4; referencing Gary Kearney, Property Claims Services, personal
> communication, 1998)

-   Data from the insurance industry show a trend of increasing losses.
    **Prior to the late 1970s, annual losses were on the order of a few
    hundred million dollars**.[^17]

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **Dollar losses climbed dramatically upward** **to the \$0.5-\$2.5
    billion range during the 1980s.**

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Writing in 1999, Harvey Ryland, President of the Institute for
    Business and Home Safety, notes that:

> **". . . losses continue to rise**. Since 1989, the United States
> alone has suffered at least **US\$ 90 billion** in insured damage (not
> including disaster payments from governments or the costs property
> owners must absorb themselves, and has seen more than 23,000 people
> injured and at least 2,000 more killed. . . **Obviously, we still have
> a long way to go.**"[^18]
>
> "In the spring of 1997, the U.S. government and the U.S. insurance
> industry realized that they faced a common challenge. The conquest of
> natural disasters, which had once seemed nearly within reach, was
> proving more difficult than expected. **Losses from natural disasters
> had been doubling or tripling each decade since 1960** and the
> century's steady progress in reducing deaths and injuries due to
> natural disasters had begun to level off. Furthermore, **there was
> concern that a single disaster---for example, a catastrophic East
> Coast hurricane or a repeat of the 1906 San Francisco
> earthquake---could kill thousands, cost hundreds of billions of
> dollars, disrupt the national economy, and exhaust the reserves of the
> insurance industry."**
>
> "The statistics were alarming**. Seven of the ten costliest U.S.
> disasters had occurred since 1980**, and the President's Office of
> Science and Technology Policy estimated that **natural disasters were
> costing the United States on average a billion dollars each week** and
> were consuming nearly one percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
> This emerging pattern of disaster prompted Representative Bill Emerson
> and Senator Ted Stevens, in 1995 to note, **'Hurricane Andrew and
> California's Northridge earthquake together cost more (\$24 billion
> \[of Federal outlays\]) than what the government spends annually on
> running the Federal court system, aiding higher education and
> pollution control, combined.'** We are paying a high price for the way
> we live on our beautiful---but dangerous---planet."[^19]

**Disaster Losses Projected to Become Even Worse:**

-   According to FEMA, "Today in the United States**, we spend tens of
    billions of dollars each year** to rebuild communities after natural
    disasters. And the frequency and severity of these disasters is
    growing."[^20]

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   For example, Harvey Ryland predicts drastic losses caused by
    earthquakes:

> ". . . experts predict **that multibillion dollar megadisasters are
> looming on the horizon.** According to the U.S. Insurance Information
> Institute, if an earthquake with an 8.3 magnitude hit **San
> Francisco**, as it did in 1906, losses could reach **US\$ 225
> billion**."[^21]

-   A prediction of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)
    is just as dire for hurricanes:

> "Another storm of **Camille's intensity** \[Cat. 5\] **will strike the
> United** **States**\[;\] the only question is when. When this future
> storm strikes, it will make landfall over conditions drastically
> different from those in 1969. The hurricane-prone regions of the
> United States have developed dramatically as people have moved to the
> coast and the nation's wealth has grown. **Estimates of potential
> losses from a single hurricane approach \$100 billion.**"[^22]

-   The NTSC foresees adverse national trends which, if unaddressed,
    could give rise to unparalleled losses.

> **"Losses of \$100 billion from individual events, and perhaps
> unprecedented loss of life, loom in our future**."[^23]

-   Considering the trends that are developing (and the human forces
    that continue to spur the upwardly spiraling costs), if we start
    doing things differently, even today, it would be many years before
    the trends would be affected. Dennis Mileti offers a grim
    prediction:

> **"We don't really know what the natural hazards problem is \[in this
> country\] . . . but what we can say is that things are getting worse
> and will continue to get worse no matter what we do next."**[^24]

-   The trend of rising disaster losses, both in economic terms and in
    lives lost, is apparent not only in the United States, but also
    worldwide.

> "The combined **cost of disasters worldwide**, according to the Center
> for Epidemiology of Disaster in Belgium, was **\$742 billion between
> 1990-99.** **Human lives lost during this period were 589,000, and the
> number of deaths has climbed each year since 1994.**"[^25]

**It Could Have Been Worse:**

-   As troubling as the above may be, **the U.S. has been**, in many
    respects, **fortunate** that some of the disasters that it has
    experienced **could have been worse** -- say if Hurricane Andrew had
    hit Miami. As Dennis Mileti (1999, 5) writes:

> **"...the most catastrophic likely events, including a great
> earthquake in the Los Angeles area, have not yet occurred. Such a
> disaster would cause up to 5,000 deaths, 15,000 serious injuries, and
> \$250 billion in direct economic losses."**

**Note:** *At this point, you may wish to reinforce that in the United
States, the risk from hazards and disasters is far greater than most
people think. Then, you could proceed with the following specific risk
statistics from FEMA and other sources.*

**Disasters Put People and Property at Risk:**

-   According to FEMA's *Multi Hazard Identification and Risk
    Assessment* (*MHIRA*, 1997), FEMA estimated that:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Approximately **9-11 million homes are at risk from flooding.**

-   About **25 million homes are at risk from severe wind damage.**

-   About **2 million homes are at risk from coastal storm surge.**

-   And **at least** **50 million homes are at risk from earthquakes.**

-   More than **36 million people are at direct risk from hurricanes.**

-   The risk is expected to grow to **73 million by the year
    2010**.[^26]

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   According to Smith (1996):

> **"Existing estimates for the United States place the average annual
> losses from all natural hazards somewhere between \$5 billion and \$10
> billion."** (p. 34)

-   Again, from FEMA's *Multi Hazard Identification and Risk
    Assessment*:

> **"Between 1989 and 1994, 291 Presidential Disaster Declarations were
> issued. Federal disaster assistance made available to affected States,
> communities, and individuals cost the U.S. Treasury over \$34
> billion."** (FEMA, 1997, xvii)

-   And, between the years **1993-1997**, combined Federal disaster
    assistance and insurance industry payments totaled **over \$67
    billion**. (FEMA 1997, xvii.)

**Note:** *Before you proceed to the following section on national and
regional threat analysis, you might wish to elicit opinions from the
students as to how they believe the range of U.S. hazards can be more
fully understood, so that emergency managers might deal with them most
effectively.*

# 

#  

# National Analysis of U.S. Hazards:

-   **If systems are to be effectively/efficiently designed to mitigate,
    prepare for, respond to, and recover from hazards and losses, the
    hazards must first be properly understood.**

But, developing programs and approaches to hazards that face a community
involves more than a listing of potential hazards.

-   As FEMA's *Principal Threats* (1993) notes, **"by using different
    criteria of loss to rank hazards, a general picture of the most
    severe threats to the nation can be created."**

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   In the *Principal Threats* study, the **nation's threats were ranked
    by**:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **Reports from local jurisdictions on disaster frequency.**

-   **Average annual loss of life caused by each type of hazard.**

-   **Worst instance death-toll per disaster type.**

-   **Presidential Declarations by disaster type.**

-   **Economic loss caused by each hazard.** (p. 73)

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   The nation's hazards were ranked, as follows:

+----------+------------+------------------+--------------+-----------+
| **Local  | **Largest  | **Worst Case     | **           | *         |
| Hazard   | Average    | Deaths**         | Presidential | *Economic |
| Fre      | Deaths**   |                  | De           | Loss**    |
| quency** |            |                  | clarations** |           |
+----------+------------+------------------+--------------+-----------+
| -   H    | -   Fire   | -   Hurricane    | -   Flooding | -         |
| azardous |            |     (6,000;      |     and      | Hurricane |
|          |    (4,465) |     Galveston    |     severe   |           |
| material |            |     TX, 1900)    |     storms   | -   E     |
|          | -   Th     |                  |     (153)    | arthquake |
|  highway | understorm | -   Flood        |              |           |
|     a    |     (105)  |     (2,209;      | -            | -   Civil |
| ccidents |            |     Johnstown,   |    Tornadoes |           |
|          | -   Flood  |     PA, 1889)    |     (63)     |  disorder |
| -        |     (61)   |                  |              |           |
|    Power |            | -   Wildfire     | -            | -         |
|          | -          |     (1,182;      |   Hurricanes |  Wildfire |
|  failure |    Tornado |     Wisconsin,   |     and      |           |
|          |     (39)   |     1871)        |     typhoons | -         |
| -        |            |                  |     (50)     |    Winter |
|   Winter | -   Winter | -   Earthquake   |              |     storm |
|          |     Storm  |     (700; San    | -   Winter   |           |
|   storms |     (37)   |     Francisco,   |     storms   |           |
|          |            |     1906)        |     (17)     |           |
| -        |            |                  |              |           |
|   Floods |            | -   Tornado      | -   Wildfire |           |
|          |            |     (689; 1925)  |     (8)      |           |
| -   T    |            |                  |              |           |
| ornadoes |            |                  |              |           |
+----------+------------+------------------+--------------+-----------+

-   One can thus receive differing impressions of the risks facing the
    nation, or one's community, depending on how one looks at the hazard
    and its risk.

**Regional Hazard Vulnerability:**

-   Dennis Mileti (1999, p. 95) provides a summary of regional hazard
    vulnerability in terms of frequency, amount of losses, hazards per
    square mile, hazards on a per capita basis, and proportional damage
    and casualties:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   "...the **southern states are the most hazard prone, not only in
    terms of the frequency of hazard events but in the amount of
    losses."**

-   **"Texas ranks as the most hazardous state, followed by Florida,
    Georgia, and Ohio."**

-   "The **least hazardous**...are **Vermont, Delaware, and Rhode
    Island."**

-   **"Ohio, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania** are among the **most
    hazardous** states **based on hazards per square mile..."**

**"...Nevada, Alaska, and Montana are the least hazardous."**

-   "Residents in the South, portions of the Great Plains, and Rocky
    Mountain states bear a disproportionate burden of hazardous events
    and losses **on a per-capita basis."**

> "In this per-capita measure, **Kansas is the most hazard-prone
> state**, followed by **Arkansas, Georgia, and South Carolina."**

-   "Finally, and perhaps most importantly, **a proportional measure was
    developed that permits an examination of the relative impact of
    hazards in each state**. The percentage of a given hazard for a
    given state was calculated by taking the total number of specific
    hazardous events divided by the national total. This was also done
    for casualties by hazard and losses by hazard. The three
    indicators...were summed across all hazards and an average was
    taken....

> **"States that rank high in proportional damage and casualties are
> California, Texas, and Florida."**

**Past and Current Practices Are Not Effective Enough:**

-   Obviously, **based on the steadily escalating losses that are
    attributable to disasters, what we are doing now is not effective
    enough**. Thus**, if we hope to curtail the upward trend** in
    losses, risks, vulnerabilities, and disproportional effects, the
    conclusion is obvious that **what is being done now needs to
    change**.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **We might ask whether disasters are outpacing our ability to
    cope**. Perhaps it is the case that hazard frequency and magnitude
    are increasing in such a way that the situation is simply outpacing
    our ability to cope. **If so, then perhaps just doing more of the
    same is called for.**

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   This question was addressed by Sarewitz and Pielke in 2000.

> "A 1999 study by the German firm **Munich Reinsurance Company**
> compared **the 1960s with the 1990s** and concluded that **'the number
> of great natural catastrophes increased by a factor of three, with
> economic losses**---taking into account the effects of
> inflation---**increasing by a factor of more than eight and insured
> losses by a factor of no more than sixteen.'** And yet scientists have
> been unable to observe a global increase in the number or the severity
> of extreme weather events."[^27]

So, there is no compelling argument that nature is outpacing our ability
to cope. Is it, then, that we just do not know enough?

-   Actually, we do know **what** to do, and we know **how** to do it.

> **". . . . sufficient scientific and technical knowledge already
> exists,** which, **with more extensive application, could save
> thousands of lives and millions of dollars** in property losses from
> natural and similar disasters."[^28]
>
> **"We know what has to be done. What is now required is the political
> commitment to do it."**[^29]

-   Robert Hamilton of the National Academy of Sciences asserts that,
    **"The causes of natural hazards are sufficiently well understood to
    provide a basis for undertaking actions to mitigate their
    effects."**[^30]

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Is it, perhaps, just too expensive? Numerous studies indicate that
    the areas in which investment pays the highest rewards are
    prevention and mitigation.

> "It is generally accepted that **disaster mitigation pays**. For
> example, the **World Bank and United States Geological Survey** once
> calculated that economic losses worldwide from natural disasters
> during the 1990s could be reduced by \$280 billion if \$30 billion
> were invested in **disaster mitigation and preparedness**---a ratio of
> \$7 saved for every \$1 spent."[^31]
>
> ". . . it is estimated that **for every US dollar spent** in
> pre-disaster mitigation, **FEMA saves two US dollars** in future
> disaster relief costs. . ."[^32]

-   Thus, if disaster **costs have been escalating and continue to
    escalate, the incidence rate is not dramatically increasing, we know
    what to do and can afford to do it**, it is obvious that past and
    current practices are not enough. And it is not truly disasters that
    are killing most of the people who die in disasters, it is people
    (individuals and governmental decision makers) who are killing
    people by their failure to do the right thing.

**References**

Accardi, Russell T. 1997. "Search Operations At Building Explosion and
Collapse." *Firehouse*. October, pp. 88-92.

Armstrong, Michael J. 2000. "The Political Economy of Hazards."
*Environmental Hazards* (Vol. 2, No. 2, June, p. 53).

Baker, Jay. Forthcoming. *Living in a Hazardous Environment* (FEMA
Higher Education Course). Emmitsburg, MD: FEMA, NETC, Emergency
Management Institute.

Berz, Gerhard. 1999. "The Financial Impact of Disaster." Pp. 12-15 in
*Natural Disaster Management*, Jon Ingleton (ed.). Leicester, England:
Tudor Rose Holdings, Limited.

Burton, Ian, Robert Kates, and Gilbert White. 1993. *The environment as
hazard*. 2^nd^ ed. New York: The Guilford Press. Also quoted in Smith
1996.

CUSEC (Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium). 1997. *Disaster Resistant
Communities.*

Cutter, Susan. 2001. *American Hazardscapes: The Regionalization of
Hazards and Disasters*. Washington, DC.: Joseph Henry Press.

Erikson, Kai. 1994. *A New Species of Trouble*. New York and London:
W.W. Norton and Company.

FEMA. 1992. *Federal Response Plan.* (FEMA Publication 229, revised).
Washington, DC: April.

FEMA. 1993. *Principal Threats Facing Communities and Local Emergency
Management Coordinators*. A Report to the United States Senate Committee
on Appropriations. Washington, DC: FEMA, April.

FEMA. Emergency Management Institute.1995. *Introduction to Emergency
Management.* Student Manual 230. Washington, DC; September.

FEMA. 1997. *FEMA Professional, Session 1 and 2 Instructor Guides*.
Washington, DC: Emergency Management Institute. September.

FEMA. 1997. *Multi Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment*.
Washington, DC.

FEMA*.* Undated. *On the Safety Circuit.* Washington, DC: United States
Fire Administration.

FEMA. *Rebuilding for a More Sustainable Future---An Operational
Framework* (FEMA 365). Washington, DC: FEMA, November 2000.

FEMA. National Fire Academy. Undated; circa 1989. *Wildland/Urban
Interface Fire Protection Textbook---A National Problem with Local
Solutions*. Emmitsburg, MD.

FEMA and NOAA. 1996. *Hazardous Weather Resource Guide---A Source Book
for Planning for Hazardous Weather and Flooding.* G-271. Emmitsburg, MD:
Emergency Management Institute, August.

General Accounting Office. 1998. *Disaster Assistance: Information on
Federal Costs and Approaches for Reducing Them*. Washington DC: GAO,
GAO/T-RCED-98-139.

Haines, H. et al. 1997. Global Health Watch: Monitoring Impacts of
Environmental Change. *Lancet*, 342: 1454-1469. Quoted by Rodney White
and David Etkin in Climate Change, Extreme Events and the Canadian
Insurance Industry, *Natural Hazards*, 16, no. 2-3 (November 1997).

Hooke, William J. 2000. "U.S. Participation in International Decade for
Natural Disaster Reduction." *Natural Hazards Review*, Vol. 1, No. 1,
February.

Ingleton, Jon (Ed.). 1999. *Natural Disaster Management*. Leicester,
England: Tudor Rose Holdings Limited.

Institute for Business and Home Safety, 2001. *Lessons from PPP2000,
Living With Earth's Extremes*, Tampa, FL.

Kunreuther, Howard. 1998. "Introduction." Chapter One (pp. 1-16) in
*Paying the Price: The Status and Role of Insurance Against Natural
Disasters in the United States*, Howard Kunreuther and Richard J. Roth,
Sr. (eds.). Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.

Kunkel, Kenneth E., Roger A. Pielke Jr., and Stanley A Chagnon. 1999.
"Temporal Fluctuations in Weather and Climate Extremes That Cause
Economic and Human Health Impacts: A Review." *Bulletin of the American
Meteorological Society*, Vol. 8, No. 6, June.

Mileti, Dennis. 1997. "Designing Disasters---Determining our Future
Vulnerability." *Natural Hazards Observer* 22, No. 1 (September), 2.

Mileti, Dennis. 1999. *Disasters by Design: A Reassessment of Natural
Hazards in the United States*. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.

Mittler, Elliot. 1997. A Case Study of Florida's Emergency Management
Since Hurricane Andrew. Natural Hazards Research Working Paper 98.
Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, Institute
of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado.

National Fire Protection Association. 1993. *Community Awareness Kit,
Fire Prevention*

*Week\...1993*. Quincy, MA.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1994. *Hurricanes---The
Greatest Storms on Earth*. Washington, DC: National Weather Service.

------------. 1996. *Summary of Natural Hazard Fatalities
(1988-1995*)*.* Washington, DC.

------------. 1994. *Thunderstorms and Lightning\...the Underrated
Killers!* Washington, DC January.

------------. *Tornadoes\...Nature's Most Violent Storms*. Washington,
DC: National Weather

Service, September, 1992.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Climatic Data
Center. 1998. *Billion Dollar U.S. Weather Disasters, 1980-1998*.
Asheville, NC: Research Customer Service Group. June. This document can
be downloaded from Web site address:
<http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/reports/billionz.html>.

National Research Council, Commission on Geosciences, Environment and
Resources, U.S. National Committee for the Decade for Natural Disaster
Reduction. 1991. *A Safer Future: Reducing the Impacts of Natural
Disasters.* Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

National Science and Technology Council, Committee on the Environment
and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Natural Disaster Reduction. 1997.
*Natural Disaster Reduction: A Plan for the Future*. Washington, DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office.

Platt, Rutherford H. 1998. "Planning and Land Use Adjustments in
Historical Perspective." In *Cooperating with Nature*, edited by Raymond
J. Burby. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, Joseph Henry Press.

Pugh, Warren M. Jr. 1993. *The Great Flood of '93 --- Missouri, An After
Action Report*. Jefferson City, MO: FEMA, December 11.

Quarantelli, Enrico. 1987. "What Should We Study? Questions and
Suggestions for Researchers About the Concept of Disasters."
*International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters*, Vol. 5, No.
1.

Ramsey Taylor, Cynthia (FEMA Project Impact National Public Affairs
Manager). 2001. "Making an Impact." *Disaster Recovery Journal*, Vol.
14, No. 2, Spring.

Rubin, Claire B., Anthony M. Yezer, Qaizar Hussain, and Anne Webb. 1986.
*Summary of Major Natural Disaster Incidents in the U.S., 1965-1985*.
Special Publication #17. Boulder, CO: Natural Hazards Research and
Applications Information Center.

Sarewitz, Daniel and Roger Pielke, Jr. 1000. "Breaking the
Global-Warming Gridlock." *The Atlantic Monthly* (July) online:
www.theatlantic.com/issues2000/07/sarewitz.htm.

Smith, Keith. 1996. *Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risk and Reducing
Disaster.* London and New York: Routledge.

Thompson, S.A. 1982. *Trends and Developments in Global Natural
Disasters 1947 to 1981.* Working Paper 45. Institute of Behavioral
Science, University of Colorado. In Smith 1996, 35.

Twigg, John (Benfield Greg Hazard Research Centre, University College
London). 2001. "Physician, Heal Thyself? The Politics of Disaster
Mitigation." Disaster Management Working Paper #1.
[http://bghrc.com](http://bghrc.com/).

U.S. Congress, Bipartisan Task Force on Funding Disaster Relief. 1995.
Federal Disaster Assistance, Washington, DC: U.S. Senate.

[^1]: It is noteworthy that a number of bridges had been retrofitted
    prior to the earthquake and these "sustained little or no damage"
    (Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute 1994). Bolin/Stanford 1998
    (86), however, notes that "two bridges retrofitted after 1971
    collapsed during Northridge. . . " and cite the Seismic Safety
    Commission Report (No. 95-01), *Northridge Earthquake: Turning Loss
    to Gain*: Sacramento CA, SSC, 1995, p. 88.

[^2]: Enrico Quarantelli. 1987. "What Should We Study? Questions and
    Suggestions for Researchers About the Concept of Disasters."
    *International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters* (March)
    Vol. 5, No. 1, p. 10.

[^3]: Susan Cutter, ed., *American Hazardscapes: The Regionalization of
    Hazards and Disasters*. Washington, DC. Joseph Henry Press, 2001. p.
    141.

[^4]: Kai Erikson, *A New Species of Trouble*. New York and London. W.W.
    Norton and Company, 1994. pp. 140, 141.

[^5]: Ibid, p. 142.

[^6]: Cutter, p. 110.

[^7]: Ibid., p. 112.

[^8]: Release No.: FEMA 1391. Release Date: February 4, 2002. (FEMA
    website, www.fema.gov).

[^9]: Release No.: FEMA-1391-DR-NY-PR-152. Release Date: September 17,
    2002 (www.fema.gov).

[^10]: Release No.: FEMA-1391-DR-NY-PR-151Release Date: September 16,
    2002 (www.fema.gov.).

[^11]: Richard Hallgren, Executive Director, American Meteorological
    Society; quoted in Pugh 1993, 85.

[^12]: Cited is T. Horlick-Jones and G. Peters. "Measuring Disaster
    Trends." *Disaster Management*, No: 3, 1991, pp. 144-147 and No. 1,
    pp. 41-44.

[^13]: Kenneth E. Kunkel. Roger A. Pielke Jr., and Stanley A. Chagnon.
    "Temporal Fluctuations in Weather and Climate Extremes That Cause
    Economic and Human Health Impacts: A Review." *Bulletin of the
    American Meteorological Society* (Vol. 8, No. 6, June 1999, p. 1080.
    Drawn from
    [www.dir.ucar.edu/esig/socasp/weather1](http://www.dir.ucar.edu/esig/socasp/weather1).

[^14]: Preface to *Natural Disaster Reduction: A Plan for the Nation*.
    National Science and Technology Council, Committee on the
    Environment and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Natural Disaster
    Reduction. Washington, DC: 1997. Hooke (2000, 6) writes that the \$1
    billion per week figure for natural disasters in the U.S. in recent
    years was "based on an informal compilation carried out in 1997 by
    the White House Office on Science and Technology Policy."

[^15]: Michael J. Armstrong. 2000. "The Political Economy of Hazards."
    *Environmental Hazards* (Vol. 2, No. 2, June, p. 53).

[^16]: Cynthia Ramsey Taylor (FEMA Project Impact National Public
    Affairs Manager). 2001. "Making an Impact." *Disaster Recovery
    Journal*, Vol. 14, No. 2, Spring, p. 84.

[^17]: U.S. Congress, Bipartisan Task Force on Funding Disaster Relief.
    1995. Federal Disaster Assistance, Washington, DC: U.S. Senate.
    104-4, 194 pp.

[^18]: Harvey Ryland (President, Institute for Business and Home
    Safety). 1999. pp. 260-261 in Ingleton.

[^19]: Institute for Business and Home Safety, 2001. *Lessons from
    PPP2000, Living With Earth's Extremes*, Tampa, FL, p. 1.

[^20]: FEMA. *Rebuilding for a More Sustainable Future---An Operational
    Framework* (FEMA 365). Washington, DC: FEMA, November 2000.

[^21]: Ryland 1999, p. 260.

[^22]: National Science and Technology Council, 1996. *Natural Disaster
    Reduction*, p. 3.

[^23]: Ibid.

[^24]: Mileti, 2001.

[^25]: Ben Wisner. 2001. "Disasters: What the United Nations and its
    World Can Do." p. 1.

[^26]: FEMA. 1997. *Multi Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment*.
    Washington. DC: FEMA, p. xvii.

[^27]: Daniel Sarewitz and Roger Pielke, Jr. 1000. "Breaking the
    Global-Warming Gridlock." *The Atlantic* *Monthly* (July) online:
    www.theatlantic.com/issues2000/07/sarewitz.htm.

[^28]: Terry Jeggle, IDNDR Secretariat, Switzerland, in Ingleton 1999,
    p. 24; see also, Alexander 2000, pp. 157-158 & 241.

[^29]: U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1999 at IDNDR's closing
    conference, quoted in Twigg 2001, p. 3.

[^30]: Robert Hamilton (National Academy of Sciences). 1999. "Natural
    Disaster Reduction in the 21st Century," p. 305, in Ingleton.

[^31]: Twigg 2001, p. 3.

[^32]: James Lee Witt. 1999. "Case Study---Project Impact: Building a
    Disaster Resilient Community," p. 231 in Ingleton.