Fall 2004

**GEOGRAPHY 472**

**DISASTER PLANNING**

**Lecturer:** Dr. Harold D. Foster, Professor Office: Cornett A206

Phone: 721-7331

Dr. Harold D. Foster is a physical geographer whose research interests
include disaster planning and medical geography. He is also the editor
of the Canadian and International *Western Geographical Series*.

**COURSE OBJECTIVES**

Geography 472 is designed to provide insight into both the physical and
social dimensions of disaster. It aims to provide students with some of
the background required by the consulting companies and government
agencies that are involved in preventing or mitigating disasters.

**STRUCTURE**

Geography 472 will consist of a series of lectures and seminars designed
to familiarize students with the major contributions geography can make
to reduce life loss, injury and damage from disaster agents. Examples
will be drawn on an international scale and will include physical and
social hazards.

The course will emphasize the following aspects of disaster planning.
Firstly, the identification of risk will be reviewed, together with a
discussion of hazard mapping. The engineer\'s role in disaster planning
will then be discussed in an attempt to demonstrate the value of low
risk design. Emphasis will also be placed on disaster gaming and
simulation, which permit experience to be gained in non-disaster
situations. Warning systems and their roles will be examined in depth,
as will the preparation of disaster plans. The course will conclude with
a review of the recovery process, including the treatment of disaster
victims and refugees.

**PROPOSED EVALUATION**

1\. At the beginning of the term the instructor will present a list of
essay topics from which each student must select [one]{.underline}.
Essays should be prepared in rough and will be written (without notes)
in class as a mid-term examination.

30% of grade

2\. Students will be expected to participate in a group research
project. Class time may be given to assist in the process. Topics will
be chosen after discussion with the instructor who will be available for
guidance throughout. Two copies of a jointly prepared report must be
presented by the last day of class. Late projects will be penalized by
loss of grade.

30% of grade

3\. Final exam based on the lectures and project research.

40% of grade

Grading Scale

<table>
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<col style="width: 9%" />
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<col style="width: 9%" />
<col style="width: 9%" />
<col style="width: 9%" />
<col style="width: 9%" />
<col style="width: 9%" />
<col style="width: 9%" />
<col style="width: 12%" />
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<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<td>A+</td>
<td>A</td>
<td>A-</td>
<td>B+</td>
<td>B</td>
<td>B-</td>
<td>C+</td>
<td>C</td>
<td>D</td>
<td>F</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td>90-100%</td>
<td>85-89%</td>
<td>80-84%</td>
<td>75-79%</td>
<td>70-74%</td>
<td>65-69%</td>
<td>60-64%</td>
<td>55-59%</td>
<td>50-54%</td>
<td><p>49% or</p>
<p>Less</p></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

**LECTURE OUTLINE**

1\. Introduction, essays and projects

2\. Definition of disaster

3\. Risk: a matter of perception

4\. Microzonation, single to multiple hazard mapping

5\. Safety by better design - the role of the architect and engineer in
mitigating disaster

6\. Disaster simulation

7\. Warning systems

8\. Designing an adequate disaster plan

9\. Refugees

10\. Construction and reconstruction after disaster

11\. Mental illness and disaster (Post-traumatic stress disorder).

**TEXTBOOK**

Cutter, S.L. *Environmental Risks and Hazards*, Englewood Cliffs:
Prentice Hall, 1994.

**OTHER READINGS**

Wilson, R. and Crouch E.A.C. *Risk-Benefit Analysis*, Newton, M.A.:
Harvard University Press, 2001.

Martin, L.R.G. and Lafond, G. *Risk Assessment and Management: Emergency
Planning Perspectives*, Waterloo: University of Waterloo Press, 1988.

Foster, H.D. *Disaster Planning: The Preservation of Life and Property*,
New York: Springer Verlag, 1980.

Hewitt, K. (ed.). *Interpretations of Calamity*, Boston: Allen and
Unwin, 1983.

Perry, R.W. and Mushkatel, A.L. *Disaster Management*, Westport, Conn.:
Quorum Books, 1984.

Hewitt, K. and Burton, I. *The Hazardousness of a Place: A Regional
Ecology of Damaging Events*, Toronto: University of Toronto, 1971.

Hewitt, K. *Regions of Risk: A Geographical Introduction to Disasters*,
Addison Wesley, Longman: Harlow, 1997.

Haas, J.E., Kates, R.W., Bowden, M.J. (eds.). *Reconstruction Following
Disaster*, Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press, 1977.

Collier, R. *The Plague of the Spanish Lady*, New York: Atheneum, 1974.

Thomas, G. and Witts, M.M. *The San Francisco Earthquake*, New York:
Stein and Day, 1971.

Liebow, A.A. *Encounter with Disaster: A Medical Diary of Hiroshima,
1945*, New York: W.W. Norton, 1985.

Geipel, R. *Long-term Consequences of Disasters*, New York: Springer
Verlag, 1991.

Perry, W.R. and Lindell, M.K. *Living with Mount St. Helens: Human
Adjustment to Volcano Hazards*, Pullman: Washington, Washington State
University Press, 1990.

Dacy, D.C. and Kunreuther, H. *The Economics of Natural Disasters*, New
York: The Free Press, 1969.

\*\*\* From time to time the instructor will recommend journal articles
that should also be consulted.

**ESSAY TOPICS**

1\. Pandemics as disasters

2\. The anatomy of a disaster. Discuss one of the following:

\(a\) Chernobyl

\(b\) 1906 San Francisco earthquake

\(c\) 1918-1919 Spanish influenza pandemic

\(d\) Hiroshima, 1945

\(e\) Mad Cow Disease

\(f\) World Trade Center Disaster

\(g\) Blackout August 2003

3\. The public perception of risk

4\. Canada\'s tsunami warning system

5\. Risk mapping techniques

6\. Reconstruction after disaster

7\. The ideal disaster plan

8\. Disaster gaming and simulation

9\. Disaster planning in Victoria

10\. War as disaster

11\. Applying disaster planning techniques to reduce life loss from
disease.

12. Great Canadian ice storms

    **PROJECTS**

    1\. The preparation and implementation of a disaster exercise
    affecting the University of Victoria.

    2\. Examine three major British Columbian disasters.

    3\. Evaluate the Port Alice mudslide defence system.

    4\. Review flood hazard mapping for British Columbia. Contrast it
    with other jurisdictions.

    5\. Compare disasters during the last ten years using the Foster
    disaster scale.

    6\. Prepare a computerized total risk map of one selected area.

    7\. Conduct a literature review of international policies towards
    refugees.

    8\. Assess disaster preparedness at the University of Victoria, or
    assist local disaster planning agency.

    9\. Review disaster planning in Victoria's Big Snow, Winter 1996-7.

    10\. Examine the Red River flood of 1997.

    11\. Review the global response to AIDS.

    12, Review Britain's response to Foot-and-Mouth Disease.

    13\. Assess disaster planning during the August 2003 Blackout.

    **FIELDWORK PROJECTS AND SAFETY**

    It is intended that fieldwork projects will introduce students to
    real world experiences. It is stressed that no student should take
    unreasonable risks. Please put your safety and the safety of others
    above any academic considerations. Do not take boats out in rough
    seas, do not wade out into fast flowing rivers or deep lakes. Take
    extreme care if visiting gravel quarries or construction sites -
    mass movement may occur and bury the unwary.

    If any student wishes to avoid fieldwork for reasons of safety or
    health, library or computer research can be substituted with the
    approval of Dr. Foster. Remember, always take care and do not drink
    and drive.

    *The University of Victoria is committed to promoting, providing and
    protecting a positive and safe learning and working environment for
    all its members.*