Title: Natural disasters in a global environment /
Authors: Penna, Anthony N.; Rivers, Jennifer S.
Year: 2013
Subjects: Natural disasters History.; Environmental disasters History.; Natural disasters Environmental aspects.; Disasters history; Geological Phenomena; Climatic Processes; Sociological Factors; HISTORY General.; Environmental disasters; Natural disasters; Natural disasters Environmental aspects; Naturkatastrophe; Umweltkatastrophe; Naturkatastrofer historia.; Miljökatastrofer.
Abstract: "Natural Disasters in a Global Environment is a transnational, global and environmental history of natural and man-made disasters. Detailed case studies of past and present events are presented in a historical narrative, making use of the most recent scholarship. - Examines a range of disasters including volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, landslides, hurricanes, famines, and more - Highlights the role of science in studying natural disasters and describes the mechanisms responsible for them - Features a range of case studies which can be used in conjunction with one another or as standalone examples - Covers scientific material in a lucid and accessible style suited to undergraduate students or those outside of scientific disciplines - Traces the transition of our understanding of disasters, from religious and superstitious explanations to contemporary scientific accounts"--
Contents: Internal Processes. Supervolcanoes: The Mt. Toba eruption (73,000 BP) ; The Thera (Santorini) eruption in the Aegean Sea (1600 BCE) ; Mt. Tambora (1815) and Krakatau (1883) ; The Mt. Pinatubo eruption (1991) ; A threatening future scenario. -- Earthquakes: The San Francisco earthquake (1906) ; The great Kanto earthquake (1923) ; The Haitian earthquake (2010). -- Tsunamis. Lisbon, Portugal: the quadruple disaster (1755) ; The Lituya Bay mega-tsunami (1958) ; The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake (2004) ; The Tohoku (Japan) tsunami (2011). -- Superficial Processes. Fire: The burning of Rome (68 CE) ; The great fire of London (1666) ; The Chicago and Peshtigo fires (1871). -- Floods: Central China floods (1931) ; The Dutch flood disaster (1953) ; The Bangladesh floods (1997-1998). -- Landslides: The Turtle Mountain landslide, Canada (1903) ; The Aberfan landslide, Wales (1966) ; The Ancash earthquake and landslide, Peru (1970) ; The Southern Leyte landslide, the Philippines (2006). -- Pandemic diseases: The Bubonic Plague (1347-1351 and after) ; The Great Influenza Epidemic (1918-1920) ; HIV/AIDS (1985- ). -- Atmospheric Processes. Hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons: The Labor Day hurricane in the Florida Keys (1935) ; The Bhola cyclone (1970) ; Super-typhoon Nina (1975). -- Famines and droughts: The Irish Potato Famine (1845-1851) ; The "Dust Bowl" drought in the American West (1930-1940) ; The Great Leap Forward Chinese famine (1958-1961). -- Meteorite impacts: The creation of Earth's moon and the origins of meteorites ; The Yucatan Chicxulub crater, Mexico (65 MYA) ; The Clovis Extinction (12, 500-12,900 BP) ; The Tunguska (Siberia) event (1908).