Overview

'Natural' disasters have more to do with the social, political, and economic aspects than they do with the environmental hazards that trigger them. Disasters occur at the interface of vulnerable people and hazardous environments. This book concentrates on the social aspects of disaster, focusing on the most expensive disaster to date in US history, the Northridge earthquake of 1994, to examine the facets of vulnerability and post-disaster recovery strategies. Surveying the historical and contemporary aspects of life in Southern California the author explains how vulnerability to disaster has been shaped by more than a century of immigration, urbanization, environmental transformations, and economic development. Examining other recent disasters alongside Northridge, this book provides a global view of the social effects of disaster in developed and developing countries. An invaluable insight into the field, The Northridge Earthquake discusses key aspects of sustainable development and state policy and concludes with considerations of ways that vulnerability can be reduced in the future.

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9780415178976

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Reviews

It is both challenging of prevailing discourses, and is written with a cultural sensitivity, which makes it a highly imnportant book for those who whose work explores interactions between people and hazardous environments....A book that it is felt will contribute to a concerted effort by some hazards researchers to bridge the 'risk archipelago. The Geographical Journal, March 2000 'Bolin and Stanford have made an important and timely contribution to the disaster literature.' - The Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management

In addition to a comprehensive bibliography, the careful and thorough examination of the Northridge earthquake offers convincing evidence of the merits of a vunerability approach.. <br>- Choice, April 1999 vol. 36, No. 8 <br> Guided by a number of vulnerability indices including ethnicity, gender, degree of literacy, age, life cycle, and so on, the authors present an array of numerical and narrative data to make the case that disasters expose social fault lines and fissures in the beliefs and rhetorics of equality and fairness. <br>--Steve Kroll-Smith Contemporary Sociology <br>

In addition to a comprehensive bibliography, the careful and thorough examination of the Northridge earthquake offers convincing evidence of the merits of a vunerability approach.. - Choice, April 1999 vol. 36, No. 8 Guided by a number of vulnerability indices including ethnicity, gender, degree of literacy, age, life cycle, and so on, the authors present an array of numerical and narrative data to make the case that disasters expose social fault lines and fissures in the beliefs and rhetorics of equality and fairness. --Steve Kroll-Smith Contemporary Sociology

In addition to a comprehensive bibliography, the careful and thorough examination of the Northridge earthquake offers convincing evidence of the merits of a vunerability approach.. - Choice, April 1999 vol. 36, No. 8 Guided by a number of vulnerability indices including ethnicity, gender, degree of literacy, age, life cycle, and so on, the authors present an array of numerical and narrative data to make the case that disasters expose social fault lines and fissures in the beliefs and rhetorics of equality and fairness. --Steve Kroll-Smith Contemporary Sociology

Author Information

Robert Bolin, Lois Stanford

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