Chapter 1 - The management of disasters

Abstract

Disasters have adversely affected humans since the dawn of our existence. In response, individuals and societies alike have strived to minimize their hazard exposure and decrease their vulnerability to the consequences of these disasters. All of these efforts have the same goal: disaster management. The motivating concepts that guide disaster management—the reduction of harm to life, property, the economy, society, and the environment—are largely the same throughout the world. Whether due to political, cultural, economic, or other reasons, the unfortunate reality is that some countries and some regions are more capable than others of addressing the problem. Furthermore, the emergence of an increasingly complex global marketplace has made it almost impossible to contain a disaster's consequences within one country's borders. Chapter 1 examines foundational disaster management theories and expands on these concepts to highlight the scope and complexity of international disasters. Like disaster management on the national level, international disaster management involves a variety of actions and efforts aimed at mitigating the effects of hazards, ensuring that populations are prepared for disasters should they occur, facilitating the response to disasters that strike, and helping nations and people to recover in the months and years that follow adverse events. This chapter includes a brief history of disaster management and illustrates the varied scope and scale of hazards and disasters as they exist in each of the different world regions.