Natural Disasters : A Research Guide

Natural disasters such as drought, earthquakes, hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, tsunamis, and volcanoes occur almost everyday somewhere on Earth. Science students and researchers will find a great many resources listed below to help them understand why and how these disasters occur and how to prepare for them. Researchers will also learn about the impact that natural disasters have on the people and places in which they occur. This guide introduces researchers to some of the basic informational sources on the topic. The terms and phrases listed in the subject headings below can be used to search for more materials in the library's catalog and research databases. If you need further assistance, please ask a librarian.

Agents of Chaos: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Other Natural Disasters by Stephen L. Harris. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press, 1990. ISBN: 0878422439.
Focus on earthquakes and volcanoes in the Western United States.

At Risk: Natural Hazards, People's Vulnerability, and Disasters by Piers M. Blaikie. New York: Routledge, 1994. ISBN: 0415084776.
Focuses on what makes people vulnerable and looks at different social groups that suffer more in extreme events.

Crucible of Hazard edited by James K. Mitchell. Tokyo: UNU Press, 1999. ISBN: 9280809873.
Offers a compilation of maps that superimpose vulnerable populations with the physical hazard. Maps and lists are provided that identify municipalities in metro regions with high percentages of vulnerable people.

Devastation!: The World's Worst Natural Disasters by Lesley Newson. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1998. ISBN: 0789435187.
Details from the world's most spectacular natural disasters. Includes 400 color photos.

Disasters by Design: A Reassessment of Natural Hazards in the United States by Dennis S. Mileti. Washington, DC: John Henry Press, 1999. ISBN: 0309063604.
Summarizes the hazards research findings from the previous two decades, synthesizes what has been learned, and outlines a proposed shift in direction in research and policy for natural and related technological hazards in the United States.

Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes by David Ritchie and Alexander E. Gates, PhD. New York: Facts On File, 2001. ISBN: 0816043728.
Science of seismology and volcanology through facts about the disasters themselves, historical and eyewitness accounts, and how they affect the political landscape.

Encyclopedia of Hurricanes, Typhoons, and Cyclones by David Longshore. New York: Facts On
File, 1998. ISBN: 0816033986.
Covers all major aspects of tropical cyclone activity. More than 200 extensively cross-referenced A-to-Z entries detail cyclonic storms in meteorology, history, and culture.

The Environment as Hazard, 2nd ed. by Ian Burton, Robert William Kates, and Gilbert F. White. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN: 019502222X.
Examines research and policy issues relating to natural hazards.

Natural Disasters, 4th ed. by Patrick L. Abbott. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003. ISBN: 0072921986.
Explores natural disasters such as volcanoes, earthquakes, flooding, and other hazards, how these phenomena develop, and their impact on the environment.

Natural Disasters by David E. Alexander. New York: UCL Press and Chapman & Hall, 1993. ISBN: 0412047411.
Overview of the physical, technological, and social components of natural disaster.

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DisasterHelp
https://disasterhelp.gov/portal/jhtml/index.jhtml
Provides information and services relating to preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. Includes disaster news, anti-terror, disease, and natural disasters.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security
www.fema.gov
Leads the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident.

Forces of Nature
http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/
Includes information regarding earth science, geology, fifteen common natural disasters, unusual phenomena, their impact, effects, and causes.

National Hazards Center
www.colorado.edu/hazards/
Collects and shares research and experience related to preparedness for, response to, recovery from, and mitigation of disasters.

Natural Disaster Reference Database
http://ndrd.gsfc.nasa.gov
A bibliographic database on research, programs, and results which relate to the use of satellite remote sensing for disaster mitigation. The NDRD was compiled and abstracted from articles published from 1981 though January 2000.

Natural Hazard Statistics
www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hazstats.shtml
Provides statistical information on fatalities, injuries and damages caused by weather related hazards.

Weather Disasters from InfoPlease
www.infoplease.com/weather.html?mc=1562837770
Provides details on some of the most deadliest weather disasters known.