A Survey of the Field of Hazard and Disaster Studies

作     者：David E. Alexander 

作者机构：Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction University College London London WCI E 6BT UK 

出 版 物：《Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture》 (土木工程与建筑（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2013年第7卷第7期

页      面：841-853页

学科分类：083002[工学-环境工程] 0830[工学-环境科学与工程（可授工学、理学、农学学位）] 081603[工学-地图制图学与地理信息工程] 081802[工学-地球探测与信息技术] 07[理学] 08[工学] 070503[理学-地图学与地理信息系统] 0818[工学-地质资源与地质工程] 0705[理学-地理学] 0816[工学-测绘科学与技术] 

主　　题：Hazard vulnerability risk culture disaster economic impacts mitigation policies. 

摘      要：This paper examines trends in the impacts of disasters at the world scale and proposes explanations for them. It is concluded that statistics on natural hazards are questionable, in that changes in recording methods have artificially inflated the number of disasters and the seriousness of their impacts. Next, the paper examines the symbolic interpretation of disasters at various scales of analysis in terms of human cultures. It further applies this approach to the analysis of natural hazards using information technology methods such as GIS （Geographic Information Systems）. Returning to the global scale, deficiencies and inequalities in the world disaster relief system are considered. Thereafter, the paper investigates how global economic imbalances are thrown into sharp relief by catastrophes, with examples from the record of past earthquakes, landslides and floods. Finally, it considers the prospects for a major change in the direction of world policy on disasters and concludes that this will only occur if the international financial system is forced to adjust to a ＂super-disaster＂ event, which could possibly be seismic, volcanic or nuclear in origin.