This book gathers the proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Natural Hazards (NATHAZ'19), held in Lajes do Pico, Pico Island, Azores in 2019. Natural hazards constitute the threat of a naturally occurring event having a negative effect on human beings. These effects are often called natural disasters. Among the natural hazards and potential disasters to be considered are: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, subsidence, floods, droughts and coastal erosion. In addition, there are anthropogenic hazards that occur as a result of human interactions with the environment. They include technological hazards, which occur due to exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. Grasping the behaviour of natural systems requires a comprehensive understanding of climatology, geology and hydrology data and dynamics. Thus, it is important to conduct hazard and risk assessment studies for meaningful hazard mitigation. Further, the book demonstrates that an accurate understanding of natural systems and interactions between engineering and natural resources is of vital significance to the entire socio-economic sector. This volume offers an overview of natural hazards in model regions in Europe, America, and Atlantic islands. Providing new insights on the characterisation, assessment, protection and modelling of geological hazards, water systems, urban areas and coastal zones, it represents a valuable resource for all researchers and practitioners in the fields of Geosciences, Hydrology, Water Resources, Natural Hazards, Environments and Engineering. Main topics include: 1. Natural Hazards and Disasters 2. Sustainable Water Systems and Climate Change 3. Technological Hazards and Engineering Design.

This book gathers the proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Natural Hazards (NATHAZ'19), held in Lajes do Pico, Pico Island, Azores in 2019. Natural hazards constitute the threat of a naturally occurring event having a negative effect on human beings. These effects are often called natural disasters. Among the natural hazards and potential disasters to be considered are: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, subsidence, floods, droughts and coastal erosion. In addition, there are anthropogenic hazards that occur as a result of human interactions with the environment. They include technological hazards, which occur due to exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. Grasping the behaviour of natural systems requires a comprehensive understanding of climatology, geology and hydrology data and dynamics. Thus, it is important to conduct hazard and risk assessment studies for meaningful hazard mitigation. Further, the book demonstrates that an accurate understanding of natural systems and interactions between engineering and natural resources is of vital significance to the entire socio-economic sector. This volume offers an overview of natural hazards in model regions in Europe, America, and Atlantic islands. Providing new insights on the characterisation, assessment, protection and modelling of geological hazards, water systems, urban areas and coastal zones, it represents a valuable resource for all researchers and practitioners in the fields of Geosciences, Hydrology, Water Resources, Natural Hazards, Environments and Engineering. Main topics include:1. Natural Hazards and Disasters2. Sustainable Water Systems and Climate Change3. Technological Hazards and Engineering Design

Disasters by Design provides an alternative and sustainable way to view, study, and manage hazards in the United States that would result in disaster-resilient communities, higher environmental quality, inter- and intragenerational equity, economic sustainability, and improved quality of life. This volume provides an overview of what is known about natural hazards, disasters, recovery, and mitigation, how research findings have been translated into policies and programs; and a sustainable hazard mitigation research agenda. Also provided is an examination of past disaster losses and hazards management over the past 20 years, including factorsâ€"demographic, climate, socialâ€"that influence loss. This volume summarizes and sets the stage for the more detailed books in the series.

This book summarizes the research being pursued as part of the Erasmus+ CBHE KA2 project entitled "Development of master curricula for natural disasters risk management in Western Balkan countries” (NatRisk), which aims to educate experts on the prevention and management of natural disasters in the Western Balkan region in line with national and EU policies. The project has successfully developed and implemented master curricula and educational training in the field of natural disasters risk management, and a methodology for the identification and prevention of natural disasters. Consisting of 11 chapters, the book analyzes and discusses topics such as risk assessment tools and quality methods, the different approaches for civil-military collaboration, natural disasters risk management in Bosnia and Herzegovina, leadership models for managing crises resulting from natural disasters, natural disasters in industrial areas, natural risk management in geotechnics, flood risk modeling, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference models for flood prediction, collapse prediction of masonry arches, an algorithm for fire truck dispatch in emergency situations, and processing drought data in a GIS environment.

This book highlights the use of historical data in natural hazard assessments. Different types of data, such as historical data from written documents, are linked to technically measured data such as stream gauge height and consequently river discharge in order to archive new possibilities of probability determination of respective hazardous processes. In addition, this book strengthens this interdisciplinary approach through the application to different processes of earthquakes, floods, and landslides. Based on worldwide examples, the book introduces how various disciplines address the use of historical data in their respective analysis. These studies might give suggestions of new approaches in their own field derived from applications shown by other disciplines. Audience: This volume is of particular interest to professionals interested and involved in natural hazard assessments, working at research institutions and organisations, large and small scale enterprises, governmental agencies as well as private personnel. However, also advanced students might find the book helpful in addressing specific issues raised in natural hazard courses.

This collection of articles provides a unique overview of the state of the science in the prediction of and response to natural disaster events. The uniqueness of this volume is that it comprises more than just the physical science perspective. For each natural hazard included in this text, social scientists have provided research summaries of how public perceptions are related to the actions that are likely to be undertaken when people are confronted with information about the existence of a natural hazard threat. In this book the reader can find a truly international characterization of both hazard perception and prediction. The American and European contributors provide state-of-the-science overviews of empirically-based research knowledge that expands beyond any national boundaries. This approach has resulted in broader understanding of what is currently known about predicting natural hazard events and predicting how those events, or warnings of them, will be responded to by different types of societies.

Over the past 20 years the costs of natural disasters have escalated significantly. The lives of over 800 million people have been disrupted and the number of catastrophes has nearly quadrupled. At present, the increasing global threat of natural disasters, in spite of our increased knowledge, is ominous. With the growth in world population, the increasing of resources in newly developing areas, and the increasing cost and sophistication of engineering structures and technical installations, there is an urgent need to seek to understand the potential threats posed by natural hazards and to ascertain the best ways of mitigating their damaging effects. To meet this urgent threat, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in December 22, 1989 passed a Resolution which declared the 1990s to be the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR). As a contribution to the decade, the International Symposium Hazards--91 was held in Perugia, Italy, during 4--9 August 1991. The conference was attended by specialists from 34 countries, and a total of 110 papers were presented at 20 sessions, covering a very broad range of topics which proved to be of significant value for future research. The sixteen articles included in this book provide a unique overview of the state-of-the-science in geophysical hazards including climatic, atmospheric, hydrological and geological hazards. Furthermore, the results of a panel on the IDNDR and the recommendations adopted during the meeting are presented at the end of this volume. Recent Studies in Geophysical Hazards is thus an excellent reference source for scientists, engineers, and policy makers.