The Asia-Pacific region is one of the most vulnerable to a variety of natural and manmade hazards. This edited book productively brings together scholars and senior public officials having direct experience in dealing with or researching on recent major natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific. The chapters focus on disaster preparedness and management, including pre-event planning and mitigation, crisis leadership and emergency response, and disaster recovery. Specific events discussed in this book include a broad spectrum of disasters such as tropical storms and typhoons in the Philippines; earthquakes in China; tsunamis in Indonesia, Japan, and Maldives; and bushfires in Australia. The book aims to generate discussions about improved risk reduction strategies throughout the region. It seeks to provide a comparative perspective across countries to draw lessons from three perspectives: public policy, humanitarian systems, and community engagement.

The book outlines the regulatory environment for disaster prevention and management in broad social, economic and political context. The first half of the book focuses mainly on Japan, especially the ‘3-11’ events: the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Tohoku area on 11 March 2011 and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant radiation leaks. The second half focuses on the USA (the only other Asia-Pacific country to have experienced a serious nuclear emergency), Indonesia, China, New Zealand, Australia and international law. One question explored is whether socio-legal norms play different roles in preventing and managing responses to natural disasters compared to ‘man-made’ disasters. Another is how ‘disaster law’ interacts with society across very diverse societies in the disaster-prone Asia-Pacific region. The book also addresses the increasingly important roles played by international law and regional regimes for cross-border cooperation in disaster prevention and relief, including the functions played by military forces. Erudite, pragmatic, and charged with detailed, substantive knowledge of an astonishing range of contexts and research fields, this timely collection of important essays on the law and society of disaster management stands as an exemplary international academic response to the disasters of 11 March 2011. (Annelise Riles)

This book documents how nurses have shown their dedication, courage, expertise and compassion in helping communities prepare for, respond to and recover from disastrous events. It aims to inspire and equip nurses and other health professionals to help people in disaster-affected areas and contribute to community resilience. The last decade (2005-2015) has been characterized by a number of overwhelming natural disasters - tropical storms, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis; and threats of emerging infectious diseases - SARS, MERSCoV and Ebola around the world. Countries from the Asia Pacific region, such as Australia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, India, Japan, Nepal, Philippines, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Thailand and Vanuatu, have borne the brunt of the devastation caused by these catastrophic events. Nurses from these countries have stepped in providing emergency care in hospitals and in the field, addressing public health needs in evacuation centers, supporting epidemiologic surveillance and conducting health education, training and research, to help save lives and support communities build back better.

Science and Technology in Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia: Potentials and Challenges provides both a local and global perspective on how to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Topics demonstrate the advancement of scientific research as it applies to early warning systems, including identifying risk and the strengthening of infrastructure for different types of hazards. Through different major disasters, it has become evident that there must be a balance between hard and soft technology and physical, process and social solutions. This book demonstrates how this has been successfully implemented in Asia, and how these applications can apply on a global basis. - Covers new research on the role of science in Disaster Risk Reduction and lessons learned when research has been applied - Utilizes case studies to outline the broader lessons learned - Focuses on the Sendai Framework, which was adopted in the Third UN World Conference in 2015

This book is a unique, transdisciplinary summary of the state of the art of disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Indonesia. It provides a comprehensive overview of disaster risk governance across all levels and multiple actors including diverse perspectives from practitioners and researchers on the challenges and progress of DRR in Indonesia. The book includes novel and emerging topics such as the role of culture, religion, psychology and the media in DRR. It is essential reading for students, researchers, and policy makers seeking to understand the nature and variety of environmental hazards and risk patterns affecting Indonesia. Following the introduction, the book has four main parts of key discussions. Part I presents disaster risk governance from national to local level and its integration into development sectors, Part II focuses on the roles of different actors for DRR, Part III discusses emerging issues in DRR research and practice, and Part IV puts forward variety of methods and studies to measure hazards, risks and community resilience.

This edited book examines the contemporary regional security concerns in the Asia-Pacific recognizing the ‘Butterfly effect’, the concept that small causes can have large effects: ‘the flap of a butterfly’s wings can cause a typhoon halfway around the world’. For many Asia-Pacific states, domestic security challenges are at least as important as external security considerations. Recent events (both natural disasters and man-made disasters) have pointed to the inherent physical, economic, social and political vulnerabilities that exist in the region. Both black swan events and persistent threats to security characterize the challenges within the Asia-Pacific region. Transnational security challenges such as global climate change, environmental degradation, pandemics, energy security, supply chain security, resource scarcity, terrorism and organized crime are shaping the security landscape regionally and globally. The significance of emerging transnational security challenges in the Asia-Pacific Region impact globally and conversely, security developments in those other regions affect the Asia-Pacific region.

The Asia and Pacific region has seen tremendous economic and social progress since the 1960s. Yet, the region remains vulnerable to disaster risk that threatens its hard-won gains. Over the years, developing Asia has endured a growing number of disasters triggered by natural hazards. As a result, numerous lives, livelihoods, and communities have been damaged or lost. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is testament to the debilitating effects of such a disaster on people, businesses, and economies. Indeed, in 2020, developing Asia suffered its first economic contraction in 6 decades. Now more than ever, the region must find ways to reduce its vulnerability to hazards and build economic resilience.