Natural Hazards

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Illustrations......Page 11
Preface......Page 15
Acknowledgements......Page 17
RATIONALE......Page 19
The world of myths and legends......Page 20
Catastrophism vs. uniformitarianism......Page 21
The relationship between humans and natural hazards......Page 23
Hazard statistics......Page 24
CHAPTER OUTLINES......Page 28
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 31
PART 1 CLIMATIC HAZARDS......Page 33
How air moves......Page 35
Palmén–Newton model of global circulation......Page 36
Changes in jet stream paths......Page 39
Mobile polar highs......Page 40
Introduction......Page 42
El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events......Page 45
La Niña events......Page 47
Global long-term links to drought and floods......Page 48
Links to other hazards......Page 49
North Atlantic Oscillation......Page 52
North Pacific Oscillation......Page 53
Solar cycles......Page 55
The 18.6-year MN lunar cycle......Page 57
CONCLUDING COMMENTS......Page 59
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 60
Introduction......Page 62
Mechanics of cyclone generation......Page 63
Magnitude and frequency......Page 66
World cyclone disasters......Page 68
Hurricane Andrew, 24 August 1992......Page 69
Hurricane Mitch, October/November 1998......Page 71
Australia......Page 72
United States......Page 74
Bangladesh (East Pakistan)......Page 75
EXTRA-TROPICAL CYCLONES......Page 76
Formation......Page 77
Historical events......Page 78
Formation......Page 81
United States Ash Wednesday storm of 7 March 1962......Page 82
Australian east-coast storms of May–June 1974......Page 83
The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race storm of 27–29 December 1998......Page 84
Snowstorms......Page 85
Notable events......Page 86
Impact of snowstorms......Page 87
Freezing rain......Page 90
Blizzards......Page 89
Causes......Page 91
Recurrence intervals......Page 94
Probability of exceedence diagrams......Page 95
Introduction......Page 96
Formation......Page 97
The role of dust......Page 98
Frequency of dust storms......Page 99
Major storm events......Page 100
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 101
Thunderstorms......Page 103
Lightning......Page 106
Hail......Page 108
Introduction......Page 111
Dust devils, mountainadoes, fire tornadoes and waterspouts......Page 112
Structure of a tornado......Page 113
Occurrence......Page 115
Tornado destruction......Page 117
Response......Page 118
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 120
PRE-COLONIAL RESPONSE TO DROUGHT......Page 121
POST-COLONIAL RESPONSE......Page 123
Societies that expect drought: the United States......Page 124
Societies that don’t expect drought: the United Kingdom......Page 126
Those that lose......Page 127
Those that win......Page 129
Laissez-faire: the Australian policy......Page 130
International relief organizations......Page 131
International aid ‘flops’......Page 132
PRIVATE RESPONSES: BOB GELDOF......Page 133
CONCLUDING COMMENTS......Page 136
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 137
Magnitude and frequency of heavy rainfall......Page 138
Flood power......Page 140
Synoptic patterns favoring flash flooding......Page 142
Maximum probable rainfall......Page 143
Urban flash floods......Page 145
Mississippi River floods......Page 149
Great Australian floods......Page 151
Flooding in China......Page 153
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 155
INTRODUCTION......Page 157
CONDITIONS FAVORING INTENSE BUSHFIRES......Page 158
CAUSES OF FIRES......Page 161
BUSHFIRE DISASTERS: WORLD PERSPECTIVE......Page 162
Fire history......Page 163
Recent disasters......Page 165
Conditions......Page 167
Historic disasters......Page 168
CONCLUDING COMMENTS......Page 171
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 172
INTRODUCTION......Page 173
Theory......Page 174
Waves as a hazard at sea......Page 177
Waves as a hazard on rocky coasts......Page 179
Ice in the ocean......Page 180
Ice at shore......Page 183
Current rates of change in sea level worldwide......Page 184
Factors causing sea level rise......Page 186
Global sea level and the hydrological cycle......Page 187
Sea level rise and the Bruun Rule......Page 188
Other causes of erosion......Page 189
CONCLUDING COMMENTS......Page 192
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 193
PART 2 GEOLOGICAL HAZARDS......Page 195
SCALES FOR MEASURING EARTHQUAKE INTENSITY......Page 197
DISTRIBUTION OF EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES......Page 200
Plate boundaries......Page 202
Hot spots......Page 204
Other faulting and dilatancy......Page 205
Added water (dams and rain)......Page 206
Volcanoes......Page 207
Interaction between earthquakes and volcanoes......Page 210
Earthquake cycles......Page 211
Short-term prediction of seismic activity......Page 213
Randomness versus clustering......Page 215
Prediction of volcanoes......Page 216
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 218
TYPES OF SHOCK WAVES......Page 220
General......Page 222
Alaskan earthquake of 27 March 1964......Page 224
The Californian earthquake hazard......Page 225
The Japanese earthquake hazard......Page 228
LIQUEFACTION OR THIXOTROPY......Page 229
Description......Page 232
Tsunami magnitude scales......Page 237
Disaster descriptions......Page 238
Prediction in the Pacific region......Page 240
CONCLUDING COMMENTS......Page 242
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 243
INTRODUCTION......Page 245
TYPES OF VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS......Page 247
VOLCANIC HAZARDS......Page 248
Ballistics and tephra clouds......Page 250
Pyroclastic flows and base surges......Page 251
Gases and acid rains......Page 253
Lahars......Page 254
Glacier bursts or Jökulhlaups......Page 255
Santorini, around 1470 BC......Page 256
Vesuvius (25 August 79 AD)......Page 258
Krakatau (26–27 August 1883)......Page 259
Mt Pelée (8 May 1902)......Page 261
Mt St Helens (18 May 1980)......Page 264
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 265
Stress and strain......Page 267
Friction, cohesion and coherence......Page 268
SHEAR STRENGTH OF SOILS: MOHR–COULOMB EQUATION......Page 269
Pore-water pressure......Page 270
Plastic solids......Page 271
Introduction......Page 272
Expansive soils......Page 274
Creep and solifluction......Page 276
Mud and debris flows......Page 277
Causes......Page 279
Landslide disasters......Page 281
Rockfalls......Page 282
Debris avalanches......Page 283
Air-supported flows (avalanches)......Page 284
SUBSIDENCE......Page 285
CONCLUDING COMMENTS......Page 286
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 287
PART 3 SOCIAL IMPACT......Page 289
Warnings and evacuation......Page 291
Preparedness, if warned......Page 294
Response during the event......Page 295
Possessions and homes......Page 296
Anti-social behavior......Page 297
Resettlement......Page 298
Myths and heroes......Page 300
Emotional problems......Page 301
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING......Page 304
CHANGING HAZARD REGIMES......Page 306
MODERN CONSEQUENCES OF NATURAL HAZARDS......Page 308
REFERENCES AND FURTHER FUTHER READINGS......Page 309
Select Glossary of Terms......Page 310
Index......Page 322