Applied Disaster and Emergency Studies: Books

Humanity is deeply committed to living along the world's shores, but a catastrophic storm like Sandy--which took hundreds of lives and caused many billions of dollars in damages--shines a bright light at how costly and vulnerable life on a shoreline can be. Taking Chances offers a wide-ranging exploration of the diverse challenges of Sandy and asks if this massive event will really change how coastal living and development is managed.

Governments must work tirelessly to update their preparedness for dealing with natural and man-made disasters, as well as taking account of the increasingly present threat of terrorism. Efficient international cooperation is key to achieving safety and internationalizing security policy.This book presents the proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) Engaging the Public to Fight the Consequences of Terrorism and Disasters, held in Tbilisi, Georgia, in June 2014. The purpose of the workshop was to analyze accumulated European theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the field of disaster prevention and the involvement of the public in preventing and fighting the consequences of terrorism, as well as natural and man-made disasters. There was a particular focus on the perspective of the region, especially with a view to meeting European Union standards and setting uniform and independent standards for hazard and risk assessment methods.

"Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters" identifies and recommends recovery practices and novel programs most likely to impact overall community public health and contribute to resiliency for future incidents. This book makes the case that disaster recovery should be guided by a healthy community vision, where health considerations are integrated into all aspects of recovery planning before and after a disaster, and funding streams are leveraged in a coordinated manner and applied to health improvement priorities in order to meet human recovery needs and create healthy built and natural environments.

"Preparedness, Response and Recovery Considerations for Children and Families" is the summary of a workshop convened in June, 2013 by the Institute of Medicine Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events to discuss disaster preparedness, response, and resilience relative to the needs of children and families, including children with special health care needs.