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NHESS - Special Issues Year Special Issues 2011 "Progress in research on earthquake precursors" Eds. K. Eftaxias, T. Maggipinto, and C.-V. Meister 2010 "Extreme and rogue waves" Eds. E. Pelinovsky and C. Kharif "New developments in tsunami science: from hazard to risk" Eds. I. Didenkulova, S. Monserrat , and S. Tinti "Geo-hydrological risk and town and country planning" Eds. F. Luino and D. Castaldini "11th Plinius Conference on Mediterranean Storms" Eds. M.-C. Llasat, A. Mugnai, G. Boni, R. Deidda, and Jordi Salat "Understanding dynamics and current developments of climate extremes in the Mediterranean region" Eds. R. García-Herrera, P. Lionello, and U. Ulbrich "Approaches to hazard evaluation, mapping, and mitigation" Eds. G. R. Iovine, J. Huebl, M. Pastor, and M. Sheridan "Radon, health and natural hazards" Eds. G. Gillmore, R. Crockett, T. Przylibski, and F. Guzzetti 2009 "Applying ensemble climate change projections for assessing risks of impacts in Europe" Eds. T. Carter, G. Leckebusch, and J. E. Olesen "Ground and satellite based observations during the time of the Abruzzo earthquake" Eds. M. E. Contadakis, P. F. Biagi, and M. Hayakawa "The GITEWS Project (German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System)" Eds. A. Rudloff, J. Lauterjung, and U. Münch "Documentation and monitoring of landslides and debris flows" Eds. L. Franzi, M. Arattano, M. Arai, P. Allasia, and D. Giordan "Models, theory, and empirical studies in wildfire hazard" Eds. R. Lasaponara "Assessment of different dimensions of vulnerability to natural hazards and climate change" Eds. T. Glade and J. Birkmann "The RISKMED Project (Weather Risk Reduction in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean)" Eds. A. Mugnai and A. Bartzokas "Extreme events induced by weather and climate change: evaluation, forecasting and proactive planning" Eds. A. Loukas, M.-C. Llasat, and U. Ulbrich "Rockfall protection - from hazard identification to mitigation measures" Eds. A. Volkwein, V

Edward Paice's Wrath of God: Lisbon 1755 I read this book very quickly, while away on half term last week. It is a brilliantly researched and well-written account of a world-changing tragedy - and there is no small, grim irony that this is the week in which the Porguguese island of Madeira has suffered more natural disaster. That Lisbon 1755 was a terrible moment (earthquake followed by rampant fires followed by tsunami) is not in doubt and simply as a human story, it is entirely deserving of study. Indeed, it was such a huge event that the impact was felt 100s of miles away, and the sea was affected on the other side of the Atlantic (in the Caribbean). It thus qualified as one of only two 'teletsunami' (a tsunami that has travelled over 1000km) ever recorded in the Caribbean. But its wider importance cannot be underestimated either, because of the philosophical and moral repercussions it had on European thought. As Paice describes Voltaire's brilliant deconstruction of prevailing ideas: In Voltaire's deft hands the Lisbon earthquake became the vehicle for an assault on optimism and the orthodox view of divine Providence which would change the way people thought for ever; and it in turn it arguably became the last disaster in which God held centre stage. (p195) The reasons are many - but if a city could ever have claimed to have been 'Christian' Lisbon was one that would have tried (although many Protestants at the time including the likes of Wesley and Whitefield would have disputed it). It's Catholicism was very strong - perhaps 1/6th of the population were so called 'religioso' - but its forms were (even by many european Catholics' admissions) rampantly corrupt and hypocritical. Worse, though, was that the first big quake struck at 10am on Saturday 1st November 1755 - which was at precisely the moment that many of Lisbon's citizens would have been in church. For 1st November is also All Saints' Day, and this was a huge fea

Mapping vulnerability: disasters, development, and people Greg Bankoff, Georg Frerks, Dorothea Hilhorst 0 Resenhas Earthscan, 2004 - 236 páginas * Major disasters increased over 93 per cent during the 1990s, reaching 712 in 2001 * Up to 340 million people are affected by disasters every year * 'Vulnerability' is the key to understanding the causes, impacts and ways to mitigate disasters In this penetrating analysis, the authors critically examine "vulnerability" as a concept that is vital to the way we understand the impact and magnitude of disasters. This book is a counterbalance to technocratic approaches that limit themselves to simply looking at natural phenomena. Through the notion of vulnerability, the authors stress the importance of social processes and human-environmental interactions as causal agents in the making of disasters. They critically examine what renders communities unsafe, a condition they argue that depends primarily on the relative position of advantage or disadvantage that a particular group occupies within a society's social order. Bolstering their theoretical analysis with case studies drawn from Asia, Africa and Latin America, the authors also look at vulnerability in terms of its relationship to development and through its impact on policy and peoples' lives.

Evolution and status of the precautionary principle in international law, Volume 62 Arie Trouwborst 0 Resenhas Kluwer Law International, 2002 - 378 páginas The controversial question of whether or not at present the precautionary principle is to be considered a norm of customary international law is the key theme of this work, which treats the issue as part of a broader discussion of the principle's legal status on the international plane. This discussion, in turn, is put in perspective by an account of the short but remarkable history of the principle in international environmental law and policy. The greater part of this study consists of the mapping and analysis of state practice in respect of the precautionary principle. Pertinent treaties, declarations, decisions of international organizations and domestic instruments pass in review. The book then applies the generally accepted principles governing the formation of customary international law to this body of state practice. Relevant international judicial decisions and the opinions of scholars are treated as well. Two extensive annexes are added, reproducing provisions of international legalinstruments that make reference to the principle. This manuscript was awarded the Franois Prize 2001 by the Netherlands Society of International Law/Netherlands Branch of the ILA.