Disaster's Impact on Livelihood and Cultural Survival : Losses, Opportunities, and Mitigation

Investigating 18 countries around the world, leading policy makers, community leaders, urban planners, and emergency practitioners and managers review livelihood challenges and cultural survival in the wake of disasters. The contributors explore both losses and opportunities for cultural and livelihood adaptation, change, and disaster impact mitigation. They suggest "best practices" models to enhance future event response and assess new instruments and methodologies for better planning and assessment of disaster impacts. Multiple forms of disasters are introduced to demonstrate the myriad long-term and sociological impacts disasters can have on communities.

Many facets of disasters generate interest among scholars and practitioners. However, a vital area of disaster research is consistently underemphasized. Little is written about the immediate and long-term impacts on a community’s livelihood systems and the customs and practices of the culture affected. Disaster’s Impact on Livelihood and Cultural Survival: Losses, Opportunities, and Mitigation represents a broad forum to discuss the impacts of large-scale disaster events on communities.

Covering disasters in 18 countries around the world, academics, policy makers, community leaders, urban planners, and emergency practitioners explore both losses and opportunities for cultural and livelihood adaptation, change, and disaster impact mitigation. In the wake of these tragedies, the contributors look at different dimensions of livelihood challenges and cultural survival. They discuss multiple forms of disasters, including drought, hurricanes, earthquakes, climate change, and technological and armed conflicts, providing a comprehensive examination of each topic and the myriad long-term impacts these disasters can have on communities.

Some chapters focus on developing "best practices" models to enhance future event response, while others seek to assess new instruments or methodologies for better planning and assessment of disaster impacts. The concerns and strategic plans of indigenous populations are also highlighted in this volume. The inclusion of their voice and perspective, as well as the book’s broad geographical coverage, allows students, practitioners, and the general populace to explore disaster issues in a variety of contexts.