Natural and Anthropogenic Disasters Vulnerability, Preparedness and
The major challenges of the 21st century faced by human beings are how to achieve water security, food security, energy security and environmental security. Owing to enhanced natural/anthropogenic disasters worldwide, these challenges become much more com
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Natural and Anthropogenic Disasters Vulnerability, Preparedness and Mitigation
Edited by
Madan Kumar Jha Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur West Bengal, India
A C.I.P. Catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-90-481-2497-8 (HB) ISBN 978-90-481-2498-5 (e-book)
Copublished by Springer, P.O. Box 17, 3300 AA Dordrecht, The Netherlands with Capital Publishing Company, New Delhi, India. Sold and distributed in North, Central and South America by Springer, 233 Spring Street, New York 10013, USA. In all other countries, except India, sold and distributed by Springer, Haberstrasse 7, D-69126 Heidelberg, Germany. In India, sold and distributed by Capital Publishing Company, 7/28, Mahaveer Street, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi, 110 002, India. www.springer.com
Cover photos credit: Left: www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cyclone_leon_eline and right: Dr. Goamthinayagam, Structural Engineering Research Centre, CSIR, Government of India, Chennai. Printed on acid-free paper
All Rights Reserved © 2010 Capital Publishing Company No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. Printed in India.
Preface Nature provides for everybodys need, but not for everybodys greed.
Mahatma Gandhi
Concern for man and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations. Albert Einstein
With the advancement in human knowledge through rapid progress in science and technology, human beings have incurred major changes in natural processes through their various activities. As a result, a myriad of problems have been created and continue to do so; which will challenge us for many decades into the future. Unfortunately, the intricate nexus between nature and human life has been completely neglected by the humans in their endless quest of luxurious life-style and supremacy, both in developed and developing nations, and hence the sustainability of human development is severely threatened at the dawn of the 21st century. One of the best ways to ensure sustainable socio-economic and environmental systems is to hamper as little as possible the proper functioning of natural life cycles (i.e., ecosystems). The most important challenges of this century are: water security, food security, energy security and environmental security. Owing to enhanced natural and anthropogenic disasters worldwide, these crucial challenges become much more complicated and daunting, particularly for developing and low-income countries. It is thus the need of the hour to highlight the risk of different disasters, the emerging tools and techniques, and the modern approaches to minimi
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