Tsunamis in the World is a book opening an interesting window on the present-day research on tsunamis. It is a selection of 16 contributions out of the 39 presentations given at the XV International Tsunami Symposium (Vienna, August 1991), i.e. at the last of the international meetings that are organized every second year by the IUGG International Tsunami Commission, and that are the most important, awaited and attended forums for the international scientific community of experts in tsunami sciences. The papers, rigorously scrutinized by an international board of referees, cover the most...

This collection of articles provides a unique overview of the state of the science in the prediction of and response to natural disaster events. The uniqueness of this volume is that it comprises more than just the physical science perspective.
For each natural hazard included in this text, social scientists have provided research summaries of how public perceptions are related to the actions that are likely to be undertaken when people are confronted with information about the existence of a natural hazard threat.
In this book the reader can find a truly international...

The Sixteenth International Tsunami Symposium, TSUNAMI 93, drew more than 150 scientists, engineers and specialists in tsunami research and disaster mitigation from 13 countries. The leading contributions to the symposium, selected after a rigorous reviewing process, are presented here under three broad headings: - Tsunami Generation, Propagation and Inundation: Their Prediction and Simulation. - Tsunami Disasters: Their Prevention and Mitigation. - Tsunami Observations, and Warning Systems and Plans for Improvement. Audience: Scientists, engineers and graduate students interested in the...

The 16 contributions to Geographical Information Systems in Assessing Natural Hazards report on GIS investigations into landslides, floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and groundwater pollution hazards. Current methods for predicting extreme events are critically discussed, the emphasis being on the intrinsic complexity of this type of operation, requiring many spatial data, long historical records and sound models of the physical processes involved. Within this context, the potentials and limitations of GIS are addressed in terms of data acquisition, spatial data...

Exploring Risk Communication presents a systematic planning approach to risk communication. Risk communication is seen by many as an important tool for managing technological, environmental, and natural risks. The book's goal is to improve risk communication processes in these areas between private and public risk communication sources and the public. The systematic planning approach focuses on research activities which are considered to be diagnostic tools providing insight into the public's reactions to risks and into the public's cognitive abilities to process risk information....

The promontory of Gargano in the southern Adriatic Sea represents one of the most interesting Italian coastal zones subjected to tsunami hazard. Figure la gives the geographical map of Italy; with a box embracing the region of Gargano; details of that region are in turn sketched in Figure lb. Because of the incompleteness of the earthquake and tsunami catalogues, no reports on tsunamis in this area are available prior to 1600 AD. The Gargano events have been recently revised in order to establish their reliability and to attain the phenomenological reconstruction of the tsunamis (Guidoboni...

In 1998 Armenia was commemorating the tenth anniversary of the catastrophic Spitak earthquake. The Second International Conference on "Earthquake Hazard and Seismic Risk Reduction" sponsored by the Government of the Republic of Armenia and United Nation's International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (UN/IDNDR) was held in dedication to that event between 14-21 September (later referred to as Yerevan Conference). The Yerevan Conference has been organized by the National Survey for Seismic Protection (NSSP) of the Republic of Armenia. All level's decision-makers (from the ministers to...

This volume contains descriptions of about 300 tsunami and of similar known phenomena in the Mediterranean Sea. Earthquakes and other processes generating tsunami are also described. The intensity of tsunami waves is estimated, and the causes of tsunami generation are given together with the reliability of the information. The literary data are given on coordinates and magnitudes of tsunamigenic earthquakes. 18 zones of tsunami generation are identified, which have been subdivided into four groups according to the maximum intensity and periodicity. Audience: The book should be of interest to...

Drought is one of the major natural hazards, resulting in significant economic, social, and environmental costs. In Europe, water shortage is an important problem in many regions. However, despite the increasing awareness of this hazard, there is no European drought policy and institutional frameworks to cope with drought situations are only weakly developed.
This book is dedicated to furthering our understanding of the drought problem in Europe and to discussing policy and management options to mitigate its impacts. It covers aspects from the detection of water stress to the planning...

Natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, floods, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, and hurricanes cause environmental, economic as well as sociological problems worldwide. In recent years, greater availability of information and sensational media reports of natural hazard occurrence -and in particular in terms of property damage or loss oflife caused by these hazards -resulted in an increase of hazard awareness at a societal level. This increase in public awareness has often been misconstrued as an indication that natural hazards have been occurring more frequently with higher magnitudes...