The new book “Understanding and Addressing Disaster Risk”, by Ben Wisner, Irasema Alcántara-Ayala, JC Gaillard, Ilan Kelman, and Victor Marchezini explains that disasters are not natural events, but the result of long-term social processes that create vulnerabilities and limit options for action. It analyzes how human interventions in the environment and power relations contribute to the emergence of risks and how people are deliberately exposed to dangers. In addition to social causes, ecological and climatic aspects of disaster risks are also examined, with technocratic and hierarchical approaches to risk reduction being critically scrutinized. Central importance is attached to local knowledge about hazards, while the underlying causes of disasters in historical, colonial and current political contexts are analyzed and existing solutions are reflected upon. The book is available free of charge online through UCL Open Access at the following link.
For more information on disaster preparedness and civil protection, please visit the DKKV topic page.