Large-Scale Disasters: Prediction, Control, and Mitigation

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Mohamed Gad-el-Hak
Cambridge University Press, Jun 23, 2008 - Science
'Extreme' events - including climatic events, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, drought - can cause massive disruption to society, including large death tolls and property damage in the billions of dollars. Events in recent years have shown the importance of being prepared and that countries need to work together to help alleviate the resulting pain and suffering. This volume presents an integrated review of the broad research field of large-scale disasters. It establishes a common framework for predicting, controlling and managing both manmade and natural disasters. There is a particular focus on events caused by weather and climate change. Other topics include air pollution, tsunamis, disaster modeling, the use of remote sensing and the logistics of disaster management. It will appeal to scientists, engineers, first responders and health-care professionals, in addition to graduate students and researchers who have an interest in the prediction, prevention or mitigation of large-scale disasters.

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Page 1 - Rumble thy bellyful! Spit, fire! spout, rain! Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daughters: I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness; I never gave you kingdom, call'd you children, You owe me no subscription: then, let fall Your horrible pleasure; here I stand, your slave, A poor, infirm, weak, and despis'd old man.
Page 331 - Climate change' means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.
Page 194 - Convention, stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.
Page 1 - Spit, fire ! spout, rain ! Nor rain, wind, thunder, fire, are my daughters : I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness ; I never gave you kingdom, call'd you children ; You owe me no subscription : then let fall Your horrible pleasure ; here I stand, your slave, A poor, infirm, weak and despised old man : «, But yet I call you servile ministers, That have with two pernicious daughters join'd Your high-engender'd battles 'gainst a head So old and white as this.
Page 1 - IT was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way — in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest...

About the author (2008)

Mohamed Gad-el-Hak is currently the Inez Caudill Eminent Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Chair of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Academy of Mechanics. In 1998, Professor Gad-el-Hak was named the Fourteenth ASME Freeman Scholar. In 1999, he was awarded the prestigious Alexander von Humboldt Prize, Germany's highest research award for senior U.S. scientists and scholars in all disciplines. In 2002, he was named ASME Distinguished Lecturer, as well as inducted into the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars.

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