The Public Health Consequences of Disasters Book

Natural disasters have claimed more than 3 million lives during the past 20 years, adversely affected the lives of at least 800 million people, and caused more than $50 billion in property damages. Increasing population densities in flodd plains, along vulnerable coastal areas, and near dangerous faults in the earth's crust are likely to make the threat posed by natural disasters even wose in the future. This book summarizes the most recent and useful information about the public health impact of natural disasters, illustrated by examples from recent research in the field. The author starts with a section on the concepts and role of surveillance and epidemiology, highlighting general environmental health health concerns. The other chapters cover discrete types of natural and technological hazards, covering their history, origin, nature, observation, prevention, and control. Throughout the book the focus is on the level of epidemiologic knowledge on each aspect of natural disasters. Noji emphasizes the need for better epidemiologic awareness as the basis for better understanding and control of the different types of disasters. Each chapter is based on a variety of experiences and literature drawn from both developing and industrialized countries.Read More