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Australian history is full of disasters. Some are natural but many more are man-made, results of individual or collective stupidity, reckless decisions, or greed. In Disasters that Changed Australia, Richard Evans nominates the worst disasters in an engrossing, insightful account of what happened and why. Picture British General, Douglas Haig through sheer arrogance and determination sending thousands of Australian men into swampy, disease-ridden enemy territory for no strategic gain. Or a feral legion of rabbits let loose on the environment, turning furry friends into an uncontrollable plague. Including Cyclone Tracy, Black Friday, the Snowy Mountains Scheme and the destruction of megafauna thousands of years ago, these are just many of debacles that have defined Australia. Richard Evans goes beneath the familiar stories and myths, and urges us to rethink how we respond to disasters to avoid making the same mistakes again.
Disasters in Australia and New Zealand brings together a collection of essays on the history of disasters in both countries. Leading experts provide a timely interrogation of long-held assumptions about the impacts of bushfires, floods, cyclones and earthquakes, exploring the blurred line between nature and culture, asking what are the anthropogenic causes of ‘natural’ disasters? How have disasters been remembered or forgotten? And how have societies over generations responded to or understood disaster? As climate change escalates disaster risk in Australia, New Zealand and around the world, these questions have assumed greater urgency. This unique collection poses a challenge to learn from past experiences and to implement behavioural and policy change. Rich in oral history and archival research, Disasters in Australia and New Zealand offers practical and illuminating insights that will appeal to historians and disaster scholars across multiple disciplines.
A gripping account of the worst disasters to hit Australia since Federation From bushfires to cyclones; sinking ships; train and plane crashes; mine explosions and bridge collapses; the Port Arthur massacre and the Bali bombings; Australia has suffered numerous terrible tragedies. Bestselling author and historian Dr Jonathan King recounts the most extreme disasters to have hit Australia, opening each account with stories of the victims who died or whose lives were irrevocably changed by them, detailing the events and conditions that contributed to them, and telling inspiring tales of heroism and bravery in response to them. Dr King also shows how many of the disasters were caused by avoidable human error or negligence and warns that global warming will cause ever more extreme weather events. Dreadful as they've been, most Australian tragedies have resulted in constructive initiatives such as tighter gun controls in response to the Port Arthur shootings; stricter regulations for transport by air, sea and rail; and safer conditions for workers. Thought-provoking and gripping, Great Disasters in Australian History takes you on a rollercoaster ride through more than a century of tragedies that have rocked our nation.
This comprehensive Handbook assesses the escalation of global natural disasters as a result of climate change. Examining the complex interplay of human and natural activities, it highlights the growing vulnerability of people and communities in developing countries to floods, landslides, cyclones, heat waves and wildfires.
Extreme weather and climate events, interacting with exposed and vulnerable human and natural systems, can lead to disasters. This Special Report explores the social as well as physical dimensions of weather- and climate-related disasters, considering opportunities for managing risks at local to international scales. SREX was approved and accepted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on 18 November 2011 in Kampala, Uganda.
Climate change is increasingly of great concern to the world community. The earth has witnessed the buildup of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, changes in biodiversity, and more occurrences of natural disasters. Recently, scientists have begun to shift their emphasis away from curbing carbon dioxide emission to adapting to carbon dioxide emission. The increase in natural disasters around the world is unprecedented in earth's history and these disasters are often associated to climate changes. Many nations along the coastal lines are threatened by massive floods and tsunamis. Earthquakes are increasing in intensity and erosion and droughts are problems in many parts of the developing countries. This book is therefore to investigate ways to prepare and effectively manage these disasters and possibly reduce their impacts. The focus is on mitigation strategies and policies that will help to reduce the impacts of natural disasters. The book takes an in-depth look at climate change and its association to socio-economic development and cultures especially in vulnerable communities; and investigates how communities can develop resilience to disasters. A balanced and a multiple perspective approach to manage the risks associated with natural disasters is offered by engaging authors from the entire globe to proffer solutions.
As the global climate shifts, communities are faced with a myriad of mitigation and adaptation challenges. These highlight the political, cultural, economic, social, and physical vulnerability of social groups, communities, families, and individuals. They also foster resilience and creative responses. Research in hazard management, humanitarian response, food security programming, and other areas seeks to identify and understand factors that create vulnerability and strategies that enhance resilience at all levels of social organization. This book uses case studies from around the globe to demonstrate ways that communities have fostered resilience to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
This open access book provides worldwide examples demonstrating the importance of the interplay between demography and disasters in regions and spatially. It marks an advance in practical and theoretical insights for understanding the role of demography in planning for and mitigating impacts from disasters in developed nations. Both slow onset (like the of loss polar ice from climate change) and sudden disasters (such as cyclones and man-made disasters) have the capacity to fundamentally change the profiles of populations at local and regional levels. Impacts vary according to the type, rapidity and magnitude of the disaster, but also according to the pre-existing population profile and its relationships to the economy and society. In all cases, the key to understanding impacts and avoiding them in the future is to understand the relationships between disasters and population change. In most chapters in this book we compare and contrast studies from at least two cases and summarize their practical and theoretical lessons.
In 2010, Germany and Australia had to deal with extreme floods. Was climate change considered as cause of these weather events in the media? In 2009, a conservative alliance committed to tackle climate change won the German election. In 2007, the Australian Labor Party claimed that “climate change is the greatest moral challenge of our time” and won the election. But how was climate change covered by the media in the context of these two elections? This work answers these two questions comparing the climate change coverage of two German and two Australian quality newspapers (n = 1.012 articles). As theoretical foundation Entman’s (1993) framing approach and the “Extended Sphere Model”, which provides a framework for the explanation of the differences in the coverage, were applied. With a hierarchical cluster analysis seven frames were identified. Moreover, six actor groups were differentiated and possible influencing factors were compiled. The results show that the differences in terms of climate change coverage in quality newspapers are rather low between the two countries. Some of the observed differences could be explained by the proposed model. But the most striking results are certainly the similarities in the coverage. Common media standards in terms of climate change coverage could, however, not be identified in this work.
Your readers will discover what makes Australia unique. They'll find out about its geography, wildlife, people, weather, and natural resources. They'll explore the environmental issues affecting Australian in the twenty-first century and the steps being taken to ensure a better tomorrow for this continent.