Book Reviews

Books Reviewed:
Simon Fisher, Dekha Ibrahim Abdi, Jawed Ludin, Richard Smith, Steve Williams and Sue Williams Working with Conflict: Skills and Strategies for Action
Annelies Heijmans and Lorna P. Victoria, Citizenry-based and Development-oriented Disaster Response: Experiences and Practices in Disaster Management of the Citizens' Disaster Response Network in the Philippines
Tony Vaux, The Selfish Altruist. Relief Work in Famine and War     

The United nations and disaster relief in the sahel, 1973-75

This research is part of an extensive study entitled 'International Disaster Response: The Sahelian Experience', which was made possible by a grant number 1711–520147 of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of State. The opinions expressed are solely the responsibility of the researcher and do not necessarily represent the views of the organizations studied or the sponsoring institutions.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Earthquake Mitigation Policy: The Experience of Two States
Shelter After Disaster
Appropriate Technology for Water Supply and Sanitation: Meeting the Needs of the Poor for Water Supply and Waste Disposal
1. Survival Strategies For and By Camp Refugees
2. Sustaining Afghan Refugees in Pakistan
3. Afghan Refugees in Pakistan: From Emergency Towards Self Reliance
International Humanitarian Assistance - Disaster Relief Actions in International Law and Organization
Warning and Response to the Mount St. Helen's Eruption     

Book Reviews

von Kotze, Astrid; Holloway, Alisa Reducing Risk: Participatory Learning Activities for Disaster Mitigation in Southern Africa Welford, Richard Environmental Strategy and Sustainable Development — The Corporate Challenge for the 21st Century Richards, Paul Fighting for the Rain Forest: War, Youth and Resources in Sierra Leone Blaikie, Piers; Cannon, Terry; Davis, Ian; Wisner, Ben At Risk: Natural Hazards, People's Vulnerability and Disasters Buchanan-Smith, M.; Davies, S. Famine Early Warning and Response — The Missing Link     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Disaster Mitigation: A Community Based Approach , by Andrew Maskrey. Oxfam
The Threatening Desert: Controlling Desertification , by Alan Grainger
Rising from the Ashes: Development Strategies in Times of Disaster , by Mary B. Anderson and Peter J. Woodrow
Disaster Management for Libraries: Planning and Process , by Claire England and Karen Evans
Rural Communities Under Stress: Peasant Farmers and the State in Africa , by Jonathan Barker
Bangladesh: the Strength to Succeed , by Jim Monan     

Reviews

Alex de Waal Famine Crimes: Politics and the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa Keith Smith Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster Kenneth Hewitt Regions of Risk: A Geographical Introduction to Disasters John Seaman The Public Health Consequences of Disasters John Prendergast Frontline Diplomacy. Humanitarian Aid and Conflict in Africa John Prendergast Crisis Response. Humanitarian Band-Aids in Sudan and Somalia Christopher Hood and David K.C. Jones Accident and Design: Contemporary Debates on Risk Management D. Hulme and M. Edwards NGOs, States and Donors. Too Close for Comfort? James C. Hathaway Reconceiving International Refugee Law Rhona Flin Sitting in the Hot Seat Donald Meichenbaum On Treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Handbook and Practice Manual for Therapy R. Scarpa and R.I. Tilling Monitoring and Mitigation of Volcano Hazards Hanna Schmuck-Widmann Living with Floods: Survival Strategies of Char-dwellers in Bangladesh     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
Thomas Drabek, Disaster-induced Employee Evacuation
Hugh Brammer, Agricultural Disaster Management in Bangladesh
Boris Porfiriev, Disaster Planning and Emergency Management in Russia
Patrick Bracken and Celia Petty, eds, Rethinking the Trauma of War
R. Cohen and F. M. Deng, eds, The Forsaken People: Case Studies of the Internally Displaced
Tom Trier and Lars Funch Hansen, eds, Conflict and Forced Displacement in the Caucasus: Perspectives, Challenges and Responses     

Conferences

Second Caribbean Conference on Science, Hazards and Hazard Management; Kingston, Jamaica, 9-12 October 1996
Mitigating the Millennium: Seminar on Community Participation and Impact Measurement in Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation Programmes; Overseas Development Institute, London, 9 October 1996     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
Rutherford H., Platt et al. Disasters and Democracy: The Politics of Extreme Natural Events
S., Suri Orissa Disaster: Agony of the Living     

Children and the Sphere standard on mental and social aspects of health

Most of the world's children live in resource-poor countries where people are at a relatively high risk of exposure to catastrophic situations arising from conflict and natural disasters.(6) Given the potential social, psychological and psychiatric consequences of exposure to disaster, mental health and psychosocial support programmes are increasingly part of humanitarian aid. A minimum standard on mental and social aspects of health is included in the recently revised Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere Handbook) (Sphere Project, 2004). Most recommendations for mental health and psychosocial interventions in guidance documents are based on expert opinion rather than research. Consequently, interventions are being implemented without full understanding of their potential benefit or harm. This paper offers a child-focused review of the evidence for each of the interventions described as indicators for the Sphere standard on mental and social aspects of health. It suggests some, but limited, support for each of them. However, the evidence base needs substantial strengthening.     

Evaluation of Long-term Community Recovery from Hurricane Andrew: Sources of Assistance Received by Population Sub-groups

Two three-stage cluster surveys were conducted in South Dade County, Florida, 14 months apart, to assess recovery following Hurricane Andrew. Response rates were 75 per cent and 84 per cent. Sources of assistance used in recovery from Hurricane Andrew differed according to race, per capita income, ethnicity, and education. Reports of improved living situation post-hurricane were not associated with receiving relief assistance, but reports of a worse situation were associated with loss of income, being exploited, or job loss. The number of households reporting problems with crime and community violence doubled between the two surveys. Disaster relief efforts had less impact on subjective long-term recovery than did job or income loss or housing repair difficulties. Existing sources of assistance were used more often than specific post-hurricane relief resources. The demographic make-up of a community may determine which are the most effective means to inform them after a disaster and what sources of assistance may be useful.     

澳大利亚城市灾害应急反应规划研究

初步分析和整理了澳大利亚灾害学者们对城市灾害应急反应规划编制的一般认识，然后纲要性地介绍了澳大利亚某城市灾害应急反应的总体规划及分项规划．籍以借鉴国外城市灾害管理的有益经验，提高我国灾害应急反应规划的编制水平．     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Waiting for Disaster: Earthquake Watch in California, by Ralph H. Turner, Joanne M. Nigg and Denise Heller Paz.     

Protecting cultural assets from bushfires: a question of comprehensive planning

Cultural heritage sites form an unrenewable asset that is threatened by natural disasters. Given the high bushfire risk, mandatory Bush Fire Risk Management Plans have been drawn up throughout New South Wales, Australia. We compared their mandatory provisions for the protection of heritage assets with an 'Ideal Heritage Disaster Plan', containing a series of non-negotiable elements. The examined plans fell well short of the ideal. Preparedness Plans generally lacked a discussion of suppression techniques (for historic heritage), prevention, prescribed drills and communication procedures. None of the Response Plans or Recovery Plans contained any of the required core elements, such as rapid suppression techniques and stabilisation procedures. Where aspects were covered, they were addressed in an inadequate level of detail. The overall quality of the cultural heritage components of the plans is judged to be poor. Suggestions are made on how to improve the situation if heritage assets are to have a future following bushfire events.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed:
Tom Palakudiyil, Mary Todd and collaborators Facing Up to the Storm. How Local Communities Can Cope with Disaster: Lessons from Orissa and Gujarat     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Earthquakes and the Urban Environment , by G. Lennis Berlin.
The Andhra Cyclone of 1977: Individual and Institutional Responses to Mass Death , by Stephen P. Cohen and C.V. Raghavulu.
Climates of Hunger , by Reid A. Bryson and Thomas J. Murray.
Natural Disasters and Vulnerability Analysis. Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator (UNDRO).
Hurricane Allen: A Post-Impact Survey of a Major Tropical Storm , by J. Oliver and D.H. Trollop.
Handbook for Mental Health Care of Disaster Victims , by R.E. Cohen and F.L. Ahearn.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Il Filosofo e la Catastrofe: un Terremoto del Settecento (The Philosopher and Disaster: an Eighteenth Century Earthquake), by Augusto Placanica.
Agent Orange on Trial , by P.H. Schuck.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Chernobyl: Law and Communication. Transboundary Nuclear Air Pollution – The Legal Materials , edited by Philippe Sands.
At the Desert's Edge: Oral Histories from the Sahel , edited by Nigel Cross and Rhiannon Barker.
Famine and Survival Strategies: A Case Study from Northeast Ethiopia , by Dessalegn Rahmato.
Multilingual Dictionary of Disaster Medicine and International Relief by S. W. A. Gunn.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:
Disaster and Development by Frederick C. Cuny.
Nutritional Surveillance by John B. Mason, Jean-Pierre Habicht, H. Tabatabai, V. Valverde.
Terremoto e Società (Earthquake and Society) by R. Solbiati and A. Marcellini.
Journal of Diarrhoeal Disease Research .     

Revealing the socioeconomic impact of small disasters in Colombia using the DesInventar database

Small disasters are usually the product of climate variability and climate change. Analysis of them illustrates that they increase difficulties for local development—frequently affecting the livelihoods of poor people and perpetuating their level of poverty and human insecurity—and entail challenges for a country's development. In contrast to extreme events, small disasters are often invisible at the national level and their effects are not considered as relevant from a macroeconomic standpoint. Nevertheless, their accumulated impact causes economic, environmental and social problems. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of the DesInventar database, developed in 1994 by the Network for Social Studies in Disaster Prevention in Latin America. In addition, it proposes a new version of the Local Disaster Index developed in 2005 within the framework of the Disaster Risk and Management Indicators Program for the Americas, with the support of the Inter‐American Development Bank.