Table Of ContentPraise for Natural Disasters in a Global Environment
“Natural Disasters in a Global Environment serves as a much-needed respite
from the glossy hyper-produced texts on environmental geology and
natural disasters so prevalent today. Instead, Penna and Rivers couple
delightful exposition, insightful comparative images, and historical anec-
dotes that together produce some of the finest science writing I’ve seen.
This book not only could be an outstanding text for a course on the subject,
but it also would be a fine read for anyone interested in how Earth ‘works.’ ”
Donald Siegel, Syracuse University
“This is an impressive collection, wide ranging in time, place and discipline.
The result stimulates new thinking both about history and about the
ongoing role of catastrophe in the course of human society – altogether,
an imaginative venture.”
Peter Stearns, George Mason University
“Eco-anxiety sometimes makes us exaggerate our power over nature for
good and ill. In an important, welcome and riveting collaboration between
history and science, Penna and Rivers unfold a minatory drama of disasters
– seismic, climatic, pandemic, atmospheric, meteoric – that humans can
barely influence, let alone control.”
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, University of Notre Dame
“This skillful record of natural disaster – in climate, epidemics, and earth
tremors – shows how society risks further disaster even in planning for
safety.”
Patrick Manning, University of Pittsburgh
“Appealing to both students of history and science, this study of natural
hazards and vulnerable populations provides an enthralling guide to how
disasters have altered the course of human history.”
Greg Bankoff, University of Hull
“Interdisciplinary in methods and reach, Natural Disasters in a Global
Environment surveys big ideas in concise and accessible form. This book is
an indispensable introduction for everyone who wants to understand
human response to disaster – scientists, disaster planners, historians, and
policy-makers, students and senior researchers.”
Conevery Bolton Valencius, University of Massachusetts, Boston
NATURAL DISASTERS IN
A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
Anthony N. Penna and Jennifer S. Rivers
A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication
This edition first published 2013
© 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Penna, Anthony N.
Natural disasters in a global environment / Anthony N. Penna and Jennifer S. Rivers.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-118-25234-5 (hardback) – ISBN 978-1-118-25233-8 (paperback) – ISBN 978-1-
118-32752-4 (emobi) 1. Natural disasters–History. 2. Environmental disasters–
History. 3. Natural disasters–Environmental aspects. I. Rivers, Jennifer S. II. Title.
GB5014.P46 2013
363.3409–dc23
2012043158
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover images: Main image: Hurricane on Earth © BSH_Stock/Image Source/Corbis. Above from
left to right: Smoke and burnt wilderness emergency © Pgiam, Flooding in the Midwest © Curt
Pickens, Tungurahua volcano eruption © Elena Kalistratova, Global warming © Tarek El
Sombati
Cover design by Simon Levy
Set in Minion 10.5/13 pt by Toppan Best-set Premedia Limited
1 2013
Anthony dedicates this book to the children in his blended family:
Christina, Matthew, Olan, Trevor, Laura, Greg, and Brandon.
Jennifer dedicates this book to her father, Michael D. Rivers,
who wanted to name her Aberfan as a memorial to the children
who died in the Welsh landslide.
Contents
List of figures x
Preface xii
Acknowledgments xiv
Introduction 1
PART 1 INTERNAL PROCESSES 11
1 Supervolcanoes 13
Introduction 13
The Mt. Toba Eruption (73,000 BP) 15
The Thera (Santorini) Eruption in the Aegean Sea (1600 BCE) 20
Mt. Tambora (1815) and Krakatau (1883) 25
The Mt. Pinatubo Eruption (1991) 28
A Threatening Future Scenario 32
Summary 33
Notes 35
Further Reading 37
2 Earthquakes 38
Introduction 38
The San Francisco Earthquake (1906) 39
The Great Kanto Earthquake (1923) 48
The Haitian Earthquake (2010) 56
Summary 66
Notes 68
3 Tsunamis 71
Introduction 71
Lisbon, Portugal: The Quadruple Disaster (1755) 72
The Lituya Bay Mega-Tsunami (1958) 79
The Sumatra–Andaman Earthquake (2004) 83
viii CONTENTS
The Tōhoku (Japan) Tsunami (2011) 89
Summary 97
Notes 98
Further Reading 104
PART 2 SURFICIAL PROCESSES 105
4 Fire 107
Introduction 107
The Burning of Rome (68 CE) 108
The Great Fire of London (1666) 112
The Chicago and Peshtigo Fires (1871) 120
Summary 132
Notes 133
Further Reading 135
5 Floods 136
Introduction 136
Central China Floods (1931) 137
The Dutch Flood Disaster (1953) 144
The Bangladesh Floods (1997–98) 149
Summary 154
Notes 156
Further Reading 160
6 Landslides 162
Introduction 162
The Turtle Mountain Landslide, Canada (1903) 163
The Aberfan Landslide, Wales (1966) 167
The Ancash Earthquake and Landslide, Peru (1970) 171
The Southern Leyte Landslide, the Philippines (2006) 177
Summary 183
Notes 184
Further Reading 187
7 Pandemic Diseases 189
Introduction 189
The Bubonic Plague (1347–51 and After) 190
