The Public Health Consequences of Disasters

by Eric K. Noji (Editor), James M. Shultz (Editor)

Natural and man-made disasters--earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, industrial crises, and many others--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 dollars in property damages. A major disaster occurs almost daily in some part of the world. Increasing population densities in flood plains, along vulnerable coastal areas, and near dangerous faults in the earth's crust, as well as the rapid industrialization of developing economies are factors likely to make the threat posed by natural disasters much bigger in the future. Illustrated with examples from recent research in the field, this book summarizes the most pertinent and useful information about the public health impact of natural and man-made disasters. It is divided into four sections dealing with general concerns, geophysical events, weather-related problems, and human-generated disasters. The author starts with a comprehensive discussion of the concepts and role of surveillance and epidemiology, highlighting general environmental health concerns, such as sanitation, water, shelter, and sewage. The other chapters, based on a variety of experiences and literature drawn from both developing and industrialized countries, cover discrete types of natural and technological hazards, addressing their history, origin, nature, observation, and control. Throughout the book the focus is on the level of epidemiologic knowledge on each aspect of natural and man-made disasters. Exposure-, disease-, and health-event surveillance are stressed because of the importance of objective data to disaster epidemiology. In addition, Noji pays particular attention to prevention and control measures, and provides practical recommendations in areas in which the public health practitioner needs more useful information. He advocates stronger epidemiologic awareness as the basis for better understanding and control of disasters. A comprehensive theoretical and practical treatment of the subject, The Public Health Consequences of Disasters is an invaluable tool for epidemiologists, disaster relief specialists, and physicians who treat disaster victims.

512 pages, Hardcover

First published November 11, 1996

Reviews

[Eric K. Noji M.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"One needs only read the first chapter of The Public Health Consequences of Disasters to understand how devastating disasters can really be...a reality check that is long overdue.... A much-needed catalogue of areas that require further investigation...outstanding job....The text is easy reading and seeks to present not only useful public-health issues, but also an overview of general disaster management, so that the reader has an understanding of the critical link between these two areas. Noji has magnificently compiled a most useful text that should be required reading for students of public-health and emergency and disaster managers alike."

[Kemal BAş]

Hello dea,
My name is Kemal Baş. I am a research assistant emergency aid and disaster management department in Selçuk Universirty of TURKEY.I am grade student in Health Management in Disasters of Hacettepe University/Ankara. I want to be more informed about The Public Health Consequences of Disasters.
Thank you for your interest..

[Eric K. Noji M.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"muy bien documentado, provee excelente información sobre las causas, historia, frecuencia, duración y consecuencias de los mayores y más frecuentes desastres en el mundo. Un volumen que tendrá una gran utilidad en la biblioteca de todos los que están invlucrados en el área de los desastres"