Showing papers on "Natural disaster published in 1983"

Natural Disaster and Technological Catastrophe

Abstract: Against the backdrop of ever-expanding technological systems, the effects of accidents or breakdowns in human-made technology are examined and contrasted with those of natural disasters. A number of differences are identified, and research on these forms of cataclysmic events is reviewed. These data, as well as this analysis, suggest that technological catastrophes are more likely to have long-term effects, to affect people beyond the point of impact, and to pose different types of threat than are natural disasters.

Population evacuation in volcanic eruptions, floods, and nuclear power plant accidents: Some elementary comparisons

Abstract: This paper reports a comparative analysis of citizen evacuation response to three different types of environmental threats: a riverine flood, a volcanic eruption, and the nuclear reaction accident at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania. While there have been numerous discussions in the theoretical literature regarding the extent to which human response to nuclear and nonnuclear threats are likely to be comparable, to date there have been no empirical studies of the phenomenon. It was found that citizen belief in real situational danger and warnings from authorities were most frequently cited by evacuees as reasons for leaving in both nuclear and nonnuclear incidents. Mass media warnings were infrequently cited as important reasons for evacuating, and social network contacts were relatively more important to evacuation decision making in the natural disasters than at Three Mile Island. For both the natural disasters and the nuclear accident, most citizens who did not evacuate chose not to do so because they did not believe that a real danger existed.

Aftermath of natural disasters: Coping through residential mobility.

Abstract: Most studies of population movement have concentrated on the more developed nations and on trends that have not been influenced by man-made or natural disasters. The experience of developing countries in the Caribbean basin, as studied after the Guatemalan earthquake of 1976 and the impact of Hurricane David in the Dominican Republic of 1979, highlights the importance of socio-economic factors in the decision to make permanent migrations after a disaster, regardless of whether the migrant had personally suffered losses. In many cases the opportunities for personal betterment created by the disaster acted as a catalyst and accelerated a previously-existing trend of migration.

Is the environment becoming more hazardous?-A global survey 1947 to 1980.

Abstract: This paper examines the assertion that natural disasters are increasingly destructive using evidence from disaster reports during the period 1947-1980. The criteria for judging the impact of a given natural disaster are chiefly loss of life and the extent of the geographical area affected. In spite of uneveness and bias in the reporting of sudden impact disasters the conclusions are that both the frequency of disasters and number of people killed are increasing. Further research into the social consequences of disasters and the need for disaster preparedness training programmes are recommended.

Natural hazards and deposit behavior at financial institutions: A note

Abstract: There have been few studies of the effect of natural disasters upon either individual economic units or financial institutions. The present paper is concerned with the question of the evidence as to the deposit experience of financial institutions following a sizeable natural disaster. The deposit data we use consist of observations from seven individual savings and loan associations and eight commercial banks in four sizeable 1970s U.S. natural disasters. Basically, there is no evidence of a run. In most cases, there is a significant increase in deposits.