Geoscience Reference
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these processes necessarily account for events occur-
ring outside the historical record (in some places this
is a very short record indeed)? In some cases, the
evidence for catastrophic events cannot be explained.
For example, there is ongoing debate whether or not
mega-tsunami or super storms can move boulders to
the top of cliffs 30 or more meters high. The mega-
tsunami theory has been attacked - mainly because no
historical tsunami generating similar deposits has been
witnessed. However, the same argument can be applied
to the alternative hypothesis of mega-storms. The
dilemma of changing hazard regimes will be discussed
at the end of this topic.
utilizing their natural environment through labor input.
Humans do not enter into a set contract with nature.
In order to produce, they interact with each other, and
the intrinsic qualities of these interactions determine
how individuals or groups relate to nature. Labor thus
becomes the active and effective link between society
and nature. If workers or peasants are able to control
their own labor, they are better adapted to contend with
the vagaries of the natural environment. The separation
of workers from the means of production implies
that others, namely those people (capitalists or bosses)
who control the means of production, govern their
relationship with nature. This state of affairs is self-
perpetuating. Because capitalists control labor and
production, they are better equipped to survive and
recover from a natural disaster than are the workers.
The main point about the Marxist view of natural
hazards is that hazard response is contingent upon the
position people occupy in the production process. This
social differentiation of reactions to natural hazards is a
widespread phenomenon in the Third World, where it
is typical for people at the margins of society to live in
the most dangerous and unhealthy locations. A major
slum in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is frequently inundated
at high tide; the poor of Rio de Janeiro live on the
precipitous slopes of Sugarloaf Mountain subject to
landslides ; the slum dwellers of Guatemala live on the
steeper slopes affected by earthquakes; the Bangladeshi
farmers of the Chars (low-lying islands at the mouth of
the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta in the Bay of Bengal)
live on coastal land subject to storm surge flooding.
The contrast in hazard response between the Third
World and westernized society can be illustrated by
comparing the effects of Cyclone Tracy - which struck
Darwin, Australia, in 1974 - to the effects of hurricane
Fifi, which struck Honduras in September of the same
year. Both areas lie in major tropical storm zones, and
both possess adequate warning facilities. The tropical
storms were of the same intensity, and destroyed
totally about 80 per cent of the buildings in the main
impact zones. Over 8000 people died in Honduras,
while only 64 died in Darwin. A Marxist would reason
that the destitute conditions of under-development in
Honduras accounted for the difference in the loss of
life between these two events. Society is differentiated
into groups with different levels of vulnerability to
hazards.
One might argue, on the other hand, that many
people in Third World countries, presently affected by
The relationship between humans
and natural hazards (Susman et al., 1983;
Watts, 1983)
The above concepts emphasize the natural aspect of
natural hazards. Disasters can also be viewed from a
sociological or humanistic viewpoint. An extensive
chapter at the end of this topic deals with the human
response to natural hazards at the personal or group
level. While there are great similarities in natural
hazard response amongst various cultures, societies
and political systems, it will be shown that fundamen-
tal differences also occur. This is particularly evident in
the ways that countries of contrasting political ideology,
or of differing levels of economic development, cope
with drought. Both Australia and Ethiopia were
afflicted by droughts of similar severity at the begin-
ning of the 1980s. In Ethiopia, drought resulted in
starvation followed by massive international appeals for
relief. However, in Australia no one starved and
drought relief was managed internally.
In dealing historically with the scientific and mathe-
matical description of natural hazards, it is apt to
discuss a sociological viewpoint formulated in the
twentieth century. This sociological viewpoint states
that the severity of a natural hazard depends upon who
you are, and to what society you belong at the time of
the disaster. It is exemplified and expressed most
forcibly by Marxist theory. Droughts, earthquakes and
other disasters do not kill or strike people in the same
way. The poor and oppressed suffer the most, experi-
ence worst the long-term effects, with higher casualties
more likely as a result. In Marxist philosophy, it is
meaningless to separate nature from society: people
rely upon nature for fulfillment of their basic needs.
Throughout history, humans have met their needs by
 
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