Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
major disasters, simply are unfortunate to be living in
areas experiencing large-scale climatic change or
tectonic
activity. After all, European populations were
badly decimated by the climatic cooling that occurred
after the middle of the fourteenth century - and
everyone knows that the Los Angeles area is well
overdue for a major earthquake. One might also argue
that Third World countries bring much of the disaster
upon themselves. In many countries afflicted by large
death tolls due to drought or storms, the political
systems are inefficient, corrupt, or in a state of civil war.
If governments in Third World countries took national
measures to change their social structure, they would
not be so vulnerable to natural disasters. For example,
Japan, which occupies a very hazardous earthquake
zone, has performed this feat through industrialization
in the twentieth century. One might further argue that
Australians or Americans cannot be held responsible
for the misery of the Third World. Apart from foreign
aid, there is little we can do to alleviate their plight.
The Marxist view disagrees with all these views.
Marxism stipulates that western, developed nations are
partially responsible for, and perpetuate the effect of
disasters upon, people in the Third World - because we
exploit their resources and cash-cropping modes of pro-
duction. The fact that we give foreign aid is irrelevant. If
our foreign aid is being siphoned off by corrupt officials,
or used to build highly technical projects that do not
directly alleviate the impoverished, then it may only be
keeping underprivileged people in a state of poverty
or, it is suggested, further marginalizing the already
oppressed and thus exacerbating their risk to natural
hazards. Even disaster relief maintains the status quo
and generally prohibits a change in the status of peasants
regarding their mode of production or impoverishment.
The basis of Marxist theory on hazards can be sum-
marized as follows:
• the forms of exploitation in Third World countries
increase the frequency of natural disasters as socio-
economic conditions and the physical environment
deteriorate;
• the poorest classes suffer the most;
• disaster relief maintains the status quo, and works
against the poor even if it is intentionally directed to
them; and
• measures to prevent or minimize the effects of
disasters, which rely upon high technology, reinforce
the conditions of underdevelopment, exploitation and
poverty.
Marxist philosophy does not form the basis of this
book. It has been presented simply to make the reader
aware that there are alternative viewpoints about the
effects of natural hazards. The Marxist view is based
upon the structure of societies or cultures, and how
those societies or cultures are able to respond to
changes in the natural environment. The framework
of this topic, on the other hand, is centered on the
description and explanation of natural hazards that can
be viewed mainly as uncontrollable events happening
continually over time. The frequency and magnitude of
these events may vary with time, and particular types
of events may be restricted in their worldwide occur-
rence. However, natural hazards cannot be singled out
in time and space and considered only when they affect
a vulnerable society. An understanding of how, where
and when hazards take place can be achieved only by
studying all occurrences of that disaster. The arrival of
a tropical cyclone at Darwin, with the loss of 64 lives,
is just as important as the arrival of a similar-sized
cyclone in Honduras, with the loss of 8000 lives.
Studies of both events contribute to our knowledge of
the effects of such disasters upon society and permit us
to evaluate how societies respond subsequently.
Hazard statistics
(Changnon & Hewings, 2001;
CRED,
2002; Balling & Cerveny, 2003)
Figure 1.1 plots the number of hazards by region over
the period 1975-2001. The map excludes epidemics or
famine. Despite its large population, Africa is relatively
devoid of natural hazards. This is due to the tectonic
stability of the continent and the fact that tropical
storms do not develop here, except in the extreme
south-east. However the African population is affected
disproportionately by drought. The frequency of
events over the rest of the world reflects the domi-
nance of climate as a control on the occurrence of
natural hazards. This aspect is illustrated further for
the twentieth century in Table 1.1. The most frequent
hazards are
tornadoes
, the majority of which occur in
the United States. Over the latter half of the twentieth
century, their frequency - more than 250 events per
year - exceeds any other natural hazard. Climatically
induced floods and tropical cyclones follow this phe-
nomenon in frequency. Tsunami, ranked fourth, is the
most frequent geological hazard, followed by damaging
earthquakes with nine significant events per year. All
totalled, climatic hazards account for 86.2 per cent of
the significant hazard events of the twentieth century.
