Natural disasters 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 in property damages. Increasing population densities
in flood plains, along vulnerable coastal areas, and near dangerous faults in the earth's crust are likely to make
the threat posed by natural disasters even worse in the future.
This book summarizes the most recent and useful information about the public health impact of natural disasters,
illustrated by examples from recent research in the field. The author starts with a section on the concepts and
role of surveillance and epidemiology, highlighting general environmental health health concerns. The other chapters
cover discrete types of natural and technological hazards, covering their history, origin, nature, observation,
prevention, and control. Throughout the book the focus is on the level of epidemiologic knowledge on each aspect
of natural disasters. Noji emphasizes the need for better epidemiologic awareness as the basis for better understanding
and control of the different types of disasters. Each chapter is based on a variety of experiences and literature
drawn from both developing and industrialized countries.
Table of Contents
I. General Issues
Introduction, Eric K. Noji
1. The Nature of Disasters, Eric K. Noji
2. The Use of Epidemiologic Methods in Disasters, Eric K. Noji
3. Surveillance and Epidemiology, Scott Weatherall and Eric K. Noji
4. Managing the Environmental Health Aspects of Disasters: Water, Human Excreta and Shelter, Scott R. Lillibridge
5. Communicable Diseases and Disease Control after Disasters, Michael J. Toole
6. Mental Health Consequences of Disasters, Ellen Gerrity and Brian W. Flynn
7. Effective Media Relations, R. Elliott Churchill
II. Geophysical Events
8. Earthquakes, Eric K. Noji
9. Volcanoes, Peter Baxter
III. Weather-Related Problems
10. Tropical Cyclones, Josephine Malilay
11. Tornadoes, Scott R. Lillibridge
12. Heat Waves and Hot Environments, Edwin Kilbourne
13. Cold Environments, Edwin Kilbourne
14. Floods, Josephine Malilay
IV. Human-Generated Problems
15. Famine, Ray Yip
16. Air Pollution, Ruth Etzel and Jean G. French
17. Industrial Disasters, Scott R. Lillibridge
18. Fires, Lee M. Sanderson
19. Nuclear-Reactor Incidents, Robert C. Whitcomb and Michael Sage
20. Complex Emergencies, Michael J. Toole
