Editors’ Vox is a blog from AGU’s Publications Department.
Natural hazards are present on every part of planet Earth. Sometimes a natural event—such as extreme weather, a volcanic eruption, earthquake, or disease outbreak—turns into a disaster for humans, the environment, and the economy.
A new book in AGU’s Advanced Textbook Series, Earth’s Natural Hazards and Disasters, synthesizes case studies of natural disasters with the science underpinning each event and strategies for minimizing fallout. We asked the book’s author about the distinction between hazards and disasters, the roles policy and preparedness play in mitigating disasters, and tips for engaging students on these topics.
What distinguishes a natural hazard from a natural disaster? What is an example of each?
A natural hazard is the potential occurrence of a natural event that could become dangerous to people, property, and the environment. A natural disaster is what happens when that natural event occurs and that danger is realized. There is often loss of life and property and damage to the environment. For example, people in the midwestern and southern United States may face a tornado hazard. When storms occur and tornadoes materialize, they can cause a natural disaster if they strike populated areas.
Why is the study of natural disasters growing more important?
The study of natural disasters is growing more important in today’s world for three reasons.
First, the world’s population is growing at an incredible rate. As that happens, people are looking for places to live, and often they are pressured into settling in environments that have historically been left unoccupied due to hazards. They are therefore more vulnerable to natural events that turn into disasters.
Second, disasters are becoming more frequent and severe due to the effects of climate change. Third, natural disasters are becoming much more expensive as time goes on. Each year brings more billion-dollar disasters.
What different roles do scientists, public officials, and the general public have in natural hazard response and management?
There are so many natural events that unnecessarily turn into disasters because of the lack of scientifically sound public policy.
Public officials need to listen to scientists and enact scientifically sound policies, laws, and zoning that will help protect people from natural events that can turn into disasters.
Scientists have an imperative to study these natural events as well as the factors that turn natural events into disasters. Through their research they can help build more resilient communities and inform the public and public officials about scientifically sound strategies, products, and housing that will help save lives.
In turn, public officials need to listen to scientists and enact scientifically sound policies, laws, and zoning that will help protect people from natural events that can turn into disasters.
I think if the general public can listen to scientists and local officials, build and live in homes and communities that are as safe as possible from natural hazards, and learn what to do when dangerous natural events occur, they stand a greater chance of surviving these events and keeping their homes and families safe.
What inspired you to write a textbook on natural hazards and disasters?
My fascination with natural hazards and disasters began with the eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA, when I was a child. I have family in the area and they fed my voracious appetite for information about the event with newspapers, magazines, and even a jar of volcanic ash my grandfather lovingly carried across the country to me.
As I matured as a scientist, I found that my fascination with the natural world started to translate into a desire to educate and inform people about hazards. I wanted to use my scientific knowledge to save lives. My sincere hope is that people who read this book will learn more about how to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from dangerous natural events—and that I’ll achieve my goal of helping to save a few lives.
Who is the intended audience of this textbook?
This textbook is primarily for undergraduate students who are studying geology, geography, engineering, public policy, or related fields and have an interest in natural disasters, their causes (both physical and sociopolitical), and what we can do about hazardous situations. I could also see people in disaster management fields using information from this book to help inform their work in preparing for the next natural disaster.
How might undergraduates use this content in their studies and beyond?
This book serves as a foundation in the study of natural hazards and disasters.
This book serves as a foundation in the study of natural hazards and disasters. Any student who becomes interested in this field can use the knowledge they gain as a springboard to more advanced studies. Ultimately, they may pursue jobs that will allow them to make a difference in the realms of scientific study, disaster management, public health and policy, or other fields that make the world a safer place.
How is the textbook organized?
The textbook has three parts. Following an introduction to natural hazards, Part I explores geologic hazards, or hazards that occur because of events in the solid earth. There is a foundational chapter on plate tectonics, then a chapter each on volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and earth movements such as landslides.
Part II focuses on weather hazards. There is a foundational chapter on weather phenomena, then a chapter each on severe weather, floods, hurricanes, fires, and climate change.
Part III comprises hazards that don’t fit in either of the previous two categories: biological hazards and hazards from space.
What features can students and instructors expect in each chapter?
Almost all chapters start with a case study which illustrates what can happen when a natural event turns dangerous. Following the case study is a discussion of the science behind each hazard, punctuated with further examples from around the world. Every chapter concludes with information about mitigation, or how society and individuals can help to minimize the danger and the effects of natural hazards. The textbook features a glossary and an extensive bibliography as well.
What strategies have you found effective in your own teaching of natural disasters, and what advice would you give to instructors using this textbook in their courses?
I find that undergraduate students find natural hazards and disasters quite interesting, so this is a fun class to teach because students are often highly engaged and animated in discussions. One piece of advice I might give to instructors using this textbook is to make the course very real for students by spending a little extra time on hazards inherent to the region in which they are teaching and in which their students live.
When I was teaching in Texas, for example, students thought that volcanoes and earthquakes were interesting, but they started to pay extra close attention when we talked about fires, floods, and tornadoes because they had seen those disasters up close. Online resources and local expertise can be tapped to help you make a real impact on students—and help students become passionate advocates for safety in their own homes and communities.
Earth’s Natural Hazards and Disasters, 2024. ISBN: 978-1-119-21771-8. List price: $139.95 (paperback), $112.00 (ebook)
—Bethany D. Hinga ([email protected]; 
0000-0003-0694-5331), University of Nebraska at Kearney, USA
Editor’s Note: It is the policy of AGU Publications to invite the authors or editors of newly published books to write a summary for Eos Editors’ Vox.