Human Links to Coastal Disasters

Within a broad vulnerability framework, this report examines human factors influencing vulnerability, beginning with policies and practices that drive coastal development. Subsequent chapters make a unique contribution to the study of hazards and disasters by bringing together what is know about their effects on people, from changes in the physical well-being of individuals to impacts on the social institutions of communities and regions. The report also explores how actions that typically take place following a disaster affect future risk and vulnerability. The dominant theme throughout is the need to build disaster resiliency through increased awareness and promotion of the social factors that are the essence of human communities. In the final analysis, disaster-resilient communities are sustainable communities - and good places to live.