Natural disasters such as the tsunami that struck southeast Asia last December 26, 2004 and Hurricane Katrina leave more than just the remnants of homes, schools, hospitals, businesses. It also leave thousands of children and youth and families bewildered and helpless, trying to figure out how to regain control of their lives. The influx of…

The Asian Tsunami struck Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004. Sri Lanka was the second worst affected country after Indonesia, and this natural disaster killed in excess of 35,000 people and displaced over 1 million. The article explores the Tsunami Disaster Management Program developed by one Sri Lankan university: the Postgraduate Institute of…

Dozens of natural disaster shelters (mostly schools) in five Caribbean islands were assessed as to their vulnerability and the needed retrofitting to upgrade them. This report provides retrofit consultants with terms of reference and building design criteria for withstanding various natural disasters, as well as estimated global costs of various…

A workshop report provides the structure and content of a school building vulnerability reduction plan for schools in Dominica, determines roles and interactions between school stakeholders, and designs a natural hazard vulnerability reduction program. It provides a profile of the current stock of school buildings in Dominica while also addressing…

This document outlines the existing conditions of school buildings and their vulnerability to natural hazards on the island of St. Kitts, and makes recommendations on how to better protect them from these hazards. Profiles of the schools are detailed and the roles and responsibilities of the various organizations concerning construction,…

This document outlines the existing conditions of school buildings and their vulnerability to natural hazards on the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, and makes recommendations on how to better protect them from these hazards. Profiles of the schools are detailed and the roles and responsibilities of the various organizations concerning…

Asserts that how people respond to risk is determined by how they perceive risk. Four-hundred and seven secondary school students answered questions concerning different dimensions of natural hazards (most likely to occur, loss of life, and others). Although the students possessed a high level of awareness much of their information was inaccurate.…

Hurricane Katrina devastated the American gulf coast, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless and without food, water, shelter, and clothing. Men, women, and children perished, crushed by the effects of violent winds across four states, or drowned in massive ocean waves and in floodwater that swamped New Orleans and made the city…

Purpose: The main aim of this paper is to explore the elementary school principals' experiences and reactions toward two earthquakes, which hit the north-west region of Turkey on August 17 and November 12, 1999. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative methodology was used since the goal of the researcher was to delineate the experiences and…

Description of the effects of the revolution, U.S. government policy, and natural disasters on the economic climate in Nicaragua focuses on problems faced by the country's libraries and library school. Support and funding provided to Nicaraguan libraries by American library groups are reviewed, and attitudes of Nicaraguan librarians toward the…

On 21 September 1999, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan destroyed more than 100,000 houses, causing 2,294 deaths and 8,737 injuries. In the aftermath of the earthquake, a great number of social workers and cultural workers were thrust into Nantou County and Taichung County of central Taiwan, the epicentre of the earthquake, to assist the…

A deafening counterpoint arose from the destruction of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina on 29 August 2005, and within that counterpoint race and music undeniably became the dominant voices. The devastation of New Orleans, however, was no more a "catastrophe of biblical proportions," as many with power have piously claimed, than the…

This paper focuses on the mental health consequences of the disaster in Armero, Colombia which resulted from a volcanic eruption and mudslide, and highlights the role of the primary care worker in delivering mental health care to disaster victims. Eight characteristics of disasters that are closely related to their psychopathogenetic potential…

Compares Auckland (New Zealand) with San Francisco (California) in terms of topographical structure, geographic location, and urban development. Both cities contain striking similarities. Maintains that Auckland can become a world-class city renowned for its beauty if developers and government work in tandem. (MJP)

This study examined the impact of the 1998 Canadian ice storm on the physical and psychological health of older adults (age greater than 55 years) living with a chronic physical illness, namely osteoarthritis and/or osteoporosis. Although disasters are relatively rare, they are a useful means of examining the impact of a single stressor on a group…