Historical Disaster Experiences

Historical disaster research is still a young field. This book discusses the experiences of natural disasters in different cultures, from Europe across the Near East to Asia. It focuses on the pre-industrial era and on the question of similarities, differences and transcultural dynamics in the cultural handling of natural disasters. Which long-lasting cultural patterns of perception, interpretation and handling of disasters can be determined? Have specific types of disasters changed the affected societies? What have people learned from disasters and what not? What adaptation and coping strategies existed? Which natural, societal and economic parameters play a part? The book not only reveals the historical depth of present practices, but also reveals possible comparisons that show globalization processes, entanglements and exchanges of ideas and practices in pre-modern times.

Growing concerns about climate change and the increasing occurrence of ever more devastating natural disasters in some parts of the world and their consequences for human life, not only in the immediately affected regions, but for all of us, have increased our desire to learn more about disaster experiences in the past. How did disaster experiences impact on the development of modern sciences in the early modern era? Why did religion continue to play such an important role in the encounter with disasters, despite the strong trend towards secularization in the modern world? What was the political role of disasters? Historical Disasters in Context illustrates how past societies coped with a threatening environment, how societies changed in response to disaster experiences, and how disaster experiences were processed and communicated, both locally and globally. Particular emphasis is put on the realms of science, religion, and politics. International case studies demonstrate that while there are huge differences across cultures in the way people and societies responded to disasters, there are also many commonalities and interactions between different cultures that have the potential to alter the ways people prepare for and react to disasters in future. To explain these relationships and highlight their significance is the purpose of this volume.

The stories told in this collection, though tragic for many, illustrate the steadfast determination and courage of people in the face of misfortune and extreme distress. From the lesser-known weed outbreaks and tornadoes to the world-wide influenza outbreak in 1918 that devastated many Calgary families, these stories focus on the human side of these disasters. It may be a heroic individual or the collective response of a community, but what is truly remarkable in these stories is the human response to the world being turned upside down by famine and disease, by flood, fire, or rock slide, by wind and cold, by dynamite or gas explosions, or even by the seemingly mundane threat of weeds upon crops. It is the resolution to continue to fight and the persistence of the human spirit and its adaptability to challenges that is the true story of a century of development in western Canada

The New York Times-bestselling I Survived series expands to include this thrilling nonfiction exploration of five true stories, from the Titanic to the Henryville Tornadoes. REAL KIDS. REAL DISASTERS.From the author of the New York Times-bestselling I Survived series come five harrowing true stories of survival, featuring real kids in the midst of epic disasters.From a group of students surviving the 9.0 earthquake that set off a historic tsunami in Japan, to a boy nearly frozen on the prairie in 1888, these unforgettable kids lived to tell tales of unimaginable destruction -- and, against all odds, survival.Read their incredible stories:The Children’s Blizzard, 1888The Titanic Disaster, 1912The Great Boston Molasses Flood, 1919The Japanese Tsunami, 2011The Henryville Tornado, 2012

Disasters in Australia and New Zealand brings together a collection of essays on the history of disasters in both countries. Leading experts provide a timely interrogation of long-held assumptions about the impacts of bushfires, floods, cyclones and earthquakes, exploring the blurred line between nature and culture, asking what are the anthropogenic causes of ‘natural’ disasters? How have disasters been remembered or forgotten? And how have societies over generations responded to or understood disaster? As climate change escalates disaster risk in Australia, New Zealand and around the world, these questions have assumed greater urgency. This unique collection poses a challenge to learn from past experiences and to implement behavioural and policy change. Rich in oral history and archival research, Disasters in Australia and New Zealand offers practical and illuminating insights that will appeal to historians and disaster scholars across multiple disciplines.

Disasters in Australia and New Zealand brings together a collection of essays on the history of disasters in both countries. Leading experts provide a timely interrogation of long-held assumptions about the impacts of bushfires, floods, cyclones and earthquakes, exploring the blurred line between nature and culture, asking what are the anthropogenic causes of ‘natural’ disasters? How have disasters been remembered or forgotten? And how have societies over generations responded to or understood disaster? As climate change escalates disaster risk in Australia, New Zealand and around the world, these questions have assumed greater urgency. This unique collection poses a challenge to learn from past experiences and to implement behavioural and policy change. Rich in oral history and archival research, Disasters in Australia and New Zealand offers practical and illuminating insights that will appeal to historians and disaster scholars across multiple disciplines.

HISTORY'S WORST DISASTERS takes an informative look at fifty of the biggest catastrophes in history, and paints an inspiring picture of humankind's capacity to turn the tide of adversity. The world we live in is usually benign and forgiving, but on numerous occasions over the course of history it has also provided us with a reminder of the precarious nature of our existence. HISTORY'S WORST DISASTERS deals with the worst of these events, describing fifty of the most extreme disasters we have suffered, from those natural phenomena which were beyond our control to the catastrophes we brought on ourselves and for which we have only ourselves to blame. Beginning 65 million years ago with the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, which accounted for the dinosaurs and almost extinguished all life on Earth, we move on to examine disasters that have occurred throughout the entire span of human history: the earthquakes and epidemics, the famines and hurricanes, and those horrors we have inflicted on each other through massacres, genocide and war. In addition, there are examples of disasters brought on by financial, political, and military incompetence, together with those which have arisen as a result of our industrial development, at, for instance, Chernobyl and Bhopal, and those associated with mass transportation, such as the sinking of the Titanic. Finally we take a look at environmental disasters, both actual, like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the dessication of the Aral Sea, and those which have the potential to cause us all manner of trouble in the future, including the loss of biodiversity and climate change. The scope of this book is to go beyond being a catalog of death and destruction in order to examine the consequences of these terrible events and to tell the stories of those people involved in them. Despite all the tragedy and strife, we have shown a remarkable capacity for both physical and mental endurance and have consistently demonstrated our ability to adapt to whatever is thrown at us and then bounce back even stronger than before. What emerges is a portrait of the fortitude and resilience of human beings in the face of adversity, allowing us to gain an appreciation for just how precious life is and how fragile our grip on it can be.

Disasters and History offers the first comprehensive historical overview of hazards and disasters. Drawing on a range of case studies, including the Black Death, the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 and the Fukushima disaster, the authors examine how societies dealt with shocks and hazards and their potentially disastrous outcomes. They reveal the ways in which the consequences and outcomes of these disasters varied widely not only between societies but also within the same societies according to social groups, ethnicity and gender. They also demonstrate how studying past disasters, including earthquakes, droughts, floods and epidemics, can provide a lens through which to understand the social, economic and political functioning of past societies and reveal features of a society which may otherwise remain hidden from view. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.