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Begin New Search Topic Natural Disasters Publication Year within 25 Years

171. Japan Crisis Not As Bad As Chernobyl

Author:
James M. Acton
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
As the crisis deepens at the Daiichi reactors in Fukushima, Japanese authorities are working to cool the reactors and limit the spread of radiation. The severity of the situation is both unclear and fluid, since measuring gauges at the Daiichi reactors are unreliable and radiation levels have fluctuated greatly on-site. Speaking on NBC's Today Show, Carnegie's James Acton describes the Fukushima reactor crisis as worse than Three Mile Island, though less disastrous than Chernobyl. During the Chernobyl catastrophe, Acton said, a significant fraction of the reactor core explosively spread into the environment. In Japan, the primary threat comes from the melting of the reactor core, exposing fuel rods to the atmosphere. The amount of radiation that will be released from such melting is unclear, Acton concluded.
Topic:
Natural Disasters and Nuclear Power
Political Geography:
Japan, East Asia, and Island

172. Brookings Podcast: Japan's Fukushima Disaster Slows Plans for Nuclear Renaissance

Author:
Nathan Hultman
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
As the depth of the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan becomes more clear, a long-expected increase in the global use of nuclear power to replace fossil fuels may slow down. Nonresident Fellow Nathan Hultman says planned nuclear plants in the United States and around the world were already suffering from high costs and questions about effective regulation - now, the safety concerns raised by Fukushima may increase opposition to new nuclear projects.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Natural Disasters, and Nuclear Power
Political Geography:
United States and Japan

173. The Economic Impact of the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan: What Will It Mean for Your Business?

Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxford Economics
Abstract:
The Tohoku Pacific earthquake which struck Japan on 11th March was the most serious to hit Japan since the Kobe earthquake of 1995, and was followed by a highly destructive tsunami. As well as having significant short-term economic and financial impacts, these disasters could also leave a longer-term footprint on the Japanese and global economies.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Japan

174. Protecting Civilians in Disasters and Conflicts

Author:
Elizabeth Ferris
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Protection of people from oppressive governments, civil conflict and disasters has moved to the top of the international agenda. The United Nations Security Council authorized all measures necessary to protect civilians in Libya as the airstrikes began. Humanitarian agencies—working in more places and under more difficult conditions than ever before—are grappling with the aftermath of Japan's massive earthquake even as they are also working with displaced people in Haiti and Ivory Coast and responding to hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Libya. And increasingly these agencies are not only trying to assist people through provision of relief items, but also trying to protect them. But with so many global organizations mobilizing to protect civilians when disasters strike and conflicts break out, the concept of protection has begun to lose its distinctive meaning.
Topic:
Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation, United Nations, War, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Japan and Libya

175. After the Disaster: Rebuilding Communities

Author:
Megan Scribner and Lauren Herzer
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
What is the relationship between a community's resilience and its ability to cope with a disaster? How can one identify the strengths of a community? How can technology give voice to communities, fostering engagement and resilience in daily life and in responses to a disaster? These are just a few of the provocative questions discussed at the Retrieving the Wisdom of Those in Need: Community Engagement and Healing in Times of Disaster seminar held April 4-5, 2011, at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. This gathering was the last of three remarkable seminars brought about through a partnership of the Wilson Center and the Fetzer Institute to look at the issues that hinder and support efforts to revitalize community within and across boundaries.
Topic:
Climate Change, Science and Technology, Natural Disasters, and Governance
Political Geography:
Washington

176. My Land, My Right: Putting land rights at the heart of the Pakistan floods reconstruction

Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In the aftermath of the 2010–11 floods, the path to recovery and reconstruction in Pakistan will be long and full of challenges. However, there is also an opportunity to tackle crucial structural issues such as crippling inequalities in people's rights and access to land. A failure to do so would not only condemn millions of Pakistanis to continued and deepening poverty, it would also undermine the scope and sustainability of the country's recovery from this disaster and its ability to cope with the next.
Topic:
Agriculture, Political Economy, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Pakistan and South Asia

177. Land Rights and the Indus Flood, 2010-2011: Rapid assessment and policy review

Author:
Azmat Budhani and Haris Gazdar
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The Indus floods of 2010-2011 were the direct cause of over 1,700 deaths and the displacement of an estimated 18 million people across Pakistan. Official estimates of the economic costs of the damage caused by the floods range from $8.74bn to $10.85bn, which include the estimated costs, early recovery for the provision of relief, rebuilding destroyed infrastructure, and other economic losses to individuals, communities, firms, and the government.
Topic:
Political Economy, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Pakistan and South Asia

178. Time's Bitter Flood: Trends in the number of reported natural disasters

Author:
Steve Jennings
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This report analyses the number of reported disasters in those regions where the majority of the world's poor and vulnerable people live: sub-Saharan Africa, South and South-East Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. It presents analysis of the trends in the number of reported disasters, assesses what country-level factors influence the reported number of disasters, and compares the findings with independent published studies.
Topic:
Poverty and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Africa, South Asia, and Caribbean

179. Beyond Aid: Migration as a Tool for Disaster Recovery

Author:
Michael Clemens and Kaci Farrell
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes can devastate people's lives and a country's economy, particularly in the developing world. More than 200,000 people perished when a catastrophic earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010, and Americans responded with an outpouring of private and public assistance. Those relief efforts, as they nearly always do, focused primarily on delivering aid. The United States barely used another tool for disaster relief: migration policy. This policy brief explores the various legal channels through which the U.S. government could, after future overseas disasters, leverage the power of migration to help limited numbers of people. We describe what could have been done for Haiti, but the lessons apply to future scenarios.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Migration, Natural Disasters, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
United States

180. Migration as a Tool for Disaster Recovery: A Case Study on U.S. Policy Options for Post-Earthquake Haiti

Author:
Royce Bernstein Murray and Sarah Petrin Williamson
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
After a natural catastrophe in a developing country, international migration can play a critical role in recovery. But the United States has no systematic means to leverage the power and cost-effectiveness of international migration in its post-disaster assistance portfolios. Victims of natural disasters do not qualify as refugees under U.S. or international law, and migration policy toward those fleeing disasters is set in a way that is haphazard and tightly constrained. This paper comprehensively explores the legal means by which this could change, allowing the government more flexibility to take advantage of migration policy as one inexpensive tool among many tools for post-disaster assistance. It explores both the potential for administrative actions under current law and the potential for small changes to current law. For concreteness, it focuses on the case of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, but its policy lessons apply to future disasters that are sadly certain to arrive. The paper neither discusses nor recommends "opening the gates" to all disaster victims, just as current U.S. refugee law does not open the gates to all victims of persecution, but rather seeks to identify those most in need of protection and provide a legal channel for entry and integration into American life.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Migration, Natural Disasters, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
United States