Disasters by Design provides an alternative and sustainable way to view, study, and manage hazards in the United States that would result in disaster-resilient communities, higher environmental quality, inter- and intragenerational equity, economic sustainability, and improved quality of life. This volume provides an overview of what is known about natural hazards, disasters, recovery, and mitigation, how research findings have been translated into policies and programs; and a sustainable hazard mitigation research agenda. Also provided is an examination of past disaster losses and hazards management over the past 20 years, including factorsâ€"demographic, climate, socialâ€"that influence loss. This volume summarizes and sets the stage for the more detailed books in the series.

Never experience a disaster again—ever. Hurricanes, wildfires, mass shootings, and pandemics are a reality for 21st century families and small businesses. But here’s the truth: Not one of these has to be a disaster. What determines whether an unexpected event becomes a disaster is you. In Design Any Disaster, certified emergency manager and master business continuity practitioner Patrick Hardy reveals to you the secrets of disaster preparedness that helped him build the largest and most successful small business and family disaster planning company in the world. He explains why: You should never, ever “remain calm” during a disaster. 99% of all disaster plans are a complete waste of time. Fancy disaster equipment and supplies actually leave you less prepared. Design Any Disaster is not a survival manual. It’s a revolutionary approach to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery for families and small businesses that can be used whether you live in the middle of a big city, in a quiet suburban neighborhood, or in a rural county with more cows than people. Using the powerful C3 Method Hardy uses with his clients, from Fortune 500 CEOs to average families, you will discover how to get ready (plan effectively), react (focus without panicking), respond (protect yourself and your possessions), and recover (overcome swiftly). And in a revolutionary section you will not find in any other disaster book, Hardy also reveals how to reverse disaster, converting the experience into an opportunity to become wiser and happier. Control the disaster so that it doesn’t control you—that’s how you Design Any Disaster.

Companies and institutions depend more than ever on the availability of their Information Technology, and most mission critical business processes are IT-based. Business Continuity is the ability to do business under any circumstances and is an essential requirement faced by modern companies. Both concepts - High Availability and Disaster Recovery - are realized by redundant systems. This book presents requirements, concepts, and realizations of redundant systems on all abstraction levels, and all given examples refer to UNIX and Linux Systems.

Author Thomas Fisher introduces the idea of fracture-critical design and provides many solutions for how we can design to avoid major disasters.

Designing to Heal explores what happens to communities that have suffered disasters, either natural or man-made, and what planners and urban designers can do to give the affected communities the best possible chance of recovery. It examines the relationship that people have with their surroundings and the profound disruption to people's lives that can occur when that relationship is violently changed; when the familiar settings for their lives are destroyed and family, friends and neighbours are displaced, incapacitated or killed. The book offers a model of the healing process, outlining the emotional journey that people go on as they struggle to rebuild their lives. It outlines the characteristics of the built environment that may facilitate people to travel as smoothly as possible down this road to recovery and suggests elements of the design process that can help achieve this goal. Designing to Heal highlights the importance of thinking about urban design as a way of nurturing hope and creating the optimal conditions to achieve social objectives.

Never experience a disaster again—ever. Hurricanes, wildfires, mass shootings, and pandemics are a reality for 21st century families and small businesses. But here’s the truth: Not one of these has to be a disaster. What determines whether an unexpected event becomes a disaster is you. In Design Any Disaster, certified emergency manager and master business continuity practitioner Patrick Hardy reveals to you the secrets of disaster preparedness that helped him build the largest and most successful small business and family disaster planning company in the world. He explains why: You should never, ever “remain calm” during a disaster. 99% of all disaster plans are a complete waste of time. Fancy disaster equipment and supplies actually leave you less prepared. Design Any Disaster is not a survival manual. It’s a revolutionary approach to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery for families and small businesses that can be used whether you live in the middle of a big city, in a quiet suburban neighborhood, or in a rural county with more cows than people. Using the powerful C3 Method Hardy uses with his clients, from Fortune 500 CEOs to average families, you will discover how to get ready (plan effectively), react (focus without panicking), respond (protect yourself and your possessions), and recover (overcome swiftly). And in a revolutionary section you will not find in any other disaster book, Hardy also reveals how to reverse disaster, converting the experience into an opportunity to become wiser and happier. Control the disaster so that it doesn’t control you—that’s how you Design Any Disaster.

Libraries are in a unique position to aid communities during times of adversity, and this comprehensive handbook’s practical tools and expert guidance will help ensure that your library is thoroughly prepared for emergency response and recovery. Your library is a vital information hub and resource provider every single day, and that’s doubly true when calamity strikes. In fact, your library’s role as an “essential community function” during disasters is now encoded in U.S. law. Engaging as a partner in planning and preparedness will build much-needed community support should disaster strike, and even a basic plan will also save you time and stress later on. No matter where your library is in the disaster planning cycle, this handbook will make the process clearer and less daunting. You’ll get tools, activities, easy-to-adapt templates, and hands-on guidance on such topics as the six phases of disaster response; 15 first-hand accounts of library disaster planning or responses, helping you identify the library services most needed during a disaster; three essential factors that will shape the form of your disaster plan; preparing for hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods, and earthquakes; ideas for connecting with your community’s emergency response teams; federal government planning resources; pointers on working with state and local governments; a sample Memorandum of Understanding to outline mutual support for a speedier recovery; recommended courses and training, many of which are free; targeted advice for archives and special collections; sample building inspection checklists; and recommended games to help children and families prepare.

Events such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Japanese earthquakes and tsunamis in 2011 have provided unfortunate reminders of the susceptibility of many communities to devastating losses from natural hazards. These events provided graphic illustrations of how extreme hazard events adversely impact on people, affect communities and disrupt the community and societal mechanisms that serve to organize and sustain community capacities and functions. However, there is much that communities can do to mitigate their risk and manage disaster consequences. The construct that epitomizes how this is done is resilience. The contents of this volume provide valuable insights into how societal resilience can be developed and sustained. This considerably expanded new edition presents major topics of: Coexisting with Natural Hazards; Urban Resilience in Asia; Lifelines and Urban Resilience; Business Continuity in Disaster; Hazard Mitigation in Communities; Hazard Readiness and Resilience; Child Citizenship in Disaster Risk; Old Age and Resilience; Gender and Disaster Resilience; Impact of High Functionality on Resilience; Art and Resilience; Cross-Cultural Perspectives and Coping with Hazards; Religious Practices and Resilience; Living in Harmony with our Environment; Critical Incidence Response; Governance; Heat Wave Resilience; Wildfire Disaster Resilience; and Progress and Challenges to Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience. This exceptional book brings together contributions from international experts in core areas and includes chapters that provide and overarching framework within which the need for interrelationships between levels to be developed is discussed. The book will be an outstanding resource for those researching or teaching courses in emergency management, disaster management, community development, environmental planning and urban development. In addition, it will serve law enforcement and emergency agencies, welfare agencies, and professionals in applied psychology.

“The first history of seismic engineering in San Francisco . . . spiced with survivor and eyewitness accounts. ”—Midwest Book Review For the past one hundred and fifty years, architects and engineers have quietly been learning from each quake and designing newer earthquake-resistant building techniques and applying them in an ongoing effort to save San Francisco. Bracing for Disaster is a fresh appraisal of a city responding to repeated devastation. In the language of a skilled teacher, Tobriner examines what really happened during the city’s earthquakes—which buildings were damaged, which survived, and who were the unsung heroes. Filled with more than two hundred photographs, diagrams, and illustrations, this is a revealing look at the history of buildings by a true expert, and it offers lessons not just for San Francisco but for any city beset by natural disasters. “The real saga is how a fast-growing city grapples with the reality that it has more to worry about than fires and fog. The core of the story is fairly technical, rooted in the crude intuitive ways in which builders reacted to a seismic threat they could neither measure nor define. But Tobriner crafts the story well.”—SFGate

Enhancing Disaster Preparedness: From Humanitarian Architecture to Community Resilience relates to the fourth priority of the UNDRR’s Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. Taking a wide understanding of disaster preparedness, the book deals with resilient responses and building capacities related to hazardous events, bringing some practical experiences and theoretical insights in this regard. Mostly based on field research conducted in the Global South by architects and other built-environment professionals, the book covers both post-disaster interventions (rebuilding and recovery) and development-related processes.Its three parts address the interlinkages between humanitarian design, community resilience, and inclusive governance, which are crucial for fostering effective disaster preparedness. Part I discusses the changing roles of architects and urban designers involved in the humanitarian sphere. Part II concentrates on resilience as a socioecological capacity to enhance preparedness within community-based spatial processes. Focused on global dynamics, Part III covers topics emphasizing the link between the management of crises, whether political or economic, at different levels of governance, and the vulnerability of communities and structures on the national and local scales. As such, the book approaches rising global priorities and brings timely lessons to support building a more equitable, safe, and resilient environment in a rapidly urbanized world. Explores Sendai’s fourth priority through a spatial lens Examines the role of humanitarian design in building resilience Critically revisits concepts such as incremental housing and building back better Provides examples of methodological tools for community engagement in resilience-building processes