The Handbook of Disaster and Emergency Policies and Institutions (Hardcover)

As demonstrated in New Orleans, the vast human and financial costs of natural and human-induced disasters are often needlessly high as a result of poor planning and response stemming from inadequate disaster policy. This new handbook, from two top global authorities in the field, shows how to construct a coherent, relevant and effective policy framework. It is a vital read for all disaster policy makers, planners, managers and governments. From the Asian tsunami to hurricanes Katrina and Rita to the recent earthquake in Pakistan, disasters both natural and human-induced are leading to spiralling costs in terms of human lives, the destruction of homes, businesses, public buildings and infrastructure and the resulting financial and human crises that inevitably follow in the wake of such catastrophes. Yet the failures in planning for, and responding to, such disasters can often be traced to poor disaster policies that are unsuited to the emerging scales of the problems they confront and the lack of institutional capacity to implement plans and manage disasters when they happen.This handbook, written by two top authorities on disaster policy and management, seeks to overcome this mismatch and to guide the examination and development of a policy and institutional framework and associated strategies. In particular, for the first time it brings together into a coherent framework the insights of public policy, institutional design and emergency and disaster management, stressing the cognate nature of policy and institutional challenges between disasters and sustainability. This is indispensable reading for all disaster planners, policy makers and managers across the world seeking to improve the quality, robustness and capacity of their disaster management.