Book Review: “Extreme Natural Disasters” by Christine Gibson
Book Review: “Extreme Natural Disasters” by Christine Gibson
Reviewed by: Lynn Peterson
Rating: An excellent overview!
Today is the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and residents of the Gulf Coast region are still struggling to rebuild. As devastating as Hurricane Katrina was, it is not the worst-case scenario, in terms of natural disasters, as Christine Gibson demonstrates in “Extreme Natural Disasters.” She writes, “We do not live on a placid planet: The wind blows, the water rises, and the ground moves.” These events on earth are not natural disasters until they happen where people are concentrated, and people often build in dangerous places and alter the land such that it provides little protection from natural events. As is the case with Katrina, “Hurricanes are not new to the Gulf Coast, but they become costlier every year as more and more buildings go up along the shore and natural barriers are destroyed. In the past, extensive coastal wetlands acted like sponges, helping to keep floodwaters in check… When Katrina hit land, there was nothing to hold it back.”
While Katrina was no doubt a killer, with as many as 1800 dying, Gibson describes other deadly hurricanes, including Floyd, which killed 18,000 people, ten times as many as Katrina. Even deadlier was the cyclone that struck what is now Bangladesh in 1970 killing 500,000 people. This cyclone is a perfect example of what Gibson describes as the “cruelest twist” of natural disasters in that, “they tend to punish those least capable of putting up a fight,” the poor.
Gibson’s study of natural disasters is not limited to hurricanes. She also devotes chapters to tornadoes; ice storms, snowstorms, and avalanches; floods and their consequences; drought and heatwaves; earthquakes; volcanoes; and tsunamis, examining the science behind all of them. For a myriad of reasons, including fertile soil for farming and simple denial, people tend to live in places prone to natural disasters. For as long as we build in floodplains, on volcanoes, or on fault lines, humans will be in danger from Earth’s movements and weather. While one cannot control the Earth, Gibson suggests that natural disasters can be mitigated by prediction, preparation, and, in some cases, prevention. If you are curious about natural disasters and their impacts upon humanity, “Extreme Natural Disasters” provides a perfect overview.
