Human Coping Responses to Natural Hazards

Abstract

Natural hazards depend on the interface between the physical environment and human society. Thus, human aspects are essential and integral components of natural hazards analysis. The ways in which human agents, as individuals and members of society, attempt to cope with risk in the environment and loss due to extreme events change with both time and space. Such variation in human behavior is largely influenced by the worldview of a particular individual or group, which then determines their approach to nature-society relationships. But how should we view the environmental events that exceed the coping ability of a given society? What are the causes of natural disasters? To what extent is the ‘human-use system’ of resources directly related to hazards? Furthermore, how should an individual or group respond to extreme natural events? Different answers to these questions mirror the diversity of beliefs and knowledge about the human relationship with nature.