The Environmental Disasters of the Future Will Be More and Worse but the Prospect Is Not Hopeless

Abstract

States that on the global scene, but particularly in modern societies, we are inevitably faced with more and worse disasters in the future because of the industrialization and urbanization inherent in the very structure of modern social life. Industrialization almost assures that disaster agents and occasions will increase. Urbanization is raising the risks and vulnerabilities of affected populations and societies. Posits that to recognize these upcoming transmutations in disasters is not to argue that nothing can be done by way of disaster planning. Argues that a clear recognition of the reality of what is very likely to occur in the twenty‐first century will allow more effective and efficient disaster planning than we have had up to now.

Citation

Quarantelli, E.L. (1993), "The Environmental Disasters of the Future Will Be More and Worse but the Prospect Is Not Hopeless", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 2 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/09653569310024458