Encyclopedia of Disaster Relief

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This encyclopedia covers response to disasters around the world, from governments to NGOs, from charities to politics, from refugees to health, and from economics to international relations, covering issues in both historical and contemporary context. The volumes include information relevant to students of sociology, national security, economics, health sciences, political science, emergency preparedness, history, agriculture, and many other subjects. The goal is to help readers appreciate the importance of the effects, responsibilities, and ethics of disaster relief, and to initiate educational discussion brought forth by the specific cultural, scientific, and topical articles contained within the work.

Including 425 signed entries in a two-volume set presented in A-to-Z format, and drawing contributors from varied academic disciplines, this encyclopedia also features a preface by Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton of the 9/11 Commission. This reference resource examines disaster response and relief in a manner that is authoritative yet accessible, jargon-free, and balanced to help readers better understand issues from varied perspectives.

Key Themes

- Geography

- Government and International Agencies

- History

- Human-induced Disasters

- Infrastructure

- Local Response

- Major Disasters (Relief Case Studies)

- Medicine and Psychology

- Methods and Practices

- Mitigation

- Natural Disasters (Overviews)

- Politics and Funding

- Preparedness

- Recovery

- Response

- Science and Prediction

- Sociology

- U.S. Geographical Response

K. Bradley Penuel is the Director of the New York University (NYU) Center for Catastrophe Preparedness and Response (CCPR). CCPR is a university-wide research center dedicated to improving preparedness and response capabilities to catastrophic events including terrorism, natural disasters, and public health emergencies. Drawing on the resources of NYU’s 14 schools, CCPR conducts research that addresses issues ranging from first-responder capacity during crises, to public health response, to legal issues relating to security, to private-sector crisis management and business continuity. Additionally, Penuel serves as the Assistant Vice President for Health Initiatives at NYU.

Prior to joining NYU, Penuel worked for the firm Chemonics International, serving on projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank. Previously, he worked as an environmental engineer for Gresham, Smith and Partners, in Nashville, Tennessee. Penuel received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Auburn University and a Masters degree in Urban Planning from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service.

Matt Statler is the Richman Family Director of Business Ethics and Social Impact Programming and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations at NYU Stern School of Business. Prior to joining Stern, Statler served as the Director of Research for NYU’s Center for Catastrophe Preparedness and Response (CCPR), where he focused on how businesses can become more strategically prepared for crises. Statler initially developed this research focus while serving as the Director of Research at the Imagination Lab Foundation in Lausanne, Switzerland. His research has recently appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics and the Oxford Handbook of Organizational Decision Making, and he is the co-author of Everyday Strategic Preparedness: The Role of Practical Wisdom in Organizations.

Statler earned his B.A. in Philosophy and Spanish Literature from the University of Missouri at Columbia and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Vanderbilt University. He spent one year at the University of Heidelberg as a Fulbright Scholar.