Review of Disaster Risk Science edited by Peijun Shi

In recent years, against the background of climate change and changes in socioeconomic and ecological patterns caused by human activities, various types of natural disasters have occurred frequently, especially catastrophic events, which have resulted in huge numbers of human casualties and great economic loss. Therefore, how to understand disaster risk from a systemic perspective is currently a focal point in the academic and practical fields. In this book, entitled Disaster Risk Science, this topic is systematically elaborated.

The book includes 10 chapters that can be divided into three parts. The first part, Chapters 1 to 3 is mainly about disaster science. In Chapter 1, “Hazards, Disasters, and Risks,” the author mainly explains the current understanding and knowledge of different scholars around the world about hazards, disasters, and risks, and clarifies the differences and connections between these basic concepts so that readers can better understand them. In Chapter 2, “Regional Disaster System,” the author constructs the characteristics of current disaster occurrence from a systems theory perspective and briefly elaborates the structural system components of the disaster system: disaster-forming environments, hazards, and exposures; and then proposes the functional system characteristics of the disaster system on this basis—that is, stability (sensitivity) of disaster-forming environments, intensity of hazards, and vulnerability to and recovery from exposure. The structural and functional aspects of disaster systems provide the foundation for Chapter 3, on disaster formation processes. In Chapter 3, the author describes the general paradigm that enables the development and evolution of disasters from the perspectives of kinetic, ecological, economic, and nonkinetic processes of disaster formation, and presents relevant cases to help readers understand these processes.

The second part, Chapters 4 to 7, focuses on current emergency technologies that are biased toward government disaster mitigation operations and assessment. Chapter 4, “Disaster Measurement, Statistics, and Assessment,” focuses on measurement methods, statistical standards, and assessment methods in the aftermath of a disaster, and describes the progress China has made in this area. Chapter 5, “Disaster Risk Assessment,” focuses on the main techniques and methods used to assess disaster risk. The author provides examples of natural hazard risk assessment to enable readers to understand how these techniques and methods are applied. Chapter 6, “Disaster Risk Map,” mainly describes the establishment of disaster risk database and the process of disaster risk map compilation, and provides examples of disaster risk atlas compilation. Chapter 7, “Disaster Risk Regionalization,” describes worldwide natural disaster risk regionalization, China natural disaster risk regionalization, and integrated natural disaster risk regionalization. With a professional background in geography, combined with the concept of geographic regionalization, the author shows the principles, indicators, and methods involved in integrated natural disaster regionalization, agricultural natural disaster regionalization, urban natural disaster regionalization, and natural disaster relief regionalization.

The third part, Chapters 8 to 10, focuses on government-led risk management and emergency response, with a preference for integrated risk prevention for multiple entities. Chapter 8, “Disaster Risk Management,” focuses on various basic elements of disaster risk management, especially policy and case analysis for the institutional construction of disaster risk management in China. The author emphasizes that improving disaster risk management is the key to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster risk reduction resources utilization, as well as an important guarantee of disaster risk reduction. Chapter 9, “Disaster Emergency Management and Response,” describes the principles of disaster emergency management, institutional mechanisms, and legal systems, as well as command and mobilization in disaster emergency response and relocation of disaster victims. The author describes emergency management and response in China during the Wenchuan earthquake, and introduces the construction of the emergency management system in Shenzhen at the city level. In Chapter 10, “Integrated Disaster Risk Governance,” the author discusses the structural system and its optimization and the functional system and its optimization in integrated disaster risk governance based on disaster systems theory, summarizes the general paradigm of integrated disaster risk governance, and proposes a cohesive model of integrated social-ecological system disaster risk governance.

As demonstrated, this book contributes to the bridging of the existing knowledge gaps in disaster risk science. The author initially constructs a system of disaster risk science from the perspective of discipline building, presents in detail current knowledge of disaster risk science in the academic community, and demonstrates the progress in disaster prevention and mitigation and disaster risk management in China based on the author’s more than 30 years of practice. This book provides thought-provoking insights into understanding the science of disaster risk and provides important quantifiable methods and knowledge for assessing the disaster risks we are currently facing. Most of the chapters are based on the author’s long-standing disaster assessment practice. The book is suitable for students in the disciplines of disaster risk science, geography, ecology, climate change science, sustainability science, and public administration and policy, and can be used as a reference for disaster risk management and disaster risk science courses.