This course is taking us on a journey around the world. We are going to look at recent examples of places struck by different kinds of disasters - e.g. hurricanes, tornadoes, landslides, floods, avalanches, earthquakes, drought, forest fire. What were they caused by? Are they purely natural or can man be blamed for them?
Later we are going to concentrate on the questions: does the knowledge of the causes of disasters help to prevent them or their worst effects? Why do places frequently hit by disasters still attract so many people? Again, we will work on topical examples if possible.
