The carnage and devastation in the aftermath of a tsunami triggered by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake in north-east Japan have once again showed us how unprepared we can be for disasters.
Some of the relevant articles covered in this issue are:
For a little bit of love
By: Timothy Senaviratne
Surviving the tsunami
Responding to calamity
By: Dilip D’Souza
Notes from some shattered fields
After the cloudburst
By: Manisha Sobhrajani
Dealing with disaster can be a humbling experience
Slowly and deliberately
By: Edward Gonzalez
Rebuilding towards a deeper, richer democracy in Pakistan, post the recent floods
Water, still everywhere
By: Chris Cork
Losing the battle of hearts and minds in post-flooding Pakistan
Four lives
By: Nyla Daud
Banding together during the Pakistan floods
The right of the river
Interview: Dipak Gyawali
River-water management in Southasia
The people Vs the environment
By: Dinesh Kumar Mishra
Officials in India keep reviving the dead debate on floods – to the detriment of local communities and the national exchequer
Managing floods through proactive governance
By: N Vinod Chandra Menon
Indian officialdom is pioneering efforts to incorporate disaster management in development planning
The next big one
By: Kunda Dixit
Nepali’s hear it all the time: the next big earthquake is scientifically considered overdue. Only recently has the government actually begun to take some action.
Shelter from the storm
By: Gawher Nayeem Wahra
Cyclone preparedness in Bangladesh isn’t all it’s cracked up to be
Drowning in media indifference
By: Nalaka Gunawardene
Once again, the mainstream media in Sri Lanka has proven itself irrelevant in reporting and responding to catastrophic flooding
Disaster as opportunity
Interview: Michael G Renner, Worldwatch Institute
Can natural disasters offer a way out of protracted conflict situations?
Commentary: Embankments - Riding the tiger
The embankment-building craze that started in this region during the 1950s has not ended six decades later
Opinion: Impelled to protect
By: Samir Nazareth
Organised religion remains an underutilised proponent in combating climate change.
Sighting: Devastated queen
By: Richard Boyle
A peculiar concatenation of circumstances led to the world’s worst-ever train disaster.
