At Risk reasserts the significance of the human factor in disasters. Establishing that the social, political and economic environment is as much a cause of disasters as the natural environment, the book argues that disaster mitigation is rooted in the potential humans have to understand their vulnerability and to take common action.Famines and drought, biological hazards, floods, coastal storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides: At Risk draws practical and policy conclusions with a view to disaster reduction and the promotion of a safer environment.