Book contents
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors to Volume I
- Frontispiece
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Preface to Volume I
- Part I Rethinking the Pacific
- Part II Humans and the Natural World in the Pacific Ocean
- 6 Indigenous Knowledge/Science of Climate and the Natural World
- 7 The Birth and Development of Pacific Islands to 1800 ce
- 8 Atolls, Experiments, and the Origin of Islands
- 9 Natural Hazards, Risks, and Peoples in the Pacific World
- Part III Deep Time: Sources for the Ancient History of the Pacific
- Part IV The Initial Colonization of the Pacific
- Part V The Evolution of Pacific Communities
- Part VI Europe’s Maritime Expansion into the Pacific
- References to Volume I
- Index
9 - Natural Hazards, Risks, and Peoples in the Pacific World
from Part II - Humans and the Natural World in the Pacific Ocean
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 November 2022
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors to Volume I
- Frontispiece
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Preface to Volume I
- Part I Rethinking the Pacific
- Part II Humans and the Natural World in the Pacific Ocean
- 6 Indigenous Knowledge/Science of Climate and the Natural World
- 7 The Birth and Development of Pacific Islands to 1800 ce
- 8 Atolls, Experiments, and the Origin of Islands
- 9 Natural Hazards, Risks, and Peoples in the Pacific World
- Part III Deep Time: Sources for the Ancient History of the Pacific
- Part IV The Initial Colonization of the Pacific
- Part V The Evolution of Pacific Communities
- Part VI Europe’s Maritime Expansion into the Pacific
- References to Volume I
- Index
Summary
The diverse communities that inhabit the Pacific Ocean and its many islands, continental coastlines, and immediate hinterlands face a variety of natural hazards. These natural hazards vary in frequency, intensity, and locations affected, but are so diverse that most Pacific communities can expect to encounter one or more each generation and have therefore adapted their lifestyles to accommodate them. This chapter surveys the impact of the main natural hazards across the Pacific Ocean, and how Pacific communities have adapted to these challenges over time, from first colonization to the current threat of rapid global warming. It discusses geological hazards of earthquakes and volcanic activity; tsunamis; the climate hazards of typhoons, floods, landslides, drought, and El Niño–La Niña cycles; and more recent human-induced rapid global warming, as well as pestilence and disease. We largely focus on the archipelago of the Philippines and the Pacific Islands as the two Pacific locations most vulnerable to natural events, but also note that many natural hazards interconnect the Pacific and the wider globe. The Pacific Rim of Fire is a belt of volcanic activity that circles the entire Pacific, while tsunamis generated in one corner of the Pacific can touch shores on the other side of this vast ocean with devastating impact. Major volcanic eruptions can affect global climate and global food production for years. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate patterns alternating between El Niño and La Niña variations span the entire Pacific and also affect climate in the Indian Ocean and Africa, while monsoonal weather affects the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean, as well as maritime Southeast Asia and much of continental Asia. The Pacific Ocean is now a key frontier in climate change mitigation as both a frontline for mitigating rising sea level inundation of low-lying Pacific Island nations as well as one of the world’s largest carbon sinks in the ocean itself.
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- The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean , pp. 198 - 222Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023