Great British Weather Disasters

(Paperback)

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Description

Disaster books traditionally feed on hype, sensationalism and bad science. Eden manages to redress the balance.
What then is the place of weather disasters in our climate Are they freaks or a necessary part of the whole How rare are meteorological event does it take to cause chaos in our day-to-day lives Are we becoming more at risk and less capable of dealing with them Or do we just complain more These days we try and mitigate the effects of different hazards, by acquiring personal and property protection - individually, personally and politically. So what is the role of local and central government, the insurance industry, the media and the public And how do we actually measure disaster By rarity, insurance cost, death toll, recovery times etc Can we merge all these so we can compare -say- the 1976 drought with the 1891 blizzard Can we rank disasters 15,000 died in the European heatwave of August 2003. Is this the shape of things to come What will happen if the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Drift stops flowing Here are just a few of Philip Eden's topics in a book which will be riveting to readers.

Reviews

Title mention in 'Financial Times-Life and Arts', Stephen Care, November 2008
Mention -Book News, February 2009
A useful read for any weather enthusiast, even those who are not directly linked to the United Kingdom. -- Weatherwise
This book reminds us that very few meteorological surprises merit the cliche "unprecedented" ...As [Eden's] "chronology of disaster" from 1901-2008makes clear, almost every year is extreme in one way. -- Christopher Hirst, The Independent
"This book utilizes numerous case studies to examine weather-related disasters - including floods, droughts, and snowstorms - in Britain. It addresses questions such as: Are we becoming more at risk and less capable of dealing with weather disasters How rare a meteorological event does it take to cause chaos in our day-to-day lives When these disasters hit, what is the role of the local media, and the public And how do we actually measure disasters - by rarity, insurance cost, death toll, recovery times, or something else" --Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, May 2009
A very interesting documentation of weather disasters in the United Kingdom, an inspiring, thought-provoking read ... can be highly recommended both for specialists and the public. -- Meterologische Zeitschrift

Author Bio

Philip Eden is the weather correspondent of the DailyTelegraphand SundayTelegraph and appears regularly on radio and television. He is also Vice President of the Royal Meteorological Society and Director of the Chilterns Observatory Trust.