MANAGING DISASTERS PRECIPITATED BY NATURAL HAZARDS

Natural hazards are a piece of the dynamics of the outer working parts of the earth's thermodynamic engines; and their course in many cases cannot be stayed. But disasters caused by them can be significantly mi nimized by designing and enforcing hazard-resilient land use plans, bu ilding codes and other safety and avoidance measures. Current understa nding of the space-time characteristics of natural hazards offers cons iderable insight in designing effective hazard reduction programmes as well as a research agenda that would progressively vitalize this ende avour.