ABSTRACT
Studying the relations that people have developed with their environment, including how they have dealt with unexpected natural catastrophes, raises difficult and complex issues, which are important for understanding the social and cultural evolution of human societies. The careful study of the impact of recent hazards in underdeveloped areas can help to gain some idea, but these observations are partly biased by the level of disaster prevention and the relief programmes that are currently available for even the most remote place on earth.
