ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies how countries differ systematically in their vulnerability to hazards, economic resources, government organizations, quality of the built environment, civil society, role of the military, and role of international organizations, which thereby impacts their immediate response to environmental threats. Three case studies are then discussed to highlight key findings from the authors’ research, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation. These capture the immediate responses of risk area residents to the 2011 earthquake in New Zealand and Japan, the 2011 great floods in Thailand and the 2009 earthquake and tsunami in American Samoa.
