ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how drought is defined and measured, the drivers of drought, how drought affects people with different livelihoods and how drought is differently perceived. It explains how the study of drought articulates with current research on human/environmental relationships and resilience theory. The recognition of climate change and the increased emphasis on the incidence, severity, and cost of natural hazards, especially in the United States, brought the importance on disaster research to the general public. Drought can have both direct and indirect negative impacts on the livelihood activities. Drought directly impacts food production, health, lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure, while indirectly increasing environmental degradation and increasing poverty. Losses from drought can significantly strain local, regional, and national economies. Droughts have direct effects on crop production and the raising of livestock, but also indirectly affect peoples’ health, and can lead to conflict and famine.
