ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews various practical means of conceptualizing disaster in a sequence that progresses from early preparedness, through short-term reactions, to long-term aftermaths. Models have also been made of the warning process, which blends social organization with the deployment, use and perception of modern technology. But warning itself must be a part of planning to reduce the impact of disasters, a process that should involve the mass media as a means of disseminating useful information. Any spatial aspect of disasters and hazards can be mapped, providing there is sufficient information on its distribution. In this respect the aspects most often plotted are the pattern of manifestations of the geophysical agents that cause disasters, the spatial distribution of their impacts and the distribution of human vulnerability. One of the principle goals of mapping is to define spatial units in such a way as to minimize differences within each unit while at the same time maximizing the differences between adjacent units.
