Natural Disaster and Technological Catastrophe

Abstract

Against the backdrop of ever-expanding technological systems, the effects of accidents or breakdowns in human-made technology are examined and contrasted with those of natural disasters. A number of differences are identified, and research on these forms of cataclysmic events is reviewed. These data, as well as this analysis, suggest that technological catastrophes are more likely to have long-term effects, to affect people beyond the point of impact, and to pose different types of threat than are natural disasters.