Emergency management: the human factor.

This monograph summarises the results of recent emergency management research from a sociological perspective, and presents this information in a format useful and relevant to the local government emergency management community. It begins with a short history of the sociological study of human response to disasters, followed by a discussion of eight topics of concern to emergency managers: Hazard perception; Disaster planning; Warning responses; Evacuation processes; Emergency actions; Restoration activities; Reconstruction; Attitudes toward mitigation. Three types of adjustments are examined: cause modification; reduction of vulnerability; and distribution of actual or anticipated losses. Conclusions drawn from empirical analysis are presented throughout the monograph for use by local emergency management personnel in assessing the degree to which their plans have correctly anticipated the human response