Natural hazards and risks: the view from the junction of natural and social sciences

Abstract

The current emphasis on the research of natural hazards and risks has been widely recognized and possible mitigation of their effects is of crucial importance for the whole society. While many international activities concerning the risk management emerged during the last two decades and the international cooperation proved necessary in this field, the realm of geography still remained split to a certain extent into the research activities in physical and in social geography. Nevertheless, there is an obvious need of the cooperation of these two domains of geography. The paper introduces the significant contributions of both natural and social sciences into the research of the natural hazards and risks and stresses that the knowledge gained in both of these disciplines constitute a solid complex that can be used and applied in a particular case of a natural disaster.