On average, a disaster occurs somewhere in the world each day. These events are almost always of high local interest. Occasionally they are also of national interest, and every now and then they capture the attention of the entire world. In this new century, we already have witnessed disasters so great that they were virtually incomprehensible. Events like the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the southeast Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004, and Hurricane Katrina of August 29, 2005, galvanize concern, leaving policy makers, service providers, journalists, scientists, and the general public clamoring for information that can shed light on the implications of such catastrophes for the survivors,.
