Natural Hazards Atlas of Jamaica

by Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr, Rafi Ahmad

Overview

The authors have creatively and persuasively designed an atlas of Jamaica focusing on the four principal natural hazards of earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and landslides in order to increase government and public awareness of hazards in the context of the island’s developmental and environmental problems.

The work is divided into three sections in which the authors consider the physical geography of Jamaica; detail the common hazards that commonly affect Jamaica, and provide maps of each Jamaican parish indicating models of each hazard at a local scale.

Co-published with the Mona Geoinformatics Institute, University of the West Indies, Jamaica.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789766402594
Publisher:	The University of the West Indies Press
Publication date:	06/25/2012
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	14.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr is Director, Mona Geoinformatics Institute, University of the West Indies, Jamaica. He is the author of numerous refereed journal articles, chapters in books and technical reports. His research specialties include geographic information systems, global positioning satellite systems, remote sensing, karst geomorphology and geomorphometry, natural hazards simulation and disaster response coordination, crime demographic and socioeconomic analysis, and business analysis and customer location mapping. He is also a faculty member of the Department of Geography and Geology.

Rafi Ahmad is Head, Unit for Disaster Studies, Lecturer, Department of Geography and Geology and Fellow, Mona Geoinformatics Institute, University of the West Indies, Jamaica. He has a distinguished publication record and has written and edited several books, journal articles and refereed publications on natural hazards and hazards management. He is the recipient of several awards and honours, including the 2003 United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction, the De La Beche Award for Outstanding Contribution on a Sustained Basis, and the Geological Society of Jamaica and the International Landslide Research Group Award for years of leadership in landslide hazard reduction in the Caribbean.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
About the Atlas
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Facts and Figures: Jamaica’s Country Profile

SECTION 1 PHYS ICAL ENVIRONMENT
1.1 Landscape
1.2 Geology
1.3 Protected Areas
1.4 Rainfall
1.5 Hydrology

SECTION 2 NATURAL HAZARDS
2.1 Risk Profile
2.2 Hurricanes
2.3 Coastal: Flooding
2.4 Inland: Flooding
2.5 Landslides
2.6 Historical Earthquakes

SECTION 3 PARI SH NATURAL HAZARDS PROF I LES
3.1 Geoscape
3.2 Kingston and St Andrew
3.3 St Thomas
3.4 Portland
3.5 St Mary
3.6 St Ann
3.7 Trelawny
3.8 St James
3.9 Hanover
3.10 Westmoreland
3.11 St Elizabeth
3.12 Manchester
3.13 Clarendon
3.14 St Catherine

Glossary
References and Further Reading
About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

The atlas is accessible to decision makers in central and local government, students and teachers in both secondary and tertiary institutions, and local communities. The academic challenge of putting the atlas together has been executed with painstaking detail and with considerable technical expertise and flair. The authors are to be congratulated on successfully negotiating the huge task of compiling detailed geo-coded information on natural hazards from both historical and contemporary sources and spatially correlating this information with salient features of Jamaica’s human and physical geography and geology. The result is an engaging collection of maps which offer fascinating insights into the multiple hazards that impact Jamaica.”

—David Barker, Head, Department of Geography and Geology, University of the West Indies, Jamaica

From the Publisher