Natural disasters and extreme events in agriculture

Agricultural production is highly dependent on weather, climate and water availability and is adversely affected by the weather and climate-related disasters. Droughts and natural disasters such as floods can result in crop failures, food insecurity, famine, loss of property and life, mass migration and negative national economic growth. It may not be possible to prevent the occurrence of these natural disasters, but the resultant disastrous effects can be reduced considerably through proper planning and effective preparation. Vulnerability associated with the hazards of natural disasters can be controlled to some extent by accurate and timely prediction and by taking counter-measures to reduce their impacts on agriculture. This book based on an expert meeting held in Beijing, China should be of interest to all organizations involved in disasters reduction and mitigation of extreme events.