Natural Disasters, 9th edition, updates text, tables and figures; adds new photos; places more emphasis on processes and less on case histories. Chapter 1 now includes a brief section on disease pandemics. Chapter 13 on floods is rewritten. A brief, new Chapter 16 pulls together coastal processes and adds rip currents and tidal bores. Chapter 18 on mass extinctions (Great Dyings) is updated and available for inclusion in the textbook. Significant events added include the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami; the record-setting 2011 U.S. tornado year; and the felony conviction of seven Italian scientists for not giving better prediction of the L'Aquila earthquake.

The book retains its focus on Earth's natural processes and the disasters that occur when the Earth concentrates its energy and releases it, causing death and destruction.