This book details natural disaster emergencies in many parts of the world, and examines the vulnerability of different communities, especially those in Asia and the Americas. The enormous costs of the disasters, and the way charitable aid money is handled, is discussed. The political and security reactions in the most severely affected regions are also examined, and the way local NGO operations are undertaken jointly with western relief agencies, and how well the rebuilding and rehabilitation programs perform. The book focuses in particular on the major disasters that occurred between 2004 and 2008; the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Kashmir earthquake, the Katrina hurricane, the Burma cyclone and the Sichuan earthquake.