The Asia-Pacific region is one of the most vulnerable to a variety of natural and manmade hazards. This edited book productively brings together scholars and senior public officials having direct experience in dealing with or researching on recent major natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific. The chapters focus on disaster preparedness and management, including pre-event planning and mitigation, crisis leadership and emergency response, and disaster recovery. Specific events discussed in this book include a broad spectrum of disasters such as tropical storms and typhoons in the Philippines; earthquakes in China; tsunamis in Indonesia, Japan, and Maldives; and bushfires in Australia. The book aims to generate discussions about improved risk reduction strategies throughout the region. It seeks to provide a comparative perspective across countries to draw lessons from three perspectives: public policy, humanitarian systems, and community engagement.

Confronting Disaster: Recent Lessons from the Asia-Pacific.- Localising the Humanitarian Toolkit: Lessons from Recent Philippines Disasters.- Muhammadiyah and Disaster Response: Innovation and Change in Humanitarian Assistance.- The Impact of the Indian Ocean Tsunami on Maldives.- Collaboration in Emergency Response in China: Evolution from the Wenchuan Earthquake, May 12, 2008 to the Lushan Earthquake, April 20, 2013.- One in Trouble, All to Help: The Paired Assistance Program to Disaster-Affected Areas in China.- Collaborative Manpower Support for Restoring Hope in the Aftermath of the March 11 Disasters in Japan.- Communities at the Heart of Recovery: Reflections on the Government-Community Partnership for Recovery after the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria, Australia.- Disaster, Mental Health, and Community Resilience: Lessons from the Field in Aceh Province, Indonesia.- Regional Business Continuity Management through Public-Private Partnerships in Japan.- The Rise of Disaster Risk Insurance and Derivatives.- Building the Urban Community Disaster Relief System in China.