Explores the relationship between environment and culture in the contemporary Philippines. The book will be of interest to those engaged in relief policy and administration in developing countries.

Greg Bankoff is Senior Lecturer in Southeast Asian History at the University of Auckland. His previous books include Crime Society and the State in Nineteenth-Century Philippines (Hawaii University Press: 1996).

Foreword Acknowledgement Introduction: Of Jellyfish and Coups 1. 'Vulnerability' as Western Discourse 2. Environment and Hazard in Southeast Asia 3. A History of Hazard in the Philippines 4. The 'Costs' of Hazard in the Contemporary Philippines 5. The Politics of Disaster Management and Relief 6. The Economics of Red Tides 7. The Social Order and the El Nino Southern Oscillation 8. Cultures of Disaster Conclusion: Hazard as a Frequent Life Experience Notes Bibliography