The analysis and management of risk and the mitigation of hazards is of fundamental importance to planners and researchers around the world. We live in an increasingly complex society with the potential for disasters on a worldwide scale. Natural hazards such as floods, earthquakes, landslides, fires and others have always affected human societies. Man-made hazards, however, played a comparatively small role a few centuries ago until the risk of catastrophic events started to increase due to the rapid growth of new technologies. The interaction of natural and anthropogenic risks adds to the complexity of the problem.