Extreme Event Risk

“Extreme event” is a vague concept with a variety of formal definitions based on specific cases and contexts. Particular extreme events include, great earthquakes, floods, droughts, nuclear meltdowns, space shuttle losses, deaths, giant sea waves, stock crashes, landslides, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and consequences of any of the preceding. The event of interest might be caused by man or by nature. They may occur in time or space. The size might be measured in deaths or costs. The study of extreme event situations has led to important research results and management methods. The specific concern of the entry is quantitative formulation of the problem. Keywords: extreme events; extreme values; natural hazards