The concept of the Anthropocene provides the reflexive rubric for examining human alteration of the Earth’s basic natural systems and, in turn, how society responds to and adapts to such changes in its life support systems. Nowhere is this more evident than in natural hazards and disaster risk. This article examines the changing nature of hazard and disaster risk from local to global scales highlighting three thematic areas. The first is the redefinition of what constitutes extremes (lower probability, higher consequence events) and the movement away from characterizing hazards as extreme events to a focus on the chronic or everyday events, the cumulative impacts compounding to produce impacts often far greater than the periodic extreme event. The second theme examines the confluence and complexity in the production and reproduction of hazards and disaster risk. The intersection of natural systems, human systems, and technology produces a tightly coupled and complex array of potential failure modes and large-scale impacts, so much so that when a natural hazard occurs in one part of the world, the consequences extend well beyond the affected region, which in turn affects the global economic system. The third theme is the increasing social, procedural, and spatial inequalities in disaster risk. These three themes are explored using historic and recent examples from North America.

人类世的概念为研究人类对地球基本自然系统的变化，以及反过来，社会如何响应和适应其生命维持系统的这种变化提供了反思性的规则。在自然灾害和灾难风险中，这是最明显的地方。本文考察了从地方到全球范围的灾害和灾害风险的变化特性，重点介绍了三个主题领域。第一个是重新定义构成极端事件的可能性（较低的概率，较高的后果事件），并从将危险定性为极端事件，转向关注慢性或日常事件，累积影响复合起来产生的影响通常远大于周期性的影响极端事件。第二个主题考察了灾害和灾害风险的生产和再生产中的融合和复杂性。自然系统，人类系统和技术的交集产生了紧密耦合且复杂的潜在故障模式和大规模影响，以至于当世界某个地区发生自然灾害时，后果远不止于此。受灾地区，进而影响全球经济体系。第三个主题是灾害风险中日益严重的社会，程序和空间不平等现象。这三个主题是使用北美的历史和最新实例进行探讨的。如此之大，以至于当自然灾害在世界某个地区发生时，其后果远远超出了受灾地区，进而影响了全球经济体系。第三个主题是灾害风险中日益严重的社会，程序和空间不平等现象。这三个主题是使用北美的历史和最新实例进行探讨的。如此之大，以至于当自然灾害在世界某个地区发生时，其后果远远超出了受灾地区，进而影响了全球经济体系。第三个主题是灾害风险中日益严重的社会，程序和空间不平等现象。这三个主题是使用北美的历史和最新实例进行探讨的。