quire stricter codes for mobile home construction.
Increasing damage figures also triggered insurance-
industry crises, especially in vulnerable areas. Local,
state, and federal governments also sought to im-
prove their responses to disasters’ aftermaths. Presi-
dent Jimmy Carter had created the Federal Emer-
gency Relief Management Agency (FEMA) in 1979
as a unified agency to coordinate disaster relief.
The natural disasters of the 1980’s tested the new
agency’s ability to meet its goals.
Further Reading
Harris, Stephen L.Agents of Chaos: Earthquakes, Vol-
canoes, and Other Natural Disasters. Missoula,
Mont.: Mountain Press, 1990. Explores natural
geologic disasters, with a focus on the Western
United States.
Officer, Charles, and Jake Page.Tales of the Earth: Par-
oxysms and Perturbations of the Blue Planet. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Studies both
natural and human-induced events, including the
major events of the 1980’s.
Steinberg, Theodore.Acts of God: The Unnatural His-
tor y of Natural Disaster in America. New York: Ox-
ford University Press, 2000. Uses case studies to
examine American views of natural disasters and
humans’ role in creating them.
___.Down to Earth: Nature’s Role in American His-
tor y. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. En-
vironmental history that explores changing views
of nature and how nature has shaped history.
Wood, Robert A., ed.The Weather Almanac: A Reference
Guide to Weather, Climate, and Related Issues in the
United States and Its Key Cities. 7th ed. Detroit: Gale
Research, 1996. This eight-hundred-plus-page
book provides much data and information on the
subject.
Marcella Bush Trevino
See also Doppler radar; El Niño; Heat wave of
1980; Hurricane Hugo; Loma Prieta earthquake;
Mount St. Helens eruption; Yellowstone National
Park fires.
Navratilova, Martina
Identification Professional tennis player
Born October 18, 1956; Prague, Czechoslovakia
(now Czech Republic)Navratilova won more professional tennis grand slam
championships in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles than
any female or male player of the 1980’s. She won the singles
title ever y year between 1982 and 1987.During the 1980’s, Martina Navratilova’s grand slam
victories included fifteen singles titles. The grand
slam tournaments consist of the Australian, French,
and U.S. Opens and Wimbledon. Navratilova was
second in singles ten times, won twenty-four doubles
titles, and won four mixed doubles titles. In 1982,
she became the first female athlete in any sport to
win more than $1 million in prize money during a
calendar year. The following year, her singles record
in all her tournaments was 86-1. She had a total of
only six losses in singles between 1982 and 1984—
the year that United Press International named her
Female Athlete of the Year. Navratilova was the
number-one-ranked female tennis player in the world
for a total of 150 weeks between 1982 and 1987. In
1985, 1986, and 1987, she was in the singles final in
all eleven of the grand slam tournaments she en-
tered. A very rare achievement occurred in 1987,
when she won the singles, doubles, and mixed dou-
bles, all the available events, at the U.S. Open. With
her primary women’s double partner, Pam Shriver,
she had a 109-match winning streak between 1983
and 1985. In 1984, the pair won the doubles in all
four of the grand slam tournaments. Navratilova is
also remembered for her rivalry, friendship, and
great matches played against tennis great Chris Evert.Impact Navratilova had a significant impact on
the sport of tennis through her unparalleled physi-
cal conditioning program, which included several
coaches who trained her in nutrition, weight lifting,
and tennis. She was among the first female players to
practice primarily with men and was unique among
her competitors to use the serve-and-volley aggres-
sive attacking style of play.
Away from the tennis court, Navratilova received
much media attention regarding her public declara-
tion of her lesbian identity. As a world-famous ath-
lete, she brought attention to issues surrounding gay
rights and women’s rights. Her honesty and avail-The Eighties in America Navratilova, Martina 699