This book announces the new, interdisciplinary field of critical disaster studies. Unlike most existing approaches to disaster, critical disaster studies begins with the idea that disasters are not objective facts, but rather are interpretive fictions-and they shape the way people see the world. By questioning the concept of disaster itself, critical disaster studies reveals the stakes of defining people or places as vulnerable, resilient, or at risk. As social constructs, disaster, vulnerability, resilience, and risk shape and are shaped by contests over power. Managers and technocrats often herald the goals of disaster response and recovery as objective, quantifiable, or self-evident. In reality, the goals are subjective, and usually contested. Critical disaster studies attends to the ways powerful people often use claims of technocratic expertise to maintain power. Moreover, rather than existing as isolated events, disasters take place over time. People commonly imagine disasters to be unexpected and sudden, making structural conditions appear contingent, widespread conditions appear local, and chronic conditions appear acute. By placing disasters in broader contexts, critical disaster studies peels away that veneer. With chapters by scholars of five continents and seven disciplines, Critical Disaster Studies asks how disasters come to be known as disasters, how disasters are used as tools of governance and politics, and how people imagine and anticipate disasters. The volume will be of interest to scholars of disaster in any discipline and especially to those teaching the growing number of courses on disaster studies.

Some of the most striking news stories from natural disasters are of animals tied to trees or cats swimming through murky flood waters. Although the issue of evacuating pets has gained more attention in recent disasters, there are still many failures throughout local and national systems of managing pets and accommodating animals in emergencies. All Creatures Safe and Sound is a comprehensive study of what goes wrong in our disaster response that shows how people can better manage pets in emergencies-from the household level to the large-scale, national level. Authors Sarah DeYoung and Ashley Farmer offer practical disaster preparedness tips while they address the social complexities that affect disaster management and animal rescue. They track the developments in the management of pets since Hurricane Katrina, including an analysis of the 2006 PETS Act, which dictates that animals should be included in hazard and disaster planning. Other chapters focus on policies in place for sheltering and evacuation, coalitions for animal welfare and the prevention of animal cruelty, organizational coordination, decision-making, preparedness, the role of social media in animal rescue and response, and how privilege and power shape disaster experiences and outcomes. Using data they collected from seven major recent American disasters, ranging from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Florence to the Camp, Tubbs, and Carr Fires in California and the Hawaii Lava Flow, the authors provide insights about the successes and failures of animal care. All Creatures Safe and Sound also outlines what still needs to change to best prepare for the safety and welfare of pets, livestock, and other companion animals in times of crisis.

An estimated 2 billion people live in countries affected by fragility, conflict and violence. Extreme poverty is increasingly concentrated in these areas, and governments and international agencies seek avenues to enable socio-economic recovery and to support people as they try to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. People, Aid and Institutions in Socio-economic Recovery: Facing Fragilities provides an in-depth understanding of people's strategies in the face of conflict and disaster-related fragility and examines how policies and aid interventions enable their socio-economic recovery - or fail to do so. Through field-based research, the book captures the complex and unfolding realities on the ground, exploring the interfaces between economic, social and institutional change. This provides a rich and unique vantage point from which to reflect on the impact of recovery policies. The book provides a set of cross-cutting findings that aim to inform policy and practice. The detailed case studies of the book lay bare key dynamics of recovery. Set against the findings from two chapters that review the literature, the cases provide evidence-based lessons for socio-economic recovery. The chapters combine qualitative and quantitative methodologies and form a valuable resource to researchers and postgraduate students of disaster management, conflict, humanitarian aid and social reconstruction, and development management.

Following on from her epic photographical journey behind the Iron Curtain in Soviet Ghosts The Soviet Union Abandoned: A Communist Empire in Decay Rebecca Bathory undertakes an emotional and thought provoking journey to Fukushima. As one of the first photographers to be granted access to the site, Bathory now presents never-before-seen images which provide a unique and moving meditation on human failure seen through the lens of an accomplished artist. Bathory's images take you behind the scenes of the ghost town that is Fukushima, at turns heartbreaking and devastating. These photographs ask the question - what next for a nuclear future?

This book contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between migration, vulnerability, resilience and social justice associated with flooding across diverse environmental, social and policy contexts in Southeast Asia. It challenges simple analyses of flooding as a singular driver of migration, and instead considers the ways in which floods figure in migration-based livelihoods and amongst already mobile populations. The book develops a conceptual framework based on a 'mobile political ecology' in which particular attention is paid to the multidimensionality, temporalities and geographies of vulnerability. Rather than simply emphasising the capacities (or lack thereof) of individuals and households, the focus is on identifying factors that instigate, manage and perpetuate vulnerable populations and places: these include the sociopolitical dynamics of floods, flood hazards and risky environments, migration and migrant-based livelihoods and the policy environments through which all of these take shape. The book is organised around a series of eight empirical urban and rural case studies from countries in Southeast Asia, where lives are marked by mobility and by floods associated with the region's monsoonal climate. The concluding chapter synthesises the insights of the case studies, and suggests future policy directions. Together, the chapters highlight critical policy questions around the governance of migration, institutionalised disaster response strategies and broader development agendas.

Crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, disasters, or violent conflict present numerous challenges for researchers. Faced with disruption, obstacles, and even danger to their own lives, researchers in times of crisis must adapt or redesign existing research methods in order to continue their work effectively. Including contributions on qualitative and digital research from Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia, and the Americas, this volume explores the creative and thoughtful ways in which researchers have adapted methods and rethought relationships in response to challenges arising from crises. Their collective reflections, strategies, and practices highlight the importance of responsive, ethical, and creative research design and the need to develop methods for fostering mutual, reflexive, and healthy relationships in times of crisis.

Why was the UK so unprepared for the pandemic, suffering one of the highest death rates and worst economic contractions of the major world economies in 2020? Hilary Cooper and Simon Szreter reveal the deep roots of our vulnerability and set out a powerful manifesto for change post-Covid-19. They argue that our commitment to a flawed neoliberal model and the associated disinvestment in our social fabric left the UK dangerously exposed and unable to mount an effective response. This is not at all what made Britain great. The long history of the highly innovative universal welfare system established by Elizabeth I facilitated both the industrial revolution and, when revived after 1945, the postwar Golden Age of rising prosperity. Only by learning from that past can we create the fairer, nurturing and empowering society necessary to tackle the global challenges that lie ahead - climate change, biodiversity collapse and global inequality.

FINALIST FOR THE 2020 HILARY WESTON WRITERS' TRUST PRIZE FOR NONFICTION * A New York Times New & Noteworthy Book * A CBC Best Nonfiction Book of 2020 * A Globe and Mail Top 100 Book for 2020 "Combining his poetic sensibilities and storytelling skills with a documentarian's eye, [Heighton] has created a wrenching narrative."-2020 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction Jury In the fall of 2015, Steven Heighton made an overnight decision to travel to the frontlines of the Syrian refugee crisis in Greece and enlist as a volunteer. He arrived on the isle of Lesvos with a duffel bag and a dubious grasp of Greek, his mother's native tongue, and worked on the landing beaches and in OXY--a jerrybuilt, ad hoc transit camp providing simple meals, dry clothes, and a brief rest to refugees after their crossing from Turkey. In a town deserted by the tourists that had been its lifeblood, Heighton--alongside the exhausted locals and under-equipped international aid workers--found himself thrown into emergency roles for which he was woefully unqualified. From the brief reprieves of volunteer-refugee soccer matches to the riots of Camp Moria, Reaching Mithymna is a firsthand account of the crisis and an engaged exploration of the borders that divide us and the ties that bind.

Some of the most striking news stories from natural disasters are of animals tied to trees or cats swimming through murky flood waters. Although the issue of evacuating pets has gained more attention in recent disasters, there are still many failures throughout local and national systems of managing pets and accommodating animals in emergencies. All Creatures Safe and Sound is a comprehensive study of what goes wrong in our disaster response that shows how people can better manage pets in emergencies-from the household level to the large-scale, national level. Authors Sarah DeYoung and Ashley Farmer offer practical disaster preparedness tips while they address the social complexities that affect disaster management and animal rescue. They track the developments in the management of pets since Hurricane Katrina, including an analysis of the 2006 PETS Act, which dictates that animals should be included in hazard and disaster planning. Other chapters focus on policies in place for sheltering and evacuation, coalitions for animal welfare and the prevention of animal cruelty, organizational coordination, decision-making, preparedness, the role of social media in animal rescue and response, and how privilege and power shape disaster experiences and outcomes. Using data they collected from seven major recent American disasters, ranging from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Florence to the Camp, Tubbs, and Carr Fires in California and the Hawaii Lava Flow, the authors provide insights about the successes and failures of animal care. All Creatures Safe and Sound also outlines what still needs to change to best prepare for the safety and welfare of pets, livestock, and other companion animals in times of crisis.

Hurricane Katrina was a pivotal event in the history of disaster mismanagement. Its impact will be felt well into the future and its lessons will be applied around the world. This influential volume explores key policy implications arising from the storm and its aftermath. Leading scholars from fields as diverse as decision analysis, risk management, economics engineering, transportation, urban planning and sociology investigate the policy issues associated with insurance, flood control and the rebuilding of levees, housing, tourism, utility lifelines recovery and resilience, evacuation, relocation and racial implications.By assessing the disruption of life in New Orleans, as well as the inter-regional economic impacts of the disaster, the authors suggest steps that can be taken to minimize future risks, not only in New Orleans but also in all locations threatened by natural disasters. It then goes beyond Katrina to explore experiences and responses to similar events in other parts of the world. Another important feature is a discussion of the overlap between terrorist-initiated disasters and natural disasters. The issues raised by Katrina are very complex and teasing out successful policy implications is far from easy. This book is a major advance towards that goal. Academics interested in the economics, policy, and planning aspects of natural and man-made disasters, specialists in emergency management and policymakers will find the insights and prescriptions offered here invaluable.

There is a perennial gap between theory and practice, between academia and active professionals in the field of disaster management. This gap means that valuable lessons are not learned and people die or suffer as a result. This book opens a dialogue between theory and practice. It offers vital lessons to practitioners from scholarship on natural hazards, disaster risk management and reduction and developments studies, opening up new insights in accessible language with practical applications. It also offers to academics the insights of the enormous experience practitioners have accumulated, highlighting gaps in research and challenging assumptions and theories against the reality of experience. Disaster Management covers issues in all phases of the disaster cycle: preparedness, prevention, response and recovery. It also addresses cross-cutting issues including political, economic and social factors that influence differential vulnerability, and key areas of practice such as vulnerability mapping, early warning, infrastructure protection, emergency management, reconstruction, health care and education, and gender issues. The team of international authors combine their years of experience in research and the field to offer vital lessons for practitioners, academics and students alike.

Published with ProVention Consortium, UNDP and UN-Habitat 'This excellent book is essential reading for those concerned with urban risk and its reduction in Africa, the most rapidly urbanizing region of the world.' Professor Jo Beall, Development Studies Institute, London School of Economics 'At last a book that recognizes the impacts of disasters on Africa's 350 million urban dwellers, including the many disasters that get overlooked and go unrecorded. But also a book that, through careful case studies, shows what creates disaster risk and what local measures can be taken to address it.' David Satterthwaite, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). 'This innovative volume combines the latest conceptualisations of urban disaster risk and vulnerability with case studies from across the African continent on how existing and innovative information can inform efforts to address the problems. Coverage ranges from the major catastrophes of news headlines to small, everyday disasters with which poor urban residents have to cope in their survival strategies. Written by international authorities and local specialists, this extremely useful book should find a place in the hands of academics and practitioners alike.' Professor David Simon, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London This is a one-of-a-kind book packed with original research and offering an innovative way of thinking about the reduction of risk in rapidly urbanizing cities across the globe. It is a must-have for professionals, researchers and policy makers. The book addresses four inter-related themes critical for urban risk reduction: environment; livehood; urban governance and the generation of urban risks. Its focus is on Africa, the most rapidly urbanizing world region, but it illustrates global processes. Part one reviews development, urbanization and disaster risk in Africa as a whole, identifies state-of-the-art practices and policies for building urban resilience and provides a tool kit for urban risk reduction. It also presents a powerful conceptual framework to analyse and compare disaster risk and resilience in different cities and communities. Part two presents detailed case studies from Algeria, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa illustrating vulnerability to hazards ranging from earthquake to shack fire, environmental health hazards, traffic hazards and flooding. Part three looks to the future and outlines a vision for a safer urban Africa based on achieving gains in human security through inclusive governance and investment in the creative capacities of Africa's urban dwellers. With foreword by Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director, UN-HABITAT

In some important respects floodplain management and flood hazard research is different in Britain from that in other countries. This collection of papers from a conference provides some comparisons. It covers urban flooding, institutions and policy, land use policy, hazard response, and project appraisal and risk assessment.

Named after Lapindo Brantas, a gas exploration company that was drilling at the eruption site, the Lapindo mudflow initially burst in 2006 and continues to flow today, becoming the most expensive disaster in Indonesia's history. Using this environmental incident in Indonesia as a case study, this book explores representations of disaster in scientific reports, public discourse, literature, and other cultural forms, observing the impact of these portrayals on the ways people both understand and respond to complicated environmental disasters. The author argues that power is expressed and contested in every representation of a disaster and its stakeholders. This book develops terminologies and perspectives that not only probe the social and ecological conditions that make disaster possible but also foster more effective and equitable strategies for adapting to a world fraught with hazards. Interdisciplinary in nature, this book makes a significant contribution to the fields of green cultural studies, disaster studies, science and technology studies and studies of political ecology in Southeast Asia.

One of our most celebrated historians shows how we can use the lessons of the past to build a new post-covid society in Britain The 'duty of care' which the state owes to its citizens is a phrase much used, but what has it actually meant in Britain historically? And what should it mean in the future, once the immediate Covid crisis has passed? In A Duty of Care, Peter Hennessy divides post-war British history into BC (before covid) and AC (after covid). He looks back to Sir William Beveridge's classic identification of the 'five giants' against which society had to battle - want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness - and laid the foundations for the modern welfare state in his wartime report. He examines the steady assault on the giants by successive post-war governments and asks what the comparable giants are now. He lays out the 'road to 2045' with 'a new Beveridge' to build a consensus for post-covid Britain with the ambition and on the scale that was achieved by the first.

There is a perennial gap between theory and practice, between academia and active professionals in the field of disaster management. This gap means that valuable lessons are not learned and people die or suffer as a result. This book opens a dialogue between theory and practice. It offers vital lessons to practitioners from scholarship on natural hazards, disaster risk management and reduction and developments studies, opening up new insights in accessible language with practical applications. It also offers to academics the insights of the enormous experience practitioners have accumulated, highlighting gaps in research and challenging assumptions and theories against the reality of experience. Disaster Management covers issues in all phases of the disaster cycle: preparedness, prevention, response and recovery. It also addresses cross-cutting issues including political, economic and social factors that influence differential vulnerability, and key areas of practice such as vulnerability mapping, early warning, infrastructure protection, emergency management, reconstruction, health care and education, and gender issues. The team of international authors combine their years of experience in research and the field to offer vital lessons for practitioners, academics and students alike.

What Happens To Our Minds During Pandemics, Natural Disasters, Terrorist Attacks, and Other Extreme Calamities? Whether natural or man-made, local or global, disasters impact our thinking and behavior on both a personal and societal level. Even rather ordinary crises in our personal lives like the loss of a job or the end of a relationship trigger overwhelming feelings. At the societal level, group anxieties coupled with the moral pressure to conform can send us all down the path to ruin. Why does this happen and, through understanding human psychology, how can we prevent this in the future? In this highly original and engagingly written book, Author Christopher J. Ferguson examines how pandemics, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and other events of mass hysteria impact our psychology and prevent us from adequately responding to, preventing, or learning from those calamities. From the rush to hoard toilet paper during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, to the disconnect between procedure and practice surrounding massive wildfires, to debates about the science behind climate catastrophes, and shifts after traumatic events like 9/11 and the murder of George Floyd, The Psychology of Catastrophe uses in-depth case studies to reveal how moments of societal upheaval affect the psychology of citizens. Though we have often failed to predict, respond to, and learn from catastrophes, we have nonetheless made remarkable progress. Ferguson concludes by offering strategies to help us make better choices during crises in our own lives and providing solutions for how we as a society can better navigate misfortune in the future.

Report into the Loss of the SS Titanic is a complete re-evaluation of the loss of Titanic based on evidence that has come to light since the discovery of the wreck in 1985. This collective undertaking is compiled by eleven of the world's foremost Titanic researchers - experts who have spent many years examining the wealth of information that has arisen since 1912. Following the basic layout of the 1912 Wreck Commission Report, this modern report provides fascinating insights into the ship itself, the American and British inquiries, the passengers and crew, the fateful journey and ice warnings received, the damage and sinking, rescue of survivors, the circumstances in connection with the SS Californian and SS Mount Temple, and the aftermath and ramifications that followed the disaster. The book seeks to answer controversial questions, such as whether steerage passengers were detained behind gates, and also reveals the names and aliases of all passengers and crew who sailed on Titanic's maiden voyage. Containing the most extensively referenced chronology of the voyage ever assembled and featuring a wealth of explanatory charts and diagrams, as well as archive photographs, this comprehensive volume is the definitive 'go-to' reference book for this ill-fated ship.

In a book as illuminating as it is captivating, Thomas E. Drabek presents an in-depth analysis of the emotional impacts of disaster events and the many ripple effects that follow. Through the technique of storytelling, a series of nine fictional stories where characters experience actual disasters of different types throughout the United States illustrate the vulnerabilities and resilience to enhance the readers understanding of disaster consequences. Designed for classroom use, each story is followed by an "Analysis" section wherein discussion and research paper topics are recommended. These highlight links to published research findings. A "References" section details citations for all works included. Brief commentary in a "Notes" section adds further connections to other disasters and relevant research studies. The Sociology of Disaster is an important innovation in disaster education and will become an invaluable resource within universities and colleges that offer degrees in emergency management at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The impacts of natural and man-made disasters have increased exponentially over the past few decades. Moreover, with our global interconnectedness and the growing scale of disasters, today's catastrophic disasters can have regional, national, and even global economic consequences. Following in the tradition of the successful first edition, Hazards Analysis: Reducing the Impact of Disasters, Second Edition provides a structure and process for understanding the nature of natural and human-caused disasters. Stressing the role of hazard risk management for public, private, and nonprofit organizations, the author and expert contributors cover problem solving, risk analysis, and risk communications to ensure readers are in a position to identify key problems associated with hazards and the risks that they present. The book details a systematic process of hazards identification, vulnerability determination, and consequence assessment for the natural, built, and human environment. Using a cross-disciplinary approach, this book effectively demonstrates how to use the results of vulnerability assessment, spatial analysis, and community planning to reduce adverse disaster outcomes and foster social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Throughout, the book stresses that hazards analysis is not an isolated process but one that must engage the local community. Complete with clearly set objectives, key terms, discussion questions, satellite images and maps, and ancillary websites for further study, this authoritative guide covers every element of the hazard analysis process in a step-by-step format. Hazards Analysis presents time-proven strategies for building sustainable communities, identifying and prioritizing risks, and establishing successful disaster prevention and relief strategies prior to a disaster.

Growing concerns about climate change and the increasing occurrence of ever more devastating natural disasters in some parts of the world and their consequences for human life, not only in the immediately affected regions, but for all of us, have increased our desire to learn more about disaster experiences in the past. How did disaster experiences impact on the development of modern sciences in the early modern era? Why did religion continue to play such an important role in the encounter with disasters, despite the strong trend towards secularization in the modern world? What was the political role of disasters? Historical Disasters in Context illustrates how past societies coped with a threatening environment, how societies changed in response to disaster experiences, and how disaster experiences were processed and communicated, both locally and globally. Particular emphasis is put on the realms of science, religion, and politics. International case studies demonstrate that while there are huge differences across cultures in the way people and societies responded to disasters, there are also many commonalities and interactions between different cultures that have the potential to alter the ways people prepare for and react to disasters in future. To explain these relationships and highlight their significance is the purpose of this volume.

The Handbook provides a comprehensive statement and reference point for hazard and disaster research, policy making, and practice in an international and multi-disciplinary context. It offers critical reviews and appraisals of current state of the art and future development of conceptual, theoretical and practical approaches as well as empirical knowledge and available tools. Organized into five inter-related sections, this Handbook contains sixty-five contributions from leading scholars. Section one situates hazards and disasters in their broad political, cultural, economic, and environmental context. Section two contains treatments of potentially damaging natural events/phenomena organized by major earth system. Section three critically reviews progress in responding to disasters including warning, relief and recovery. Section four addresses mitigation of potential loss and prevention of disasters under two sub-headings: governance, advocacy and self-help, and communication and participation. Section five ends with a concluding chapter by the editors. The engaging international contributions reflect upon the politics and policy of how we think about and practice applied hazard research and disaster risk reduction. This Handbook provides a wealth of interdisciplinary information and will appeal to students and practitioners interested in Geography, Environment Studies and Development Studies.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Disasters are an increasingly common and complex combination of environmental, social and cultural factors. Yet existing response frameworks and emergency plans tend to homogenise affected populations as 'victims', overlooking the distinctive experience, capacities and skills of children and young people. Drawing on participatory research with more than 550 children internationally, this book argues for a radical transformation in children's roles and voices in disasters. It shows practitioners, policy-makers and researchers how more child-centred disaster management, that recognises children's capacity to enhance disaster resilience, actually benefits at-risk communities as a whole.

Today, governmental efforts at long-term community recovery from a natural disaster consist primarily of rebuilding the physical artifact of the community. This entails reestablishing vital community services and infrastructure and creating housing to replace that which has been lost. While restoring the built environment of a disaster area is essential, alone it is not sufficient to achieve complete recovery. Long-Term Community Recovery from Natural Disasters presents what the authors have learned over two decades from more than two dozen community disasters in and outside the United States. Based on their experiences, they provide a set of practical, cost-effective steps for both reducing the consequences of extreme natural hazard events on communities and for facilitating community recovery. To achieve long-term recovery, it is essential that we understand how communities develop and/or decay in the absence of an extreme natural hazard event. Then, by recognizing how these events disrupt "normal" development and change, we can determine which parts of the community have to become reestablished or made more functional so that the community can achieve long-term viability. The authors explain how this appreciation of community dynamics and the consequences of extreme natural hazard events enables us to identify those critical points for policy intervention at appropriate levels of government. The combined practical and philosophical insight presented in this book will be valuable not only to policy makers but to scholars as well.