bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Emergent Coordinators in the World Trade Center Disaster
Authors: Petrescu-Prahova Miruna , Butts Carter T.
Published: January 2023

In this paper, we investigate coordination within responder radio communication networks during the World Trade Center disaster. We identify agents who are involved in high levels of coordinative activity, classifying their roles as institutionalized (i.e., mandated by formal position) or emergent. The extent to which coordination is effected by agents in institutionalized or emergent roles is then compared across networks of specialist and non-specialist responders. We find that, regardless of specialization, the great majority of coordinators occupy emergent roles. At the same time, where agents with institutionalized coordinative roles are present, they are substantially more likely to become actual coordinators. This uniformity across responder specialization suggests that event context may be as important as background factors in determining the emergence of coordination during times of crisis. As with past findings regarding improvisation in disasters, our results suggest obstacles for response policies that treat institutional status as an effective proxy for post-event role performance.
The Nature of Collective Resilience: Survivor Reactions to the 2005 London Bombings
Authors: Drury John , Cocking Chris , Reicher Steve
Published: January 2023

Accounts from over 90 survivors and 56 witnesses of the 2005 London bombings were analysed to determine the relative prevalence of mass behaviors associated with either psychosocial vulnerability (e.g. ‘selfishness’, mass panic) or collective resilience (e.g. help, unity). ‘Selfish’ behaviors were found to be rare; mutual helping was more common. There is evidence for (a) a perceived continued danger of death after the explosions; (b) a sense of unity amongst at least some survivors, arising from this perceived danger; (c) a link between this sense of unity and helping; and (d) risk-taking to help strangers. We suggest a novel explanation for this evidence of ‘collective resilience’, based on self-categorization theory, according to which common fate entails a redefinition of self (from ‘me’ to ‘us’) and hence enhanced concern for others in the crowd.
NIMS in Rural America
Authors: Jensen Jessica
Published: January 2023

Research was conducted on how rural emergency managers at the local level understand and employ the National Incident Management System in 2007. This article focuses on research findings from face-to-face interviews with county emergency managers in three states. The data revealed that the majority of emergency managers interviewed interpret NIMS in a generally positive manner; however, they do so with considerable qualification. Emergency managers recognized that their interpretation of NIMS plays a role in how they comply with and implement NIMS; however, it was discovered that it is not the emergency managers’ interpretation that determines compliance and implementation as much as it is factors related to local reality. The unique amalgamation of emergency manager interpretations and local reality produced large variation in NIMS compliance and implementation—no two emergency managers and no two counties were exactly alike. Therefore, though the federal government mandated its expectations and standards for emergency management through NIMS, both people and aspects of place dictate the mandate's interpretation and implementation. Based on findings from the research, implications of findings for emergency management are discussed and suggestions are made for future research.
Impacts and Activities following Disaster: Narratives on Recovery in Hurricane-Affected Communities
Authors: Slack Tim , Myers Candice A. , Singelmann Joachim , Doucet Jessica M.
Published: January 2023

We draw on in-depth interview data collected from participants in communities impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to explore how public and private sector decision makers express their understanding of the disaster recovery process. Two key themes emerged from our interviews and served as the central categories under which other issues were grouped: 1) disaster impacts; and 2) recovery activities. Disaster impacts included effects on community-level human capital, infrastructure, and the psychological/psychosocial toll wrought by the hurricanes. Community recovery activities in the wake of the storms included navigating financing/funding issues, employment growth, and more ambitious planning processes. A key finding from our analysis is the interconnectedness of the various themes discussed by participants. The implications of our findings are then discussed.
Factors Associated with Evacuation from Hurricane Isabel in North Carolina, 2003
Authors: Horney Jennifer A. , MacDonald Pia D.M. , Willigen Marieke Van , Berke Philip R. , Kaufman Jay S.
Published: January 2023

Important differences in evacuation exist across households. This study describes associations between social factors and evacuation from Hurricane Isabel by residents of North Carolina in 2003. Census blocks in three affected counties were stratified by flood zone and 30 census blocks were selected probability proportionate to population size from each flood zone. Within selected blocks, 7 random interview locations were chosen using a geographic information systems-based site selection tool. Risk differences and 95% confidence intervals for evacuation were calculated. High levels of neighborhood social cohesion, markers of territoriality (e.g., no trespassing signs), membership in church or civic organization, volunteerism, neighbors’ evacuation, and longer length of residence were associated with reduced hurricane evacuation. Differential levels of social capital, social cohesion, and related social factors contributed to differential rates of evacuation from Hurricane Isabel. Those who reported closer relationships with neighbors and were active volunteers in the community may be more susceptible to evacuation failure and should receive targeted messages regarding evacuation from officials.
Models of Location Choice and Willingness to Pay to Avoid Hurricane Risks for Hurricane Katrina Evacuees
Authors: Shaw W. Douglass , Baker Justin
Published: January 2023

We report on subjects’ perceptions of the risks of hurricanes and relocation decisions. Our sample contains individuals displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Rita in Gulf-coast areas, as well as a comparison group of people, not much affected by the hurricanes. Results are presented for two choice experiments, conducted immediately after the hurricane and again roughly one year later, in which we evaluate the trade-offs between given levels of risks and income, while controlling for amenities and other location characteristics. We find that perceptions of risk and damages fade, and willingness to pay to obtain protection falls over time.
Shelter in the Storm: A Battered Women's Shelter and Catastrophe
Authors: Brown Bethany L. , Jenkins Pamela J. , Wachtendorf Tricia
Published: January 2023

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, causing devastation that would last a lifetime. Indeed, the communities along the Gulf Coast were dealt a critical blow. In the midst of this destruction, the only shelter for battered women in Orleans Parish was flooded and just days later, caught fire and burned to the ground. The director and staff evacuated all of the residents before hurricane landfall, yet returned almost immediately to navigate through the destruction and find ways to offer services to women living with intimate partner violence and also those living through the community-wide crisis of Hurricane Katrina. The storm, the flooding, and the damage would require the organization's staff to think about how to create refuge and safety during and after a catastrophe. In this paper, we use in-depth interviews, document analysis and direct observation to document and analyze how Katrina's devastation changed the direction, scope, and goals of New Orleans Shelter. The lessons New Orleans Shelter learned during this catastrophe may be useful for shelters in future disasters.
“Studying Up” on Women and Disaster: An Elite Sustained Women's Group following Hurricane Katrina
Authors: David Emmanuel
Published: January 2023

Existing research on gender and disaster has examined how women with limited socio-economic resources organize to manage risk and to engage in disaster-related response and recovery activities. However, as Enarson, Fothergill, and Peek (2007) have argued, “in-depth class analysis is still relatively rare in gender-focused disaster research.” Drawing on an ethnographic case study of a women's group that self-organized following Hurricane Katrina, the author examines how affluent, philanthropic women mobilized social, economic, and cultural resources to respond to catastrophe and to engage in community-based recovery efforts. The author applies the concept of an “elite-sustained movement” (Taylor 1994) to understand how elite women mobilize socio-economic resources to respond to disaster and how resources at elite members’ reach contribute to the group's continuance across phases of the disaster cycle. The author concludes with a theoretical and methodological discussion of “studying up” on relations of power in disaster.
“If There Was a Dire Emergency, We Never Would Have Been Able to Get in There”: Domestic Violence Reporting and Disasters
Authors: Houghton Rosalind , Wilson Thomas , Smith Willie , Johnston David
Published: January 2023

This paper examines domestic violence reporting in a community in New Zealand struck by a snow storm. Previous theory and empirical studies are discussed to provide context for the study being presented. The results are based on in-depth interviews with representatives of agencies involved in domestic violence response and emergency management as well as statistics and case file summaries from the predominant non-statutory domestic violence agency in the community. Interviewees were asked about domestic violence reporting and their awareness of any changes during the disaster. Changes were then measured against the statistics made available. Policy and planning in place at the time of the snow storm were examined to determine if agencies were prepared for any changes in domestic violence reporting in the aftermath of the snow storm. Issues that arose from a lack of planning or policy are discussed, and suggestions are made for improving both emergency management planning, but also the planning and policies of domestic violence agencies that must continue to provide services during disasters.
Policy Learning and Policy Change: Katrina, Ike and Post-Disaster Housing
Authors: Sapat Alka , Li Yanmei , Mitchell Christine , Esnard Ann-Margaret
Published: January 2023

Hurricane Katrina has spawned a great deal of research on various issues, including problems and failures in disaster preparation, response and recovery. Less attention has been paid however, to scholarly analyses of policy learning and change with regard to post-disaster housing. The focus of this paper is to fill that gap by analyzing the extent of policy learning and policy changes adopted after Katrina, and by examining the response three years later to Hurricane Ike. We reviewed key legislation and used theoretical insights drawn from the policy literature as a framework for examining post-disaster policy changes and outcomes. We find that as a policy issue, post-disaster housing continues to be a ‘wicked’ and ‘messy’ policy problem, exacerbated by unrealistic expectations of governmental agencies, and characterized by a weak advocacy base. To this end, we offer some policy and planning considerations in our conclusion.
“101 Years of Mine Disasters and 101 Years of Song: Truth or Myth in Nova Scotia Mining Songs?”
Authors: Scanlon Joseph , Johnston Nick , Vandervalk Allison , Sparling Heather
Published: January 2023

It is generally accepted that the majority of responses to a disaster in social media sources misrepresent what actually occurs in such an event. Over the last century, mine disasters occurring in Nova Scotia have generated numerous responses in the form of folk songs. The purpose of this study is to determine if these folk songs, unlike other forms of popular culture, accurately portray the events and context surrounding these disasters while also examining how they describe human responses to disasters. The findings show that these folk songs in contrast to other media, books and movies do provide a generally factually and contextually accurate view of the disasters, with a focus limited to the events of the disaster itself, the rescue efforts, and the dead and trapped. The possibilities for why this is true are then considered, including looks at the nature and origins of the songs, the response of composers to the disasters, and how the media response to the disasters affected the songs.
Disaster Preparedness and Health Behaviors: An Empirical Study of Similarities and Differences
Authors: Pampel Fred C.
Published: January 2023

Despite being special in many ways, disaster preparedness may overlap with health behaviors such as tobacco avoidance, physical exercise, proper weight control, regular medical checkups, safe alcohol use, and seatbelt use. Similarities in the SES distribution of risk and health orientations might make safety with regard to disasters similar to behaviors that prevent disease. Yet, the two literatures have remained largely separate, and studies have not examined the relationships of the two kinds of activities with one another. To address this gap, I use data from two surveys – one in selected states in the U.S. and one in Los Angeles County – that include items on disaster preparedness and several health behaviors. Analysis of the surveys shows a few similarities between disaster preparedness and health behaviors, but the relationships are weak and differences predominate. Although the need remains for surveys to include measures of both kinds of behaviors, the initial findings suggest that the levels and sociodemographic determinants of disaster preparedness overlap little with those of health behaviors.
Towards a Theory of Economic Recovery from Disasters
Authors: Chang Stephanie E. , Rose Adam Z.
Published: January 2023

Economic recovery refers to the process by which businesses and local economies return to conditions of stability following a disaster. Its importance and complexity are being increasingly recognized in disaster risk reduction research and practice. This paper provides an overview of current research on economic recovery and suggests a research agenda to address key gaps in knowledge. Empirical studies have provided a number of robust findings on the disaster recovery of businesses and local economies, with particular insights into short- and long-term recovery patterns, influential factors in recovery, and disparities in recovery across types of businesses and economies. Modeling studies have undertaken formal analyses of economic impacts of disasters in which recovery is usually addressed through the incorporation of resilience actions and investments in repair and reconstruction. Core variables for assessing and understanding economic recovery are identified from the literature, and approaches for measuring or estimating them are discussed. The paper concludes with important gaps in the development of a robust theory of economic recovery. Systematic data collection is needed to establish patterns and variations on how well and how quickly local economies recover from disasters. Research is urgently needed on the effectiveness of resilience approaches, decisions, and policies for recovery at both the business and local economy levels. Detailed, testable theoretical frameworks will be important for advancing understanding and developing sound recovery plans and policies. It will be especially important to consider the relationship between economic recovery and recovery of the built environment and sociopolitical fabric of communities in developing a comprehensive theory of disaster recovery.
Beyond Vertical Evacuation: Research Considerations for a Comprehensive “Vertical Protection Strategy”
Authors: Velotti Lucia , Trainor Joseph E. , Engel Karen , Torres Manuel , Myamoto Takumi
Published: January 2023

Vertical protective strategy (VPS) refers to activities intended to move people to a level of elevation above a (perceived) threat within the area at risk. VPS is an important but understudied approach to providing safety, particularly in the case of short warning events, such as tsunamis and coastal floods. While extensive engineering analyses have looked at the feasibility of VPS, the social, scientific and policy analyses associated with it have only been given cursory attention. This paper attempts to fill this gap by first briefly introducing VPS and then discussing the strategy in relation to shelter in-place and traditional horizontal evacuation. We then go on to highlight issues related to the adoption and implementation of VPS as a government sponsored activity. Last, we propose a research agenda that identifies areas to be further investigated.
A Geographical Approach to Disaster Management: Analyzing Vulnerability in Relation to Decision and Intervention Resources in Lima and Callao
Authors: Metzger Pascale , Robert Jérémy , Sierra Alexis
Published: January 2023

This article describes a geographical approach to disaster management for a major earthquake in Lima and Callao, Peru by examining the interface between hazard (and vulnerability) research and disaster research. It invites reflection on the spatial and territorial dimensions of crises by analyzing the specification and location of decision and intervention resources. In view of the fragmented politico-administrative organization in this metropolitan area, the location of these resources shows a center/periphery type of spatial disparity, which questions if local jurisdictions can manage this type of event and underlines the necessity to rethink the management of territory in disasters.
Putting it All Together: Integrating Ordinary People into Emergency Response
Authors: Scanlon Joseph , Helsloot Ira , Groenendaal Jelle
Published: January 2023

Ordinary citizens may play an important role in the response to large or even small-scale emergencies. This however is often not recognized in the emergency plans and procedures developed by emergency services. As a consequence, the help of ordinary citizens is often underutilized or even rejected by professional responders. This article documents different ways in which ordinary people in industrial societies have taken part in emergency response to highlight the potential they bring to disaster response. It then suggests practical ways planners and professional responders can anticipate the assistance of ordinary people in the emergency response. These suggestions are partly inspired by the plans and procedures of the Amsterdam-Amstelland Safety Region, which are aimed at making better use of the competences of ordinary people during and after emergencies.
Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill on Mental Health in Alabama Coastal Communities: “The Loss of a Season”
Authors: Werner Danilea , Locke Chris
Published: January 2023

One year after one of the largest oil spills in world history, two Alabama communities were still trying to recover. The Gulf Coast communities of Gulf Shores and Bayou La Batre are working to reestablish their identity as a major source for the shipping, tourism, and fishing industries. The Gulf Oil Spill may not have physically destroyed the community, but it did take a psychological toll. Researchers conducted focus groups using mental health professionals employed by Project Rebound, a state sponsored response to disasters in Alabama to explore the mental health effects of the Gulf Oil Spill. As the front line of the mental health response, Project Rebound clinicians collaborated with community service agencies to provide support to adults, children, and families in Alabama Gulf Coast communities. The semi-structured focus groups emphasized the unique qualities of the disaster, as well as the response and recovery efforts.
The Great East Japan Disaster, 2011 and the Regional Newspaper: Transitions from News to Newspaper Columns and the Creation of Public Memory
Authors: Rausch Anthony S.
Published: January 2023

This paper examines post-disaster local newspaper coverage associated with the Great East Japan Disaster of March 2011. On the basis of a long-term examination of several Tωhoku disaster area newspapers, the research identifies in the coverage of the disaster a transition from multiple ‘news’ themes to a variety of thematic frames that are presented in long-term newspaper columns. The research uses a database keyword trend to establish a ‘news-based’ newspaper coverage baseline, with framing analysis identifying newspaper columns as the mode frame of longer-term disaster coverage in the local newspapers thereafter. On this basis, the specific thematic frames of these columns of three disaster area newspapers are examined. The research finds that while the newspaper columns of local newspapers reflect the specific disaster-related issues of their areas, there also emerged a column that frames the disaster more optimistically, positioning the disaster as a point of new beginning for Japan and thereby constituting a form of real-time public memory creation. The research contributes to better understanding of both local media response to large-scale disasters based on the case for Japan and proposes a new understanding of the newspaper, in the form of newspaper columns, in disaster journalism, that of public memory construction.
Risk and Resilience Factors Reported by a New Zealand Tertiary Student Population after the 4th September 2010 Darfield Earthquake
Authors: Beaven Sarah , Johnston Lucy , Wilson Thomas , Brogt Erik , Blythe Janelle , Reugg Christian , Letham Mark , Gomez Christopher , Seville Erica , Ogier John , Hawker Chris , Lyttle Jacqui
Published: January 2023

An online survey of 3,571 University of Canterbury tertiary students was undertaken four to six weeks after the M w 7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake impacted Christchurch, New Zealand. The aim was to identify factors indicating increased psychological risk after the event, and so gauge the well-being of the student population, while gathering feedback on the University's post-earthquake communication strategy. The majority of students reported diminished stress during aftershocks since the event, and 93% reported ‘feeling OK again’ at the time of survey completion. More than 95% reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the University's communication strategy, and would recommend the University to other students. Students also reported concern about the potential impact of the earthquake on their academic performance. Heightened risk was associated largely with aspects of impact exposure. Established risk factors, such as damage to residences, were confirmed in these findings. Short absences from the city after the event were also associated with increased risk. Identifying significant risk factors, and indicating the importance of rapid and regular post-disaster communication, these findings are particularly relevant for those involved in tertiary institutional planning for future disaster events.
Preventing and Preparing for Disasters – the Role of a Swedish Local Emergent Citizen Group
Authors: Guldåker Nicklas , Eriksson Kerstin , Kristofersson Tuija Nieminen
Published: January 2023

Disasters such as the storms that affected Sweden in 2005 and 2007 showed that citizens initially conducted a large part of the disaster response, such as clearing roads, giving psychosocial support to affected neighbours and repairing power lines in collaboration with power companies. As a result of these storms, an Emergent Citizen Group (ECG) was established in a village which continued to work on risk prevention, even after the event. The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse this local emergent citizen group's continuing work on the prevention of local risk and vulnerability, and particularly, their work on flood prevention. The results indicate that authorities seldom understand the ECG's concerns about risks. Authorities also lack the experience and capacity to collaborate with, and support, the ECG's risk and vulnerability reduction work. Bureaucratic barriers and declining motivation among volunteers within the ECGs could undermine commitment to the prevention of risks.
Size Doesn't Matter: The Complicated Relationship between national offshore Oil Spill Events, Framing, and Policy
Authors: Greer Alex , Best Eric
Published: January 2023

Understanding issue framing in the context of offshore spills is important because it shapes how media, the public, interest groups, and politicians define failure and propose acceptable solutions that, through agenda setting, become policy. This paper explores the complex relationship between agenda setting, framing, and attention garnered by U.S. offshore oil spill events and resulting federal policy. To examine this important issue, this study considers nine major offshore oil spills in U.S. waters, exploring the attention paid to each spill and any resulting policy changes. Analysis of these past spills suggests that the size of offshore oil spills is not indicative of the amount of media and policy attention that an event will trigger. In contrast, framing is an important element of the reaction to these rare maritime disasters. While spills in U.S. waters large enough for inclusion in this study were limited, results support previous findings that suggest that location is one of the most important factors in this complicated relationship.
Disaster Capitalism, Housing Vulnerability, and the Tuscaloosa Tornado: A Critical Analysis of Rebuilding Efforts
Authors: Smart Kasi , Prohaska Ariane
Published: January 2023

In this paper, we assess how social vulnerability to disasters continued into the recovery phase following the April 27, 2011 Tuscaloosa tornado, particularly by examining how social class affected housing availability approximately three years after the storm. Data from multiple sources indicated that apartment complexes that were constructed to replace destroyed or damaged housing are generally demanding higher rents and have fewer units available than the complexes which existed before the storm. Additionally, even as a residential construction boom has occurred in Tuscaloosa following the storm, the new complexes are almost entirely marketed to the college student population, even though none of the multifamily housing complexes destroyed in the storm solely housed college students. These findings support a disaster capitalism model of recovery that has mainly focused on building high-end student housing, resulting in the perpetuation of vulnerability for lower-income, permanent Tuscaloosa residents. We discuss some of the potential consequences of the reconstruction of Tuscaloosa, and propose suggestions to reduce vulnerability in the rebuilding process for cities that have been decimated by natural disasters.
Predicting Residents’ Responses to the May 1–4, 2010, Boston Water Contamination Incident
Authors: Lindell Michael K. , Huang Shih-Kai , Prater Carla S.
Published: January 2023

This study examined 110 local residents’ warning sources, warning channels, warning receipt times, message content, risk perception, and behavioral responses (warning confirmation, and consumption of untreated tap water, boiled water, bottled water, and personally chlorinated water) during the May 1–4 2010 Boston water contamination incident. Most residents received warnings from peers and news media and these warnings mentioned 2.35 of five recommended elements of a warning message—most commonly the threat and the recommended protective action. TV was the most frequent channel for additional information, partly because it was the most frequent channel of routine information, but the Internet was also a common channel for additional information. Consumption of untreated tap water declined, consumption of personally chlorinated water remained negligible, and consumption of boiled water and bottled water increased during the incident. Warning receipt from an authority increased consumption of boiled water, whereas receipt of a less specific warning tended to increase consumption of bottled water. The distribution of warning times followed a logistic (S-shaped) distribution, with the largest increase taking place during prime TV news time (4–6pm). These results call attention to the need to increase the number of comprehensive warning response studies on rapid onset disasters to provide the basis for developing a comprehensive theory that can explain similarities and differences in responses to the full range of environmental hazards.
God or Nature? Catastrophes and Modernity from Lisbon to Valparaíso
Authors: Gil Magdalena
Published: January 2023

This article compares the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 with the Valparaíso earthquake of 1822. Connecting these two cases, I discuss how the decaying role of religious explanations for disaster is linked with increasing expectations for disaster response on the part of the state. This paradigm change started in both countries with the intellectual discussions following these two catastrophes. However, only in the case of Lisbon the debate was followed by an organized state response. In Chile, the government literally crumbled after the event. Nonetheless, the Valparaíso case shows that intellectual discussions about the origin of the earthquake were sufficient to explain a change of mentality and an incipient demand on the state for disaster response. Overall, this research shows that ideas do matter and that events such as catastrophes can deeply influence how ideas change.
Vandalism-Militancy Relationship: The Influence of Risk Perception and Moral Disengagement
Authors: Mafimisebi Oluwasoye P. , Thorne Sara
Published: January 2023

Both risk perception and moral disengagement underpin crisis intensification, and influence risk behaviours. This research, examines whether risk perception and moral disengagement mechanisms influence vandalism and militancy (terrorism), and if these mechanisms can provide alternative strategies for managing unconventional mass emergencies and disasters. This paper will also clarify and discuss the relevance of the concepts: moral disengagement, moral evaluation, and social trust. The influence and implications of risk perception and moral disengagement on crisis management on a case study of the vandalism and militant incidents that have occurred Niger Delta region over the last decade are discussed. Specifically, this investigation demonstrates that there are potential gains in crisis management, when crisis dimensions, morality issues, and risk perception are used to help anchor strategic options during crises. The present study found that people are more likely to disengage from moral conducts when the mechanisms of moral evaluation and disengagement are routinely experienced. In doing so, people become skilled at neutralising morally questionable behaviours and activities such as vandalism.

The findings also indicate that environmental risks are perceived to be more important than economic or biological risks during crises, and that individuals’ susceptible to moral disengagement are not predestined for delinquency. Therefore, environmental victimisation, moralistic punishment, and moral surveillance are all active factors necessary for risk and crisis leaders to address when trying to manage crises. This paper advances the crisis management literature through the analysis of moral disengagement and its implications for crises. This study also provides evidence that errors in risk perception evaluation can lead to ineffective crisis response, and ineffective strategic practices when managing crisis. The findings also challenge assumptions that vandals and militants are inhumane, and that capturing or alienating them will help prevent or reduce future crisis/disaster. Instead, it is argued that these perceptions and practices are ineffective and unsustainable. The implications and limitations of these findings are also discussed.
Demographics and the Dynamics of Recovery: A Latent Class Analysis of Disaster Recovery Priorities after the 2013 Moore, Oklahoma Tornado
Authors: Nejat Ali , Binder Sherri Brokopp , Greer Alex , Jamali Mehdi
Published: January 2023

Many factors influence decisions made by households impacted by major disasters, including decisions related to rebuilding their homes in situ or relocating to a new home. Our understanding of how recovery priorities play into these decisions, however, is limited, as is our understanding of how these processes vary according to demographic characteristics. This study explored drivers of household residential decision-making after the 2013 Moore, OK, tornado. Using Latent Class Analysis, we examined the dynamic relationship between demographic characteristics, hazard exposure, and recovery priorities, with an emphasis on factors that influenced households to rebuild and remain in their original community. Our results indicate that demographics and hazard exposure dynamically influence the relative importance of several factors households considered in making residential decisions. Implications related to disaster recovery priorities and residential decision-making are discussed, including the potential development of generalizable models for use by emergency managers in predicting housing recovery priorities and prioritizing recovery actions.
Resource Loss and Psychosocial Stress in the Aftermath of the 2008 Tennessee Valley Authority Coal Ash Spill
Authors: Ritchie Liesel Ashley , Little Jani , Campbell Nnenia M.
Published: January 2023

The 2008 Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant impoundment failure resulted in one of most significant industrial accidents of its kind in U.S. history. Based on data from a 2011 household survey of 1,840 residents of Roane County where the spill occurred and nearby Anderson County (a comparison community), Tennessee, we examine disaster-related psychosocial stress as measured by the Impact of Event Scale. We frame our findings using the Conservation of Resources (COR) model. The strongest contributors to spill-related stress were resource loss and threat of loss, as well as increased perceptions of risk that were connected to experience with the spill; beliefs about economic and environmental impacts; concerns about health; and perceived social disruption. Regression analyses reveal that effects of the spill transcend county of residence. These findings reinforce the relevance of the COR model for understanding that these losses, as well as threat of loss, to objects, conditions, personal characteristics, and energy resources contribute to disaster-related stress.
Sense-making in a Simulated Emergency Operations Centre
Authors: Ward Lawrence M. , Yumagulova Lilia , Greig Zoe , Taunk Manvir , Vertinsky Ilan
Published: January 2023

This study reports the results of a laboratory experiment in decision-making in an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) during a crisis. It adapted a validated simulation of a severe winter storm in a fictional city in Canada, during which a variety of serious events caused major disruptions, including loss of life. Participants were naïve individuals, as the focus was on sense-making in unfamiliar dynamic and uncertain environments and situations requiring urgent responses (i.e., conditions that occur during crises). The objective was to assess the impacts of enactment on the retention of memory of recent experiences. The enactment was theorized as the basis for sense-making processes where taking an action is guided by learning through acting. In contrast, predictions based on a simple model, the Zeigarnik effect, indicate the depletion of memory for completed actions, thus indicating their perverse effects on the capacity to learn. This experiment showed that participants in our simulation who played the role of passive observers of EOC activities during a severe storm remembered more of the events than did participants who played the role of trainees in the EOC who had to act on requests for information and decisions. Other results pointed to the conclusion that the role played by participants in the EOC significantly affected which events they remembered, their mood, and their priorities in the EOC. These results imply that having non-acting observers present in the EOC might be a way to better preserve organizational memory.
Gender Inclusion and the Impact on Women's Lives in Post Disaster Build Back Better Programmes in Sri Lanka
Authors: Kaluarachchi Yamuna
Published: January 2023

This paper focuses on consideration and inclusion of gender, specifically, aspects in relation to women in post-disaster rebuilding strategies and policies in Trincomalee and Batticaloa Districts in Sri Lanka. It explores whether gender concerns were addressed within the context of the Build Back Better Programmes and examines the prospects for promoting livelihood opportunities, household incomes, and community benefits. The objectives of the paper are to examine the development of the gender inclusivity agenda in Sri Lanka, explore gender in the context of disaster events, and the impact of gender-responsive programs on the livelihoods of women. Women's participation and engagement in decision-making and the potential contribution of their micro incomes on household earnings are also discussed. The research mainly adopts a qualitative methodology, relying on literature and case study reviews complemented by quantitative data collected by government and international agencies in relation to the location. Policy documents and data sets related to gender inclusion in South Asia, focusing on Sri Lanka and the chosen locations, Trincomalee and Batticaloa, were analyzed. Three case studies were selected and reviewed in detail against their aims, objectives, results, and benefits. An inductive approach was used for the analysis to identify themes that were common or different in the case study examples. These themes were related to the impact on women's engagement and livelihoods in post-disaster contexts. The result and information show that gender inclusion has not advanced considerably. While foundations for gender equity and inclusion are laid, many more progressive initiatives and development protocols are needed to mainstream gender inclusion in post-disaster development programmes. It is expected that findings will provide a deeper understanding of gender inclusion in redevelopment activities and the related governance processes to engage women and respond to their needs with the available resources.
Bottom-Up Adaptive Social Protection: A Case Study of Self-Constructed Grassroots Attitude in the Post-Wenchuan Earthquake Recovery
Authors: Wu Haorui
Published: January 2023

Current adaptive social protection programs and policies have been predominately designed from the organizational level, applied via a top-down trajectory, and are passively accepted by affected communities. While bottom-up grassroots interventions, providing their benefits, have rarely been encouraged in adaptive social protection programs nor complimented the related adaptive social protection policies. Based on a case study of the post-Wenchuan earthquake reconstruction and recovery in rural areas, this research qualitatively examines the broader range of benefits of self-built undertakings that support government-oriented adaptive social protection initiatives. These self-efforts have accomplished much more than the original adaptive social protection initiatives could have achieved. They not only provide the residents with safe, comfortable, and healthy places to live but also protect their traditional knowledge and skills, improve family relationships, and promote community cohesion. Thus, fundamentally supporting disaster survivors to rebuild their lives and livelihood and strengthen their resilience capacity. Although the uniqueness of the community-based environment limits self-reconstruction, this study argues that the self-reconstruction approach, as a community-driven strategy, encourages communities to develop their instruments, advancing current official adaptive social protection agendas. The bottom-up community-customized interventions will better serve disaster survivors to protect, promote, and transfer affected residents’ livelihoods and social relations; reduce their various vulnerabilities; ultimately build their resilience capacity to achieve the global priority of climate change adaptation and disaster reduction.
Sustainable Rehousing after Disasters: Learning from Post-tsunami Resettlements in Sri Lanka
Authors: Silva Kapila D. , Ballinger Barry T.
Published: January 2023

Most post-disaster resettlement projects reflect the ideals of providers (state, donors, and designers) rather than those of the displaced. Thus, most such projects ultimately failed to provide the intended benefits for their residents. This paper presents some key lessons learned from studying the planning and design decisions that housing providers (architects and donors) made when designing resettlement projects in Sri Lanka in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami. Through interviews, this article studied five housing projects by gathering the providers’ design intentions and the residents’ feedback on their lived experiences. Findings indicate that residents of these new settlements are dissatisfied as the designs did not align with their cultural and lifestyle aspirations. The providers lacked knowledge of the community design process, the housing needs of this primarily economically disadvantaged population, and how to provide for displaced peoples. The findings of the study indicate four key lessons for sustainable resettlement designs: the need for residents’ involvement in the design process, the provision of physical and social support systems, the need for incremental growth of housing, and finally the use of appropriate building technology. These lessons would be useful for future post-disaster reconstructions, especially in the less-affluent communities around the world.
Spatial Analysis of Unmet Disaster Needs for Housing and Food: A Case Study of Floods in Texas, U.S
Authors: Lee Jee Young , Tai Teresa W. , Bame Sherry I.
Published: January 2023

Disasters create obstacles to meeting basic needs in communities. Although studies have addressed developing better means of assessing flood risk and vulnerability, limited research has considered matching people's unmet needs to access available resources and services over time across locations during flood-related disasters. This study identifies specific types and frequencies of two basic disaster-related unmet needs—housing and food—and spatially analyzes these by location to determine vulnerable communities during Texas’ spring 2015 floods. The Texas 2-1-1 Network provided a database of disaster-related callers’ locations and needs recorded statewide per day, May–June 2015. Disaster-related unmet needs (N = 4,880) for housing (24%) and food (8%) were analyzed by location to determine vulnerable communities during these record-breaking floods throughout Texas. Mapping of unmet need volume per county differed from hotspot locations adjusted by population size to control for urban bias. Volume of housing and food unmet needs were higher in flooded metropolitan counties of east- and central-Texas. After adjusting for population size, Houston remained a hotspot for housing and food unmet needs but many rural counties were shown to be highly vulnerable as well. The spatial analysis helps to target resource allocations to disaster-affected communities more equitably and effectively based on the type of unmet needs and location of access barriers in real-time during disasters. This enables a greater understanding of variations in allocating resources to enhance the resiliency of vulnerable populations.
The 2016 Kaikωura Earthquake: Experiences of Safety, Evacuation, and Return for Apartment Dwellers in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa New Zealand
Authors: Blake Denise , Becker Julia , Hodgetts Darrin , Hope Angela
Published: January 2023

This research explores the ways in which safety and emotion were drivers of evacuation for people residing in high-density inner-city housing in the Central Business District of Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) following the 2016 Kaikωura earthquake. Drawing predominantly on qualitative free-response answers from a survey of 803 people approximately one year after the Kaikωura earthquake, the study argues that ontological insecurity was a key driver of people's actions. Key themes identified in relation to ontological insecurity and emotional responses were the severity of the shaking and how it was experienced, the building damage, official warnings, the ongoing earthquake aftershocks, and the social actions of others. This work argues that with the ongoing growth in high-density inner-city living, disaster risk and emergency management should encompass preparedness, response, and recovery strategies that include emotional responses and social processes while valuing the specificity of inner-city living.
Waiting for Disaster: Chancing Reactions to Earthquake Forecasts in Southern California
Authors: Turner Ralph H.
Published: January 2023

Several earthquake near predictions in 1976 initiated a period of waiting in Los Angeles County for a great and destructive earthquake. Hypothesized negative effects of an extended period of waiting under an open-ended threat of disaster include (J) declining sense of urgency and vigilance, (2) disillusionment and disbelief, (3) accumulating anxiety and defensive denial of danger, and (ft) resentment and scapegoating. Hypothesized positive effects include (5) familiarization, appreciation, and sensitization, and (6) symbolic and active rehearsal of responses. Interviews with five waves of adult County residents over a period of nearly two years, followed by a sixth wave immediately after a moderate but nondestructive earthquake, provided measures of change and stability of response to earthquake threat. Measures of fear, imminent expectation for a damaging earthquake, household preparedness, confidence in scientific earthquake prediction capability, suspicion that information was being withheld, attitude toward releasing uncertain predictions, locus on scientific as compared with unscientific forecasts, and preferred media source of information on forecasts tend to disconfirrn the disillusionment, denial, and scapegoating hypotheses, to support reduced urgency and familiarization hypotheses, and to provide weak support for the rehearsal hypothesis.
Evacuation as Population Mobility
Authors: Aguirre Benigno
Published: January 2023

An analytical perspective is used to examine the relationship of human evacuation and migration. The first part of the paper focuses on the variables of distance, permanence and voluntarism used to distinguish evacaution from migration, to point out that the lack of interest in evacuation by students of migration, partly on the basis of the assumed clear cut differences in these three dimensions, is unwarranted. The second part of the paper identifies three models which would provide a basis for a synthesis of the two types of geographical mobility: evacuations and migrations as residential displacements, as the result of subjective decision-making processes triggered by stressors, and as instances of collective behavior.
A Referendum on the Future of Nuclear Power: The Case of Sweden
Authors: Hultåker Örjan
Published: January 2023

The history of nuclear development in Sweden is chronicled. The position of various political parties is noted. Although the accident at Three Mile. Island was an important factor in the holding of a referendum of the future of nuclear power, the event did not appear to greatly alter long-standing attitudes about the issue. Results of the referendum are analyzed. Political party loyalties were major factors that determined votes on the referendum. However, other factors, such as gender and age, and occupational position, were also important determinants.