Subtitle Lessons on Risk, Response and Recovery
Publisher Routledge
EAN/ISBN 978-1849711432
Edition Title (The Earthscan Science in Society Series) First Edition
Release Date 2011-06-27
Editor(s) Rachel A. Dowty and Barbara L. Allen
Summary

 

Disasters are the result of complex interactions between social and natural forces, acting at multiple scales from the individual and community to the organizational, national, and international levels. Effective disaster planning, response, and recovery require an understanding of these interacting forces, as well as the role of power, knowledge, and organizations.

This book sheds new light on these dynamics, and gives disaster scholars and practitioners new and valuable lessons for management and planning in practice. The authors draw on methods across the social sciences to examine disaster response and recovery as viewed by those in positions of authority and the “recipients” of operations. The first two sections examine cases from Hurricane Katrina, while the third part compares that crisis to other international disasters to draw out general lessons and practical applications for disaster planning in any context. The authors also offer guidance for shaping institutional structures to better meet the needs of communities and residents.