A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a period of time that causes widespread human,material,economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. Disasters are routinely divided into either "natural disasters" caused by natural hazards or "human-instigated disasters" caused from anthropogenic hazards. However,in modern times,the divide between natural,human-made and human-accelerated disasters is difficult to draw.
Sociology of disaster or sociological disaster research is a sub-field of sociology that explores the social relations amongst both natural and human-made disasters. Its scope includes local,national,and global disasters - highlighting these as distinct events that are connected by people through created displacement,trauma,and loss. These connections,whether that is as a survivor,working in disaster management,or as a perpetrator role,is non-discrete and a complex experience that is sought to be understood through this sub-field. Interdisciplinary in nature,the field is closely linked with environmental sociology and sociocultural anthropology.
Psychological resilience is the ability to cope mentally and emotionally with a crisis,or to return to pre-crisis status quickly.
In its broadest sense,social vulnerability is one dimension of vulnerability to multiple stressors and shocks,including abuse,social exclusion and natural hazards. Social vulnerability refers to the inability of people,organizations,and societies to withstand adverse impacts from multiple stressors to which they are exposed. These impacts are due in part to characteristics inherent in social interactions,institutions,and systems of cultural values.
Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is a systematic approach to identifying,assessing and reducing the risks of disaster. It aims to promote sustainable development by increasing the resilience of communities to any disasters they might face. DRR is normally used as policies intended to "define goals and objectives across different timescales and with concrete targets,indicators and time frames." The concept is also called disaster risk management (DRM).
Robert W. Kates was an American geographer and independent scholar in Trenton,Maine,and University Professor (Emeritus) at Brown University.
Urban resilience has conventionally been defined as the "measurable ability of any urban system,with its inhabitants,to maintain continuity through all shocks and stresses,while positively adapting and transforming towards sustainability".
Vulnerability refers to "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed,either physically or emotionally." The understanding of social and environmental vulnerability,as a methodological approach,involves the analysis of the risks and assets of disadvantaged groups,such as the elderly. The approach of vulnerability in itself brings great expectations of social policy and gerontological planning. Types of vulnerability include social,cognitive,environmental,emotional or military.
Daniel P. Aldrich is an academic in the fields of political science,public policy and Asian studies. He is currently full professor of political science and public policy at Northeastern University. Aldrich has held several Fulbright fellowships,including a Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Applied Public Policy at Flinders University in Australia in 2023,a Fulbright Specialist in Trinidad-Tobago in 2018,a Fulbright research fellowship at the University of Tokyo's Economic's Department for the 2012–2013 academic year,and a IIE Fulbright Dissertation Fellowship in Tokyo in 2002–2003. His research,prompted in part by his own family's experience of Hurricane Katrina,explores how communities around the world respond to and recover from disaster.
Climate resilience is defined as the "capacity of social,economic and ecosystems to cope with a hazardous event or trend or disturbance". This is done by "responding or reorganising in ways that maintain their essential function,identity and structure while also maintaining the capacity for adaptation,learning and transformation". The key focus of increasing climate resilience is to reduce the climate vulnerability that communities,states,and countries currently have with regards to the many effects of climate change. Efforts to build climate resilience encompass social,economic,technological,and political strategies that are being implemented at all scales of society. From local community action to global treaties,addressing climate resilience is becoming a priority,although it could be argued that a significant amount of the theory has yet to be translated into practice.
Community resilience is the sustained ability of a community to use available resources to respond to,withstand,and recover from adverse situations. This allows for the adaptation and growth of a community after disaster strikes. Communities that are resilient are able to minimize any disaster,making the return to normal life as effortless as possible. By implementing a community resilience plan,a community can come together and overcome any disaster,while rebuilding physically and economically.
Behind the Backlash:Muslim Americans after 9/11 is the work of professor Lori Peek published by Temple University Press in 2011. This work addresses the violence Muslim Americans faced unexpectedly living in the post-9/11 United States. Peek examines how stereotypes,stigmas,and discrimination against the religion of Islam and its many peaceful followers,as well as Arabs and those from the Middle East,came into full force. Peek's work provided a platform for the stories and voices of 120 Muslim American citizens,bringing light to their experiences of navigating the tension and difficulties they experienced in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Behind the Backlash is a hallmark lens for showing the abuse,racism,and oppression of Muslims in the post-9/11 turmoil. Peek created depth of perspective within her piece by writing about the issues of how Muslims of many walks of life identified during such a dangerous time as well as how their treatment as Muslim Americans differed from before and after the attack.
Susan Lynn Cutter is an American geographer and disaster researcher who is a Carolina Distinguished Professor of Geography and director of the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute at the University of South Carolina. She is the author or editor of many books on disasters and disaster recovery. Her areas of expertise include the factors that make people and places susceptible to disasters,how people recover from disasters,and how to map disasters and disaster hazards. She chaired a committee of the National Research Council that in 2012 recommended more open data in disaster-monitoring systems,more research into disaster-resistant building techniques,and a greater emphasis on the ability of communities to recover from future disasters.
Lisa Dilling is an interdisciplinary scholar who focuses on the energy transition,climate adaptation,decision making,the use of information,and science policy. She aims to improve the effectiveness of policies for climate change. Dilling is Associate Chief Scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund,an environmental non-profit that works on climate change,clean air and public health,and supporting the ability of people and nature to thrive.
Erica Kuligowski is an american social research scientist investigating human behavior during emergencies and the performance of evacuation models in disasters. She currently works at RMIT university in Melbourne (Australia). Kuligowski used to work the Engineering Lab of the National Institute of Standards and Technology conducting research on several fire disasters including the NIST Hurricane Maria Project.
Irasema Alcántara-Ayala is a professor of Natural hazards and Risk at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She combines natural science with social sciences,and in particular studies the occurrences of landslides,natural hazards and vulnerability. She was awarded the 2016 European Geosciences Union Sergey Soloviev Medal.
Climate change vulnerability is a concept that describes how strongly people or ecosystems are likely to be affected by climate change. It is defined as the "propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected" by climate change. It can apply to humans and also to natural systems. Related concepts include climate sensitivity and the ability,or lack thereof,to cope and adapt. Vulnerability is a component of climate risk. Vulnerability differs within communities and across societies,regions,and countries,and can increase or decrease over time.
Omar-Darío Cardona Arboleda is a civil engineer,academic,and author. He is a Titular Professor of integrated disaster risk management and climate change adaptation in the Institute of Environment Studies at the National University of Colombia,Co-founder,and CEO of Ingeniar:Risk Intelligence.
Dilanthi Amaratunga,FRGS is a Sri Lankan scientist. She is a quantity surveyor who leads research and international projects into disaster mitigation,reconstruction and resilience.
C. Emdad Haque is a Canadian academic,environmentalist,and author. He is a professor in the Natural Resources Institute of the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment,Earth,and Resources at the University of Manitoba and Chief Technical Advisor at the Bangabandhu Centre of Bangladesh Studies in Canada.
