Disasterology: July 2024
This newsletter is a compilation of recent disaster ~things~ that I think are cool, important, or otherwise of interest to people who are intrigued with disaster (broadly defined). There’s a little something for everyone!
Good Morning My Little Twisters!
As of about 2:00 pm yesterday I have had a surge of hope running through my veins. Instead of belaboring all of the brutal politics of this month, this newsletter will be good vibes only.
Dispatches from the Natural Hazards Workshop/ Researcher’s Meeting
Dr. Lori Peek and the Natural Hazards Center pulled off another incredible gathering with the largest attendance (around 700) in the Workshop’s history. I managed to see what felt like every disaster researcher in the county. I presented our disaster film research which our favorite disaster journalist Colleen Haggerty wrote about here. We also presented our proposed hazard event typology which I wrote about here. In an unexpected turn of events, our theory presentation got more laughs and audience response than our film presentation. Nerds! You all are nerds! (But also, same.)
I always think graduate students/recent grads present the best research at these things. They have new perspectives, have usually had time to think deeply about their work, and are current on recent research. They appreciate that they exist in the context of all in which they live and what came before them. They also haven’t been beaten down yet (just me?) and bring a much-needed energy to their presentations.
Here are a few I enjoyed hearing about that you should check out:
Mason Alexander-Hawk (Texas A&M University) presented on “Resilience in Recovery? Understanding the Extent, Structure, and Operations of Nonprofits Meant to Address Disaster Survivor’s Unmet Needs”. TAMU has created a database of Long-term Recovery Groups (LTRGs) in operation from 2010-2019. They found a total of 455 groups across the country with 36% having formalized to the point of achieving 501c3 status. Missouri won out with 57 groups, followed by Texas with 50. LTRGs (along with LVOADS) have been notoriously understudied in disaster research but are a critical piece of understanding how needs are met (or not met in recovery). You can read their full paper here.
Gardiner Brown (University of California, Berkeley) presented on “Vulnerable Populations/ Responsible Individuals: Disability and Hurricane Harvey”. Specifically, his work asked if the advocacy of disability rights has “provided material safety for disabled people living through climate disaster”? To explore this he looked at how The State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR) was used during Hurricane Harvey. You can read more here.
Hannah Friedrich (University of Arizona) presented on “Remotely Sensed Blue Tarps and Resident Narratives to Triangulate Hurricane Recovery Gaps”. She has monitored the length of time it takes for tarps to come off roofs in Lake Charles, LA following the 2020 hurricane season. Although just one recovery metric it’s proven instructive when overlaying census information on class and race. I have been following her work for a while and think it’s a great example of how we can be more creative with our methods for studying disasters. You can read more here.
Dr. Logan Gerber-Chavez (University of Delaware/ Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) presented “A Conceptual Typology of Compound Hazards to Improve Theory and Practice”. I’ve had the pleasure of working on research with Logan for several years (EMPG and Pandemic Planning) so I’m so excited to share her dissertation with you. She dove in head first to try and work through massive terminological confusion in our field. Her dissertation titled “Conceptualizing Compound Disasters and Environmental Justice: Improving Disaster Planning for Compound Disaster Events” can be requested here.
Dr. Andrea Ramos (Florida International University) presented on “Under the Radar: How People Experiencing Homelessness Sense Impending Disasters” There’s an increasing awareness in emergency management that we have not met the needs of people experiencing homelessness related to disasters. There are only a handful of disaster researchers working in this area and Andrea joined their ranks! For her dissertation, she applied the Protective Action Decision Model to people experiencing homelessness in Florida. You can read it here.
Rosie Sanchez (University of California, Irvine) presented on “Disaster Ecologies: The Role of Dollar Stores in Los Angeles’ South Bay”. She did an ethnographic preparedness study while working a summer job as a cashier at a Dollar store. Throughout the summer she asked customers about the weather and how they were managing through high temperatures, storms, and the like. She took particular note of what people bought before storms and found that people were “prioritizing more than survival” -- buying toys, activities, and other items to keep them occupied. I really love this from a methods perspective. As she noted in her presentation, she was able to gather this data without taking up any time/effort from participants. She simply integrated herself into their daily routine -- brilliant! This research hasn’t been published yet but keep an eye out.
Meme Break
When that certain shade of green reminds you of something…
Dispatches From The Place Where Heartbreak Feels Good
[NO spoilers]
On the very last day of the Workshop, a group of us went to see Twisters. Disasterologists at The Movies IRL, if you will. We had a blast. The movie itself is what you’d expect, and I think it did the first justice. We did scream when FEMA was mentioned in passing (you’ll see why) and groaned regularly at everything from unnecessary convergence to classic disaster tropes to very bad science. I strongly recommend going to see it – especially if you go with some disaster buddies!
To my knowledge, Twisters has had the biggest opening weekend of any disaster movie bringing in a shocking $80 million (Titanic and Jaws had surprisingly small openings). I suspect studios are seeing dollar signs so we will definitely be seeing more disaster films from Hollywood soon. Dare I say we may be entering the long-awaited next disaster film cycle? Irwin Allen, eat your heart out!
The End Bits
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