THE HUMAN DIMENSION OF
DISASTERS:
IMPROVING SOCIETAL RESILIENCE
THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF
SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Kathleen Tierney
Department of Sociology
Natural Hazards Center
University of Colorado at Boulder
SOCIOLOGY AND DISASTERS:
KEY AREAS OF FOCUS
Social Factors and Disaster
Vulnerability
Disaster-Related Collective
Behavior
Social Networks and Resilience
Risk Communication and Disaster
Warnings
SOCIAL FACTORS AND
DISASTER VULNERABILITY
Who Prepares?
Who Suffers
Disproportionate
Losses?
Who is More Able to
Recover?
VULNERABILITY RELATED TO…
Income and
Educational Levels
Minority Group
Status, Language
Barriers, Citizenship
Status
“Social Capital” and
Access to
Resources
DISASTER-RELATED
COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR
Spontaneous
Volunteers,
Formation of
Emergent Groups
Massive Altruism,
Donations
DISASTER-RELATED
COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR
Adaptive, Pro-Social Responses—
Not Maladaptive, Panicky Behavior
COLLECTIVE IMPROVISATION:
RESTORING THE NEW YORK CITY
EOC AFTER SEPT. 11
SOCIAL NETWORKS AND
DISASTER RESILIENCE
Emergent Multi-organizational
Networks and Disaster
Response
Networks versus Hierarchies
Communicating Risk and
Warning the Public
Social Factors in Risk Communication
and Warning Processes
Warnings and Warning System Design:
How to Encourage Self-Protective
Behavior
Natural Hazards Research
and Applications
Information Center
University of Colorado
482 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0482
Phone: (303) 492-6818
Web: www.colorado.edu/hazards
Reactions to Disaster: 50 Years
of Social Science
Lee Clarke
Department of Sociology
Rutgers University
leeclarke.com
Three Main Points
Disasters, warnings, & bad news do not
induce panic
There’s a crucial difference between
“official” responders and “first” responders
Trust is the key to effective risk
communication
The image of panic
The reality of non-panic
Non-panic finding is robust
•Research from US Strategic Bombing Survey
•Plane crashes
•Natural disasters
•Biologically threatening events
1793 yellow fever in Philadelphia
1918 Spanish flu
1984 Rajneesh cult attack
1932-1945 Japanese attacks on China
Who are “first responders”?
Construction workers
next to Cypress
Viaduct, Loma Prieta
earthquake
Who are “first responders”?
The stranger next to you in a restaurant.
The coworker in the next cubicle.
Neighbors, friends, passersby.
Teachers: 20% of American population is
in K-12 for ½ the year.
Bad risk communication
Milwaukee smallpox riots, 1894
From: J. W. Leavitt, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science, 2003, 1(3).
Good risk communication
NYC smallpox vaccinations, 1947
From: J. W. Leavitt, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science, 2003, 1(3).
Take aways
Give more & detailed information, even if it is
frightening
Avoid slogans and condescension
People die the same way they live: in families,
faith based organizations, networks, etc.
Push disaster resources to local level
People are also “critical infrastructure”
People don’t typically overreact to bad news—
unless they perceive the messenger is
untrustworthy. Leaders must earn the trust.
Learning from Heat Waves:
How a Social Autopsy can
Help to Prevent Future
Disasters
Eric Klinenberg
New York University
ek52@nyu.edu
Age of Spectacular Disasters
World Trade Center
Space shuttles (Columbia, Challenger)
Hurricanes (Hugo)
These catastrophes capture our attention. But
they are not the most deadly.
Much of US disaster policy is based on insuring
property or preventing property damage. How
can we use disaster policy to prevent deaths?
Heat Waves
In the United States, heat waves kill more
people than all of the so-called “natural
disasters” combined. In Chicago, more than 700
people died during one week of 1995.
This summer, Europe suffered around 20,000
deaths during a long heat wave.
What can we learn from these events?
Disasters help to reveal conditions
that are always present
but difficult to perceive
By studying disasters sociologically, we can
better understand the source of our
vulnerability.
“The Social Autopsy” – Opens up the city
and examines the social and political organs
that break down in a crisis. We explain
causes of death in order to protect life.
Emerging Conditions Revealed in
Recent Heat Waves
Rise of population that is living and dying alone
– Social deprivation as an everyday condition
– Certain neighborhood conditions foster isolation and
insecurity
What can governments do to assist vulnerable
people who are living alone?
– Compile official lists to identify the isolated
– Offer special outreach and assistance in crises
– Connect with service providers
Emerging Conditions Revealed in
Recent Heat Waves
Problems with urban infrastructure and energy
– Power outages are common during heat waves
– More efficient air conditioners? More reliable energy
sources?
Everyday energy crisis: Low Income Home
Energy Assistance Program funds are
insufficient to meet demand in cities
Emerging Conditions Revealed in
Recent Heat Waves
Problems with policy responses:
–
–
–
–
Role of paramedics inside fire department. Do
they have authority to call in back-up?
Links between emergency rooms and health
department. Who is monitoring?
How should community police officers help?
Coordinating functions of mayor’s offices –
danger that public relations response can get in the
way of disaster response
Preventing Heat Deaths
Work with meteorologists to detect dangerous
weather and with media to issue public warnings
Reach out to isolated people and vulnerable
areas
Coordinate muliti-agency disaster response
Monitor hospitals and cooperate with medical
examiner
After crisis, openly examine what went wrong.
Share what we learn as widely as possible.
Eric Klinenberg
Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of
Disaster in Chicago
Department of Sociology
New York University
ek52@nyu.edu