ID: 219600059
Shihan Weerapperuma
AIH383 – ASSIGNMENT 1
Week 2: According to Simon Winchester, what was it about the eruption of Krakatau that
made it a global disaster?
Whilst Winchester (2003) acknowledges that the eruption of Krakatoa was not the largest
eruption recorded and in fact only the “fifth most explosive in the planet’s geological
history”, it was the by far the “the most devastating volcanic event in human history” as “it
killed more than 36,000 people”. The fact that this happened at a time where
communications technology was rapidly advancing, meant that people all over the world
were able to experience the fear of the event, making this is a true global disaster.
Reference: Winchester, S., Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded, 27 August 1883 (Melbourne,
Penguin, 2003), Prelude (1-7) and Chapter 6 (179-98)
Week 3: According to Erik Eklund, where can we find the memory of the 1918-19 Influenza
Pandemic? Did you find his claims to be convincing?
According to Erik Eklund (2020), the memories of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic can
predominantly be found in the form of “vernacular memory”, especially in the Gippsland
region. Eklund admits that the pandemic “is not well memorialised at an official or public
history level” and contends that memories sourced from family histories, local histories and
local newspaper records are the most reliable and available. I personally find these claims to
be fairly convincing and I believe that newspapers would have been the most reliable source
of information in those times. However I am under the impression that anecdotes taken
from family histories and relatives of the past men and women of the pandemic may be
slightly skewed, exaggerated or unreliable.
Reference: Eklund, E., ‘“The Dreaded Pneumonic Influenza Has Made Its Appearance Amongst
Us”: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19 in Gippsland, Victoria’, Australian Historical Studies,
52/1 (2021), 27-44.
Week 4: After centuries of inaction on air pollution in London, what was it that finally led
to change in the middle of the 20th century?
After the shocking events of the 1952 London smog, where some 12,000 people died in the
immediate days, weeks and months following the smog, it was in 1956 that the government
finally intervened to improve the massive pollution issue in London. The British Clean Air Act
was legislated, containing many clauses and prohibitions on numerous smoke related items.
These included the prohibition of emissions of dark smoke from any building, emissions
from any new furnaces to be smokeless, making smoke emissions in certain areas a fineable
offence, and many more (Read and Parton, 2019). Federal and local authorities also
enforced monitoring systems to ensure that all businesses and households remained
accountable and helped keep the air quality of the UK as high as possible. When coupled
ID: 219600059
Shihan Weerapperuma
with the new technologies of the coming years, such as electric heating systems and cleaner
sources of fuel, namely oil and gas, it was found that the Clean Air Act definitely made a
great difference to the quality of air and the lives of the residents (Read and Parton, 2019).
Reference: Read, C Parton, K.A (2019) ‘The impact of the 1952 London smog event and its
relevance for current wood-smoke abatement strategies in Australia’, Journal of the Air & Waste
Management Association, 69(9), p 1049-1058, DOI: 10.1080/10962247.2019.1623936
Week 5: The Bhopal Gas Leak offers us a range of lessons about disasters. What key
lesson/s does Stephen Zavestoski highlight in this article? Do you think they are the most
important lesson/s of this disaster?
The key lesson highlighted by Zavestoski (2009) is that globalisation forced by multinational
corporations clearly “alters, often for the worse, the material conditions of existence”. He
also points out that in situations like this, there will always be “counterforces” that seek to
balance the globalisation of a local area, even when government forces are absent in
support. I believe that this is not the most important lesson of this disaster, and instead it is
my belief that the responsibility of “safe” globalisation is solely that of multinational
corporations and the governments involved. It is a shame that the Bhopal movement which
fought for 25 years to create a safer and more stringent process of globalisation had to do
so for so long and with much struggle against higher powers.
Reference: Zavestoski, S., 'The Struggle for Justice in Bhopal: A New/Old Breed of Transnational
Social Movement', Global Social Policy, 9/3 (2009), 383-407.
Week 6: Why does Telukha argue that women’s memories of the Chernobyl nuclear
disaster are traumatic? Do you agree?
Telukha (2019) contends that women’s memories of the Chernobyl disaster are traumatic
because the actors playing out the stories of those affected focus almost solely on attitudes
of “pessimism and the negative impact of the event” on their lives. Based on the negative
psychological impact on women mentioned throughout the article, and the correlation with
the definition of trauma stated early in the piece, it is clear that the memories of the
disaster are traumatic. I find myself to agree with this too, however I believe that this
trauma extends to all people and not just women.
Reference: Telukha, S., 'Traumatic Chernobyl: Women's Memories', Wrocławski Rocznik
Historii Mówionej, 9 (2020), 119–136
Week 7: According to Sutton et al, what was it about the story of smong that allowed so
many people on Simeulue Island to survive the Indian Ocean Tsunami?
The story of smong, “which was initiated by the survivors in 1907…had remained in
circulation among Orang Simeulue ever since”. It described how a “huge earthquake results
in the recession of the sea and exhorting the listener to run, without delay, to the
mountains”. The story was passed down from generations though families and this
ID: 219600059
Shihan Weerapperuma
ultimately saved the lives of the 80,000 inhabitants of the island, and resulted in only 7
casualties.
Reference: Sutton, S.A., Paton, D., Buergelt P., Sagala, S., & Meilianda, E., 'Sustaining a
Transformative Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy: Grandmothers' Telling and Singing Tsunami
Stories for over 100 Years Saving lives on Simeulue Island', International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, 17/21 (2020), 1-20.
Week 8: Why did so many anchors covering the disaster in New Orleans find it so hard to
understand what was happening in the city in the days after Hurricane Katrina? Do you
think that better knowledge of the history of New Orleans might have helped them to see
things more clearly?
As a major city in the U.S, it was unfathomable that in the face of such a massive disaster,
that New Orleans was not receiving any recognisable support at the ground level. Carol
Stabile’s article (2007) contained anecdotes from reporters likening the situation to that of a
third-world country and the scenes in the city as “otherworldly”. I definitely believe that
better knowledge of the city’s history might have helped them understand why immediate
support was lacking as in 2000, 27.9% of the New Orleans population lived below the
poverty line (Stabile 2007). The poor economic state of the city made it seem like less of a
city in comparison to others in the country, and it only made sense that the support behind
this city was to be of a similar standard.
Reference: Stablie, C.A., ‘No Shelter from the Storm’, South Atlantic Quarterly, 106/4 (2007),
683-708.
Week 9: What do you think is the most important lesson we can take from Strathewen’s
recovery from the Black Saturday Bushfires? Why?
When examining the method by which the people of Strathewen managed their recovery
from the Black Saturday Bushfires, it is clear that the most valuable lesson we can take from
this is the importance of a strong community recovery plan and committee. In addition to
this, it is imperative that this plan is catered towards the requirements and character of that
particular community. When answering the question as to why this is the most important
lesson we can compare the Strathewen case with other communities who had help from the
VBRRA. Despite the VBRRA “[endorsing] 30 community recovery committees” (Leadbeater
2013), their statistics based or ‘one size fits all’ approach to recovery has not seemed to
work as effectively as the SCRA, due to not understanding the personal characteristics of
each community.
Reference: Leadbeater, A., 'Community Leadership in Disaster Recovery: A Case Study', The
Australian Journal of Emergency Management, 28/3 (2013), 41-7.
ID: 219600059
Shihan Weerapperuma
Week 10: How should historians (or history students) respond to a disaster like the Covid19 pandemic?
Historians can offer their knowledge and expertise in past epidemics such as the SARS
outbreak and draw correlations or differences between today’s COVID-19 pandemic. To be
more specific, historians can “assert that there are enduring patterns in how societies
respond to all epidemics that can inform our experiences today” (Jones 2020). Historical
information regarding risk management and protocol can also help better inform the
viability and effectiveness of prevention methods today.
Reference: Jones, D.S., ‘COVID-19, History, and Humility’, Centaurus, 62 (2020), 370-80.
Week 11: Imagine you have been asked to tell a history of the Covid-19 pandemic in
Australia in 2020. What do you think would be the most important story to tell about the
experiences of health care workers as part of this history? Why?
In telling the history of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic in Australia, it would be vital to tell the
story of how tough the conditions were for health workers at the peak of the event. The
fragile atmosphere where ICU beds and ventilators were in low supply and the brutal nature
in which patients were isolated from loved ones, can play as a stark reminder to future
generations about the dangers of not adhering the safety protocols. These terrifying images
of the “strain on healthcare workers” indicate how easily “high rates of infection and death
in the healthcare workforce” can occur, reinforcing the need to participate in correct safety
guidelines (Willis and Smallwood, 2021).
Reference: Willis, K., & Smallwood, N., 'Risky Work: Providing Healthcare in the Age of COVID19', in D. Lupton and K. Willis, eds., The COVID-19 Crisis: Social Perspectives (Abingdon,
Routledge, 2021), 168-80
ID: 219600059
Shihan Weerapperuma