tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40607135082282058602011-07-08T00:39:28.067-07:00Scientific and social scientific information on natural, technological, and intentional risks, hazards, and disasters.CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.comBlogger401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-10648537509081148362010-04-08T07:18:00.000-07:002010-04-08T07:18:21.226-07:00

David Simon’s “Treme,” on HBO, review : The New Yorker

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-49243688397067327722010-03-28T07:09:00.000-07:002010-03-28T07:09:21.613-07:00

Op-Ed Contributor - Shake, Rattle, Seattle - NYTimes.comBuried in other work, but am coming up for air to read recent articles like these on the earthquake hazard in the United States/

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-14387157037230780022010-03-07T08:05:00.000-08:002010-03-07T08:05:15.671-08:00

The Moral Ambiguity of Looting - NYTimes.comA story that starts promisingly, but comes up far short of its potential. The litany of looting incidents "Chicagoans looted..., New Yorkers looted...." suggests that looting was common and widespread, neither of which was true. And, like most articles about looting, this article contradicts itself, which adds another reason to just not call it looting-

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-73836157245048782602010-03-04T15:48:00.000-08:002010-03-04T15:48:19.499-08:00

Amanda Ripley : Blog : Why Do People Loot?A great essay by a journalist who knows her stuff.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-89488786245573172212010-03-02T14:01:00.000-08:002010-03-02T14:01:19.591-08:00

Op-Ed Contributor - Santiago Stands Firm - NYTimes.com

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-2511960387067362182010-03-01T14:00:00.000-08:002010-03-01T14:00:37.891-08:00

In Hawaii, Calm Prevailed Despite Tsunami Warning - NYTimes.comThis seemed like a non-news story at first (look, no panic!) but the article does a reasonably good job of explaining Hawaii's preparedness for tsunamis.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-13491449827557250602010-03-01T13:54:00.000-08:002010-03-01T13:54:43.619-08:00

Are We Prepared for an 8.8 Quake? - Room for Debate Blog - NYTimes.comVery good comments from some well-regarded experts.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-30026393552625128532010-03-01T12:20:00.000-08:002010-03-01T12:20:37.548-08:00

Dusk to dawn curfew imposed as Chile's looters run wild (includes video)More "looting" in Chile. Don't expect truthful information to get this sort of exposure if and when (unlikely) the British press, in particular, learn that this "widespread" "looting run wild" just didn't happen as portrayed here.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-12090898216724811952010-02-28T20:00:00.000-08:002010-02-28T20:00:11.624-08:00

Maps of the Chile Earthquake - Map - NYTimes.comInteresting mapping of the earthquake, including what appears to be preliminary data on ground motion.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-14272306818335844722010-02-28T16:55:00.000-08:002010-02-28T16:55:14.847-08:00

Death toll surges to more than 700 in Chile - The Globe and Mail And now our Canadian friends propagate the same hoary disaster tropes: Here's the subhead: Looting flares as President announces fatalities - likely to rise - from quake, tsunamiAnd here's the troublesome language.People desperate for food and water ransacked stores in some quake-stricken areas, raising speculation that the

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-89176952994152790702010-02-27T09:05:00.000-08:002010-02-27T09:05:09.777-08:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/world/americas/28chile.html More to follow. Hawaii under tsunami warning. I didn't realize that anything was happening until one facebook friend noted that Hawaii was under a tsunami warning, and then a friend noted that he was thinking of the people of Chile--as are we all. TB

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-85880679855019543552010-02-25T10:17:00.000-08:002010-02-25T10:17:27.496-08:00

Disaster Awaits Cities in Earthquake Zones - NYTimes.com: The general point is not surprising to those of us who study disasters, but the history of politics, growth, and construction practices is fascinating.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-71044793023586523112010-02-03T19:17:00.000-08:002010-02-03T19:17:34.747-08:00

The New York Times reports that aid groups in Haiti are moving away from tents and toward what the story calls "do-it-yourself housing with tarpaulins at first, followed by lumber." This story is interesting because it reflects so much of what has been learned about temporary (which often becomes semi-permanent) housing after major disasters, like the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. It's also broadly

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-43390201060512494302010-02-03T14:34:00.000-08:002010-02-03T14:34:10.823-08:00

Researchers Await Their Turn In Haiti : NPR -- Thanks to Tricia Wachtendorf of the University of Delaware for the link to this story. It touches a bit on the very idea of disaster research, which is good to see.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-59338099685851556022010-02-03T09:39:00.000-08:002010-02-03T09:39:13.637-08:00

The interruption in posts is a function of the press of other work, and what seems to be little "new" news coming from Haiti--rather, the media coverage repeated much of what was known earlier, and, clearly, the half-life of this story is very short. In the U.S. media the matter was knocked off front pages by the Scott Brown's electoral victory in the special senate election in Massachusetts.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-28385119724752977722010-01-25T14:44:00.000-08:002010-01-25T14:45:28.133-08:00

Now that the Haitian government has decided that the earthquake has moved from the rescue to the debris clearance phase, news attention has turned away, to some extent, from the individual suffering of people in the disaster, and has moved more toward longer-term policy questions. A typically-snarky satirical piece in The Onion seems to poke fun at North Americans' attitudes toward--and knowledge

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-13663162489574265792010-01-23T15:30:00.000-08:002010-01-23T15:34:07.236-08:00

The damage done by the Haiti earthquake made it abundantly clear that Haitian buildings were not built to modern seismic standards--or, perhaps, even to 40 or 50 year old standards. The failure of buildings was likely a result of the nature of the construction itself--which I am trying to learn more about, although it looks like a lot of concrete in the bigger buildings--or a result of the nature

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-10304763335232235072010-01-22T19:48:00.000-08:002010-01-22T19:48:59.020-08:00

According to the White House, the President has signed legislation that makes charitable contributions (cash only) to organizations gathering relief funds for Haiti deductible from 2009 income taxes. Donations made between January 11 and March 1, 2010 are eligible. I am not sure that this will make a big difference in the total amount of donations, but if it even has a marginal effect it may be

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-22037602471690608382010-01-22T19:44:00.000-08:002010-01-22T19:44:01.991-08:00

It may well be, according to this article in the New York Times. While I'd like to learn more, it's certainly a plausible hypothesis.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-58197889099277315112010-01-22T18:10:00.000-08:002010-01-23T15:40:35.743-08:00

First, an observation. Since the Tuesday Massachussets Senate election, and President Obama's plans to regulate the banks were revealed, the Haiti earthquake has fallen quite a bit off the front page of the New York Times' website. I plan to do an empirical analysis of how quickly this event fell out of the public eye. There is a benefit on many on-air and cable TV networks tonight, but Friday

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-8640483240810930642010-01-21T20:50:00.000-08:002010-01-21T20:58:31.240-08:00

Isn't it time to stop referring to earthquake victims in Haiti as looters? CNN offers this commentary that might be of interest.

Dana Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17166443905447667779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-54014438346301233112010-01-21T07:55:00.000-08:002010-01-21T07:55:22.248-08:00

Amanda Ripley, Time magazine reporter and article of a great book, The Unthinkable, provides this extremely useful analysis of the news coverage of "looting" that followed the Haiti earthquake. This piece offers perspective and balance that can help social scientists and journalists understand each other. What interests me is the extent to which other journalists fail to call on social science

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-62448644066966997622010-01-20T12:51:00.000-08:002010-01-20T12:51:17.886-08:00

The Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado has published its latest edition, with an important essay (the first item) on what happens after the cameras leave Haiti. As Kathleen Tierney asks: What happens when the media leave and the drama of lives being saved transitions into the gritty business of providing for the daily survival needs of hundreds of thousands of victims? Aid

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-47583649142307596572010-01-19T05:19:00.000-08:002010-01-19T05:19:51.709-08:00

Dana Greene at NC Central U. shared this link with me--it shows maps of all manner of important information about the earthquake, including damage assessment and blockages of roads.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-1493367500776443902010-01-18T19:35:00.000-08:002010-01-18T19:35:25.048-08:00

Joseph Palermo, a professor of history at Sacramento State, provides this useful corrective to the "disaster knows no class distinction" coverage in the mainstream media. It's interesting that the "new media" seems more likely to find the nuances and the more interesting and important questions than is the "mainstream media." Perhaps it's because some bloggers, who are not journalists, are not

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-17358996362981059642010-01-18T19:08:00.000-08:002010-01-18T19:08:15.612-08:00

Here's a good video from the New York Times describing the preexisting poor conditions in Haiti, including the incredible extent of deforestation which makes the country more vulnerable to flooding, erosion, and landslides--none of which is helpful to a country so prone to rain and hurricanes. The video also describes the poor state of roads, which are also damaged by floods. It's a bad cycle

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-53745247076048784352010-01-18T15:39:00.000-08:002010-01-18T15:39:51.039-08:00

I admit that I am obsessed with the "looting" story frame. In a later post, I will explain why. Meanwhile, those of you on Facebook, if you're so inclined, join the Facebook group "I Know the Difference between Salvaging and Looting," set up by friend and colleague Michael Owens at Emory (and a former student at SUNY Albany). Michael gets double bonus points today.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-84692323645288363742010-01-18T15:15:00.000-08:002010-01-18T15:15:56.426-08:00

The Root--a blog associated with Slate.com--has a remarkably good story about the question of looting versus scavenging or whatever here.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-91738031928615611982010-01-18T12:14:00.000-08:002010-01-18T12:17:25.151-08:00

Tricia Wachtendorf from the University of Delaware's Disaster Research Center was on the air on Radio Times out of WHYY in Philadelphia--listen to the segment here. Tricia is a well-known sociologist in our field. Her segment starts at about the -16:55 mark (that is, 16:55 left in the program). As usual, the interview is great.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-34636474327224325262010-01-18T11:47:00.000-08:002010-01-18T11:47:13.326-08:00

In doing some quick and dirty research on trends in disaster-"caused" deaths in the United States, I ran across this blog post. The big takeaway: the Per Capita GDP in the Dominican Republic is at least 4 times that of Haiti, and this blog suggests it could be over six times greater. As a rule of thumb, as overall societal wealth increases, vulnerability to injury and death from disasters

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-68186508811684284902010-01-18T11:23:00.000-08:002010-01-18T11:25:37.449-08:00

The Lede blog in the New York Times today finally acknowledged that all looting isn't looting. The entire blog is worth a look, but here's the relevant language: Update | 12:34 p.m. As Haitians wait for aid to reach them, on what local bloggers are calling “Haiti Year Zero, Day 6,” some observers are asking if it is fair to call people who take goods from ruined shops “looters.” This video

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-37230865950997624702010-01-17T18:41:00.000-08:002010-01-17T18:41:55.866-08:00

If you're a disaster researcher, relief worker, disaster survivor (of any disaster anywhere), journalist who has a new or interesting perspective, etc., and would like to contribute to this blog, please let me know at tom.birkland@gmail.com. The best blogs, after all, are not written by one person! If you'd like to write posts, I can certainly arrange to list you as an author. Thanks, all!

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-56155546487258145842010-01-17T15:05:00.001-08:002010-01-17T15:06:35.461-08:00

Some very interesting updates and information at http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/17/latest-updates-on-rescue-and-recovery-in-haiti-3/. This New York Times Blog is worth following.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-90749450118445201842010-01-17T07:45:00.000-08:002010-01-17T07:45:05.653-08:00

VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) has links to aid groups at http://www.nvoad.org/.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-24133454607647552702010-01-17T07:31:00.000-08:002010-01-17T07:39:12.616-08:00

A thread on my Facebook page expresses disdain for the media's continued use of the "looting" frame. As my wife said, "I heard about people "looting bags of rice" on NPR this morning.... As far as I am concerned those are probably first responders doing rescue work." Indeed, we know that the "victims" or "survivors" of disasters are the first first responders. But the thread became a discussion

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-14484395137158670962010-01-17T06:37:00.000-08:002010-01-17T06:38:04.099-08:00

One noted humanitarian and broadcaster suggested that Americans already provide enough aid to Haiti "through the income tax." How much aid does the United States provide? This state department page on Haiti says that The U.S. has been Haiti's largest donor since 1973. Between FY 1995 and FY 2003, the U.S. contributed more than $850 million in assistance to Haiti. Since 2004, the U.S. has provided

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-81738263028741511202010-01-16T21:06:00.000-08:002010-01-16T21:06:31.401-08:00

An article in the New York Times ledes thus: "Along the capital’s main commercial strip Saturday afternoon, dozens of armed men — some wielding machetes, others with sharpened pieces of wood — dodged from storefront to storefront, battering down doors and hauling away whatever they could carry: shoes, luggage, rolls of carpet." Any anthropologists or sociologists out there to help me out? This

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-30133362528185787412010-01-16T20:43:00.000-08:002010-01-16T20:43:17.494-08:00

Kathleen Tierney, a sociologist and internationally known expert on disasters, provided a commentary on CNN that describes how the Haiti earthquake was proportionately more catastrophic for Haiti than was Hurricane Hugo for the United States as a whole.

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-82854012618892822852010-01-16T20:37:00.000-08:002010-01-16T20:38:22.941-08:00

If the focus is on Haiti for now, there's a lot of information that could be brought together here and maintained for the research community and for interested citizens. With this in mind, I invite folks to comment on posts here or to send ideas to me at tom.birkland@gmail.com. Some of the things I'd like to see are: Reports from charities/NGOs about their activities in Haiti, and information

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4060713508228205860.post-31503571020311139082010-01-16T20:23:00.000-08:002010-01-16T21:12:04.135-08:00

While I have been studying natural disasters for nearly twenty years, the Haiti earthquake has troubled me in ways I've never experienced about other disasters. Perhaps it's the apparent novelty of the event--I knew that the Caribbean basin was prone to hurricanes, certainly, and to earthquakes, but I never really considered the earthquake hazard very closely. At a 2006 meeting of emergency

CHASS Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Developmentnoreply@blogger.com1