Kategoria BISAC: Social Science >> Disasters & Disaster Relief

Watching the disastrous response to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was like watching "a train wreck in slow motion." Katrina exposed the weakness of existing emergency management and response policies on all levels - local, state, and federal.

Poor planning, poor decision-making, and poor communication before, during, and after Katrina betrayed public confidence in the ability of public officials to effectively organize and manage emergency response. The bungled response cost lives and property. So what lessons have been learned and what changes should be made?

Both the...

Recent events worldwide have made disaster preparedness and disaster communication to the public a crucial concern. September 11^th, the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and other mega-disasters have highlighted not only a woeful lack of community awareness of vulnerability but also the absence of a clear protocol for what to do as events unfold. The first book dedicated solely to the topic of pre-disaster communication, Communicating Emergency Preparedness: Strategies for Creating a Disaster Resilient Public presents the best ways to inform communities...

Survival expert Cody Lundin's new book, When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes is what every family needs to prepare and educate themselves about survival psychology and the skills necessary to negotiate a disaster whether you are at home, in the office, or in your car.

This is not your father's scout manual or a sterile FEMA handout. It entertains as it informs, describing how to maximize a survival mind-set necessary for self-reliance. According to the book, living through an emergency scenario is 90 percent psychology, and 10 percent...

Even before the wreckage of a disaster is cleared, one question is foremost in the minds of the public: "What can be done to prevent this from happening again?" Today, news media and policymakers often invoke the "lessons of September 11" and the "lessons of Hurricane Katrina." Certainly, these unexpected events heightened awareness about problems that might have contributed to or worsened the disasters, particularly about gaps in preparation. Inquiries and investigations are made that claim that "lessons" were "learned" from a disaster, leading us to assume that we will be more ready the...