The Context of Disasters
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The document discusses the context of disasters and argues that traditional models of viewing disasters as isolated physical events do not consider broader social and economic factors that influence vulnerability. It advocates taking a holistic view of the root causes of vulnerability, including issues like poverty, inequality, the prioritization of capital over people, and the role of neo-liberal policies in weakening regulations and safeguards. The Grenfell Tower fire tragedy is used as a case study to illustrate how these wider issues can contribute to disasters. The document also examines the increasing importance of human mobility and migration in the modern world.
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The Context of Disasters
- 1. The Context of Disasters Search for Root Causes David Alexander University College London
- 2. Mobilising Science to Implement the Sendai Framework Jan. 2016
- 3. We should consider our world as it is. Alan Kurdi 2015 Science encourages us to look at reality selectively, not holistically: yet we must look at all sides of the problem.
- 4. Human misery ●poverty ●disease ●malnutrition ●conflict ●displacement ●disasters ... and climate change...?
- 5. HUMAN CONSEQUENCES OF DISASTER “ORTHODOX” MODEL PHYSICAL EVENT HUMAN VULNERABILITY “RADICAL CRITIQUE” (K. HEWITT et al.) HUMAN CONSEQUENCES OF DISASTER HUMAN VULNERABILITY PHYSICAL EVENT CURRENT NEEDS HUMAN CONSEQUENCES OF DISASTER HUMAN VULNERABILITY CULTURE HISTORY PHYSICAL EVENTS CONTEXT & CONSEQUENCES
- 8. The "egg hypothesis" Disaster • prima facie causes • root causes • vulnerabilities • dynamic pressures Context • general vulnerability • poverty • deprivation • marginalisation
- 10. Resilience?
- 11. RESILIENCE: as a material has brittle strength and ductility: society must have an optimum combination of resistance to hazard impacts and ability to adapt to them.
- 12. "Resilience" viewed as a form of oppression New Orleans, post-Katrina the agenda of neo-liberal urbanism.
- 13. DISASTER Destructiondamage casualties Capital Labour (fast) reformation (slower) repopulation temporary boom in employmentReconstruction Recoverycapital displaces labour unemployment and social consequences Slump
- 15. Capital is winning against labour: when will the tide turn? Tax havens and world trade, inequality.
- 16. • it is not necessarily harmed by disaster • does capital safeguard people or itself? The cheapness and redundancy of labour is a form of disenfranchisement. Capital as a resource for disaster mitigation and recovery
- 17. • consolidate power structures • augment profits, concentrate wealth • allow introduction of conveniently repressive measures • permit gratuitous social engineering. The economic and social VALUE of disasters
- 18. Adverse circumstances Natural hazards and anthropogenic threats Specific vulnerability General vulnerability Susceptibility to disaster
- 19. London would be a very resilient city were it not for the high price of property. • housing agenda over-influenced by foreign investment companies • shortage of housing that is not for investment purposes • large portion of disposable income spent on housing, less for other purposes • poor quality and vulnerable housing is a feature of the property market • personal and family security reduced.
- 20. This situation leaves people living on the margins of society. For whom is resilience?
- 22. • London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea • 24-storey residential building, 129 apartments • constructed in 1970, renovated in 2015-2016 • 14 June 2017 fire: 72 dead, 74 injured, 65 rescued. Grenfell Tower
- 23. • an enclave of poverty in Britain's richest municipality • In a year and a half, almost all official news from Grenfell Tower has been negative: much of it has been scandalous
- 24. • Coroners’ recommendations from previous fires ignored • Cladding used in the renovation was not fire-resistant • Building codes had been weakened • Enforcement of codes was left to construction industry • Residents’ concerns were not listened to. Some context of the fire tragedy:-
- 25. • Fire service was not geared up for high-rise rescue • The wrong advice was given to residents • Local authority response to disaster was ineffective • Suffering of survivors increased by inappropriate responses to the disaster. Contributory factors:-
- 26. • public enquiry • litigation • rehousing and rehabilitation • compensation • demolition. £1 billion:-
- 27. • 311 residential tower blocks deemed unsafe in UK • major evacuations in Camden, London • fire wardens hired at high cost • disputes over who pays for recladding • apartments in tower blocks lose their sale value. Cascading effects of the Grenfell Tower tragedy:-
- 28. • failure to manage risk as it affects poor people • commercial lobbying & profit weaken safety regulations • ideological retreat from good, safe public housing • London needs basic service workers: where to house them? • government elitism thrown into sharp relief. More context:-
- 30. Conclusion: the Grenfell Tower tragedy is an artefact of neoliberal policies and their effect upon basic safety.
- 31. Human mobility
- 33. • refugees of war, conflict, torture and oppression • "economic migrants" • the displaced • "opportunists" – e.g. myself. Human mobility
- 34. Migration • voluntary (incentive) • induced (imperative) • forced [trafficked] Human mobility • temporary (time-limited, limit unknown) • semi-permanent (time limit unknown) • permanent (emigration/immigration) • statelessness.
- 35. • a reaction to global hegemony • wars and proxy wars - the struggle for power • globalisation of production and the exploitation of labour • a reaction to the mobility and concentration of capital. Human mobility
- 36. Have we passed a threshold towards a new organisation of society in which human mobility is much more central and important?
- 37. Time to re-examine notions of geographical inertia. Places remain, people move.
- 39. What is welfare? The provision of care to a minimum acceptable standard to people who are unable adequately to look after themselves. But we also need to focus on what welfare is NOT...
- 40. Remittances: alternative welfare Haiti, Nepal, the Philippines
- 41. Xenophobia Distrust of unfamiliar people Compassion Desire to help refugees Rejectionism It is not our problem Distancing Not in my back yard The role of mass cognitive dissonance Charity Willingness to donate Humanity Living together in harmony
- 42. Currently the links between DRR and human mobility are relatively slight. There are abundant opportunities for them to become more significant and powerful.
- 43. Antecedents: 1980 southern Italian earthquake and Italian Government policy on induced migration
- 44. Disaster and forced migration - in a surprising variety of contexts
- 45. Climate change Terrorism Displacement and migration Pandemics and epidemics Population increase Environmentalchange Conflict Technological disasters and major incidents 'Natural' disasters
- 46. Justice system Rights Responsibilities Moral Ethical Legal Constitution Disaster Context of disaster
- 47. Conclusions
- 48. Since 1970 the world has changed in directions not mirrored in the concurrent development of disaster theory.
- 49. Disaster Risk Reduction or disaster risk creation?
- 52. SUSTAINABILITY OF DISASTER RISK REDUCTION DAILY RISKS (e.g.unem- ployment, poverty) EMERGING RISKS (e.g. climate change, pandemics) GENERAL SUSTAINABILITY (e.g. lifestyles, economic activities, environment) MAJOR DISASTER RISKS (e.g. floods, drought, landslides, heatwaves)