Natural disaster versus societal fractures

Environmental geographers usually agree that there is nothing known as a natural catastrophe. However, whether a natural occurrence turns into a disaster is ultimately determined by its location. A major earthquake in the Himalayas may perhaps spawn no calamity, yet an event of the same magnitude in California might be disastrous.

The boundaries of catastrophe and the distinction between who survives and who dies are to a greater or lesser degree a communal calculus in all phases and facets of a disaster — causes, susceptibility, preparedness, effects and reaction, and reconstruction. This places an emphasis on how communities prepare beforehand and absorb natural disasters, and how they can/should rebuild afterward. Nevertheless, even among climatic disasters, socioeconomic factors are not divorced from natural causes. Earth has lately witnessed rapid warming, which scientists are increasingly attributing to carbon emissions in the atmosphere. An unusual tornado outbreak late in the season, even events as strong as Hurricane Ida, are not definitive proof of human-caused global warming. It would, however, be irresponsible to disregard such signs. Recent natural calamities such as tornado outbreaks, Hurricane Ida, landslides, and flooding are largely regarded as proof of socially driven climate change.

The ability of an individual or household to foresee, oppose, cope with, and recuperate from the effects of natural disasters is primarily dependent on their adaptability and resilience. Davis (1983) explained in his research that to integrate innovations in danger-resistant construction and architectural designs, disasters habitually operate as agents of change.

Conversely, in many climates, the affluent prefer to grab the higher ground, leaving the poor and working-class people with property that is more prone to environmental plagues and flooding. For example, oceanfront property is a notable exception, and La Paz, Bolivia, wealthier populations dwell in the cooler valley below 13,000 feet. Topographic gradients, on the other hand, increase as race and class gradients in New Orleans. The relationship between elevation, race and class grew more pronounced as natural disasters struck. Elevated areas were reserved for the privileged and flat areas for the vulnerable ones. Furthermore, as the Hurricane Katrina evacuation disconcertingly showed, those who were well-off had automobiles to evacuate, financial resources for hotels, access to close family with presumably financial resources to enable their evacuation, and insurance plans to recoup losses and/or reconstruct damaged property. This left the deprived populations of New Orleans the most vulnerable by both the market and successive political administrations, from the federal to the municipal level.

Above Most vulnerable groups to natural disasters. Image created by Sharika Tasnim

In Guatemala, where considerable global relief was sent, many resources were not intended for the most harmed and needy victims. The country’s underprivileged labeled this catastrophe a “classquake.” Correspondingly, the outline of effect and rebuilding have re-carved the early community class and racial fractures in greater and broader ways in areas bordering the Indian Ocean, wrecked by the tsunami in December 2004. Rather than re-establishing the livelihoods of the affected fishermen, “reconstruction” there refers to forcibly seeking to safeguard the coastline for tourists. The privileged were granted access to the cities through military assistance. And trailer parks in Florida disappointingly continue to be a common dwelling for several underprivileged evacuees, affected by Hurricanes Ivan and Charley in 2004. To be clear, disasters are simply scenarios that appallingly highlight the social disparity of expelled and marginalized communities.

Just like a house shelters its occupants, a city is for the people, with safe, quality, and reasonably priced social housing. It can be relatively difficult to visualize anything other than a gold rush of developers, with the mindset of some current administrations. The present rebuilding system after a natural disaster is clearly aimed at exacerbating and deepening inequities in society.

One of the great examples of coping with natural disasters might be Cuba, as highlighted by the United Nations. When Hurricane Ivan slammed into the Caribbean in September 2004, many people perished in Florida and Granada. Yet no one died in Cuba. What can be learned from this is that evacuation, as well as preparation, should be controlled by both local communities and the central government, with a great emphasis on social community initiative rather than relying on the private sector.

The aftermath of any natural disaster and the reaction to it are necessary to document so that the unprocessed details of what is uncovered are not erased effortlessly by historical rephrasing. Thousands of lives have been lost unreasonably, billions of dollars in assets have been ruined, and local economies have been wrecked,and this addresses only half the narrative. The existing inequities in society and the natural disaster were neither exceptional nor unanticipated. The racial and socioeconomic characteristics of who escaped and who was afflicted by this undeniably unnatural calamity might have been foreseen and were, but this is true for an extended record of similar occurrences.

FOOTNOTES:

1. Smith, N. (2020, March 18). There’s no such thing as a natural disaster. Items. Retrieved April 29, 2022, from https:// items.ssrc.org/understanding-katrina/theres-no-such-thing-asa-natural-disaster/

2. Otto, I. M., Reckien, D., Reyer, C. P. O., Marcus, R., Le Masson, V., Jones, L., Norton, A., & Serdeczny, O. (2017, February 27). Social vulnerability to climate change: A review of concepts and evidence — regional environmental change.

SpringerLink. Retrieved April 30, 2022, from https://link. springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-017-1105-9

Sharika Tasnim, Assoc. AIA Sharika maintains a lifelong passion for architecture, having been involved with diverse professional and learning experiences across the U.S., U.K., and other countries. She is serving as a managing director at EcoArchitect & Technology Limited.