Answers all the questions and write one essay for every question that asked to
Week 14
SD and vulnerability
Sustainable development can lead to a decrease in vulnerability
Sustainable development means a maximization of social and economic output while minimizing negative environmental consequences
Less focus on SD
More focus on SD
Vulnerability
Resilience
Environment and Vulnerability
Vulnerable populations may live in risk prone areas
Environmental degradation can also increase vulnerability to hazards
Less likely to absorb a hazard event
Sustainable development requires that development must operate within environmental limits
Resources are used within their capacity to regenerate
Leading to long term economic benefits
Maintains hazard protections and buffering capacities
Special Populations
Group of individuals that are prone to become victims of disasters
Lack the capability to respond alone
Have requirements for additional assistance to fully recover
May be referred to as:
Special needs groups
Individuals Functional needs
Vulnerable populations
Gender
In research, women are identified as having higher risks
Socioeconomic Status (SES)
Women, single women, single mothers generally have lower SES
Women in public housing are at particular risk
Safety of locations, maintenance of buildings, retrofitting – as maintenance costs increase then there is a deterioration of public housing options
Motherhood
Caring for children first may increase danger to mothers
Childcare primarily indoors – dangerous in earthquakes
Gender
PTSD
Caregivers have higher incidents of stress and fatigue after disasters
Domestic Violence
Increases in the aftermath of disaster
Government relief
“Government-provided temporary housing communities are not designed around the needs of women and children.”
Cooking, cleaning, caring for families while working paid or unpaid in the community
Lack of privacy, few play spaces for children/activities for teens, insufficient laundry facilities, social isolation
Gender
Women not helpless
Women often heavily involved in recovery
Make significant contributions towards community resilience
Hurricane Andrew – stopped drug dealers setting up in their community
Men as vulnerable
First responders primarily men
Less social support
Relief might be directed towards women
Hurricane Andrew
Women living without partners less likely to have resources (money transportation, and labor)
This leads to high levels of damage
Pat – the boards for the windows were locked in a storage room and the women could not access it
Reports of targeting by profiteers
Women who spoke little or no English susceptible
Primary caregiver
Irene’s mother-in-law
Children
Pat – single mother and public transportation
Hurricane Andrew
Women returning to work
Irene a social worker – back to work a few days after the even at non-profit family service agency
A year later still had expanding case load
Felt helplessness and depression
Concentration of women in caregiving positions
Caseworkers, nurses, counselors, relief workers, day care worker
Experience “double day” or “second shift”
Clip…
31:00
Hurricane Andrew
Kin Work
Women’s invisible domestic work continues or increases after disasters
Cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, changing diapers, comforting children/elderly (in makeshift camps/tent cities, trailers, half destroyed homes)
Funds were eventually received to provide counseling and stress workshops for employees
Compassion Fatigue
Experienced by individuals involved in helping others
Secondary traumatic stress for the helper
State of tension and preoccupation with the suffering of those being helped
Hurricane Andrew
Health of children and mothers
Women experienced health problems from living in their damaged apartments and neighborhoods with debris
Headaches
Vision problems
Sore throats
Impacted by lack of health facilities
Around 60 health facilities and hospitals damaged
Lack of transportation to health facilities outside of their neighborhoods
Hurricane Andrew
Men
Research shows that men are more likely to withdraw from partners and children
Focus on tasks of rebuilding
Reluctant to talk about feelings or seek help
Increases in male suicide, alcoholism, violence
Age
Individuals under 18 – Children
Individuals 65 years or older – Elderly
What specific issues or vulnerabilities might occur within these two groups?
Children
Youth are more likely to be severely affected by disasters than adults
48% school-age samples had moderate post disaster impairment
52% severe or very severe effects in communities who had suffered a major disaster
30-50% of child survivors likely to develop PTSD symptoms’
Why is it important to account for the mental health of children when looking at recovery?
Hurricane Andrew
Health issues with Children
Respiratory infections
Stomach problems
Allergies
Asthma
Pervasive nervousness
Hurricane Andrew
Possible psychological impacts
Community broken up
Longer commute to school, crowded schools
Over 30 schools severely damaged or destroyed
Relocated again when schools reopened
Loss of peers, school activities, recreational facilities
Graduated from strange schools
Teachers and staff dealing with their own losses
Hurricane Andrew
Loss of recreational facilities
Teenagers did not have places to go
Music stores
Pizza shops
Arcades
Movie Theaters
This can impact socialization of teenagers and children
Increase violence in temporary communities
Psychological Impacts
Disaster survivors experience higher levels of anxiety than the general public
There are common characteristics among those who are more likely to be affected
Psychological Impacts
Age:
18% of children exposed to the trauma of 9/11 experienced stress reactions
Only 27% of those children received counseling at parental request
Middle-aged people have support from friends, family, but are also key caregivers – this can increase stress
Older individuals respond better than expected due to coping skills from life experiences
Exxon Valdez
March 29, 1989
12:04 am – struck a reef
Released 11 million gallons of oil
Storm distributed the oil widely in Prince William Sound
Exxon Valdez
Cordova, AK
Exxon Valdez
Cordova, AK – population 2,500 (increases to more than 3,500 during commercial fishing season)
Today, population is 2,200
Historically – economically dependent on commercial fishing
Cultural heritage of self support (harvesting, hunting, fishing)
Since 1964, no roads connected to outside Alaska communities
1994 – 50% of labor force in fishing and processing
Primary fishing areas initially contaminated and closed (disrupting 1989 fishing season)
Exxon Valdez Impact
Cordova, AK
Fishermen were docked for years (some never returned to fishing)
Businesses bankrupted
Drug and Alcohol abuse increased
Mayor committed suicide
Social networks broke down
Individuals who were paid to participate in cleanup were ostracized by those who were not
Oil still present around Prince William Sound
Psychological Impacts
Loss of social networks impact one’s ability to cope
Building strong social ties prior to disaster can help one cope in the aftermath
How can this be managed in emergency management?
Focusing on reuniting family members
Bringing people together with members of their community to build a support system
Develop support groups
Neighborhood work teams
Community-based recovery committees
Graniteville, SC
2:39 am January 6, 2005
Norfolk Southern Train collided with a parked tank cars (3 carrying chlorine)
11,500 gallons chlorine released
9 people died
554 people complained of respiratory difficulties (75 were admitted to hospitals)
5,400 people evacuated for several days
Quality of Life (Annang et al 2016)
Themes:
Vacancies
Home and Businesses
General feeling of vacant and lifeless community
Economic Decline
Graniteville mill (site of train derailment) was abandoned
Thousands of jobs lost
Quality of Life (Annang et al 2016)
Themes:
Safety
Feeling not secure, possibility for another disaster
The air
Their homes
Could still smell traces of chlorine
Do these themes impact one’s psychological health?
Psychological Impacts
Psychological impacts do not only affect survivors
First responders are also subjects to risks with their psychological health
1995 Oklahoma City Bombing
Firefighters relied on their social networks to help them cope with their experiences
Important to recognize training and support for mental health coping strategies in planning for recovery efforts
Children
Mental health of children can be addressed by reopening schools and child care centers to bring them normalcy
Other factors:
No or limited access to transportation
Unstable living situations
Attendance at school
Financial burdens
Children
Generally recover within 18 months to 3 years after the event
Those at most risk of lengthy recovery:
Highly stressful disasters that involved direct life threat
Significant loss
Separation from parents
Intense parental stress reactions
9/11
Study of 116 children 5 years or younger living or going to school in Manhattan and exposed to high intensity events (seeing the towers collapse, seeing injured or dead bodies witnessing people jumping
Those exposed 5x more likely to suffer from sleep problems and 3x more likely to be depressed or anxious
Elderly
Higher rate of death in disasters
Between 1999 and 2003 – over 40% of those who died in disasters were 65 or older
Only represent 12% of the population
Elderly
Risks:
Live in socially and economically marginalized positions
Unable to increase preparedness (storing food, purchasing emergency first-aid equipment, stockpiling medicines, upgrading their dwellings)
Sensory impairment
Mobility problems
Reduced thermoregulatory capacity
Elderly
Face financial, physical, and emotional obstacles during recovery
Older adults with less severe disruptions, and who have access to sufficient resources/social support are able to cope effectively
Less likely to have adequate savings or insurance coverage
Less likely to qualify for low interest loans
Elderly
Many aid agencies assume that the aid will reach the elderly or family will take care of them
Elderly less likely to receive aid from potential help sources
Relatives, friends, religious organizations, Red Cross, Salvation Army, other voluntary organizations, governmental agencies, employers
In one study, 20% received no aid from those sources
Elderly
Reasons they may not receive aid:
Discrimination against the elderly by government agencies, humanitarian organizations, and communities
Overly bureaucratic agency procedures may discourage them from applying for assistance
May have limited social networks and lack information and support mechanisms to navigate recovery aid applications
Generational emphasis on self-sufficiency and independence
Perceive stigma attached to accepting welfare
Questions
You community has been affected by a hurricane. The hardest hit communities are poorer areas where people live in flood zones and in mobile home communities. In addition, homes on the coast have been flooded by storm surge. There is a push to move the poorer communities away from the flood zones, but surrounding communities are pushing back. In addition, the affected neighborhoods on the coast are not cooperating with elevating their homes. Is there an environmental, social, and/or economic argument that can be used to convince these people that sustainable recovery is in their best interest?
How do your arguments differ with each situation?
Is one situation easier to resolve than the other? Why?
Is one population more vulnerable that the other?
Children of the tsunami
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/children-tsunami/
Film Questions
What were specific issues that this film addressed in the recovery period?
What were challenges specific to the children of the population in recovery?