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What are the consequential socio‐spatial vulnerabilities of fragmentation in flood risk governance (FRG) functions in Tana River County, Kenya? To answer the question, this paper utilises social differentiation theory to establish types and consequences of such fragmentation. It applies theoretical patterns and processes of social differentiation to expose that FRG diversification could result in fragmentation of FRG functions. The study employs an interview strategy that focuses on governmental and non‐governmental FRG actors. The results reveal that fragmented FRG functions in Tana River County was not an intentional policy decision, but rather a product of a transitional vacuum between policy promulgation and implementation. Furthermore, socio‐spatial vulnerabilities differentiated by patterns and processes related to age, gender, disability, and ethnicity, for instance, are consequential outcomes of fragmented FRG functions in the Tana River floodplains. The study recommends implementation of the National Disaster Management Policy in Tana River County and institutionalisation of a specific FRG policy and legal framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breakthroughs in international biomedical science circa 1900 meant that plague could be contained through strict quarantine regulations. These measures were successfully deployed with help from local governments during outbreaks of pneumonic plague in Manchuria (1910–11), Shanxi (1918), and elsewhere in North China. This containment shows the effectiveness of uniting international knowledge and local cooperation in disaster response. Yet, in later outbreaks in similar locations, control measures identical to those instituted a decade earlier were rejected, and plague spread largely unchecked. Historical case studies of the control and spread of infectious disease in North China reveal the complexities of the relationship between global knowledge and its broader, local integration, variation in what constitutes effective 'local' cooperation in adopting international knowledge, and the paramount importance of the locality to the landscape of disaster response. History can reveal critical issues in localisation of disaster response still salient today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abundance of unstructured and loosely structured data on disasters exists and can be analysed using network methods. This paper overviews the use of qualitative data in quantitative social network analysis in disaster research. It discusses two types of networks, each with a relevant major topic in disaster research—that is, (i) whole network approaches to emergency management networks and (ii) personal network approaches to the social support of survivors—and four usable forms of qualitative data. This paper explains five opportunities afforded by these approaches, revolving around their flexibility and ability to account for complex network structures. Next, it presents an empirical illustration that extends the authors' previous work examining the sources and the types of support and barrier experienced by households during long‐term recovery from Hurricane (Superstorm) Sandy (2012), wherein quantitative social network analysis was applied to two qualitative datasets. The paper discusses three challenges associated with these approaches, related to the samples, coding, and bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency declarations are important legal tools for the state to protect itself and its citizens during times of crisis. Such declarations permit the exercise of extraordinary powers to address an emergency or disaster. They present an opportunity to explore policy learning in crises, through the ability to examine emergency declaration instruments and the detail of post‐emergency inquiries and reviews. This paper briefly assesses Australian law that provides for emergency declarations and places it in the context of theories of policy learning and change. Two case studies reveal evidence of policy learning in emergency declaration practice in Australia. There is an emerging practice of using declarations primarily or purely as tools to communicate the seriousness of an emergency. This policy learning has occurred both within and between jurisdictions, including the federal government. This paper also probes opportunities for future research on policy learning and emergency legislation, especially in relation to the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increased research on 'multiple hazards' and 'cascading effects', ambiguity remains concerning terminology. This paper reviews the literature to explore how these two concepts are defined in relation to critical infrastructures and their vital societal functions. Next, it investigates how the concepts are operationalised in Swedish disaster risk management. Findings indicate that regardless of a wealth of methodologies assessing multiple hazards and their cascading effects, these are rarely used by local planners, suggesting a gap between scientific approaches and practical implementation. Research mainly captures multiple hazards and cascading effects through technical parameters related to the severity of a hazard or the direct physical impacts on infrastructure. Less focus has been placed on the wider or knock‐on effects across sectors and how these translate into societal risk. Future research should move beyond traditional understandings of social vulnerabilities as only pre‐existing, to analyse how cascading effects on infrastructure and services can put new social groups at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narratives are a means of making sense of disasters and crises. The humanitarian sector communicates stories widely, encompassing representations of peoples and events. Such communications have been critiqued for misrepresenting and/or silencing the root causes of disasters and crises, depoliticising them. What has not been researched is how such communications represent disasters and crises in Indigenous settings. This is important because processes such as colonisation are often at the origin but are typically masked in communications. A narrative analysis of humanitarian communications is employed here to identify and characterise narratives in humanitarian communications involving Indigenous Peoples. Narratives differ based upon how the humanitarians who produce them think that disasters and crises should be governed. The paper concludes that humanitarian communications reflect more about the relationship between the international humanitarian community and its audience than reality, and underlines that narratives mask global processes that link audiences of humanitarian communications with Indigenous Peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research sought to identify differences in perceived stress and personal resilience across gender, race, and different types of stressors (such as rent or mortgage stress) among a sample of United States residents experiencing the COVID‐19 pandemic. It used a cross‐sectional, convenience sampling design for primary survey data collected over 10 weeks starting in April 2020 (n=374). Independent t‐tests and binary logistic regression were performed to determine statistically significant differences between gender and race for perceived stress and personal resilience and to pinpoint key contributing factors. Results indicate women exhibited higher levels of stress, with non‐IPV (intimate partner violence) reporting women evidencing higher levels of resilience than IPV reporting women. Racial minority women were more likely to experience nutritional stress, whereas White women were more likely to worry about rent or mortgage stress. These findings provide insight into disparate impacts across vulnerable populations at the start of a crisis with implications for improving pre‐ and post‐disaster interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Displacement in the context of disasters and climate change has gained considerable attention in international policy processes pertaining to migration and displacement over the past few years. However, analysis of currently dominant understandings of disaster displacement and its solutions at the global level, and how these translate into practice in relation to operational realities at the national level, remains scarce. This paper seeks to promote greater reflections on the discourse of displacement solutions in the context of disasters and climate change. It examines both the advancements and remaining gaps in approaches to disasters, displacement, and solutions and how these collectively shape the conceptualisation of solutions to disaster displacement. The inquiry sheds light on the dominant framings and their underlying assumptions and highlights the implications that they entail for understanding and responding to disaster displacement. It also underscores the importance of critical engagement with discursive practices at the international and national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disaster survivors are often criticised for being dependent on humanitarian (and development) assistance. This dependency is perceived pejoratively by civil servants and other elites, including non‐governmental organisation staff. Officials offered up such narratives in relation to the disaster response and recovery programmes following the Nepal earthquake of 2015. Using a Bourdieusian framework, and undertaking qualitative inquiry in four earthquake‐affected districts of Nepal, this paper contrasts the official narratives of dependency syndrome with people's perspectives and lived experiences. The findings problematise official discourse. Aid was frequently insufficient, poorly targeted, or non‐existent. Moreover, the Bourdieusian framing highlights the agency of survivors, as their habitus predisposed them to help others. It broadens the notion of assistance and dependence, suggesting that social and cultural (as well as economic) capital are vital resources for recovery. Lastly, it shows that dependencies are not necessarily bad. Greater attention to these non‐economic capitals and 'good dependencies' could expedite recovery from future disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A more anticipatory, pre‐agreed response is a shared goal of many in the disaster management and humanitarian communities. This paper considers the emerging policy landscape of disaster risk financing (DRF), which is taken here to include mechanisms that allow agencies to act in advance of disasters occurring, as well as those that aim to respond earlier to disasters which have already happened. What they both have in common is no longer waiting for needs to become apparent before responding; however, this creates a challenge for practitioners because of the potential for acting erroneously. This paper provides a more cohesive way of understanding approaches in this policy area through the shared challenge of decision‐making under the condition of uncertainty. Drawing on expert interviews and science and technology studies theory, it sets out some recommendations on how practitioners can navigate risk and uncertainty better within DRF and in a more nuanced way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the regions threatened most by natural events owing to the highly vulnerable circumstances of its urban centres. Consequently, its cities are occasionally affected by one or more disaster types, exposing problems of governance and public policy in relation to risk management. The aim of this research is to investigate the factors that influence the design of post‐disaster policies. It hypothesises that in those countries with modes of governance characterised by greater articulation between State and non‐State actors, the design of post‐disaster policies tends to be more coherent. Methodologically, the study proposes a comparative analysis of post‐disaster policies in three countries of the region affected by earthquakes: Haiti and Chile (in 2010) and Ecuador (in 2016). The findings show that co‐governance in Chile resulted in optimal post‐disaster policies, whereas hierarchical governance in the cases of Haiti and Ecuador led to unsuccessful and misdirected post‐disaster policies, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how county‐level emergency management offices (EMOs) used Twitter to communicate with other public agencies and non‐profit and for‐profit organisations before, during, and after Hurricane Irma in 2017. It assesses the strategies that EMOs and other stakeholders employed to communicate risks on Twitter, concluding that its potential has not been fully exploited. EMOs only frequently interacted with a few non‐profit and for‐profit organisations, despite their involvement in emergency communication. While EMOs and other public agencies emphasised information dissemination and called on citizens to act and be prepared for the hurricane, non‐profits tended to stress service and resource‐related information, encouraged others to assist with disaster response, and provided emotional support. For‐profits, meanwhile, actively addressed customers' concerns through direct two‐way communication. Our findings indicate that EMOs should integrate non‐profit and for‐profit organisations' communication efforts, engaging them in important conversations on Twitter and advocating the use of highly relevant hashtags at different disaster management stages [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments' use of social media during all phases of emergency management, especially during disasters, has increased dramatically in the past 20 years. Yet, implementation at the local government level in the United States remains haphazard. As technology and the role of social media evolve, there persists a need to understand the socio‐technical aspects of social media's employment in times of disaster. This study contributes to the growing social media literature by asking the following questions: what challenges remain and what lessons learned are being institutionalised at the local level of government? A qualitative analysis of 26 after action reports on Hurricane Irma (September 2017) by county, state, and federal governments and a four‐hour focus‐group session revealed dominant and subdominant themes, including: push/pull information; capacity and technical issues; inconsistent messaging; one‐way versus two‐way communication; timing of messages; and data collection. The paper concludes by discussing lessons learned, remaining challenges, evidence of organisational learning, and recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent does voluntary association participation correlate with reduced Ebola duration in districts of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone during the epidemic in West Africa in 2013–16? This study, the first cross‐national quantitative analysis of Ebola outcomes across these countries, answers this question by investigating how social capital influences epidemic outcomes. Ebola virus disease struck along the borders of three countries with similar levels of human development as well as cultural practices, yet resulted in different outcomes. This study examines the role of social trust, political trust, voluntary association participation, religious organisation membership, and community meeting attendance in explaining international policy failure to reduce Ebola outcomes. Overall, in districts with a culture of raising issues and participating in voluntary and religious organisations, Ebola duration rates were lower. These findings have implications not only for health crisis response, but also for disaster response and the provision of international aid to civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is among the first pieces of work to use the comprehensive school safety (CSS) framework to assess the impacts of floods on quality learning and education infrastructure. The CSS framework is employed here to identify the level of disruption to education services following floods in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2013. The paper poses three key questions, concerning: (i) disruption to children's access to quality education during the flood emergency in 2013 and the early recovery phase; (ii) the impact of the floods on a school's physical infrastructure; and (iii) the effectiveness and level of success of the 2013 flood responses by relevant stakeholders. Combining quantitative and qualitative strategies, the paper examines the experiences of 100 schools in Jakarta. The findings suggest that the CSS framework offers a more nuanced approach to assessing post‐disaster education needs. Moreover, it is also relevant for examining the relationship between the COVID‐19 pandemic and relative losses in the education sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dramatic alterations to the natural environment due to human activity have produced a permanent rupture in the Earth system; the relative stable epoch of the Holocene has given way to a volatile Anthropocene. Acceptance of these claims means that we now live in this altered physical reality, inviting us to rethink how we conceptualise disasters. Yet, disaster scholars have been hesitant to apply the Anthropocene label and to acknowledge the profound changes that it can bring to the study of disasters. This paper queries whether this label is a necessary adage or unnecessary baggage for disaster studies by examining the possibilities and the challenges associated with engaging with the Anthropocene. An analysis of the concepts, causes, and consequences of disasters reveals how the Anthropocene provides, as the very least, a theoretical heuristic for challenging linear temporal assumptions, the epistemological status of uncertainty, and the location of agency in disaster studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behind humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts are governance networks of actors working together to facilitate, coordinate, and deliver joint aid and response initiatives. Militaries are key stakeholders in these networks because of their unique capabilities, particularly in Southeast Asia. This paper explores the role of military governance networks in shaping HADR affairs. It presents a framework for examining military‐to‐military relational structures in humanitarian and disaster contexts using network theory and social network analysis. It also assesses the nature of military ties and their influence on two capability areas essential to humanitarian activities in the region: (i) the distribution of military assets and equipment used in HADR; and (ii) the coordination of HADR exercises and training. This paper seeks to provide insights into how governance network features and properties affect the capacity of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) militaries to use available resources efficiently and to achieve shared objectives in regional disaster response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of indigenous knowledge in increasing context specificity and exposing blind spots in scientific understanding is widely evidenced in disaster studies. This paper aims to structure the processes that shape indigenous knowledge production and its optimisation using the case of floods. An inductive analytical approach is applied among riparian indigenous communities (focus on the Bayira) of the Rwenzori region of Uganda where plenty of indigenous flood practices have been recorded. Indigenous knowledge of floods is found to be based on intimate comprehension of local hydrometeorological regularities. Insofar as these regularities follow natural dynamics, indigenous socio‐epistemic processes are noted to be consistent with the laws of nature. Coupled with regular open sociocultural deliberations, the conceptualisation of hydrometeorological regularities induces an indigenous ontology and empiricist epistemology. This, together with the techniques used, is the driver of crucial epistemic virtues which enable indigenous knowledge to provide disaster solutions that are adapted, pragmatic, and holistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: decolonisation; indigenous and local knowledge; people's science; scientific knowledge; Western knowledge; hegemony; epistemology; culture; language; methodology; ethics; publishing; orientalism1 EN decolonisation indigenous and local knowledge people's science scientific knowledge Western knowledge hegemony epistemology culture language methodology ethics publishing orientalism1 1121 1126 6 09/14/22 20221001 NES 221001 Introduction Who defines the research objectives of studies on disasters? Decolonisation of knowledge is central to the entire decolonisation project as much as the colonisation of knowledge was the main instrument of colonisation. Knowledge production is no longer confined to hegemonic Western science: decolonisation has advanced to recognise and legitimise all other epistemologies, methodologies, or approaches, including those previously marginalised local, traditional, or indigenous forms of knowledge or knowledge systems. [Extracted from the article]

This paper presents the findings of a review of academic literature concerning the degree to which corruption worsens disasters triggered by natural hazards in the built environment. The research employed a 'systematic literature review' methodology to analyse leading academic databases, resulting in a detailed analysis of 59 peer‐reviewed, published papers. It found that while much of the literature focuses on earthquakes (relating to building and infrastructure collapse), the quality of governance, and the drivers of corruption, there is presently very limited scholarship on the general scope, reach, and scale with respect to how disasters are worsened by corruption. It is notable that the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 and a number of other high‐level reports fail to mention corruption. The paper argues that this serious gap in understanding and expressing how corruption increases vulnerability in the built environment within disaster studies perversely supports the furtherance of corruption in worsening disasters [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding to disasters triggered by natural hazards is a deeply political process, but it is usually presented by practitioners as an apolitical endeavour. This is striking when disasters occur in authoritarian and politically highly polarised conflict‐affected settings. Although the literature provides leads as to why and how humanitarians depoliticise aid, there has been little empirical research on the implications of depoliticisation, especially at the community level. Based on qualitative fieldwork that focused on the drought responses that overlapped with the 2016–19 sociopolitical crises in Zimbabwe, this paper details the practices, motivations, and implications of humanitarian depoliticisation. It differentiates between strategic, coerced, and routine managerial depoliticisation, and argues that, in an authoritarian conflict‐affected setting, depoliticisation strategically allows state and non‐state actors to defuse sensitive issues and actor relations and to remain safe. However, depoliticisation can also have implications for information management, monitoring, accountability, and protection, and thus ultimately for upholding humanitarian principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussions on how humanitarian aid and disaster responses can link better with development and disaster risk reduction (DRR) have occurred for decades. However, the reverse transition, from development to relief, is still poorly understood. Using the case of Yemen, this study analyses whether and how development and DRR activities adapted to the emerging humanitarian crisis when conflict escalated in the country. It concentrates on governance strategies, actors, challenges, and opportunities at the nexus of development, disaster, and humanitarian responses. Semi‐structured interviews and focus‐group discussions with aid and societal actors were conducted remotely and in Jordan. The findings show gaps in knowledge and coordination in the movement from development and DRR to relief, but also reveal spaces and opportunities to advance towards enhanced integration of action before, during, and after an emergency. This paper contributes to the literature on this nexus and critically argues for a more integrated approach to conflicts and disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LGBTQ+ communities comprise 16 million individuals in the United States, yet this population is often rendered invisible within disaster policies. Bias in federal disaster response programmes, a lack of recognition of LGBTQ+ families, and the prevalence of faith‐based organisations in disaster relief services together heighten the risks that LGBTQ+ individuals face. This paper describes the ways in which this reality combines with the contextual vulnerability of LGBTQ+ communities, whereby existing inequalities and marginalisation are exacerbated during disasters and in their aftermath. As a result, the immediate trauma of a disaster, such as physical injury or the loss of loved ones or possessions, is compounded in multiple ways for LGBTQ+ individuals, making them less likely to benefit from disaster relief services. To address these inequalities, the paper concludes with a set of policy recommendations to inform prevention, mitigation, and recovery planning, as well as to reduce the impacts of disasters on LGBTQ+ individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volcanoes are talked about as if they are one and the same thing. If they are differentiated, they are referred to as active or inactive, and classified according to their structure and composition. Volcanoes, however, do not mean the same thing to all people. Mount Mayon in Albay province, Philippines, is a case in point. Through interviews with a volcanologist, an engineer, a politician, a historian, and a local resident, this paper explores what people think a volcano is and the risks it poses. These informants do not share a common narrative. Their personal storylines are embedded in public narratives that are fixed in time and place, and master narratives that reflect the social values and standards of their group or profession. How stories are told, what is said, and the context within which they emerge constitute an institutional narrative that is important to understanding better how people perceive risk and improving disaster risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noting the frequency of tropical storm hazards and related disasters within the Caribbean, this paper initially highlights the relatively short average period of 'storm awareness timing' in the region, less than 24 hours, with variations in time and space. Next, it evaluates the results of a survey on communicating disaster risk by a range of participants at the 2016 Wet/Hurricane Season Caribbean Community Climate Outlook Forum in Dominica. Respondents commented that there may be a 'weekend effect' possibly hindering quick action and suggested that improved institutional support was needed to use climate information better. Analysis of these two datasets in tandem offers a unique understanding of whether the timing of events may contribute to limitations on responses by local authorities. Lastly, the paper ends with insights into how this research can assist regional authorities in enhancing and utilising climate information for disaster risk reduction, as well as by indicating where critical issues remain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a region beset by serial disasters, resilient recovery from hazardous events is not just a worthy goal, it is also an imperative. Fast-forward to 2017, and two Category 5 hurricanes, Irma and Maria, devastate many islands in the Caribbean, prompting governments to use BBB once again, but this time to refer to nationally-driven recovery agendas. The premise of the network is that transformational shifts can only be achieved if lessons from past events are institutionalised through joint analysis, reflection, and dialogue on recovery processes, producing a fundamental change in the way that recovery is understood and supported across the Caribbean. "Building back better": a slogan and a symbol The term "building back better" (BBB) represents a normative view of recovery, and one that has undoubtedly influenced recovery policies in the Caribbean (Wilkinson, Twigg, and Few, 2018). [Extracted from the article]

There is growing expectation that local volunteers will play a more integrated role in disaster response, yet emergent volunteer groups are often 'outsiders' to crisis management. Questions have been raised, therefore, about how emergent groups can forge relationships with established response agencies. This paper analyses how the Student Volunteer Army, as an emergent group, gained 'authority to operate' after the earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand, in 2010–11. It traces how the volunteers accrued authority through multiple sources of permission and credibility and demonstrates the possibility for established response agencies and emergent groups to generate impactful and mutually supportive relationships. However, the analysis also points to two interrelated tensions that can arise, regarding the terms by which emergent groups are recognised, and the 'distance' considered necessary between the two parties. The discussion considers the implications for inclusiveness, risk, and responsibility of further integrations of emergent volunteers in disaster response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses volcanic eruptions on the Caribbean islands of Montserrat and Saint Vincent to explore the role that British colonial rule in the past and near past (1800–2000) has played in response to and recovery from hazardous events, and in turn, the influence that the nature of the hazards has on these responses. It shows that systemic vulnerabilities to natural hazards have been created by inadequate aid responses and longer‐term chronic problems and demonstrates that hazard impacts are compounded by them. Vulnerabilities could be reduced by analysing integrated hazard impacts to generate mitigative measures across hazards and identify actions that more closely match timescales of political decision‐making. Incorporating local knowledge and experience into risk analysis will enable the most effective use of aid resources, ahead of emergencies. Finally, coupling aid for long‐term development with emergency response would improve outcomes and adaptation to longer‐term vulnerabilities in immediate rebuilding and short‐term recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child‐centred disaster risk reduction aims to reduce child vulnerability and increase resilience to disasters. The 2015 Comprehensive School Safety Framework (CSSF) sought to decrease hazard risks to education. Between 2015 and 2017, Dominica was struck by Tropical Storm Erika and Hurricane Maria, which significantly affected the education system at the local and national scales. Since Maria, a couple of national initiatives (Safer Schools and Smart Schools) have been introduced to increase resilience and meet the CSSF's objectives. This paper assesses progress made through a qualitative analysis of interviews with 29 school leaders, government officials, and disaster risk reduction stakeholders. Implementation of the climate resilience programme in 2018 resulted in nationwide teacher training and production of school disaster plans. Limited successes have improved social resilience, but short‐term implementation due to COVID‐19 and a lack of a teacher knowledge base have presented challenges to the scheme's long‐term sustainability and the implementation of the CSSF's goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goals have included cultural heritage in the development agenda. However, natural hazards threaten the existence of several historic districts, like Intramuros in Manila, Philippines. Pre‐disaster recovery planning has gained ground as a promising approach to improve disaster preparedness and recovery, although it has yet to be widely utilised for cultural heritage preservation. The authors organised a pre‐disaster recovery planning workshop, which helped observe the existing system of disaster management for cultural heritage in Intramuros. Heritage Values and Vulnerability Assessments, which were presented to heritage experts, disaster managers, and the local community at the workshop, were conducted. As disaster risk management for cultural heritage is largely unexplored, the workshop generated much interest among stakeholders, as this was the first time that contact had been facilitated among them. It successfully demonstrated the benefits of pre‐disaster recovery planning to provide inclusive and better recovery outcomes for historic districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While social vulnerability in the face of disasters has received increasing academic attention, relatively little is known about the extent to which that knowledge is reflected in practice by institutions involved in disaster management. This study charts the practitioners' approaches to disaster vulnerability in eight European countries: Belgium; Estonia; Finland; Germany; Hungary; Italy; Norway; and Sweden. It draws on a comparative document analysis and 95 interviews with disaster managers and reveals significant differences across countries in terms of the ontology of vulnerability, its sources, reduction strategies, and the allocation of related duties. To advance the debate and provide conceptual clarity, we put forward a heuristic model to facilitate different understandings of vulnerability along the dimensions of human agency and technological structures as well as social support through private relations and state actors. This could guide risk analysis of and planning for major hazards and could be adapted further to particular types of disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergencies continue to become ever more complex; responding to them, therefore, often is beyond the capabilities and capacities of any single public agency. Hence, collaboration among these actors is necessary to prepare for, respond to, and recover from such events. This seldom occurs in an effective or efficient manner, however. Drawing on resource dependence theory and the concept of social capital, this paper reveals that different types of collaborative relationships exist within the collaborative network. Super Ministry Reform of Emergency Management in China serves as a case in point. By evaluating network efficiency and classifying the collaborative relationships of involved government agencies, four types are identified: resource‐redundant; resource‐complementary; resource‐dependent; and resource‐isolated. The different influences of collaborative relationships explain why the reform is not that effective, although it has led to the merger of several core departments in the emergency management network. The findings are a reminder to consider network structure and collaboration types when engaging in institutional design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The general public's understanding of disasters is influenced by the portrayal of such events in popular culture. Disaster films have remained a core attraction in this regard. A systematic assessment of the most recent disaster film cycle (that is, from January 2000–December 2019) is warranted, therefore, to gain insights into the current landscape of the genre and to comprehend better the imagery that people encounter onscreen. This study evaluated 173 disaster films and found that most depict natural hazards and global catastrophes despite films about monsters and smaller‐scale disasters being the most popular. It provides a foundation for future research on the relevance of disaster films to disaster scholarship and emergency management practice. And it offers a starting point to analyse the role of disaster films in shaping the meaning and experience of disasters, generally, and the layperson's understanding of disasters and emergency management, including expectations of responder agencies and organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small businesses are critical to community recovery from disasters. However, factors that affect outcomes (such as planning, information needs, and responses to warnings) are understudied. To address the research record's focus on policy that favours disaster mitigation rather than response, this project applied a two‐phased, mixed‐method approach. The first study comprised interviews with businesses to elucidate disaster planning approaches, knowledge and information needs, and current warning system adequacy. It revealed opportunities to build knowledge and add business‐specific content to agency‐issued warnings. The second study used an online survey to examine how disaster knowledge, planning, and experience are related to existing bushfire warnings and those modified with business‐relevant content. The findings show that planning is associated with experience and knowledge but not with business‐related protective action intentions. Modified messages were perceived as more effective and resulted in greater action intentions among those with bushfire experience. In sum, the paper highlights implications for small business‐oriented disaster risk communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Winston (2016) on rural Indo‐Fijians and their response to the devastation. Studies have previously examined how rural communities in Pacific Island countries respond to severe climatic events, arguing that traditional knowledge of the climate, together with indigenous techniques, contribute substantially to recovery from a disaster. Strong communal bonds have also been identified as an influencing factor. Disaster risk reduction frameworks often assume the availability of such knowledge and capital. Yet, little research has been done on how minority groups with limited access to such knowledge and capital cope with disaster‐related damage. The current study shows that rural Indo‐Fijians responded to the consequences of Tropical Cyclone Winston differently to indigenous Fijians, owing to relatively limited access to traditional awareness of the climate, communal labour sharing, and intra‐ and/or inter‐community networks. The findings point to the necessity to implement a more inclusive disaster risk reduction framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response to the earthquakes in Nepal on 25 April and 12 May 2015 was as overwhelming as the magnitude of the events themselves. Tensions between the humanitarian imperative and the post‐conflict state‐building agenda soon became evident. Many actors offered support by creatively complying with the state's approach, whereas others bypassed official channels completely. In post‐conflict settings such as Nepal, the situation is especially complicated because of the contradiction between policies underscoring the importance of the state in the response and the reality of the fragility of the state, which often leads to the significant involvement of aid organisations. The post‐conflict political landscape of Nepal shaped the contours of the response, as well as how actors decided to operate within them. This paper, based on empirical findings from four months of research, contributes to a better understanding of the intricacies of the post‐conflict and post‐disaster nexus in the context of a state‐led response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to investigate what women do in disaster situations and how both men and women perceive and discuss the work of women. These patterns were evidenced in the stories that were told following the largest forest fire in the modern history of Sweden in July 2014. The study is based on 31 retrospective interviews with volunteers involved in combating the forest fire and concentrates on stories about the supportive work of women during this disaster. The results indicate that women were praised when they followed traditional norms but were denigrated when they performed what were viewed as male‐coded tasks. The stories reveal norms concerning what a woman is and is not by focusing on women's age and clothing and by directly and indirectly questioning their abilities and authority. The norms are also rendered visible by the positive attention that women receive while describing doing what is expected of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid‐19 crises in the United Kingdom and the United States show how democracies may struggle to confront disasters that are increasingly impinging on the Global North. This paper highlights the extent to which disasters are now 'coming home' to Western democracies and it looks at some of the principal reasons why democracy has not been especially protective, at least in the case of the UK and the US. These include: reconceptualising disaster as a good thing (via 'herd immunity'); the influence of neoliberalism; and the limitations in the circulation of information. A key pandemic‐related danger is the conclusion that democracy itself is discredited. Disasters, though, call for a reinvigoration of democracy, not a knee‐jerk invocation of autocratic 'emergency' rule. A fundamental problem in the UK and US is that these countries were not democratic enough. The paper underlines the risk of a move towards a disaster‐producing system that is self‐reinforcing rather than self‐correcting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used the Disablement Process framework to examine how exposure to the great east Japan earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011 was related to elders' experiences of disability—that is, 'a gap between personal capability and environmental demand' (Verbrugge and Jette, 1994, p. 1). Data were derived from two waves (2009 and 2013) of the Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging, involving a representative sample of citizens aged 65 or more. Logistic regression was employed to model how the disaster was associated with the prevalence and incidence of disability. A significant relationship was documented between the two. Those impacted by the event exhibited greater odds of reporting a disability in 2013 and developing one between 2009 and 2013. Disasters destroy social infrastructure and disrupt daily life, widening the lacuna between the environment and personal resources. Given the increasing number of disasters, more policy attention should be directed to reducing their adverse consequences for health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the role of non‐established relief groups (NERGs) and their involvement in the response to Hurricane Irma after it struck the state of Florida, United States, in September 2017. Its principal goal is to discover more about the engagement of NERGs in disaster response, as well as their motivations and their coordination with other emergency management agencies. The findings of a review of after‐action reports and the outcomes of interviews with NERGs and other established organisations suggest that these groups often work with previously established networks. Many of the emergent type of NERGs have not worked with any established organisations prior to a disaster; frequently, therefore, they reach out to other emergent groups to acquire information and coordinate relief efforts. Given that emergent actors tend to lack a strict hierarchical structure for decision‐making and coordination, there is a need to enhance communication between NERGs and established response bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year, thousands of people around the world who face unequal access to political and social power and resources lose their lives and/or livelihoods in natural hazard events. As a result, the reduction of vulnerability has become a central concern of humanitarian actors. This paper analyses the impact of humanitarian assistance on vulnerabilities in Nepal following the Gorkha earthquake on 25 April 2015. The causes and manifestations of vulnerability before and after the disaster are determined through the application of the Pressure and Release model and the adoption of a mixed‐methods research approach. The findings of the study reveal that 20 months after the earthquake, humanitarian assistance had not had any long‐term positive influences on the root causes of the phenomenon, and that vulnerabilities at the micro level could be resolved in part. To diminish the extent of disasters in the future, however, the fundamental reasons for the vulnerability have to be addressed better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploratory study investigates the relationships between the disaster preparedness of citizens and cultural factors in Romania and Malta. With regard to methodology, quantitative and qualitative data were collected during two Citizen Summits, which consisted of a real‐time survey and focus group discussions. The results point to two specific cultural factors that may bridge this 'gap' and be operationalised to enhance people's readiness for a disaster event. In Malta, the findings reveal how community cohesion is altered from a personal to a cultural value, which has the potential to encourage the transformation of preparedness intentions into actual preparedness behaviour. In Romania, meanwhile, the findings highlight the ambivalent aspects of trusting behaviour as a cultural norm on the one hand, and distrust in authorities based on experience and unmet expectations on the other hand. Social media use may reduce this tension between trust and distrust, and thus foster successful disaster risk‐related communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on what materialised during recovery operations following the earthquake in L'Aquila, Italy, on 6 April 2009. Previous critiques have focused on the actions of the Government of Italy and the Department of Civil Protection (Protezione Civile), with little attention paid to the role of local authorities. This analysis sheds light on how the latter used emergency powers, the command‐and‐control approach, and top‐down planning to manage the disaster context, especially in terms of removal of rubble, implementing safety measures, and allocating temporary accommodation. It discusses how these arrangements constituted the mechanism via which 'disaster capitalism' took hold at the local and national level, and how it violated human rights, produced environmental and social impacts, hindered local communities from learning, transforming, and building resilience, and facilitated disaster capitalism and corruption. To make the disaster risk reduction and resilience paradigm more effective, a shift from centralised civil protection to decentralised, inclusive community empowerment systems is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Law is acknowledged as playing an important role in the growing field of disaster resilience. Still, a detailed inquiry into the possible relationships between law and disaster resilience remains largely absent from the discourse. This paper explores how legal thinking, approaches, and instruments can act as 'tools' in altering the nature and conditions of disaster risks. It looks at how state institutions can wield them and non‐state actors employ them to participate in processes of change. Moving beyond a resilience literature that has tended to focus on law in terms of statutes, regulations, and human rights, this paper examines the ways in which legal reasoning, procedure, and substantive law can be instrumentalised to resist shocks, provoke incremental adjustments, or even foment transformational shifts in underlying risk conditions. It concludes by suggesting that law can offer both a breadth of insights for reconceptualising how power influences resilience and a number of instruments for challenging these power structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to understand how local emergency managers perceive and define social vulnerability. There has been a significant increase recently in the amount of research on social vulnerability, yet little is known about the extent to which that knowledge is being translated into practice. To address this void, the authors conducted semi‐structured interviews with a sample of local emergency managers (N=24), asking them to describe what social vulnerability means to them. The analysis identified four primary perspectives on social vulnerability prevalent in the sample, pertaining to: (i) culture and poverty; (ii) a moral imperative; (iii) a lack of security; and (iv) a lack of knowledge and awareness. Although these practitioner viewpoints may not align perfectly with the definitions of social vulnerability predominant in the hazards and disasters literature, the results of this study do suggest a possible narrowing of the gap between research and practice as it relates to social vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post‐disaster business return is key to restoring the local economy. This paper applies a duration model to analyse factors that explain the delay in reopening a business in south Texas, United States, after Hurricane Harvey struck the region in August 2017. Other than property damage, the duration of business closure depended on the type of business and the various characteristics of its owner. Reflecting the vital role that social capital plays in disaster resilience, local chamber of commerce members tended to reopen their businesses sooner than their non‐member counterparts. Yet, there is evidence in support of the vulnerability of female chamber members. In addition to social networks, the finding of spatial interdependence implies that the decision of business owners to resume operations in the wake of a disaster is influenced by the decisions of their neighbours. Spatial interdependence also highlights the importance of providing disaster relief to businesses in a timely manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post‐disaster resettlement narratives encapsulate the complex mobile–spatial processes that are embedded in a post‐disaster context. The existing literature on disaster relocation and resettlement accords primacy to the logistical, practical, structural, and physical dimensions of residential transitioning. Building on this knowledge, this study conducted a spatial narrative inquiry to generate a link to mobile–spatial realities interspersed in diverse temporal trajectories. It did so by tracking the embodied rhythms of people and objects evoked through the retelling of post‐disaster resettlement stories by 12 young Filipino women informal settlers. The key findings are organised in three spatial narratives: 'house near the sea'; 'there at the bunkhouse'; and 'here in Ridgeview'. These narratives are anchored in the overarching dimensions that underpin Filipino informal settlers' experiences of (not) moving in and out of disaster resettlement areas. Lastly, the findings are explained in the light of the theoretical, empirical, and practical implications of disaster resettlement specific to informal settlers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess the multi‐level effects of natural hazards on trust in Chinese society. Drawing on the Chinese General Social Survey conducted in 2012 and provincial disaster damage records, it examined the association between individuals' past experiences of disasters and province‐level damage (measured by the number of affected people, deaths, and economic loss) and various forms of trust: in‐group; out‐group; generalised; and political. The findings indicate that Chinese individuals with experience of disasters have higher levels of out‐group trust but lower levels of political trust. Similarly, at the province level, damage owing to disasters over the past three years (2009–11) positively impacted on residents' out‐group trust while negatively affecting their political trust. However, when provincial damage was aggregated for disasters over the past five years (2007–11), which included the devastating Sichuan earthquake on 12 May 2008, only total deaths had a positive effect on generalised trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disaster education outcomes are highly dependent on the political context of that education. Based on a rich, in‐depth case study of the creation of community monitors in a landslide and flood‐prone city in southeast Brazil, this paper demonstrates how developmental and political environments add much additional nuance to existing theories of behaviourist and transformative education for disaster preparedness and mitigation. Beyond identifying the benefits of education, it argues that disaster risk reduction outcomes are reliant on governance frameworks that alter over time. The study reveals the political complexity associated with programme implementation and cites the perspectives of a number of participants. Disaster education is shown to be the necessary yet underappreciated twin of the militarised and technical approaches that dominate disaster response in Brazil. Understated, however, is education's situatedness: how it can become an arena of conflict between government and civil actors over matters of state and society in increasingly hazardous urbanisation settings in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disasters have the potential to act as focusing events, which can increase the amount of attention on disaster‐related problems and encourage policy action. Understanding of the political characteristics of disaster policymaking is underdeveloped, yet it is known that these features may be dissimilar to those of non‐disaster policy areas, especially concerning the coalitions of policy actors engaged in the disaster policy process. Coalitions in the realm of disaster policy processes may be less likely to form, may look very different, and may have different goals than those in non‐disaster domains. Knowledge of the emergence, composition, and purpose of coalitions in disaster policy is lacking. This paper draws on prior theory and case observations to define and describe the characteristics of a disaster policy subsystem and to build a typology of coalitions that may appear within such a subsystem, providing a foundation upon which scholars can work to study coalition dynamics in disaster policy subsystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]