Dj stallings cause of death

WHAT IS A DISASTER?

WHAT IS A DISASTER?

New Answers to Old Questions

Ronald W. Perry

E.L. Quarantelli

Editors

Copyright © 2005 by International Research Committee on Disasters.

Library of Congress Number: 2004195094

ISBN : Hardcover 1-4134-7986-3 Softcover 1-4134-7985-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission

in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact: Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com Orders@Xlibris.com 27509

CONTENTS

Contributors ..............................................................................11 Forward ......................................................................................13 Introduction ..............................................................................19

PART I

1: An Interpretation Of Disaster In Terms Of Changes In Culture, Society And International Relations

David Alexander ...........................................................25

2: Are We Asking The Right Question? Susan L. Cutter .............................................................39

3: Disaster: A “Reality” Or Construct”? Perspective From The “East”

Rohit Jigyasu ................................................................49

4: What’s A Word? Opening Up The Debate Neil R. Britton .............................................................60

5: Not Every Move Is A Step Forward: A Critique Of David Alexander, Susan L. Cutter, Rohit Jigyasu And Neil Britton

Wolf R. Dombrowsky ...................................................79

6: The Meaning Of Disaster: A Reply To Wolf Dombrowsky

David Alexander ...........................................................97

7: Pragmatism And Relevance: A Response To Wolf R. Dombrowsky

Susan L. Cutter .......................................................... 104

8: Defining The Definition For Addressing The “Reality” Rohit Jigyasu ............................................................. 107

9: Dog Or Demon? Neil R. Britton .......................................................... 113

PART II

10: Disaster And Collective Stress Allen H. Barton ......................................................... 125

11: From Crisis To Disaster: Towards An Integrative Perspective

Arjen Boin .................................................................. 153

12: Disaster: Mandated Definitions, Local Knowledge And Complexity

Philip Buckle ............................................................. 173

13: In The Eyes Of The Beholder? Making Sense Of The System(s) Of Disaster(s)

Denis Smith ............................................................... 201

14: Disaster, Crisis, Collective Stress, And Mass Deprivation

Robert Stallings ......................................................... 237

15: A Response To Robert Stallings: Ideal Type Concepts And Generalized Analytic Theory

Allen H. Barton ......................................................... 275

16: Back To Nature? A Reply To Stallings Arjen Boin .................................................................. 280

17: Response To Robert Stallings Philip Buckle ............................................................. 286

18: Through A Glass Darkly: A Response To Stallings Denis Smith ............................................................... 292

PART III

19: Disasters, Definitions And Theory Construction Ronald W. Perry ......................................................... 311

20: A Social Science Research Agenda For The Disasters Of The 21st Century: Theoretical, Methodological And Empirical Issues And Their Professional Implementation

E. L. (Henry) Quarantelli ........................................ 325

Bibliography ........................................................................... 397

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Globalization, modernity and their implications for disaster .......................................... 207

Table 2. Elements of the crisis timeline ................................. 219

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Disaster: towards an initial construction ................ 209 Figure 2. Elements of disaster research .................................. 214 Figure 3. Towards a root definition of disaster ...................... 223 Figure 4. Shifting definitions of the disaster

process in three stages ............................................ 225 Figure 5. Space-place-time and the development

of disaster potential ................................................ 228 Figure 6. Learning and the incubation

process within disasters .......................................... 229 Figure 7. Issues for disaster research ...................................... 235

In memory of Fred Bates and Ritsuo Akimoto,

Disaster Research Pioneers

11

CONTRIBUTORS

David Alexander is Scientific Director of the Region of Lombardy School of Civil Protection, based in Milan, Italy. [the.catastrophe@virgin.net]

Allen H. Barton was for many years a Professor of Sociology and Director of the Bureau of Applied Social Research at Columbia University, and has retired to North Carolina at 118 Wolf ’s Trail, Chapel Hill, NC 27516 USA. [allenbarton@mindspring.com]

Arjen Boin is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Public Administration, Leiden University, The Netherlands. [Boin@fsw.leidenuniv.nl]

Neil R. Britton is Team Leader (International Disaster Reduction Strategies Research) and EqTAP Project Chief Coordinator, at the Earthquake Disaster Mitigation Research Centre, National Research Institute of Earth Sciences and Disaster Prevention, Kobe, Japan. [neil@edm.bosai.go.jp].

Philip Buckle is a Senior Lecturer in the Coventry Centre for Disaster Management, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry CV1 5FB United Kingdom. [p.buckle@coventry.ac.uk]

Susan L. Cutter is a Carolina Distinguished Professor and Director of the Hazards Research in the Department of Geography at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208 USA. [scutter@sc.edu]

Wolf R. Dombrowsky is Director of the Katastrophenfor- schungsstelle (KFS) [Disaster Research Unit], Christian- Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Olshausenstraße 40, Kiel D- 24098, Germany. [wdombro@soziologie.uni-kiel.de]

12 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

Rohit Jigyasu is a conservation architect and planner and visiting faculty in the Department of Architectural Conservation, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, India. [rohitjigyasu72@yahoo.com]

Ronald W. Perry is Professor of Public Affairs in the School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 USA [ron.perry@asu.edu]

E. L. Quarantelli is Emeritus Professor at the Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, USA. [elqdrc@udel.edu]

Denis Smith is Professor of Management and Director of the Management School at the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. [denis.smith@liverpool.ac.uk]

Robert A. Stallings is Professor of Public Policy and Sociology, Program in Public Policy, School of Policy, Planning, and Development, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0626, USA. [rstallin@usc.edu]

13

FORWARD

T. Joseph Scanlon Professor Emeritus and Director,

Emergency Communications Research Unit, Carleton University

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I received a phone call from Canada’s public radio system, the CBC, asking me to comment on the terrorist attack on the United States. I said among other things that New York City had enormous resources and that these resources would give it the resilience needed to cope with and recover from the events of that day. My host was to say the least skeptical. Mesmerized by the visuals of the planes hitting the towers and the towers collapsing, she was—at least at that moment—incapable of grasping the concept of resilience or of what Susan Cutter might call an “affordable disaster”.

This volume—What is a Disaster? Perspectives on the Question— is the fourth volume in our series of books on disaster, the second to tackle the definition of disaster. Reading it, I was struck by how much of the debate was—or so it seemed to me—influenced by awareness of various events and how much of that awareness was media related. That was of course especially true of 9/11, an event which most, but not all of the contributors to this volume, felt compelled to mention, and an event that was not even in the back of our minds when the first volume was published, yet an event that has changed the way many think about disaster. As Neil Britton writes: “ . . . the fundamentals of conventional organized emergency

14 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

management are now about fifty years old. During that period, the practice of emergency management has changed from an essentially reactive and response-focused command-and-control civil defence approach, which grew out of the 1940s World War II and 1950s Korean War eras, phased into a comprehensive and integrated approach during the late 1970s, and from the 1990s started to re-emerge around the twin concepts of risk management and sustainable hazard mitigation.” However, recent events connected with highly organized terrorist attacks in different parts of the world, most notably in the USA whereby a strong reaction has resulted in its lead disaster agency being subsumed into a federal homeland security mega-department, might see this latest transformation being short-lived in favour of a replay of earlier cycles.

Ron Perry makes the importance of 9/11 similarly clear: “As we move into the new century, the experience with terrorism has challenged both governments and disaster researchers. In the United States, all levels of government have invested substantial resources in emergency management, with much of that devoted to terrorism consequence management. With the investment of resources, governments expect more from the community of disaster researchers. To answer such questions regarding the need for and implementation of warning systems, appropriate mitigation measures, tactics for response and recovery, researchers need to have a firm grasp on what a disaster is and what it is not.”

There is no question 9/11 has become important in our struggle to find an acceptable definition of disaster. Yet reading this book made me reflect not so much on 9/ll and its significance but on the agenda setting role of the mass media in determining what we think about and write about. Everett Rogers and Rahul Sood raised this issue when they discussed the way American media—in fact most of the world’s media—ignored the Sahel drought. Phil Buckle touches on it when he mentions the attention given to the heat wave that led to 10,000 deaths in France in 2003. “There is now [Buckle writes] broad acceptance at political and community levels that heat waves are disasters. But heat waves have been with us

15WHAT IS A DISASTER?

since time immemorial. So why the change now to move heat wave from a weather condition to a disaster?” The role of media possibly—but this begs the question—why were the media interested? Why is heat wave now a disaster when a year ago it was not? Eric Klinenberg’s book Heat Wave underlines the importance of this question. Though the heat wave in Chicago costs more lives than the Northridge earthquake, Hurricane Andrew or the bombing at Oklahoma City, there were many debates in Chicago newsrooms about its news value and whether it was truly a disaster. Certainly, Barton makes clear that the absence of media attention explains why some events have not become significant in our attempts to explain how we perceive disaster:

Media coverage of human suffering in countries with authoritarian regimes is subject to government censorship and control of both domestic and outside news media. The outstanding example is the largest famine in modern history in which somewhere around 30,000,000 Chinese died in 1958-61 as a result of Maoist mismanagement. The famine was kept secret within the country and from the outside world, and indeed the highest levels of government refused to accept information on it and continued to demand extraction of food from the starving areas. Other examples of “secret famines” come from the Stalinist dictatorship in the Soviet Union. In the 1930s the government created the Ukraine famine to wipe out peasant resistance to collectivization, and a similar famine right after World War II, in both of which millions died under conditions of secrecy and state terror. The British colonial government imposed wartime censorship on the Bengal famine of 1943 in which over 2,000,000 died, to avoid pressure to divert resources from the war effort. Around 3 million are estimated to have died in the North Korean famines in the 1990s under conditions of secrecy and suppression of information.

Strangely, I also thought of the media when I read Wolf Dombrovsky’s story of the old Chinese tale about an Emperor. “One day [the Emperor] asked his court artist, ‘What is easy to paint and what is difficult to paint?’ The courtier thought hard on this for as long as he knew his master’s tolerance would permit and

16 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

replied, ‘Dogs are difficult, but demons are easy.’ The courtier explained further to his Emperor that obvious things are hard to get right because everyone knows all about them and hence everyone thinks they know what the essence of a dog is. However, since no one has actually seen a demon then drawing one is easy, because who can say it is not correct.”

I once did an examination of reporting textbooks and one thing that became evident was that there is no accepted definition of the term, “news.” In fact there was not only massive disagreement among the authors about what the term meant a number simply gave up on the task of definition. At the best they concluded, “News is what an editor says it is,” a useful but not very illuminating definition. We are, in short, not alone in struggling to define a seemingly commonplace term. Yet the media seem sometimes to force us into definitions that are adjusted to those events we know or think we know.

All those who read this book will probably notice some references more than others partly because of their own awareness of the world. Just as this book stimulated me to think about the mass media and the problems Journalism scholars have had with definitions, others will think about other concerns. In that way, this book will have achieved its goal—to make us think about disaster. Ron Perry explains why that is important: “The variation observed among researchers permits one to assess the extent and the conceptual dimensions along which the field of study is growing and changing. Second, the discussion of disaster definitions encourages refinement of the concept of disaster. It enables the reader and the authors to reflect on their definitions and trace through the consequences of those definitions for different aspects of the field of disaster study, whether academic or applied. As we sharpen our conception of disaster, we identify the disciplinary niches and their value in a field that is almost inherently interdisciplinary. The extent to which we are able to identify and manage disasters of the future is contingent upon our collective understanding of the meaning and dimensions of the concept.”

In a way this book reflects the work of the first and third

17WHAT IS A DISASTER?

generation of scholars in the field of disaster study. I am aware of course that many consider the pioneer to be Samuel Henry Prince with his study of the 1917 Halifax explosion. I am also aware of the recent work Russ Dynes has done on Voltaire and Alexander Pope and others and their appraisals of the significance of the 1775 Lisbon earthquake.

But I think all of us would agree that our field took off roughly 40 years ago with Russell Dynes and Henry Quarantelli and the creation of the Disaster Research Center. One of their students was Bill Anderson and one of his students at Arizona State University was none other than Ron Perry. In fact—and I am relying on the memory of others here—when Ron first became Bill’s student he was the only undergraduate allowed into the graduate section of a course on Collective Behavior. [He was also the best in the class.] Historically, that means Ron became the first scholar in our field to have been the student of a student of Russell Dynes and Henry Quarantelli, in short our first third generation scholar. Now he and Quarantelli have teamed up.

I noted the important contribution Henry Quarantelli has made to our field in the foreword to the first version of What is a Disaster? and was delighted to do so again at the celebration we had for him and Russell Dynes at the DRC last spring. I have not had the chance until now to say anything in writing about Ron Perry. I first worked with Ron when he was in Seattle shortly after Mount St. Helens but only got to know him well when I was President of the International Research Committee on Disasters and he was editor of the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters. It was a wonderful relationship, one that makes me not the least surprised to note how many scholars he has worked with. Ron maintained his editorial independence and integrity but at the same time was supportive. And when the time came for him to move on we together were fortunate enough to be able to choose a wonderful successor in Bob Stallings. But what most of you will not know if that our relationship was defined not just by mutual respect and goodwill but by a document—a written definition of the role of the editor and the editor’s relationship to

18 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

the President of the IRCD. And that document—this should come as no surprise—was written by none other than Henry Quarantelli. I want to thank both Bob Stallings and Benigno Aguirre for allowing me to stay on as general editor of this series of books because of the opportunity it has given me to say thanks to both Henry and Ron for their contributions to our field of which this book is only the latest example.

19

INTRODUCTION

This volume represents the second book devoted to the issue of definitions of disasters, and the first to deal with this topic in the International Research Committee on Disasters book series. The first book—What is a Disaster? Perspectives on the Question— appeared in 1998 and brought together thirteen contributors and discussants from six countries and nine academic disciplines. The goal for the second book is the same as that for the first: select an interdisciplinary, international collection of disaster researchers and ask them to present their definition of disasters. In both volumes the selection of authors followed a philosophy of gaining wide variation, rather than attempting any sort of random or representative sampling. The principal product of both books is an examination of meaning, as well as the exchange of ideas, with respect to disaster as a phenomenon of study. Ultimately, the purpose of course is to emphasize the exchange, not to promote any particular definition. The exercise of defining and then discussing definitions addresses several important issues in both research and application. First, it enables one to gage the consensus about what disasters are both among researchers and between researchers and practitioners. The authors in this volume go far to differentiating the use of disaster definitions as a basis for government action versus as a basis for identifying a field of study. The variation observed among researchers permits one to assess the extent and the conceptual dimensions along which the field of study is growing and changing. Second, the discussion of disaster definitions encourages refinement of the concept of disaster. It enables the reader and the authors to reflect on their definitions

20 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

and trace through the consequences of those definitions for different aspects of the field of disaster study, whether academic or applied. As we sharpen our conception of disaster, we identify the disciplinary niches and their value in a field that is almost inherently interdisciplinary. The extent to which we are able to identify and manage disasters of the future is contingent upon our collective understanding of the meaning and dimensions of the concept. Finally, there is a strong policy side to this work. As we move into the new century, the experience with terrorism has challenged both governments and disaster researchers. In the United States, all levels of government have invested substantial resources in emergency management, with much of that devoted to terrorism consequence management. With the investment of resources, governments expect more from the community of disaster researchers. To answer such questions regarding the need for and implementation of warning systems, appropriate mitigation measures, tactics for response and recovery, researchers need to have a firm grasp on what a disaster is and what it is not. This is especially relevant to the issue of comprehensive emergency management and integrated emergency management systems as promoted in the United States. To say that an “in place” system (for mitigation, preparedness, response or recovery) that works for one “disaster” will also work for another requires that one know about the comparability and “types” of disasters.

This volume is structured to follow the first book. Authors were asked to present their definition of disaster and explain it, and in addition to react to the definitions offered by authors in the first volume. The eight contributors were paired with one of two discussants. Wolf Dombrowsky, a German Sociologist by training, was asked to react to the papers created by David Alexander, Susan L. Cutter, Rohit Jigyasu and Neil Britton. David Alexander teaches in England and was trained as a geographer and geologist. Dr. Cutter is an American Geographer, Dr. Jigyasu is an architect and planner, and Dr. Britton is a social scientist with broad applied experience at the national level in disaster management. In Part I, each contributor presents their discussion, followed by Dr.

21WHAT IS A DISASTER?

Dombrosky’s critique; the discussion closes with reaction papers to the critique by each author.

Part II of the book presents the definitional statements by four additional authors. Allen Barton is a sociologist and pioneer in the field of disaster studies. Arjen Boin is a professor of public administration, Philip Buckle is professor of disaster management and Denis Smith a professor of management. Robert Stallings, professor of sociology and public policy serves as discussant for this group. This part also closes with reactions from each author to Dr. Stallings’ critique.

The book closes with Part III, which contains two papers. Perry reviews the efforts of the contributors and discussants in this book and examines conceptual definitional differences among them and implications for theory construction. Quarantelli’s paper is more broad ranging and focuses upon the current state of the field and scenarios for the future. The purpose of this closing paper is to explore the field of disaster research and define an agenda for study in the twenty-first century. He identifies and examines critical questions in the areas of theory, methodology and professional implementation.

Ronald W. Perry Tempe, Arizona

E. L. (Henry) Quarantelli Newark, Delaware

PART I

25

1

AN INTERPRETATION OF DISASTER

IN TERMS OF CHANGES IN CULTURE,

SOCIETY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

David Alexander

On average about 220 natural catastrophes, 70 technological disasters and three new armed conflicts occur each year (IFRCRCS 2002). Calamity is thus a recurrent feature of human life. Bearing in mind that the temporal distribution of extreme events of all kinds tends to be irregular, at the world scale, an “average” day would see two or three disasters in their emergency phases, 15-20 in their recovery periods, and about a dozen conflict-based emergencies in progress. Catastrophe is exceptional for the people involved, but at a grander scale it is almost run-of-the-mill, even more so given the recurrent spatial patterns that characterise it. Even at the local scale, extreme events can be routine (see Jeffrey 1981).

Not only is disaster common—and increasingly so—it is an extraordinarily revealing sort of affliction. It can be interpreted in various ways as a window upon the inner workings of society. To begin with, any failure to mitigate hazards is shown up in their impacts. Second, corruption is exposed by bringing its consequences to light, for example in the collapse of a badly-built structure during

26 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

an earthquake. Third, human relations are made more explicit and conspicuous by the increased levels of socialization that commonly occur in the immediate aftermath of disaster. In this respect, people’s attitudes and preferences are revealed (Rogers and Nehnevajsa 1984). Fourth, the spotlight is turned on ways of life that have been threatened or disrupted. As a result, cultural traits may be accentuated and subjected to scrutiny by outsiders (Gherardi 1998).

Models and interpretations of disaster abound, but the phenomenon is so multi-faceted that a general theory of universal explanatory power is unlikely ever to be formulated. Moreover, changes in society and economy (dare one call them evolution?) continually alter the tenets and controlling parameters of disaster. For this reason, it is important periodically to revisit the question “what is disaster?” in the light of current concerns. This chapter will therefore examine various thematic interpretations of calamity—perceptual, symbolic, socio-economic and strategic— in relation to world events and current developments in society. It will seek out the connections between them. First, however, I will begin with a word about definitions.

A DEFINITIONAL MINEFIELD

Some years ago I identified six distinct schools of thought and expertise on disasters (Alexander 1993: 13-14). They can be classed broadly as geography, anthropology, sociology, development studies, health sciences and the geophysical sciences with engineering. Possibly social psychology can be added as a seventh. Not all of these fields have made a serious attempt to define disaster before studying it. Indeed, many researchers have either taken the definitions for granted or have side-stepped the issue.

The explanations and definitions given by Quarantelli and his colleagues in the first symposium and book entitled What is a Disaster? (Quarantelli 1998b) are so varied and detailed that they are practically impossible to summarise in brief. All that can be said is that these authors have chosen to define disaster as something

27WHAT IS A DISASTER?

that is mostly social in character. Quarantelli himself argued (1998c: 236) that we define disaster intuitively. Gilbert (1998: 11) regarded it, among other things, as the passage to a state of uncertainty. Following Fritz (1961), who interpreted disaster as a state in which the social fabric is disrupted and becomes dysfunctional to a greater or lesser extent, Fischer (2003: 94) suggested that “What disaster sociologists actually study is social (structure) change under specialised circumstances” (his italics). Several of the authors in Quarantelli’s book seem to bear this out (e.g. Porfiriev 1998: 72), but the definitions are very tentative and mostly rather specific to the sociological perspective on disasters. Would geophysical scientists and engineers accept them?

Perhaps they ought to, as the following comparison suggests. The Sherman landslide in Alaska, a direct consequence of the 1964 earthquake in that state, involved 29 million cubic meters of rock that slid at 180 km/hr into an uninhabited valley (Shreve 1966). Except from the point of view of local flora and fauna, the event was a mere geological curiosity, discovered by accident during a routine aerial photography over flight. In contrast, the Aberfan landslide of 1966 in South Wales was 193 times smaller and moved 25-30 times more slowly, but it killed 144 people, 116 of them small children. It was a major disaster and led to decades of hardship for bereaved survivors (Austin 1967). This implies that physical magnitude is not necessarily very useful to our attempts to develop a general definition of disaster.

Three important questions related to the definition problem are as follows. (1) At what point do routine emergencies pass a quantitative threshold or go through a qualitative change and become disasters? (2) Is a catastrophe a large disaster, and if so, how large? (3) What functional attributes turn an emergency into a disaster? I t would be interesting to see whether physical and social scientists have the same answers to these questions. It is pretty clear that the sociologists would look for the solutions in the form, function and mutation of the social system. Most engineers would have at least a rough, intuitive idea of the physical forces (relative to earthquakes, explosions, crashes, etc.) that would be

28 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

required to cause major disruption to the social system. Their advice is often more central to policy formulation than are those of social scientists who are more able to predict the actual human consequences. But despite the current vogue for examining the societal implications of engineering (Zebrowski 1997), there is little evidence that social and physical scientists are on the same wavelength and would arrive at a common perspective.

Rather than seeking to resolve the definitional problem, in this chapter I will take up a theme discussed by Hewitt (1998) in Quarantelli’s book: that of equity in disaster. My aim here is to explore the ways in which our view of the phenomenon should be adapted to accommodate the perspectives of the most severely affected victims, as more than ever before disaster is becoming a question of social equity and manipulation of society (Bankoff 2001).

FIXITY OF PERCEPTION: DISASTER AS MINDSET

Whereas much has been written about the perception of hazard, risk and disaster (Saarinen et al. 1984), little attention has been devoted to disaster as mindset, fixity of opinions or states of mind created by events. Regularities in perception are usually considered to be dependent upon consensus (i.e., the mean of individual experiences), which implies a certain freedom of interpretation (Rubonis and Bickman 1991), but what happens when the consensus is manufactured?

The terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001 ushered in a new era of emergency preparedness in the world’s richer countries. It seems logical to assume that the outrages did not change the essence of disaster itself, but perhaps the matter is not quite so simple (Alexander 2002a). The attacks were a watershed in both official and public perception of disaster and they changed the focus of preparedness (Calhoun et al. 2002). The picture that has emerged is that of a large and powerful nation under threat, and a significant number of people, organizations and governments

29WHAT IS A DISASTER?

engaged in a gigantic conspiracy to threaten it. Some would even regard it as a clash of civilizations (Huntington 1996). As a strategic reality this generalization may not survive critical analysis, especially as it relies upon maintaining a widespread ignorance of history, both ancient and modern. But for many world leaders it is a convenient fiction, for it endows international relations with a new form of polarity to replace that lost when the Soviet bloc crumbled and the Chinese started to liberalize their economy.

Whether or not it has adopted the right approach towards international relations, the United States of America has shown a genius for organization. The U.S. federal agencies responsible for emergency management have provided a model for the rest of the world (Sylves and Waugh 1996). It is a remarkably progressive model in which the foundations have been laid to tackle one of the great challenges of the 21st century: how to involve ordinary people democratically in preparation for and management of emergency situations, and thus devolve more of the responsibility for public safety to the actual stakeholders (Platt 1999). Thus, civil protection has evolved out of civil defense. Flexible, collaborative forms of the local management of incidents has supplanted monolithic command and control procedures.

However, disaster is not defined by fixed events, or immutable relationships, but by social constructs, and these are liable to change. The new U.S. model that other countries may begin to emulate is, of course, the homeland security one (CSIS 2000). Natural disaster management is once again subsumed into a command-and-control structure in which secrecy and authoritarianism are ever-present risks. At the time of writing, the full implications of homeland security have not yet become clear, but they could easily mean greater rigidity in the approach to extreme events, both conceptually and operationally (Alexander 2002b). At the very least, around the world national priorities seem to have shifted from “neutral” threats, such as earthquakes and floods, to teleological ones, in which deliberate harm is done. This can be judged as mindset if it does not reflect an objective assessment of what is likely to happen.

30 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

DISASTER AS SYMBOLISM

Any other collective view of disaster, whether it be a rigid one such as a mindset or a more pluralistic one, is achieved by converting complex events into symbolic ones (Kroll-Smith and Couch 1991). Thus one arrives at models in which phenomena are endowed with meaning. In order to interpret the symbolism of disaster, it is useful to distinguish between individual and collective viewpoints (Dynes and Quarantelli 1976). For the survivor, a catastrophic event is a milestone in his or her life and something that for better or worse will help define the rest of it. Individually, disaster brings people back to the basics of survival, deprivation, injury or bereavement (Erickson 1994). Except perhaps for the chronically imprudent, or for hopelessly disadvantaged people, it graphically demonstrates the apparent arbitrariness of fate. On a more positive note, it may mark a high point of social participation through involvement in the so-called “therapeutic” or “altruistic” community (Barton 1969). Of course, Cuthbertson and Nigg (1987) and Olson and Drury (1997) have questioned the universal applicability of Barton’s original concept of the therapeutic community in disaster. For some people, perhaps too few, such social participation represents a direct lesson in the value of hazard and risk mitigation.

With these differences in mind, we may divide the symbolism of disaster into three categories: functional (i.e., symbolic of physical or social process), linguistic (i.e., a convenient form of notation), and as an allegory or parable (i.e., with a tale to tell, possibly of a moral kind). In reality, symbolic views of disaster can be endowed with more than one of these attributes. For example, disaster may be regarded as a punishment, a wake-up call or a betrayal of trust in safety systems (Horlick-Jones 1995), all of which are both functional and allegorical representations. In western societies, there is an increasing tendency to equate disaster with notions of recrimination, scapegoats, negligence and culpability, ideas that have strong moral overtones (Olson 2000). In this process, societies attempt to neutralise fear of disaster through anger and blame. It

31WHAT IS A DISASTER?

contrasts with the older, more conventional symbolism in which disaster is seen as a sudden reminder of one’s own mortality and the impermanence and precariousness of life:

And Hell the Shadow of a Soul on fire,

Cast on the Darkness into which Ourselves,

So late emerg’d from, shall so soon expire. [Rubayyat of Omar Khayyam, LIV, trans. Edward FitzGerald, 1859]

Nothing could be more symbolic than the disaster memorial book, a publication, usually dominated by eye-catching photographs, put together hastily after a particular event and sold mainly in the region affected by the disaster it portrays. Such books are quite common, at least in western societies, and are a perishable record of the events that form their subject matter. A typical example would seek to portray the following aspects of the disaster:\

• the enormity of the event; • the paradoxical beauty—or at least the visual novelty—

of destruction;

• the courage of rescuers; • humanity reasserted amid terrible physical destruction;

• the pathos of charity and solidarity;

• the triumph of moral purpose over arbitrariness or malevolence;

• the value of determination and staying power;

• the wonder of an indomitable spirit.

As there is seldom much intellectual or analytical depth in such books, they rely heavily on symbolism, which according to the above list uses the functional aspects of disaster to make points that are heavily moral. In the visual images there is often a heavy dose of iconography. Thus in the Florence floods of 1966 the tattered remains of Cimabue’s crucifix (circa AD 1284) symbolised the event, especially as that particular work of art was already

32 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

symbolic of age-old suffering. In New York on September 11, 2001, the jagged screens of lattice-work girders which were all that remained standing of the World Trade Centre towers powerfully symbolised destruction, precariousness and impermanence.

But symbolism changes over time, even with respect to a single event. Symbols thus form markers in the long process of rationalizing a disaster progressively over time, in which the details become hazy and the event gradually loses its grip on people’s imagination. The explosions against blue skies that characterised both the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St Helens and the attack on the World Trade Centre assume a different significance as they lose their immediacy. They become rather flatter and less suggestive icons, overlain with meanings that accrete during the recovery phase and thereafter (cf. Cross 1990).

Two aspects of symbolism deserve special mention. First, until the 20th century there was very little Darwinism in catastrophe (Alexander 2000: 67). There was little sign of the survival of the fittest building, community, administration, emergency service or infrastructure. To a certain extent, with the endless resurgence of vulnerability, this is still true in the 21st century, as socio-economic inequality continues to grow throughout the world. This implies that good examples of mitigation have had little symbolic value in history (for example, it took 500 years for a short-stubby, earthquake-proof minaret to appear in Turkey, one of the world’s most seismic countries). Given the pervasive need to mitigate the recurrent effects of disaster, this is a singular omission, especially as items destroyed have often been heavily endowed with meaning and symbolism.

Rather different is the symbolic value of the victim in modern society (Lifton 1980). Due partly to mass media constructs and partly to the growing culture of blame, victims who survive disaster assume the status of beneficiaries and acquire a degree of moral authority. If they are articulate and well-organized they can become significant players, perhaps even points of reference, in the debates that follow extreme events (Mulwanda 1992). Certainly, in the mass media victims are now often seen as being as authoritative as

33WHAT IS A DISASTER?

are technical experts. It is hard to determine whether this shows the democratization of disaster or some kind of inversion of values.

DISASTER AS SPECTACLE

In the modern world the meaning of disaster cannot easily be dissociated from how it is portrayed and interpreted by the mass media (Couch 2000). In the popular culture shaped by and reflected in the media, news is essentially whatever people are interested in. Newsworthiness is defined by people’s interest level. Disaster assumes a symbolic value as spectacle, as a story or saga, or as competition, imbued with notions of the breakdown of society, the spread of anarchy, heroic leadership and villainous malevolence. At worst, such crude notions can descend to the level of voyeurism, analogous to watching a spectacular crash at a motor race. Above all, when there is a lack of personal experience to relate it to, an event may become associated with the distillates or stereotypes of popular culture.

Such shallowness is very much in the interests of the main providers of information who are increasingly the same commercial oligarchies that, through intensive lobbying, have done much to shape the political process (Smith 1992). At its most negative, modern journalism reports facts selectively to suit partisan or commercial objectives, seldom explains causes adequately, simplifies events until they are deprived of real meaning, and conflates entertainment values with real-life ones until they become indistinguishable. To obtain an accurate and objective picture of situations requires much reading and comparison between reports. The symbolic aspects of disaster can easily lead one away from real understanding.

Newsworthiness also depends on the systems of values held in common between the purveyors and consumers of news (Goltz 1984). In the western world we see an increasing primacy of the entertainment industry in public communication. News and entertainment are often conflated, or at least given equal weight. Though people are interested in history, current affairs and

34 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

environment, they seem increasingly willing to accept versions of events that lack depth. In the disasters field, there is no sign of an end to the antagonism of popular culture and academic research. For decades the latter has striven to debunk the model of the breakdown of society in disaster. In this, mass panic and flight occur, chaos and anarchy prevail, antisocial and competitive behaviour proliferate, populations are stunned and made helpless by sudden shock, and authoritarianism is the only means of restoring calm and reason (Mitchell et al. 2000).

The primacy of image in the mass media does little to encourage subtlety of interpretation. The breakdown of society remains extraordinarily persistent in the western public’s mind, as this model is continually reinforced by the products of mass entertainment. Conspiracy theorists may argue that this very convenient for the forces that command society, as it prepares the ground for Draconian measures, should homeland security require them to be used. Whether nor not that is so, globalization drives both the diffusion of media stereotypes of disaster and the real patterns of change in the impacts of extreme phenomena.

DISASTER AS A CONSEQUENCE OF GLOBALIZATION

More than ever before, natural, technological and social disasters are becoming internationalised. They are intertwined with the course of human affairs in ways that were unimaginable decades ago. The rapid global movement of capital and standardization of information, the importance of disaster to geo-strategic policies, and the multinational growth of poverty and marginalization all have a bearing on our interpretation of calamity in the modern world (Dembo et al. 1990). Disaster occurs against the background of three separate worldwide tendencies:

• the onset of global change, which for the present purposes means the possibility of more frequent or

higher magnitude natural hazard events;

35WHAT IS A DISASTER?

• the rise of globalization, which could signify more frequent or higher magnitude exploitation, given its

tendency to concentrate power and wealth in the hands

of international corporations and oligarchies; • the emergence of global consciousness in the form of a

collective, international attempt to fight injustice.

Although the alignments that prevailed during the Cold War (1948-89) have changed, it appears that it may take 15 years or more to shape the new pattern of global strategic alliances. Currently it is not clear what the final balance of power and interests will be. Capital has scored many victories over labor (hence the second point, above), but there are signs of a resurgence in popular consciousness in response to the excesses of capitalistic exploitation (hence the third).

I suggested above that the contemporary challenge is to democratize society’s responses to risk and disaster. However, there are two kinds of democracy, not one. In the present day we have become used to the idea that democracy should take its representative form by allowing people to choose and vote periodically for candidates at elections. This idea has been vigorously fostered in western society by the mass media and has proved convenient to the ruling oligarchies in that many people tend to demonstrate innate conservatism in their choice of candidates and political ideologies. It is wrongly supposed that representative democracy is part of a tradition invented in the city- states of Greece more than 2500 years ago. In fact, democracy was born in its participatory form, which is now regarded by the rich and powerful as “subversive,” because it involves direct collective action.

If, for the purposes of argument, we consider representative democracy to be “top-down” in its organization and participatory democracy to be “bottom-up” or grass-roots based, then there is clearly a need for more of the latter in disaster mitigation and management throughout the world, for risks and emergencies cannot be tackled effectively without robust local organization.

36 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

In fact, the Western mass media have put about the idea that participatory democracy is inimical to representative democracy, which it undermines. In reality, the two are complementary: democracy cannot be healthy unless it is both participatory and representative. Three aspects of modern western presidential and parliamentary democracies suggest that they have become insalubrious: first, people have become disaffected and, in many cases, disinclined to vote; secondly, corruption in high places has become very hard to stem, which points to a lack of accountability; and thirdly, industrial and commercial lobbies seem to have gained as much power as the voters have. Therefore it is hardly surprising that resilience to disaster has only increased, where it has increased at all, painfully slowly: in many places it lacks the essential democratic base.

It is axiomatic that socio-economic stability is a pre-condition for resilience against disaster. Instead, increased militarization has had the effect of fragmenting and factionalizing peoples, as in Colombia, Liberia, Somalia and Angola. A divide and rule strategy has preserved the West’s global hegemony. But this is beginning to look fragile. It is possible that people of entirely different persuasions who are disaffected with the course of globalization will eventually find common cause.

Clausewitz wrote that war is politics carried on by other means. Others have since suggested that economics, more than politics, are at the root (Atmore 2001). If this is true, then global polarization is a response to economic forces which create and maintain the forms of deprivation that foster ideological struggle. Globalization has resulted in increasingly vast expenditures on defending particular interests, especially the main sources of crude oil exported to North America and Europe. The Persian Gulf War of 1991, for example, is reputed to have cost $692 billion (1992 dollars) in short term expenditures on military action (Hillel 1994). Policies leading to containment or regime change in Iraq have, at the time of writing, met with only limited success but have been extremely expensive.

37WHAT IS A DISASTER?

There seems to be no better example of lack of resilience to disaster than that of Afghanistan. The rural and provincial areas of the country, perhaps Kabul too, appear to be stuck at the lowest level of mitigation and highest level of vulnerability. With regard to one of the country’s most frequent kinds of natural disaster, the earthquake, for the overwhelming majority of the population all the achievements in seismic engineering and civil protection of the last hundred years might as well never have happened. There is no sign that progress has been made in protecting the population since the magnitude 8.1 earthquake of 1907 that killed 12,000 Afghanis. Over most of the twentieth century lethal earthquakes have occurred in the Hindu Kush at the rate of one every nine years, but in the period 1993-2002 there were nearly 10,000 deaths in five events—once every two years. The trend is towards larger, more lethal seismic disasters: the average magnitude is 6.3, but twice as many people are killed as are significantly injured, a clear sign of the severity of disasters or the heightened nature of vulnerability in Afghanistan. The country is populated by an inter- ethnic society. It slides towards the contemporary model of “war lordism” by a process of vicious circles within vicious circles: internal factions thrive because of the existence of external divisions between the forces that have intervened in Afghanistan (Atmore 2001). This, of course, is a disaster in its own right, and it adds up to the complete stagnation of measures to reduce the impact of other prevalent forms of disaster, such as earthquake and landslide.

Many traditional societies still face up to the scourge of disaster with religiously-inspired fatalism (Sims and Baumann 1972). Catastrophe is once again an “Act of God”, a punishment for sins committed, part of an inscrutable higher plan. Are we to call this retrograde, a sign of cultural underdevelopment? Such means of rationalizing disaster are coping mechanisms and we might judge whether or not they are effective ones. Certainly the symbolism involved is no worse than that constructed by the western media (Vitaliano 1973, frontispiece).

38 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

CONCLUSION

Disasters are rationalized or interpreted according to the canons and preoccupations of the contemporary period. Modern interpretations are increasingly dominated by the new forms of symbolism constructed by the mass communication industry (Lombardi 1997). These encourage a shallow view of history and strategic relationships, and thus a superficial approach to causality. Instead, one needs to search for the explanations of disaster in the global changes that are currently altering the scope and tenor of international relations (Anderson 1997). On aggregate, vulnerability to disaster is set to rise with the increasing polarization of a world in which two billion people have practically no access to modern technology and 800 million live in conditions of misery. As yet they have little collective voice, but that cannot be true forever, as present trends are unsustainable.

The foregoing discussion implies very strongly that disasters in the modern world are an artifact of two forces: commercialism and strategic hegemonies inherent in globalization. At the broadest scale that may be true, though it does not preclude more traditional interpretations based on primary vulnerability (Blaikie et al. 1994), or more optimistic ones based on globalism (Kelman and Koukis 2000). Perhaps one reason why “disaster” will probably never be completely, immutably defined is because the definition depends on shifting portrayals and perceptions of what is significant about the phenomenon. I would argue that it must be interpreted, and continually reinterpreted in the context of contemporary issues.

NOTES

1 “Der Krieg ist nichts als eine Fortsetzung des politischen Verkehrs mit Einmischung anderer Mittel.” War is nothing but a continuation of politics

with the admixture of other means. Karl von Clausewitz (1780-1831)

Vom Kriege (1832-4) book. 8, chapter 6, section B.

39

2

ARE WE ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTION?

Susan L. Cutter

In his landmark volume, What is a Disaster?, Quarantelli (1998b) lamented the state of theory building and conceptual development the disasters field. In his imperturbable manner, Quarantelli challenged the community to come to some conceptual closure regarding the nature of a disaster—was it fundamentally a social construction, some physical event, or a combination of the two? As he stated, “ . . . unless we clarify and obtain minimum consensus on the defining features per se, we will continue to talk past one another on the characteristics, conditions and consequences of disasters (Quarantelli 1998b:4).”

I submit that disasters studies (as recognized in the 1998 volume) are spending too much time and intellectual capital in defining the phenomena under study, rather than in researching more important and fundamental concerns of the field. The question is not what is a disaster, but what is our vulnerability (and resiliency) to environmental threats and extreme events? In other words, what makes human and environmental systems vulnerable and more or less resilient to threats and extreme events? As conceptual frameworks, vulnerability and resiliency imply an examination of human systems, natural (or environmental) and technological systems, and the interconnectedness between them. It is, in fact, the linkages and interdependencies between these three systems and the built

40 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

environment that amplify or attenuate vulnerability. While each component can be studied independently, it is the interaction that becomes most important in understanding vulnerability, resiliency, and their correlates. To use the old adage, the whole (vulnerability) is greater than the sum of its parts (human systems, the built environment, technological systems, natural systems).

TALKING PAST EACH OTHER

It has always been a source of professional frustration that as the risk, hazards, and disasters communities evolved along parallel paths, there was little intersection and integration of knowledge between them (Cutter 2001a). White (1988) noted this communication and intellectual divide more than a decade ago, when he opined that the risk analysis field failed to include the social context within which risks occurred, a fundamentally important element for social scientists. With a few rare exceptions, there is very little crossover in literature, concepts, and methodologies among these three communities who study disasters (Kunreuther and Slovic 1996). Simply put, we rarely read each other’s work unless it is in our own academic discipline (e.g. geography, sociology, planning) or in our own hazard specialty domain (e.g. earthquakes, floods, hazardous technologies). Why is this?

The segregation of the research community is due to a number of factors, among them differences in the type of event examined (natural hazards, technological risks, industrial failures); methods employed (qualitative versus quantitative analyses, computer modeling and simulations versus survey interviews); and outlets for research findings (Risk Analysis, International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, Natural Hazards Review, Environmental Hazards, Disasters). In many ways, the risk, hazards, and disasters communities could not (and still do not) fully understand each other’s “science”. How are we ever going to advance social science perspectives on risk, hazards, and disasters if we are unaware of the totality of social science perspectives that can be brought to bear? There are many critical challenges that confront the disaster research

41WHAT IS A DISASTER?

and practitioner communities. How we approach them will dictate the relevance of disaster studies in the future. Will the field be mired in the depths of ontological debates on the meaning of disaster, risk, hazards, and vulnerability? Or, will the field forge ahead with new understandings of how these phenomenon affect the human condition, how human agency increases or decreases their temporal and spatial distribution, and how individuals, social groups, and society at large perceives of and responds to external threats, regardless of their origin?

REFLEXIVE SOCIETIES AND ADAPTIVE THREATS

The centrality of risk in modern society pervades everyday life— from the food that we eat, to the water we drink, to the air we breathe, to where we live and work. We live in a global risk society (Beck 1992; Adam, Beck and Van Loon 2000), one that is influenced by a myriad of global processes, many of which interact to produce unforeseen dangers and an endless array of risks. The range and diversity of threats that face modern society are too numerous to catalog and they constantly change. Some arise from the intersection of human use and natural systems, which in turn are exacerbated by social practices such as construction in known floodplains or along coastal margins (Heinz Center 2002). Others are seemingly random events, by-products of locational choices, decisions often constrained by class (Davis 1998), privilege (Pulido 2000), and gender (Fothergill 1996, Enarson and Morrow 1998). Some threats are perpetuated over time and across space creating a disaster culture replete with unsustainable practices. Others like human-induced threats, such as terrorism, are equally complex, yet they entail even greater challenges in detection, warning, and response because of their adaptive nature. There is little constancy to the threat, which is highly responsive to changing conditions and opportunities in both targets and methods. If detected, the terrorist simply changes the preferred target, location, method of delivery, or scale of the attack. Under these conditions, it is very difficult to assess all the known points of vulnerability within

42 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

modern systems, systems that in turn give rise to and ultimately produce the global risk society.

The global extent of risks (and disasters and hazards) does not imply that they are equally distributed among all places or among all social groups. Often, they are also influenced by societal needs and wants, which are quite variable as well. The reflexive nature of the risk society (influences risk production and is influenced by risks) suggests a need to move away from analyses (and control strategies) based on singular events with proximate causes (somewhat akin to a simple cause and effect model) toward a more dynamical understanding of the global interdependence of human, natural, and technological systems. The interaction of these systems in untold ways produces risks, hazards, and disasters, or what some term, complex emergencies. Some are controllable, others are unintended; some have spatial-temporal limits, while others are simply accepted by those affected. The scare of the week or hazard de jour approach to the disasters field is rapidly becoming passé. In its place, we see a more complicated and nuanced set of explanations that help us to understand how, where and why human intervention 1) changes the way in which individuals and societies cognize and detect threats, 2) reduces the initiating sources and root causes of threats, 3) mediates vulnerability to threats, and 4) improves resiliency and responses to threats.

POST-SEPTEMBER 11th

The world was significantly altered by the events of September 11, 2001 in both incalculable and measurable ways. The trio of events on that day—airline crash in Pennsylvania, airline projectile into the Pentagon, and the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York City—were clearly disasters. There is no debate about that. Disaster researchers were mobilized and dispatched into the field to examine a wide range of post disaster event responses (Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center 2003). These field studies included an examination of student responses in New York City (Peek 2002); the development of

43WHAT IS A DISASTER?

emergent organizations in the crisis response (Tierney 2002), mental health impacts (Sattler 2002), institutional warnings and response (Grant et al. 2002; Rubin and Renda-Tenali 2001); and the role of geographic information technologies and digital disaster assistance in the rescue and relief efforts (Thomas et al. 2002; Michaels 2001). This is what the community does extremely well—applications of our social science in understanding the immediate disaster situation and assisting in recovery operations. What we don’t do as well or as consistently is examining the historical antecedents (Alexander 2002), or underlying conditions (or root causes) that produced such an unexpected event in the first place (Blaikie et al. 1994).

Why didn’t we foresee the events of 9/11 occurring? How did we become so vulnerable in the first place? How can we reduce our vulnerability and make society, the built environment, and the natural world more resilient in the face of unanticipated, unexpected, and unknown threats? How do we move beyond the singular disaster or disaster situation to a more robust understanding of local conditions and the geography of the everyday that gives rise to crises in the first place? What conceptual frameworks and organizational structures are required to anticipate and respond to human-induced deliberate threats? Can we build a more secure homeland with increasing security without reductions in privacy, civil liberties, and trust in democratic institutions?

I have intentionally conflated the terms to make the point. Disasters research, thus far, has failed in responding to many of these questions, but this is precisely how a shift in our orientation towards vulnerability science can assist and advance our thinking. So where do we begin? How do we identify non-structural vulnerabilities in society? How do we understand our vulnerability to the unknown? What theoretical constructs are required to address vulnerability from a social science perspective?

A PARADIGM SHIFT

A number of researchers have commented on the need for a redirection of risk, hazards, and disasters research into understanding

44 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

vulnerability and reorienting disaster policy (Comfort et al. 1999; Cutter 2001b, 2003). Science, as a 20th century construct has lost some of its explanatory power in anticipating and understanding unexpected events. Questions surrounding applied versus basic science (Stokes 1997), science as a driver for technological change, and science in support of public policy have increased science’s own vulnerability as the dominant explanatory paradigm. This has lead some to question whether we’ve reached the limits of scientific explanation (Horgan 1996). For example, one of the most powerful weapons in the terrorist arsenal is fear. How do we understand the social consequences of fear in modern society and what does this tell us about individual and collective willingness to respond to and recover from disasters? One of the conclusions of the National Research Council’s (2002) post- September 11th study, Making the Nation Safer, was a need for better understanding of human systems—how people respond to crises and threats; how they reduce their vulnerability to them; what social conditions give rise to terrorist threats in the first place. Yet, the contributions from the disasters research community are conspicuous by their absence or unknowing misinterpretation.

In responding to the events of 9/11, the geographical community developed a research agenda on the geographical dimensions of terrorism (Cutter et al. 2003) and highlighted a number of research themes focusing on variability in the root causes, geo-spatial technologies, and hazards research including vulnerability. Many of the research questions that were identified transcend disciplinary boundaries and thus form a core set of topics that warrant further investigation by the research community interested in risk, hazards, and disasters as well as vulnerability science (Cutter 2001b, 2003). These broad domains are listed below:

Root causes/driving forces—Identification of the root causes, underlying conditions, and driving forces that amplify

or attenuate vulnerability across social groups, over time,

and through space. Risk transference—Role of current policies and practices in

transferring threat burdens from one social group to

45WHAT IS A DISASTER?

another or from one institution to another, transference of threat burdens from one generation to another

(generational inequity), and risk relocation (spatial

transference from one region or place to another). Dynamic models—Advancements in risk, hazards exposure,

and consequences modeling that link events to impacts

(biophysical and social) and to causal factors in dynamic ways.

Vulnerability/resiliency indicators—Development of relative indicators of vulnerability to enable comparisons among social groups and/or places.

Decision making under uncertainty—Enhanced understanding of individual and collective decision making processes, especially those decisions made under high levels of

uncertainty.

Perception-behavioral linkages—Role of fear, emotions, trust, personal responsibility, and altruism in risk perception,

risk sharing, and disaster response.

Capturing surprise—Incorporate surprise, uncertainty, and adaptability into models of understanding human

responses to disasters and unexpected events.

Emergence and convergence—Role of emergent technologies, organizations, social groups in anticipatory planning

for and response to disasters, role of convergence in

response, and conditions that support adaptive behaviors during crises.

Universality and replication—Movement beyond localized case studies and after-event analyses to broader generalizations of human responses to environmental

threats and unexpected events utilizing both qualitative

and quantitative analytical techniques.

AFFORDABLE DISASTERS?

Disaster research was conceived as an applied subject—an effort to engage the sociological community in responding to an external

46 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

threat, initially viewed as warfare and then later expanded into disaster studies (Gilbert 1998; Quarantelli 1988b). This public policy orientation is one of the great strengths of the field and is as important today as it was fifty years ago, perhaps more so.

The United States has a set of policy constructs that enable the federal government to assist state and local communities in the aftermath of a natural hazard or unexpected event. Largely codified and implemented under the auspices of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (commonly known as the Stafford Act) disaster policy in the U.S. essentially begs the question of what is a disaster? As defined in the legislation, a major disaster

. . . means any natural catastrophe (including hurricane,

tornado, storm, high water, wind driven water, tidal wave,

tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought), or, regardless of cause, any fire,

flood, or explosion, in any part of the United States, which

in the determination of the President causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster

assistance under this chapter to supplement the efforts and

available resources of States, local governments, and disaster relief organizations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship,

or suffering caused thereby (FEMA 2003).

As many have suggested (Platt 1999; Downton and Pielke 2001), the mechanism for declaring Presidential disasters (and thus determining what is a major disaster) is essentially a political process, not a determination based on a consistent definition or clear-cut criteria. Are disasters the same for all places? How do we know whether they are or are not?

Some communities are more resilient to environmental hazards and unexpected events than others. This resiliency is derived, in part, from individual wealth and financial health; human resources and social networks; infrastructure age and density; adequate planning, mitigation, and preparedness; local governance; and the

47WHAT IS A DISASTER?

site and situation (absolute and relative location) of communities. A million dollar loss in Miami-Dade County, Florida, for example, might be expensive and devastating to the individuals who incurred the loss, but in fact might be quite “absorbable” within the existing financial setting of the county. It might even spur a rise in economic growth given the need to rebuild and recover. If this same million- dollar loss was to occur in eastern North Carolina, say in Edgecombe County (where Princeville, a historic African American community hard hit by Hurricane Floyd is located), it could prove devastating to the community. Edgecombe County had a local economy based on slave labor and plantation agriculture (cotton and tobacco). The declining agricultural base, the county’s rural nature devoid of any industrial development, the above average levels of poverty, and the below average levels of educational attainment all contribute to Edgecombe’s vulnerability and weaken its ability to respond in the aftermath of a disaster such as Hurricane Floyd. At what point does an event overwhelm local capacity to respond and recover? Is this point the same for all communities and all states? Should there be a minimum threshold of disruption, lives lost, property damage to even qualify as a disaster, regardless of where you are? Similarly, are some disasters affordable while others are not, and if so, according to whom? How might the concept of an “affordable disaster” be manifested socially, economically, politically, temporally, and spatially?

These questions require sound social scientific responses to help us understand the socioeconomic and demographic differences among communities and how this influences their vulnerability and resiliency to environmental threats. Perhaps a differential system of qualification (with minimum thresholds, and triaged based on local capacities) for Presidential disaster declarations might be warranted rather than a one-size-fits-all model, which is subject to political whim and favoritism, and the continued irresponsibility of state and local governments. Disaster studies and broader-based social science perspectives will be important in helping to reformulate disaster policy in the U.S. This type of research is what the community should be pursuing, not examining semantic differences in our terminology.

48 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

CONCLUSIONS

While it is important to advance conceptual and theoretical understanding of the field, we also must be vigilant to apply this knowledge in the solution of real-world concerns and every day issues. The prescriptive agenda suggested here will position the field to undertake the requisite research on the “big unanswered” questions in disaster studies, while at the same time enhancing our capabilities to inform policy makers and local responders on the human dimensions of disasters and emergency response. It is difficult to do one without the other.

We are facing a future full of pessimism. The events of September 11, 2001, as tragic as they were, provided a newly found respect for the social sciences, especially those engaged in risk, hazards, and disasters research. We must capitalize on this and turn our knowledge base and practical experience into addressing some of the most vexing issues in the next decade. The motivating question for this new paradigm is not what is a disaster, but rather what makes people and places vulnerable (and resilient) to environmental threats and unexpected events?

49

3

DISASTER: A “REALITY” OR CONSTRUCT”?

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE “EAST”

Rohit Jigyasu

Disaster is a term, which has been defined, understood and packaged by the so-called “experts” to an extent that disaster reduction has become merely a problem solving exercise. The definers declare what they perceive as a problem and how they intend to solve it (Dombrowsky 1998: 19). Gilbert (1998: 11) has classified numerous theoretical approaches to disasters into three main paradigms:

The first is disaster as a duplication of war (catastrophe can be imputed to an external agent; human communities are entities that react globally against aggression). The second is disaster as an expression of social vulnerabilities (disaster is the result of underlying community logic, of an inward and social process). The third is disaster as an entrance into a state of uncertainty (disaster is tightly tied into the impossibility of defining real or supposed, especially after the upsetting of the mental frameworks we use to know and understand reality).

Disaster has been viewed in its extended scope and definition by taking into account all these perspectives and together these form the basis on which disaster vulnerability is understood and defined. The bottom line of all these paradigms is that disaster is

50 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

supposed to represent total or near total breakdown of local systems. Ironically, the dilemma with all these paradigms is that while on one hand they define disaster as an objective reality, on the other hand measures to reduce disaster seem to be so far from reality, that in most cases one finds that disaster vulnerability is increasing at very fast pace. Dombrowsky (1998:19) rightly states that emancipation of the field from everyday knowledge and from the practical needs of disaster management has been neglected during the phase of its establishment.

This leads us to ask several questions. Has disaster lost touch with the reality? If yes, why this is so? What is this reality, after all? Is there anything that we can say is universally “real” or reality itself is a construct, specific to shared values, thinking processes and visions of the groups of people—which we call communities. Many or rather most of the times, these values, thinking processes and visions are consciously or sub-consciously shaped by religious philosophies, which have broadly or rather vaguely been categorized as “western” and “eastern”. The latter is primarily based on Hinduism and Buddhism, two great religions that originated in South Asian subcontinent. In this chapter, I will make an attempt at understanding the “reality” of disaster from “eastern” perspective.

Let us begin by discussing the main aspects, which help us define the scope and extent of the “reality” of disaster. Dombrowsky (1998) sees disaster as the outcome of a scientific tradition that is “concentrated in time and space”, implying that disaster has mainly two types of “reality;” the spatial and the temporal. In the following sections, I will discuss each of these in detail with respect to spatial and temporal connotations in “eastern” way of thought

DISASTER: A “SPATIAL” REALITY

Disaster has clear geographical connotations with defined extent and boundaries. In fact space characterizes key local factors that trigger disasters. These include natural hazards such as earthquakes that a particular space is exposed to. Also it is characterised by

51WHAT IS A DISASTER?

local vulnerability processes at a particular point of time. Needless to say, space is also defined by the natural resources available and not to forget the people who inhabit that particular space and intervene over time to create a distinct cultural landscape. Disaster adversely affects the natural and human resources characterising the space and creates sudden disruption in the local processes defining human environment relationships in that particular space. All these aspects help us to spatially delimit disasters.

Now let us understand how space is understood and defined in an “eastern” way of thought. The physical manifestation remains the same, as this is the reality which human senses can perceive, irrespective of social, cultural or religious background. However, in eastern thought, such a physical manifestation gets directly linked to the understanding at sub-conscious level, which give shape and deeper meaning to the landscape. Such a landscape is constructed through symbolic representations, sometimes even representing the whole cosmos at the micro level (Galtung 1979; Vatsayan 1994). This has clear philosophical connotations, which I would not pursue in detail. However, the main point is that space—its elements and processes—is no longer “real”, but in fact a “construction” at one or more levels of consciousness, which we will discuss later in detail.

This forces us to go beyond our traditional understanding of disaster as a spatial reality and view it as a phenomenon, which has impact deeper than visual. Its comprehension goes deeper for its effect on human perceptions. Disaster is no longer bounded by the physical boundaries; rather it extends deeper into human consciousness, extending much beyond physically perceived boundaries. The psychological impact of this is very deep. It is much deeper than one can expect, not only shaping the way people perceive the cause of disasters but also the way they respond to it. Interestingly, similar kinds of symbolical associations shape the perceptions and response actions as the ones, which give meaning to the space in the first place. However, there is always a limit to what our senses and the tools available can measure and these in fact pose a limit to individual ability of comprehension.

52 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

DISASTER: A “TEMPORAL” REALITY

Our understanding of disasters is also linked to temporal dimensions. In fact the changing theoretical paradigms of disaster mentioned before are very much linked to the notion of time. The perception of disaster as an “event” implies that disaster has a point of beginning and an end. Therefore we categorize disaster situations with reference to the event in focus; before, during and after disasters. This also determines disaster management actions as prevention or mitigation (before), emergency response (during) and long term rehabilitation and development (after), which together form part of disaster management cycle. When viewed this way, disaster has periods of onset, development and finally an end One wonders, if it begins at a moment in time and stops at another moment; the moment being the smallest possible unit in time scale, which our senses or available tools can visualise. While considering disaster this way, we view time in a linear scale. (Jigyasu 2002)

However the “eastern” notion of time is cyclic; an endless cycle of birth and death, creation and destruction, implying that there is no beginning or an end (Galtung, 1979; Vatsayan, 1994). When seen from this perspective, disasters repeat themselves as part of this endless cycle of creation and destruction. Although, this seems to be compatible with widely accepted disaster management cycle, the division of cycle into clearly demarcated phases, is very much part of the “reality” that we construct for the sake of comprehension. However, when we dissolve these thresholds which distinguish one phase from another, disaster is a continuum; a part of the continuous complex process, which cannot be clearly distinguished.

Another interesting aspect of this continuum is that the cyclic process is not really a cycle, as we do not return to the point from where we begin. This is because nothing is permanent. All things change. One has to work hard to reach salvation (Buddha, 543BC). Our actions and thinking processes can change the point of return in a way that we return but not exactly at the same point. It is part of our evolution process in a cyclic loop (and not a cycle). So we

53WHAT IS A DISASTER?

discover that even the “reality” of time is what we “construct” for the sake of comprehension.

THE “EXPERIENTIAL” DIMENSION

Now that we are breaking boundaries between “reality” and “construct”, I would like to bring in the third dimension, which is crucial in our understanding of disaster but has often been overlooked. This is “experiential” dimension, which is inherently linked to our cognition levels determined by three modes of comprehension, namely conscious (visible), sub-conscious (hidden) and unconscious (invisible) modes. In fact, the “spatial” and “temporal” constructs that we discussed before get their enlarged meanings when we adopt a holistic view combining these three modes, each of which I will discuss briefly.

The visible pratakshya refers to the tangible aspect, which is mostly physical. The world itself is an illusion and

its material content is completely destructible. The illusion is created to confuse oneself from the right path of God.

The Maya or illusion seduces one into the “worldly materialist aspects away from God and the real experience and thus all tangible aspects are of no or very little importance (Gupta

2003). This mode of comprehension is most easily and

clearly measured by our senses. The hidden, covered, adrishya is the second level where

one starts recognizing the illusion and making the effort of

“discovering” (trying finding the truth and the meanings). This aspect is represented in nature, as it is believed that

whatever God “created” (even illusionary) is greater than

man-made, so sacred gets associated with nature. The divine aspect of trees, mountains, rivers, water bodies, forests, stones

etc. may not be apparent but needs discovery and creativity

in this mode of comprehension (Gupta 2003). The “visible” manifestation of this hidden aspect is in the form of rituals

and practices.

54 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

The invisible, intangible, apratakshya can never be seen by “human eye” and can only be accessed through

a pure heart. However, it can be experienced. This is

considered as the “true” landscape where all tangible and intangible, visible and hidden aspects become

meaningless. The quality is only experiential without

any physical attributes. It is something, which is a perfection of divinity and even difficult to define (ibid.)

One of the important aspects which come forth in the last mode of comprehension is that human being is inseparable part of these “constructs”. After all, these are “constructed” within his “self ”, which is defined metaphorically but experienced spiritually. Importantly, “experience” is different from “perception”. The latter determines opinion and not comprehension.

Now I return to our discussion on disasters. “Experiencing” a disaster may be part of survival strategy; a source of continuity of existence, by accepting disaster as part of the endless cycle of birth and death. Within experiential mode, disaster is not an event to fight with; it is part of existence to live with. In a way, this seems to point to a tendency to turn people passive and not take actions they are supposed to take. Clearly this might be the case, but on the other hand, this also turns out to be an effective psychological coping mechanism that helps communities to live with disasters.

THE UNDERLYING REASON: INTERNAL CHAOS ?

I shall like to extend the discussion from the core question “What is a disaster? to finding out the underlying causes of disaster in the first place and also probing the reasons for its increasing frequency and intensity. This will again require an understanding much beyond the tangible level of comprehension. In the present age, we are changing at a fast pace, faster than ever before. We have reached a point where science and technology has completely over-dominated our lives. From a tool, it has become a weapon, which is turning back on us; from masters of technology; we have become its slaves.

55WHAT IS A DISASTER?

This has a direct implication on our conception of space and time. At spatial level, world has become much smaller due to increasing mobility and powerful media images, which was unthinkable proposition before. However, contrary to these achievements, it is getting larger in our subconscious mind. We tend to see it physically so small, but perceive many more distinctions within it. Similar changes are happening at temporal level. We have been able to beat time through sophisticated technology but now we have reached a stage, where time is beating us. We are no longer able to get hold of it, rather always running after it. Undoubtedly, our ability to grasp time and space are being severely delimited, if not at the physical level, at the experiential and metaphysical level.

We, the humans (I would say, humans will be more appropriate term than human beings as many times, we cease to exist as beings; forget what is “to be”) are finding ourselves in the midst of deep metaphorically divisions. We have become “educated” and supposedly “expert” with tonnes of information loads and not necessarily knowledge (to know one needs to develop cognitive thinking abilities). We make notions of “development”, which are primarily visible in nature and overlook other dimensions. On the other hand, the local “illiterate” people (I will call them illiterate and not ignorant as they may have their cognitive abilities but may not be formally able to read and write) may have the hidden and invisible dimensions intact but fail to link these to the visible reality. To substantiate this, I will cite an example from my own “eastern” context.

River Ganga and Yamuna are the holiest rivers for Hindus. The spiritual association with these rivers has been so strong that it has led to the evolution of one of the greatest civilizations in the world. In fact religious landscapes like Braj, in which the story of Lord Krishna”s childhood is interwoven with the natural landscape, have evolved around these rivers. Undoubtedly, the visible qualities of these human interventions were (and remain) of extraordinary architectural and ecological merit. For generations these have been maintained without much or rather any help from the so called

56 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

“experts;” the distinct elitist category of engineers, architects, disaster managers, sociologists, that we, the users of this book, identify ourselves with.

To get to the issue lets look at the present status. Most of the rituals and beliefs remain as strong as ever (in fact, many of them have become more intense for better or for worse). So the hidden and invisible dimensions are intact to a great extent. But what about their “visible” condition?

The rivers are polluted to dangerous proportions. In fact these have become dumping grounds for throwing all kinds of waste. There is a clear indifference towards cultural heritage, which in more tangible aspects continuous to be replaced by poor and ugly “modern” construction. So most of the times, even new creation is not visibly pleasing. True, these are directly linked to increasing poverty, urbanisation and population growth. But on close inspection, one can easily see that much of the threats to visible aspects of cultural heritage are due to indifference and neglect. It seems that heritage is slowly but consistently being disowned by its own bearers. It is like separating body from the soul.

Now let us look at the way, we “the experts” handle the problems. To get rid of pollution in these “holy” rivers, an action plan was drafted in early 90s spending millions of dollars from international aid. Most of this money was used to install sewage treatment plants to clean the water. Nearly every town along these rivers established these plants, including the holy cities of Mathura and Vrindavan, which were part of sacred landscape that I mentioned before. So the entire urban sewage in these towns was collected through electrically driven motors. These were installed in a direction opposite to the natural slope to prevent the sewage to flow towards the river. The entire system was heavily dependent on technology. Also it required regular maintenance. Contrary to this, the traditional system worked obeying the natural landform. Not to mention, there also existed some local ecological ways and means to dispose the sewage. People had a certain sense of responsibility towards the river, which deliberately prevented them from doing those things, which polluted the river. Now, this I

57WHAT IS A DISASTER?

would not say was a perfect system, but nevertheless it worked to an extent that we read such beautiful accounts of pleasant experiences of the pilgrims and travellers.

But what is the status of these plants now? Most of them are not working at all or working half of their original capacity. This is because there is not enough electricity to keep them running all the time and once power fails, the entire sewage system gets clogged and pollutes the river (remember it is in a direction opposite to natural topography). And the “visible” results are devastating. Most people do not take the initiative as they think, technology is meant to do the job. So here is what we end up with solely techno-centric way of thinking.

Here one can see clear dilemma and conflict at two levels. First, increasing gap between visible, hidden and invisible dimensions. Second, between the perceptions of “experts” and local people. No longer are we able to make the link between the three levels of cognition. We need to ask ourselves, why this is so? Are these a result of some deeper struggle that we are entangled within ourselves, at this stage of our super technological advancement? (Malik, 1990, 1995). I believe that this internal chaos is the underlying cause of the slow onset of disaster situation; the central subject of our discussion.

CONCLUSION

We are now at the “crossroads” where we suffer from this internal chaos and all this is getting reflected in what we call “a disaster”. Although it is triggered by an extreme natural hazard, it is a slow onset process, which is making us, the humans, not just physically but mentally more vulnerable than ever before. We are living in an age of “lost” generations, which are neither able to reap benefits of what we call as “modern”, nor able to make use of traditional systems developed over time through trial and error, which seem to have become outdated.

According to me, the main reason for all these contradictions is that we no longer live on our own terms; by this I mean those

58 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

conditions which are collectively defined by particular group of people with shared values and visions. Although our perception of world has drastically changed, thanks to technological advancement, our humanness (that we can not deny even if we want) enables us to relate best to other humans through these shared values and visions. No matter how much these values and visions change, they still exist in various forms.

There is a deep division between our perceptions of what is “modern” and what is “traditional”. The former carries with itself the notions of development of “backward” traditional communities; while latter either implies outdated knowledge or nostalgic images to be romanticised. Our perceptions have taken over our ability of comprehension at various levels. We no longer look deep inwards but tend to look outwards, denying “internal” contradictions as well as capacities. All this clearly influences the actions that we take to reduce the impact of disaster.

I shall like to exemplify this on a more tangible level by citing the case of post earthquake reconstruction process following 1993 earthquake in Marathwada region in India. The reconstructed villages had “city-like” plan with wide streets forming grid-.iron pattern and row housing. The designers in the local town planning office perceived that such a “modern” planning would ensure “development” of “backward” local communities. Ironically many local people also shared this perception. Interestingly however, several years after the quake, the villagers themselves have initiated drastic changes in these tailor-made designs to suit their way of life. Moreover, “earthquake resistant” technology, which was imported as rigid design packages has failed to take roots with local communities, owing to the fact that these were found to be unsuited to local climate, affordability and identity. Besides in the absence of proper workmanship, these in fact have resulted in poor constructions, which ironically are even poorer than traditional technology that they have replaced (Jigyasu 2001). Such examples are not uncommon. In fact, we continue to see the same phenomenon and repeat the same mistakes, over and over again, irrespective of geographical context. Again, I would emphasis that

59WHAT IS A DISASTER?

this should force us to look for deeper reasons behind all this, which I have mentioned before.

I would like to conclude this discussion by stressing on the fact that “disaster” is not just about spatial and temporal reality that has to be resisted. Disaster is as much rooted in consciousness of “the self ”, which makes and breaks these spatial and temporal boundaries. This rediscovering of “the self ” places ethics and responsibility on each human being. In this experiential realm, we start from “the self ”, move on to the community (with whom we share values and visions by choice and not compulsion) and to other levels, even extending to the cosmos (the most perceivable entity). But at the end, we must return and get connected to “the self ”.

This implies that our understanding of disaster needs to be turned inside out and not the other way around, as it tends to become, thanks to the “expert” notions of what is a disaster. There needs to be a strong interface between “reality” of disaster constructed by us “the experts” and the one created by the victims, based on their worldviews. After all, “reality” is nothing but a “construct;” it is about rediscovering “the self.” Only “the self” is real in the sense that it is insurmountable truth of our existence; omnipresent in visible, hidden and invisible realms of consciousness.

Rather than wasting all our time and efforts in finding out ways to fight the disaster as an external objective reality, we need to live with disaster, not as passive recipients but as proactive participants. This essentially requires moving from “perceptual” mode of thinking (that unfortunately we have got entangled at present) to an “experiential” mode of comprehension. To this end, I would even deny the very understanding and divisions of so called “east” and “west” that we construct as part of perceptual reality. The perspective on disaster that I have brought forward through this discussion is not “eastern”; it is rather “human”.

60

4

WHAT’S A WORD? OPENING

UP THE DEBATE

Neil R. Britton

Definitions are meant to be clarifying statements that assist to distinguish a specific phenomenon from others in a way that highlights any unique attribute or set of differentiating features so that all potential social actors, operating in similar social time and social space, can extract the same, or similar, meaning and/or application from the term. However, to achieve this there needs at the very least, to be consensus about what the distinguishing features are. This might be achieved by comparing phenomena that have some level of commonality but when put side by side, the uniqueness of each is made clearer: this is what I tried to do, primarily for my own benefit, in an early attempt to understand what a disaster was (Britton 1986). Since many terms are dependent on others, for example the concept of masculine is dependent in explanation as well as in social action on the reciprocal concept of feminine this approach has some sense. However, defining phenomenon by comparison only will not by itself provide a full explanation. A concept should stand in its own right; its uniqueness should be expressed. If this is not possible then perhaps it is not a unique phenomenon and is dependent on reciprocal relationships. Hence a relative distinction may be all that is required for social

61WHAT IS A DISASTER?

actors in social time and social space to develop a mutual acknowledgement of what “it” is. This last point is significant because, at the end of the day, if different groups of social actors cannot agree on what “it” is in terms of distinguishing features or, more importantly, about how to explain the phenomenon then successful social action based on mutual understanding will be difficult to achieve. For a notion like “disaster” with its connotation that specific social action is an associative factor, this is an important consideration.

Is it important that disaster has a “pure” definition or is a relational explanation acceptable? I don’t know the answer, although in many ways this seems to be where we are in the current debate. We appear to be having problems reaching agreement on what we are dealing with in a pure sense even though we all seem to agree on, and are comfortable with, the parameters that distinguish disaster from other relative terms. Is there anything really wrong then, working with a concept that portrays “family resemblance”, as Tony Oliver-Smith (1999: 21) aptly puts it? I acknowledge that for some, such as most of those who contributed to the 1998 text (which includes Oliver-Smith), and its precursor, the 1995 special volume of the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, that developing a precise definition for “disaster” is an intellectual challenge worth the effort; even if this is undertaken by a comparatively homogeneous group of social actors (that is, scholars), albeit from a range of disciplines that have very different start and end points. There is no doubt that scholars have been a major contributing force in helping wider society recognize that disaster, as a specific phenomenon, has distinct characteristics and that these need to be taken into account in terms of social organization. Moreover, many of these same scholars have turned their attention to implementation strategies that has enabled a generation of practitioners to more readily utilize the results of research. This contribution has been outstanding and it is a legacy that these researchers should be especially proud.

My suggestion, however, and hence the point of this essay, is to bring into the debate the perspective of emergency management

62 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

practitioners. The fact that researchers and practitioners have distinct cultures, institutional constraints and rewards, linkages and interaction needs (Fothergill 2000:93) would add strength to any definition produced. To be fair, scholars who study disasters have never claimed sovereignty over this field, and I am not asserting otherwise. In fact, most of the contributors to What is a Disaster? mention in some way or another that other actors have and need working definitions. Equally, the current group of disaster scholars exploring issues of definition are themselves an eclectic lot covering several disciplines, mostly from the social sciences. I suspect that this is also one of the reasons why the debate is still open-ended currently, since different disciplines naturally have different construct parameters and focus on different attributes. This is the strength of inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural research and is one of the many reasons why disaster research is such an exciting field to be part of. To be fairer still, there are ample opportunities for scholars and practitioners to come together to discuss, debate, refine and reflect on issues of definitions and their implications, and many of these opportunities are regularly taken up. In recent years this has been made easier because of increasing professionalism within emergency management and in particular the development of university-level degree courses now being offered in disasters. This latter point is important because degree courses provide researcher and practitioner with common platforms. Nevertheless, it is the emergency manager who has to interpret definitions, circumstances and information from which to develop disaster pertinent strategies, policies, procedures and practices. It is also the emergency manager who has to negotiate, mobilize and maintain resources from which to create appropriate public safety programs. How emergency managers view the world and how they define disaster is therefore highly relevant. So, why not bring disaster researcher and emergency practitioner together to work on the matter of “what is a disaster?”

I acknowledge this would not be an easy task. For one thing, such an activity necessitates a definition of emergency management: and here I agree with Waugh’s (2000) observation that a major problem in defining emergency management today is finding the

63WHAT IS A DISASTER?

boundaries of the field; and the field is as broad as the risks that society faces. Similarly, many practitioners would dismiss such an exercise as too esoteric, and no doubt some academics would dismiss the idea as being mundane, although I suspect that these views are not as prevalent now as they were even a few years ago. There are nonetheless some helpful signs. For example, the evolution of emergency management practice closely follows advances in disaster research, especially within the social sciences (Drabek 1991; Lindell and Perry 1992; Lindell and Perry 2004). Likewise, as Anderson and Mattingly (1991) observed over a decade ago, a symbiotic relationship exists between the disaster researcher and the emergency manager. Indeed, since an explicit public policy component to hazard and disaster research exists in several countries, many scholars have an interest in, and concern about knowledge transfer (Fothergill 2000). More significantly, researchers and practitioners are together developing a sustainable hazard mitigation approach to disaster reduction (Mileti 2002). There is also the fact that universities in many countries are increasingly recognizing the benefits of providing outreach or service work programs to the community, and fields such as disaster research serve this purpose well.

I want to build on my conviction that the professional emergency manager can assist to deepen levels of understanding about disaster, which may lead to the creation of a definition that will reduce the current level of discontent. Not every emergency manager will be helpful in this exercise, certainly, as is the case with disaster researchers: there is wide variation in terms of competence and credibility in both groups. My purpose is not to offer a definition of disaster (although I will express a view about what I believe some essential attributes are in the latter part of this discussion) but rather to request an opening up of the debate in a collaborative manner beyond the current cadre of interested spectators.

To initiate this process, I set out below some brief comments that illustrate the major shifts within emergency management practice as well as developments in the professionalization of

64 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

emergency managers that give reason for their ability to participate in developing definitions of what a disaster might be. I then justify my conviction for a pluralist approach to definition setting by employing four triggers, three of which are offered up by contributors to What is a Disaster? The first is predicated on one of sociology’s basic concepts, the definition of the situation. The second originates from two comments by Ron Perry in What is a Disaster? In the first he states that “many people and groups both define and need definitions of disaster” and in the second he reminds us that “each group or individual creates a definition with different ends in mind” (1998: 214). The third trigger is Ken Hewitt’s observation, in the same text, that “the question behind the question seems to be: How do we characterize disaster as a social problem for centralized organizations and professional management?” (1998: 88). The final entry is a proclamation by Henry Quarantelli, also in What is a Disaster?, wherein he seems worried that “our continuing dependence on the jargon inherent in everyday or popular speech continues to blind us to other more useful ways of looking at “disasters” (1998c: 246). To set the context to the discussion, however, an overview of emergency management as a research area and a practice field is useful.

DISASTER RESEARCH AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Modern disaster research in the western world has its origins in Samuel Prince’s 1917 doctoral study of the Halifax, Canada, munitions ship explosion and its impact on the local community (Prince 1920). In the ensuing 85 years the field has evolved into a well-established and eclectic area of research conducted primarily by university-based academics who, in the past decade especially, have increasingly learned to work and communicate with policymakers and practitioners. Disaster academics have also learnt to cohabit with researchers outside their own discipline to the point where inter-disciplinary and applied approaches to research have given birth to a “hazards community;” people from many

65WHAT IS A DISASTER?

fields and agencies who address the myriad of aspects of natural disasters” (Mileti 1999a: 1-2). The most recent manifestation of this endeavor is the sustainable hazard mitigation approach (Mileti 1997, 1999a, 1999b, 1999c; Beavers et al. 2000) which, since losses from hazards have now been shown to be predictable, has given rise to the call for a reconsideration of the relationship between the natural environment and human use. This approach recommends the need to think about the long-term effectiveness of various types of mitigation efforts and the adoption of a framework for sustainable development practices and. The approach, however, is not without concern being expressed (see for instance, Aguirre 2002; Sachs 1999).

With specific interest on group and organizational aspects, many disaster researchers also directed their attention to emergency management aspects. During the late 1970s and early 1980s in particular, US social scientists raised some serious questions about the practice of emergency management. Picking up on the research output of groups such as the Disaster Research Center, the USA’s National Governors’ Association (1979), for instance, expressed concern about a lack of comprehensive management at both policy and operational levels; about the lack of understanding of the relationship between preparedness and response on the one hand and recovery and mitigation on the other; about the limited talent pool available to manage all four phases; and about the narrow focus on quick-onset natural hazards and the concomitant lack of planning for technological hazards, energy and material shortages, and long-onset natural disasters. Perry (1982) raised issues about the appropriateness of the “dual use” policy connecting civil defense and emergency management. Dynes (1983) queried the relevance of the dominant “command and control” practice model. Other issues ranged from the narrow frame of reference within which hazards and disasters were viewed (Hewitt, 1983); to emergency management’s tenuous links with hazard management (Burton et al. 1978; White 1974), planning practices (Kartez 1984); and the relative lack of understanding within the emergency management community of mental health issues in the disaster context (Parad

66 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

et al. 1976; Raphael 1986). With the expansion of academic interest beyond these areas in the past two decades there has been a corresponding increase in attention about their theoretical implications for emergency management. This has resulted in the study of disaster research, sustainable hazard mitigation and emergency management starting to blend as well as to burgeon.

Emergency management has followed a similar pattern and the fundamentals of conventional organized emergency management are now about fifty years old. During that period, the practice of emergency management has changed from an essentially reactive and response-focused command-and-control civil defense approach, which grew out of the 1940s World War II and 1950s Korean War eras, phased into a comprehensive and integrated approach during the late 1970s, and from the 1990s started to re-emerge around the twin concepts of risk management and sustainable hazard mitigation. However, recent events connected with highly organized terrorist attacks in different parts of the world, most notably in the USA whereby a strong reaction has resulted in its lead disaster agency being subsumed into a federal homeland security mega-department, might see this latest transformation being short-lived in favor of a replay of earlier cycles.

Attempts to bring practice into line produced the Comprehensive Emergency Management (CEM) approach. CEM referred to the responsibility and capability of a political unit (nation, state, local area) to manage all types of emergencies and disasters by coordinating the actions of all players involved. The “comprehensive” aspect was based on the idea that there are generic processes for addressing most kinds of hazards and disasters. The model included four phases of an emergency activity: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. While this may have been somewhat simplistic in terms of disaster authenticity, it greatly assisted bureaucratic agencies to develop more realistic administrative and human resource capacities. One of these initiatives was the bringing forth of the “emergency manager” as a specific administrator/practitioner. Also stemming from this approach was the Integrated Emergency Management System

67WHAT IS A DISASTER?

(IEMS), which would help form partnerships between different levels of resource owners, both vertically (between levels of government) and horizontally (between different agencies and the public-private sector). Basically a process model, Integrated Emergency Management Systems, focused attention on hazard analysis, capability assessment, disaster planning, capacity maintenance, and disaster response/recovery requirements. In this way CEM/IEMS dominated emergency management thinking for the subsequent two decades.

The 1990s and the early twenty-first century witnessed a different set of imperatives on the role and direction of emergency management. Two unambiguous influences are sustainable development and the heightened public demand for increased safety. In this respect, disasters, now more broadly considered than ever before, have started to become a policy problem of global proportion because of the growing realization that what humans do in the normal course of their lives can magnify the vulnerability of their community. With this understanding starting to take root emergency management is incorporating its activities into a wider risk management framework. This approach places emergency management in the overall context of a community’s economic and social activities. Steps taken to manage risks of extreme events can be justified to the extent that they deliver a net benefit to society. Attempts to manage risks, however, will invariably impose costs as well as benefits. Hence, the social function of emergency management is shifting from one that only minimizes losses (for example, reducing loss of life or property damage), but also maximizes gains (such as supporting sound investment decision- making, and general community well being). A key factor in this new thinking is the concentration on the “management” component rather than the “emergency”. This has widened the focus of emergency management from being highly task-specific (that is planning and responding to particular categories of events by engaging dedicated skilled personnel and resources) to a more generic social function looking at socially disruptive episodes from a holistic perspective. This, in turn, directs attention to integration

68 (EDITED BY) RONALD W. PERRY & E.L. QUARANTELLI

as a central concept. Possible implications have been outlined elsewhere for emergency management (Britton 2002) and emergency managers (Britton 1999a). However, the inference that emergency management trends have on research does not appear to have been reciprocally and systematically explored.

WHOSE DEFINITION OF THE SITUATION SHOULD BE CONSIDERED?

I want to return to the assertion I made at the outset of this essay, that the supply side for current definitions of disaster is too narrow, and turn attention to the four triggers I mentioned earlier that, in my view help justify why an expansion of intellectual input is required. One of the basic postulates of sociology is that each person acts on the basis of his or her definition of the situation (Thomas 1918). Human beings do not passively respond to environmental stimuli, but rather we constantly interpret what we perceive. It is difficult to account for the social action of others except in terms of how those actors define the situation they find themselves in. The way people define a situation is the reality for them and they fashion attitudes, behavior and action accordingly. Even if others regard them as misguided, if scientists or any other social group might prove them wrong through social facts, or the initial idea turns out to be inappropriate or false they nevertheless during the time that they are salient have consequences for action. Perhaps a more contemporary and non-sociological way of articulating this might be, “where you stand on an issue depends on where you sit”; or to put it another way, “how a person/group interprets something depends on what they are required to do about it”. These expressions resonate with Dombrowsky’s comment that definitions provide a justification of positions (1998: 20). One important implication of this principle is that people, especially if they are drawn from dissimilar backgrounds, may define an identical situation quite differently and for valid reasons.

Placing this into the context at hand, Aguirre sums it up superbly when he states, “disasters are what communities define as

69WHAT IS A DISASTER?

disasters, and are thus the outcome of social constructions” (2002: 114). If this is the case, then bringing practitioner perspectives into definition deliberations will be useful. Governments are not theoretical in orientation, but empirical. They form positions and policies on the basis of reflection—and reaction—to occasions that impact on the lives of citizens they (the government) are obliged, both legally and morally, to protect. Disasters, as social disruptions, are one such category of occasion that requires governmental attention, although it must be said that low probability events tend not to carry much weight in policymaking unless, of course, the consequences are so great they cannot be ignored. Be this as it may, how government defines disaster is important because this starts the process of policy development that leads to the domain, tasks, resources and activities mix described by Kreps (1998), the combination of which frames social action in disaster. Moreover, practitioners tend to operate within action frameworks that are handed down by governments through legislation, and which they have helped shape. Hence, practitioner explanations tend to include statements outlining general directions and commitment of resources. These elements give focus to specific dimensions that may be important for clarifying what a disaster is. Two non-USA examples will suffice.