精东传媒

As a human geographer,  isn鈥檛 just interested in what happens during a disaster; she鈥檚 concerned with how existing circumstance affects vulnerability and preparedness as well as a person鈥檚 ability to cope in the immediate aftermath and the recovery long-term. 

Socioeconomic circumstances, for example, can have a great effect on someone鈥檚 preparation for, and response to, a disaster. Researchers found this to be the case when Hurricane Katrina struck the south east of the United States in 2005; people in lower-income households were disadvantaged from the get go. 

鈥淭hey lived in areas that were below sea level because that was the cheapest part of town to live in, they usually had no vehicle access so they were dependant on public transport, they often didn鈥檛 have the same resources in terms of communications, so they weren鈥檛 as well informed about what was going on.鈥� 

In households where there are elderly people or people with disabilities and a lack of outside assistance, the disadvantages can be exacerbated. 

鈥淭he degree of the disaster is usually much worse for people who are less well off or have a disability or some other form of social characteristic that means they don鈥檛 have the support network or the resources to cope.鈥� 

Even residents in wealthier neighbourhoods are vulnerable in disasters despite affluence seemingly providing a buffer. 

鈥淧eople with dependants 鈥� be it an elderly parent or a child, pets or livestock, are less able to just get up and go in a rush.鈥� 

Disaster Geographies

Researchers worldwide have documented the effects of social factors such as poverty, gender, cultural beliefs, age or sexual identity on disaster resilience. While there is growing recognition of these findings within parts of the international disaster management sector, we are a long way from seeing inclusive disaster management being implemented worldwide. 

鈥淓ven though I think a lot of emergency management organisations around the world increasingly think about inclusivity, there鈥檚 often a lack of resources to make it happen,鈥� Dr Eriksen explains. 

鈥淲orking with people on the ground is usually much more resource intensive whether it鈥檚 in the form of having staff to door knock or work with groups, having the right types of leaflets or brochures in the right languages, having the capacity to map out the socio-economic demographics of an area, those kinds of resources are not always available.鈥� 

Research in this area is beginning to filter down from those in academic research to undergraduate level study. At UOW, a new subject - Disaster Geographies (or ) - will address a growing demand for knowledge in the area among students and the workforce. Dr Eriksen is coordinating the subject and says she jumped on the opportunity to turn her research into a subject for study for a number of reasons. 

鈥淲e are not resilient in this country to the increasing number of disasters we鈥檙e experiencing. We know that with climate change we are more exposed; the fire seasons start earlier and last longer, we have more high fire danger days, and bushfires are more intense,鈥� Dr Eriksen, whose research often focuses on social dimensions of bushfire preparedness, response and recovery at home, at work, and at heart, says. 

鈥淲e need a bigger fire fighting force. If you exclude half of the population in terms of discriminating against women in a traditionally male-dominated profession, you eliminate half of the possible candidates for the job, and that鈥檚 across the different types of institutions 鈥� they all need more diversity in terms of building a bigger, better and stronger workforce.鈥� 

"The need for citizens 鈥� your average Joe Blow 鈥� to understand the changing climate and the threats posed by natural hazards also factors into it." Says Dr Eriksen pictured above.

Learning from the past

Disaster Geographies, designed with everyone in mind 鈥� from future first responders, humanitarian aid workers, social workers, national park rangers to policy makers, will use case studies like Hurricane Katrina to draw attention to the social dimensions that make a person more or less vulnerable and resilient. Students will examine LGBTQI experiences of the 2011 Queensland floods, the political obstacles and cultural significance of Indigenous fire knowledge, and gendered responses to the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. The subject will also address the need to consider ethical dilemmas during disaster recovery, disaster capitalism, the role of children in emergency situations, and the emotional impact of working in disasters. 

The range of disasters and social characteristics covered by the subject speaks to the complexities of disaster management at every level. It also speaks to the importance of understanding different community groups before a disaster. 

鈥淯sing 精东传媒 as an example, we know that parts of the city have lower socioeconomic levels; there are areas with higher levels of migrant or refugee populations who might not speak English; people have built homes in low-lying areas that are disproportionately vulnerable to flooding, rising sea levels or a tsunami,鈥� Dr Eriksen says. 

鈥淲hat we have to do is prepare those communities.鈥� 

 Dr Eriksen is currently supervising is investigating how to do just this with former refugees and migrants resettled in the Illawarra. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at their past experience of disasters, including experiences of war and perilous resettlement journeys, and how that influences how they perceive themselves, how that makes them able to respond to an emergency here in the Illawarra. 

鈥淲e have found that many of them don鈥檛 know who to contact in an emergency, many of them don鈥檛 speak English, many of them are afraid of people in uniforms.鈥� 

In response to these  findings, the 精东传媒 branch of the NSW State Emergency Service has created a  with up to 20 former refugees who鈥檝e been trained to work with the community and to help them understand the natural hazards they鈥檙e most likely to be confronted with 鈥� flooding, sea level rise, windy conditions, bushfires. People are also taught the common signs of a hazard, such as smoke in the air, who to contact in an emergency, and where to go if they need to evacuate. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 just one way that you can plan in advance and try to heighten the resilience levels of particular communities,鈥� Dr Eriksen says. 

Understanding natural hazards

The first task for students though will be to gain a better understanding of the root causes of disasters and their impact on at-risk communities in general. 

鈥淥ne of the key learning objectives that I鈥檓 trying to achieve in this subject, is to teach the next generation of potential emergency managers not to think of disasters as natural,鈥� Dr Eriksen explains, referring to the idea that a natural hazard isn鈥檛 a disaster until people are affected. 

鈥淚f you have a cyclone that鈥檚 lurking off the coast of Queensland but never makes landfall, it just stays a natural hazard, it never actually becomes a disaster. That鈥檚 the bare bones of it. 

鈥淲hen that cyclone does make landfall and collides with a community, the preparedness and resilience of each individual within that community, and the awareness of subgroups and their needs among emergency responders, will have an effect on the scale of the damage done and the recovery effort needed. 

鈥淵ou really need to be paying attention to the social characteristics of a community before a disaster actually unfolds so you know the different parameters you鈥檙e working with.鈥�

Hear Dr Christine Eriksen's 

MEDIA RELEASE - WORKING WITH REFUGEES TO BUILD DISASTER RESILIENCE: 

MEDIA RELEASE - MINORITY GROUPS CAN PROVIDE HELP DURING DISASTERS: .