In literary discussions, there has been a shift in study from vulnerability to resilience. “Resilience can be considered as the flip side to vulnerability … however this relationship is not straightforward” (Whittle et al, 2010) While resilience can be seen as the opposite of vulnerability, it is possible to be vulnerable in some aspects, but resilient in others – meaning the two terms are highly connected. “At its most basic conceptualisation the more resilient a system is then the stronger its resistance to an event and/or the quicker it can recover from the event, and of course, with minimum “damage” and/or loss of life.” (Whittle et al. 2010) This suggests that the more resilient a person or community is, the less likely a disaster is to …show more content…
– And the answer is yes. Firstly, specific hazards must be taken into consideration, as some can count as a natural disaster. Wildfires are a perfect example of natural disaster. While many wildfires are caused by humans, there are still millions that are caused by nature, particularly lightning. If a wildfire destroys hundreds of acres of forest, taking with it animals, plant life and natural habitats, but has minimal or no impact on humans, would it not still be considered a disaster for the impact it has had on nature? Many would argue yes. Another example is tsunamis. While it may be so that hazards have more of an impact on the poor, a hazard like a tsunami is almost certain to be a disaster for everyone. Tsunamis are relentless, they will wipe out most buildings and infrastructure, anyone caught in their path faces disaster, regardless of social structure, or economic status. It can be argued that because people choose to live in these tsunami prone areas, the disaster cannot be natural, but much of the earth is tsunami prone (Figure 1) As water, the oceans and seas, is a basic need of humans, it is only natural that we should chose to live on coastlines – particularly as many of the coastal communities rely on their maritime lifestyles to survive. Therefore, it should not be agreeable that the mere presence of humans stops a disaster being
Drea Knufken’s thesis statement is that “As a society, we’ve acquired an immunity to crisis” (510-512). This means that humans in general, or citizens of the world, have become completely desensitized to disasters, we think of them as just another headline, without any understanding of their impact upon fellow
Regina:The Early Years. (2014). Cyclone of 1912. Regina: The Early Years 1880 -1950. Retrieved March 7, 2014, from http://scaa.usask.ca/gallery/regina/central/cyclone.html
Both man-made and natural disasters are often devastating, resource draining and disruptive. Having a basic plan ready for these types of disaster events is key to the success of executing and implementing, as well as assessing the aftermath. There are many different ways to create an emergency operations plan (EOP) to encompass a natural and/or man-made disaster, including following the six stage planning process, collection of information, and identification of threats and hazards. The most important aspect of the US emergency management system in preparing for, mitigating, and responding to man-made and natural disasters is the creation, implementation and assessment of a community’s EOP.
Resilience gives people living in poor conditions a way to change the way they perceive situations by creative a view of positivity. Relationships between poverty and the environment in rural destitute neighborhoods are not
Resilience and hardiness has long been a topic of research and discussion within different paradigms and fields of study, for example, in military psychology, psychiatry, health statistics and measurement, medical anthropology, education, medicine and organizational settings. Resilience means the skills, abilities, acquaintance, and insight that accumulate over time as people struggle to conquer adversity and meet challenges. It is an ongoing and developing fund of energy and skill that can be used in current struggles (Saleebey, 1996; Liebenberg, 2005).Most commonly, the term resilience has come to mean an individual's ability to overcome adversity and continue his or her normal development.
While it may seem like human survival after a traumatic event may be anarchy, yet after chaos there can be order, humans come together in light of horrible events and even in the worst disaster culture will survive. Therefore, humanity is not in as much trouble as it can be assumed in case of disaster.
Resilience is not an attribute or personality characteristic of an individual but a dynamic process wherein people show positive adaptation despite experiences of major adversity or trauma. (LUTHAR & CICCHETTI, 2000) Resilience is a two-dimensional construct regarding adversity exposure and the proper adjustment outcomes of that adversity. (LUTHAR & CICCHETTI, 2000) The two-dimensional construct means implies two judgments about the significance of adversity and a positive adaptation to adversity. (Masten & Obradovic, 2006).
Resiliency is the ability to successfully overcome adversity (Seccombe, 2016). Learning resilience is a lifelong process. Elements at the macro and micro level produce the harsh conditions or recovery mechanisms (Seccombe, 2016). Macro-level elements include political and social systems. Micro-level elements consist of the family system and an individual’s characteristics. Additionally, it is these environmental factors and individual characteristics that foster either resignation or resilience (Seccombe, 2016). The book Louisa (Emmel, 2007), illustrates how a culture’s social policy was restrictive while the family structure and individual characteristics were the protective/recovery means that provided resilience.
Resilience is important because it is the human capacity to face, overcome and be strengthened by or even transformed by
Resilience is a simple concept but many definitions exist, making it hard to operationally define. For the purpose of the current study, the definition has been derived from an extensive construct review by Windle (2011). Resilience is the process in which individuals undergo when adapting to stress, challenges, or trauma. The individual uses resources in their environment during the process to “bounce back” from adversity (Windle, 2011). Such as social support and coping methods (Mahmoud, 2012).
Natural Disasters can occur anywhere at anytime. Some are more predictable than others, but they all bring hardship to everyone’s life. Examples of natural disasters are Earthquakes (Haiti 2010), Tornadoes, Tsunami, Hurricanes, Wild Fires, Winter Storms, Heat waves, Mudslides and Floods. Regardless of what kind of disaster occurs, bottom line, everyone needs to be prepared mentally and physically to deal with the aftermath. Education is the first step to prepare you to deal with any major disaster. Three of the major disasters that can potentially disrupt normal day to day operations in our lives, are Hurricanes, Tsunamis and Tornadoes.
Resilience can be defined broadly as “the capacity of a dynamic system to adapt successfully to disturbances that threaten its function, viability, or development” (Masten, 2014a p. 10). As we can see this definition can be applied broadly to any individual, community, computer, economy or other system which has to recover from some kind of disturbance in its system. At a first glance resilience might seem as something not so important in children development however it has a greater impact in their life. And the authors point out that it is not an inborn trait; rather it is something which can be developed overtime by a few factors. Therefore in order to understand resilience we have to find out what are the factors that lead to it? And how we can use them to build a strong resilience? Masten and Monn claim that for healthy development and overall success in life, children need “care, nutrition, skills, health services, learning opportunities”, and many other economic and social resources. They also need an array of “learning, communication, and behavioral skills” that depend on brain development and socialization. Therefore promotive factors for positive
Communities throughout the country and the world are susceptible to disasters. The environment and location of a community often predisposes a greater susceptibility to the type of disaster. For example Central Pennsylvania would not be susceptible to an avalanche however communities in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado would have increase vulnerability. Understanding the types of disaster for which the community is susceptible is essential for emergency preparedness (Nies & McEwen, 2011). All communities are susceptible to man-made disasters; terrorism, fires, and mass transit accidents and emergency preparedness are essential. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) is responsible for disaster planning.
Hurricanes occur all over the world, at different times, but commonly through June first and late November. However in late August 2005 a catastrophic hurricane struck. This was Hurricane Katrina. With winds traveling over one hundred miles per hour making it a category five on the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Scale it was said to have cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Hurricane Katrina flooded nearly forty thousand homes, and killed at least two thousand people (“Hurricane”). An average category five hurricane has enough energy to power street lamps for more than twenty seven thousand hours (Williams 58). Knowing about Hurricane Katrina, and the devastation of the city in New Orleans would be beneficial. Also, general information on hurricanes can help civilians and people of higher authority better understand and prepare for damage that could once hit their town and community. Because experts know the general information on these storms they can help explain to the public why and how Hurricane Katrina and other hurricanes occur. Hopefully, in the future civilians will know and use this information to their advantage against hurricanes.
Good morning everybody, by now all of you will have seen the morbid and shocking images on television. Known to man as one of the most damaging, disastrous and detrimental typhoons in history, Super Haiyan ravaged through our entire country leaving nothing to spare. Within a split second those which were known as our most prized possession were instantly consumed by the monstrous typhoon. Our initial reports show that this monstrosity left a wake of massive destruction that is unthinkable, unprecedented and horrendous. Thousands of neighbourhoods were left in ruins, thousands more were injured among those were children struggling with all their might to deny the horrible fact that their parents were lying on the ground, lifeless, cold, pale . The devastation is so staggering that I struggle to find words to describe the horrific events that have occurred.