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I am interested in seeing how social ties and networks have been used to cope with (un)natural disasters. My research focus on places under disasters conditions such as Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria, in which social ties have made the difference between life and death. Furthermore, “natural” disaster has been used to approved austerity measures and unjust policies to impoverished communities like in New Orleans after Katrina. These policies were not new, as they are rooted in structures of power to preserve the status quo. Yet, people have resisted, “through a network of branches, cultures, and geographies” that has stimulated a reflective process of looking within for solutions rather than outside. As often this outside solutions are not only detached from community’s reality but can perpetuate social injustices and inequalities.

McKittrick, K., & Woods, C. A. (Eds.). (2007). Black geographies and the politics of place. South End Press.

Bullard, R. D., & Wright, B. (Eds.). (2009). Race, place, and environmental justice after Hurricane Katrina: Struggles to reclaim, rebuild, and revitalize New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Westview Press.

The article discusses the response to 9/11, focusing on the many issues that prevented hundreds of firefighters from evacuating when the towers fell. Although the article states that cooperation and even the firefighters desire to help more people can be blamed for the tragedy, the article presents communication as the primary reason so many firefighters failed to evacuate. The radio issues that prevented the evacuation order from being heard were well known, and the repeater that was installed to solve those issues did not function properly. While technical issues cannot always be anticipated and remain a potential problem, the lack of communication between police and fire prevented the police from passing information to firefighters who did not hear the evacuation order. The incident command system has been created and modified several times to create a system of cooperation between responding units, which will hopefully prevent such communication issues in the future.

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