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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 production and continued maintenance is paid for by hospitals and foundations partnered with the app developers. 

The program was created in reaction to the disaster at Fukushima-Daiichi, with influence of the lessons learned post-bombing in Hiroshima. Hiroshima University specializes in radiation casualty medicine and works to improve medical care in response to nuclear emergencies. This program was specifically made to generate leaders capable of directing relief efforts while keeping the clear goal of reconstruction post-disaster. 

" But with every explosion that shook the Japanese plant it became clear: there was nobody- not in Japan, nor Russia, nor the United States- who had the relevant know-how, equipment, and strategy to handle a nuclear disaster."

"To move forward with maximum efficiency, an international nuclear response group needs to operationalize realtive experiece from international disaster relief organizations."

"If an international nuclear response group is a worthwhile goal (and it certainly appears to be) we need to define realistic tasks."

The methods and data used to produce the claim, include historical accounts of what happened of Chernobyl, as well as direct quotes and data from field studies conducted in the towns surrounding Chernobyl in Ukarine. The study is also supported through numbers and figures that disect the economy and sicoer the negative impact the disaster had on Ukraine's economy- it created a need for disability to survive.

The author, Sonja D Schmid, is an assistant professor at Virginia Tech. She specializes in knowledge of the nuclear industries in the Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. She uses this knowledge to analyze energy policy and nonproliferation efforts. She is well versed in disaster response, having interviewed a number of members from the Soviet nuclear industry, using their first-hand accounts of the response efforts in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster to guide her.