Considering COVID-19 through the Lens of Hazard and Disaster Research
Decades of social science research have taught us much about how individuals, groups, and communities respond to disasters. The findings of this research have helped inform emergency management practices, including disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. In the context of the COVI...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/7/248 |
| _version_ | 1827688448824180736 |
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| author | Liesel Ritchie Duane Gill |
| author_facet | Liesel Ritchie Duane Gill |
| author_sort | Liesel Ritchie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Decades of social science research have taught us much about how individuals, groups, and communities respond to disasters. The findings of this research have helped inform emergency management practices, including disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us—researchers or not—have attempted or are attempting to make sense of what is going on around us. In this article, we assert that we need not examine the pandemic in a vacuum; rather, we can draw upon scholarly and practical sources to inform our thinking about this 21st century catastrophe. The pandemic has provided an “unfortunate opportunity” to revisit what we know about disaster phenomena, including catastrophes, and to reconsider the findings of research from over the years. Drawing upon academic research, media sources, and our own observations, we focus on the U.S. and employ disaster characteristics framework of (1) etiology or origins; (2) physical damage characteristics; (3) disaster phases or cycles; (4) vulnerability; (5) community impacts; and (6) individual impacts to examine perspectives about the ways in which the ongoing pandemic is both similar and dissimilar to conceptualizations about the social dimensions of hazards and disasters. We find that the COVID-19 pandemic is not merely a disaster; rather, it is a catastrophe. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:55:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-982f4c53fd494d05a5c500df5f9810a6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0760 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:55:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-982f4c53fd494d05a5c500df5f9810a62023-11-22T02:22:18ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602021-06-0110724810.3390/socsci10070248Considering COVID-19 through the Lens of Hazard and Disaster ResearchLiesel Ritchie0Duane Gill1Department of Sociology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USADepartment of Sociology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USADecades of social science research have taught us much about how individuals, groups, and communities respond to disasters. The findings of this research have helped inform emergency management practices, including disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us—researchers or not—have attempted or are attempting to make sense of what is going on around us. In this article, we assert that we need not examine the pandemic in a vacuum; rather, we can draw upon scholarly and practical sources to inform our thinking about this 21st century catastrophe. The pandemic has provided an “unfortunate opportunity” to revisit what we know about disaster phenomena, including catastrophes, and to reconsider the findings of research from over the years. Drawing upon academic research, media sources, and our own observations, we focus on the U.S. and employ disaster characteristics framework of (1) etiology or origins; (2) physical damage characteristics; (3) disaster phases or cycles; (4) vulnerability; (5) community impacts; and (6) individual impacts to examine perspectives about the ways in which the ongoing pandemic is both similar and dissimilar to conceptualizations about the social dimensions of hazards and disasters. We find that the COVID-19 pandemic is not merely a disaster; rather, it is a catastrophe.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/7/248COVID-19 pandemicnatural hazards and disasterstechnological hazards and disastersrecreancycatastrophes |
| spellingShingle | Liesel Ritchie Duane Gill Considering COVID-19 through the Lens of Hazard and Disaster Research Social Sciences COVID-19 pandemic natural hazards and disasters technological hazards and disasters recreancy catastrophes |
| title | Considering COVID-19 through the Lens of Hazard and Disaster Research |
| title_full | Considering COVID-19 through the Lens of Hazard and Disaster Research |
| title_fullStr | Considering COVID-19 through the Lens of Hazard and Disaster Research |
| title_full_unstemmed | Considering COVID-19 through the Lens of Hazard and Disaster Research |
| title_short | Considering COVID-19 through the Lens of Hazard and Disaster Research |
| title_sort | considering covid 19 through the lens of hazard and disaster research |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemic natural hazards and disasters technological hazards and disasters recreancy catastrophes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/7/248 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lieselritchie consideringcovid19throughthelensofhazardanddisasterresearch AT duanegill consideringcovid19throughthelensofhazardanddisasterresearch |