Summary
Disasters: Kathleen Tierney, Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado, sheds light on the social roots of disaster vulnerability. We know that hurricanes and tsunamis kill, maim, and generate huge financial losses – but they do not wreak their damage equally across populations. How do countries recover from disasters? Greg Beckett, Assistant Professor in Sociocultural Anthropology at Western University, Ontario, talks about the lives of Haitian people struggling to survive amid the ruins of ecological devastation and economic collapse. In what ways do natural disasters – principally the 2010 earthquake - amplify existing crises?
Producer: Jayne Egerton
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of |
| 0:07.0 | Happiness Podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want |
| 0:14.4 | to share that science with you. |
| 0:16.1 | And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley. |
| 0:19.4 | I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that |
| 0:25.4 | calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:30.3 | BBC Sounds, Music Radio, Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:36.4 | I'm Laurie Taylor and this is a podcast for Thinking Loud on BBC Radio 4. |
| 0:42.1 | What would it be like to live in a country where your entire existence was governed |
| 0:46.2 | by a succession of economic, political and natural disasters? Find out here. |
| 0:53.0 | Hello. |
| 0:55.0 | A few night ago I was watching a disaster on the television news, a disaster with many of the all too familiar ingredients, howling winds, collapsing buildings, surging floodwater, terrified citizens and wholly inadequate relief. But even as I was selfishly thinking I'd probably seen enough tragedy for one night, |
| 1:18.4 | my partner came into the room and was transfixed by the on-screen pictures. Oh, God, she murmured. How terrible, |
| 1:26.0 | terrible, but then she paused. Hey, wait a minute, she said. Is this the same disaster |
| 1:32.0 | as last night? |
| 1:33.0 | Well, it's pretty easy to forgive that reaction, |
| 1:36.0 | for although some natural disasters are distinctive because of their sheer scale, |
| 1:41.0 | remember the 2010 Haiti earthquake in which as many as 200,000 people |
| 1:45.3 | lost their lives or the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which triggered the deaths of more |
| 1:50.6 | than 200,000 individuals in 14 countries, or Hurricane Katrina in 2005 |
| 1:56.3 | which caused 100 billion dollars worth of property damages across the Gulf coastline. |
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