Sociology of Disasters

Information dissemption

Reassurance, providing first-hand accounts to create a sense of shared experience

Narrative/conversation control

Framing causes and consequences of the disaster, framing the disaster as a social leveler (or, less often, focusing on the plight of the disadvantaged), mobilization of support

Political accountability

Holding institutions or powerful actors accountable via investigative journalism, influence policy, amplifying voices of the disadvantaged

Social construction

Shaping of the public's perception of disaster risk, nature, and extent by manipulation, distortion, or selective disclosure of facts

Sensationalism

Amplification of the perceived level of risk, urgency, and damage for the sake of drama and entertainment

Perpetuation of disaster "myths"

- Looting is widespread after a disaster

- Panic is the dominant response to disasters

- Disasters are natural or unavoidable, and have a social leveling effect

- Aid is best provided by external actors not caught up in the disaster itself

The "Oz" theory of authority

People, including authority figures themselves, often assume that someone else is on top of things. "Help is on the way."

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Draws on the Thomas theorem, which states: 'If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.'

Buffalo creek event

A coal slurry impoundment dam operated by the Pittston Coal Company gave way atop a mountain ridge that flowed down into a miles-long valley that wound its way through small mining towns arrayed throughout the valley, ultimately killing 125 men, women, and children. Pittston called it an "Act of God" in its legal defense.

Social Disruption Theory (Sorokin)

Sorokin argued that disasters are one of several phenomena, such as large wars, that upend the order of daily life

Routine and predictability in everyday life

People can predict with 78% accuracy how they will be spending their time, and often when, the following day at particular times

Anomia

An individual-level state of anxiety and confusion that stems from lack of guidance and sense of disorganization

Anomie

An absence, breakdown, confusion, or conflict in the norms of a society - i.e., a "state of normlessness"

Individual-level symptoms

Stress-related headaches, tension, frustration, fatigue, insomnia

Community-level indicators

Low trust, weakening of shared moral standards

Society as a System (Parsons)

Societies are "open" systems that must constantly interface with and react to environmental shifts, and they must achieve stability/equilibrium throughout such changes

Resilience

The ability of individuals and their community to restore their social environments to their pre-disaster equilibrium (or to adapt to a slightly new equilibrium) after a displacement.

Recovery

The process of repopulation by survivors - who may have fled or been evacuated - and new residents, along with the gradual resumption of normal daily routines for those occupants. (This can take days or decades.)

Social cohesion

A characteristic of communities wherein individuals are interconnected in a vast web of social network connections of various kinds that facilitate cooperation, coordination, and the capacity for collective action.