The now-closed Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) allowed Hurricane Katrina's storm surge to travel inland, causing levee breeches and engineering failures that ultimately flooded the city of New Orleans. ©Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, 2005.
March 2, 2018
Speaking Truth to Power
The Latest from Research Counts
Disasters are costing more lives and money than ever before-largely because we now have more people, buildings, and infrastructure situated in areas of risk. We've known this to be case for some time, yet building (and rebuilding) continues and still these events are referred to "natural" disasters.
In our latest in the Research Counts series, Richard Olson of Florida International University discusses how the seemingly innocuous turn of phrase actually works to obscure human culpability in disasters. Olson calls on disaster researchers and professionals to find every opportunity to correct the misusage.
Read more in Speaking Truth to Power: Please Don't Call Them Natural Disasters.
And if you missed it, please check out our other recent Research Counts articles:
Preparing the Whole Community: Including Homelessness in Disaster Planning by June Gin of the Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center
Managerial Perspectives on the Role of Public Libraries in Disaster Response by Michal Linder of Virginia Tech
Cost-Effective Building Regulations Should be Embraced, Not Feared by Kevin Simmons of Austin College