Suchergebnisse

Abstract
Communities have a vital role to play in managing the risks associated with natural disasters. As such, their strengths, weaknesses, and priority concerns must be factored into policy decisions to ensure local recovery efforts reflect community needs. Regular engagement with community members provides opportunities for emergency managers and first responders to tap into a reservoir of local knowledge to build a shared understanding of how to foster local preparedness and help communities reduce the impact of a disaster. Not all communities are alike; needs can differ for a variety of reasons and can help determine the best ways to galvanize an appropriate response. The methods of engagement should also be tailored to ensure communities are willing and able to participate in the types of interactions emergency managers wish to initiate. In this paper, we used a mixed method approach to examine several different community engagement and data collection strategies conducted, observed or examined by our research team during six months of post-Hurricane Maria recovery efforts in Puerto Rico from February to July 2018. The aim of this study is to assess whether different outreach approaches used illuminated different perceptions about disaster preparedness and recovery and to identify what works and what does not work when engaging communities in emergency preparedness and recovery activities.

"Launching a propulsive middle grade nonfiction series, a young man shares how he combated Puerto Rico's public health emergency after Hurricane Maria. Suffering heavy damage in the wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017, Puerto Rican communities lacked access to clean water and electricity. Salvador Gómez-Colón couldn't ignore the basic needs of his homeland, and knew that nongovernmental organizations and larger foreign philanthropies could only do so much. With unstoppable energy and a deep knowledge of local culture, Salvador founded Light and Hope for Puerto Rico and raised more than $100,000 to purchase and distribute solar-powered lamps and hand-powered washing machines to households in need. With a voice that is both accessible and engaging, Salvador recalls living through the catastrophic storm and grappling with the destruction it left behind. Hurricane brings forward a captivating first-person account of strength, resilience, and determination, and heralds the start of a new series of compelling narrative nonfiction by young people, for young people"--

Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. The devastation displaced many families and led to negative mental health outcomes. We use the intersection of Oyserman's possible selves' theory and Walsh's family resilience theory, to aid in elucidating the process of positive familial coping within resilience among Latinx families. Nine different family units participated in an art-based intervention and subsequent focus groups in Florida in November 2018. Grounded theory guided analysis, and themes emerged using intersecting aspects of the above-mentioned theories. Understanding the impact that positive familial selves have on resilience can lead to future development of family interventions and a better understanding of how to foster resilience.

Introduction and Background -- Sources and Methods -- Municipal Voices on the Hurricanes' Impacts -- Governance in Puerto Rico -- Municipal Finances -- Municipal Services -- Assessing Municipal Recovery -- Recovery Courses of Action -- Conclusion -- Appendix A: Recovery Courses of Action -- Appendix B: Municipal Fiscal Challenges and Initiatives -- Appendix C: Municipal Recovery Indicator Data -- Appendix D: Services, by Category.

A municipality's level of public engagement and especially community involvement is associated with a greater rate of recovery in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017. This finding is based on an analysis of the relationship between the capacity of Puerto Rico's 78 municipal governments and their rates of post disaster-recovery, controlling for both exposure to Maria and pre-storm trends. Municipal capacity for community involvement may help activate social capital and the co-production of disaster recovery. Community involvement may increase trust among local officials and residents, increase government's knowledge of community priorities, and help residents access federal and state aid. Other measures of management capacity are not consistently associated with a faster rate of post-disaster recovery. The findings suggest that investing in municipal capacity for public engagement as part of disaster preparedness may provide benefits for disaster recovery. For researchers, the combination of original survey data and readily available post-disaster indicators provides a model for assessing recovery after disaster in the short term. ; Accepted version ; Yes, abstract only (Peer reviewed?)

Hurricanes and Their Victims -- Antonio's Story: A Hurricane Is Coming -- How Hurricanes Work -- Antonio's Story: Fleeing to Safety -- The Causes of Hurricanes -- Antonio's Story: Riding Out the Storm -- Where Hurricanes Happen -- Dangerous Times -- Antonio's Story: Total Loss -- How Science Can Fight Hurricanes -- Protecting People -- Antonio's Story: Rebuilding Our Lives -- Glossary -- Learning More -- Index.

Background. The practice of accounting for deaths from disasters due to natural hazards was critically challenged after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico when societal-observed mortality rates were higher than official estimates. To confront the controversy, the Governor commissioned George Washington University to conduct an independent estimate of excess mortality, evaluate the death registration practice and assess the communication process. Methods/Approach. We present the difficulties in carrying out multiple empirical analyses in the face of the complex social and political realities in a USA territory. In any setting, the precise assessment of mortality is a methodologic challenge, complicated by limited official guidelines for certifying deaths and uneven application, and the worldwide lack of standardized methods to document deaths that are indirectly caused by natural disasters. Results. We discuss our six-month findings, the excess mortality and age and socioeconomic inequities. We identified the lack of a culture of preparedness, and issues with communication and coordination across the local, Puerto Rico and federal governments. We discuss the actions that Puerto Rico is undertaking to prepare for future storms. We address the experience of releasing the report and the responses from the local government and civil society, as well as the amplified reaction by the federal authorities. We provide an update of current initiatives in the US to establish a standardized procedure for accounting the mortality impacts from natural disasters. We discuss its policy, epidemiologic and capacity-building implications. Conclusions. There is need for agreed-upon principles and adherence to rigorous methodologic standards in order to produce credible impact assessments. Only by understanding the full magnitude of such impacts will we be able to demonstrate the importance of intervening in a proactive and protective manner; this requires capacity-building for monitoring and analysis of deaths after disasters.