Social Science Disasters

The Esperanza Fire started October 26, 2006, in the San Jacinto Mountains above the Banning Pass near Cabazon, California. It destroyed 41,000 acres and dozens of homes and cost the taxpayers $16 million dollars. But by far the highest costs of the conflagration were the lives of the five-man crew of Engine 57, the first engine crew ever killed fighting a wildland blaze. Fire and superheated gases had erupted in a freak "area ignition," sending flames racing across three-quarters of a mile in mere seconds, engulfing the crew and the house they were defending.

A riveting account of the greatest small-boat rescue in American history.

La crisis ambiental se cobrará más vidas y golpeará más duraderamente a México que el Covid-19, simplemente no hemos querido verlo.

In der Nacht vom 14.07. auf den 15.07.2021 wurde unsere Heimat, unser wunderschönes Ahrtal von einer Naturkatastrophe heimgesucht, die ihres gleichen sucht. Von jetzt auf gleich haben tausende Menschen ihre Heimat, ihr Hab und Gut verloren. Leider mussten auch viel zu viele Menschen diese Katastrophe mit ihrem Leben bezahlen. Die Natur hat uns unbarmherzig und mit einer brachialen Gewalt gezeigt wie klein und verletzlich wir alle sind. Dies sind meine Erlebnisse, meine Eindrücke, meine Geschichte, wie es sich in dieser Zeit zugetragen hat.

The 'duty of care' which the state owes to its citizens is a phrase much used, but what has it actually meant in Britain historically? And what should it mean in the future, once the immediate COVID crisis has passed? In A Duty of Care, Peter Hennessy divides post-war British history into BC (before corona) and AC (after corona). He looks back to beginnings when, during wartime, Sir William Beveridge identified the 'five giants' on the road to recovery: want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness and laid the foundations for the modern welfare state.

No dia 25 de janeiro de 2019, às 12h28, a B1, barragem desativada da Mina do Córrego do Feijão, explorada pela mineradora Vale na cidade de Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, rompeu. Seu rastro de lama, rejeitos de minério e destruição se estendeu por mais de 300 quilômetros, levando torres de transmissão, trens de carga, pontes, casas, árvores, animais e, na contagem oficial da tragédia, a vida de 270 pessoas (ou 272, considerando as duas gestantes entre os mortos).

Consider this: Five of the most expensive hurricanes in history have made landfall since 2005: Katrina ($160 billion), Ike ($40 billion), Sandy ($72 billion), Harvey ($125 billion), and Maria ($90 billion). With more property than ever in harm’s way, and the planet and oceans warming dangerously, it won’t be long before we see a $250 billion hurricane. Why? Because Americans have built $3 trillion worth of property in some of the riskiest places on earth: barrier islands and coastal floodplains.

The true story of a resilient circle of shrimp boat captains who faced and withstood the wreckage of Katrina but now find their courage tested by a greater threat: the disappearance of their livelihood and their centuries-old bayou culture.

When houses are flattened, towns submerged, and people stranded without electricity or even food, we attribute the suffering to "natural disasters" or "acts of God." But what if they're neither? What if we, as a society, are bringing these catastrophes on ourselves? That's the provocative theory of Catastrophe in the Making, the first audiobook to recognize Hurricane Katrina not as a "perfect storm," but a tragedy of our own making - and one that could become commonplace.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many animals had to fend for themselves because their owners lost them or were unable to care for them. In Pawprints of Katrina: Pets Saved and Lessons Learned, Cathy Scott documents her experience working with the Best Friends Animal Society triage center to rescue lost animals and reunite them with their owners. Over 200 stories describe dramatic and challenging rescue cases with details about the rescues, the examinations, treatment, and follow-up care by the selfless volunteers who worked to save beloved best friends.

On May 2, 2008, an enormous tropical cyclone made landfall in Burma, wreaking untold havoc and leaving an official toll of 138,300 dead and missing. In the days that followed, the sheer scale of the disaster became apparent as information began to seep out from the hard-hit delta area.

In Americans at Risk, Dr. Irwin Redlener draws on his broad experience as a pediatrician working with mobile emergency units both for children and adults, his time making recommendations to legislators about the vulnerabilities of children to biological and chemical agents and his regular meetings with Tom Ridge of the office of Homeland Security over a period of four years to write this urging a plan for a coordinated plan between government and the private sector.

As the COVID-19 crisis swept across the country, it has disrupted every aspect of American life. During this perilous time, we all seek people, who capture our hearts and minds to show us the path through the storm. People who are creating an impact. In this audiobook - 19 Fighting COVID-19: Unsung Heroes Creating Impact During the Pandemic and Unrest - you will discover the stories of the unsung heroes. They will fill you with optimism, hope, and inspiration.

Resilience is a worthwhile pursuit, both for individuals and communities. But how do we build strength into our lives as citizens? And into our towns? According to author Scott James, the answer lies within our neighborhoods, where sustainability meets preparedness. Prepared Neighborhoods will walk you step by step through creating a more resilient - and enjoyable - neighborhood and community.

This is an unconventional biography of an unconventional woman. Eglantyne Jebb moved from drawing rooms to war zones, often defying expectation and at times breaking the law. Although not fond of individual children, she founded Save the Children and originated the revolutionary concept of children's human rights. Clare Mulley brings to life the brilliant, charismatic, passionate, and compassionate woman, whose work has saved millions of lives and permanently changed the way the world treats children. Save the Children ambassador Joely Richardson narrates this extraordinary story.

Anything that alienates and divides us leaves us weak and exposed to disaster. Simple human compassion is more essential to our national resilience and strength than most of us recognize. Shallow values won’t suffice as the foundation of our social and cultural infrastructure. With anecdotes and unexpected stories about growing up during the '60s and '70s in Los Angeles and from her work in disaster recovery, Diane Burden Cox illustrates the importance of our relationships with each other to our national resilience.

Ungewöhnlich heiße Sommer, Superstürme, Dauerregen, Überschwemmungen - der Klimawandel ist da. Das Bestsellerduo Bonner/Weiss ("Generation Doof") nimmt sich in "Generation Weltuntergang" die Erderwärmung und den Klimawandel vor und sagt, wie es so weit kommen konnte, wie sehr uns die klimatischen Veränderungen betreffen und was wir jetzt tun müssen. Obwohl in den Nachrichten Daueralarm herrscht, das Wetter Kapriolen schlägt, der Meeresspiegel steigt und die Pole schmelzen, wettern Scharfmacher allerorten gegen die Klimawissenschaft, und die Politiker haben keinen Plan.

February 5, 1898. Witnesses report a giant orange fireball reflected in the glacial waters of Alaska's Lynn Canal. At the height of Klondike gold fever, the Clara Nevada disappeared into an epic storm - taking passengers and priceless cargo with it. Was the explosion an accident or a robbery gone wrong? Did Captain C.H. Lewis make off with $165,000 ($13.6 million in today's currency) in raw gold? Or was the sinking a case of a sea-weary steamer meeting an untimely end?

When the terrorist attacks struck New York City on September 11, 2001, boat operators and waterfront workers quickly realized that they had the skills, the equipment, and the opportunity to take definite, immediate action in responding to the most significant destructive event in the United States in decades. For many of them, they were “doing what needed to be done”. American Dunkirk shows how people, many of whom were volunteers, mobilized rescue efforts in various improvised and spontaneous ways on that fateful date.

We are in the midst of a global refugee crisis. Sixty-five million people are fleeing for their lives. The choices are urgent, not just for them but for all of us. What can we possibly do to help? With compassion and clarity, David Miliband shows why we should care and how we can make a difference. He takes us from war zones in the Middle East to peaceful suburbs in America to explain the crisis and show what can be done, not just by governments with the power to change policy but by citizens with the urge to change lives.