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Begin New Search Topic Natural Disasters Publication Year within 3 Years

51. The National Flood Insurance Program: Solving Congress’s Samaritan’s Dilemma

Author:
Peter Van Doren
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Who should pay for the damages caused by natural disaster? The American ethos has long called on personal responsibility and private charity, rather than broad public aid, to secure people’s welfare. Although public emergency services play a vital role during and immediately after a catastrophe, this ethos looks to private insurance and disaster‐​oriented organizations, such as the Red Cross, to be the main modes of recovery from a flood or storm, as well as prior care in siting and constructing buildings to blunt the effects of wind and rain.
Topic:
Government, Natural Disasters, Public Policy, and Insurance
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

52. Natural Disasters and Women’s Rights in Vietnam

Author:
Trung Xuan Hoang
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
East Asia Institute (EAI)
Abstract:
The majority of Vietnamese people live in rural areas and are dependent on agriculture, an industry in which men play a dominant role and is heavily impacted by natural disasters and climate change. Vietnam is also characterized to have high gender inequality and violence against women. Trung Xuan Hoang, a research fellow at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, explores the relationship between natural disasters and women’s empowerment. Through empirical research, he explains that factors that increase women’s power and control or resources, such as participation in labor, access to microcredit, education, and ownership of immovable property, increase women’s empowerment. Data suggest that increased natural disasters cause a fall in agricultural income. The author argues that as a result, men’s influence vis-a-vis women’s in domestic decision-making decreases, meaning that natural disasters increase women’s household power in Vietnam.
Topic:
Human Rights, Natural Disasters, Women, and Empowerment
Political Geography:
Vietnam and Southeast Asia

53. Toward an Integrated North American Emergency Response System

Author:
Juliette N. Kayyem
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Disasters and emergencies have never respected borders, and current climate and development trends are only generating greater challenges for emergency management across North America. Natural disasters are evolving: wildfires are growing in frequency and intensity, advancing across borders, destroying forests, homes, and croplands; hurricanes increase in strength and travel trajectory, reaching farther north and leaving greater destruction in their wake; lengthy droughts persist, which fuel greater fire danger and present an urgent water problem for municipalities and agriculture; and environmental migration is a growing reality. Simultaneously, population growth increases demand for housing, services, food, mobility, and more. Additionally, the next pandemic and human-made disasters, whether terrorist in origin or stemming from the cross-border movement of dangerous substances, must remain a planning and response priority. The rapidly intensifying effects of climate change, the increased globalization and potential spread of infectious disease outbreaks, and the rise in both the threat and impact of disruption to technology or infrastructure pose an expanded risk across North America. As the risk profile evolves, so does the need for improved coordination among the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Although the need for collaboration is clear, the distinct federal systems that operate in each country and their politics complicate intergovernmental collaboration, as do the different roles that national, regional, and private corporations can and should play across all of these separate jurisdictions. Each lever of power, governmental or private sector, provides a unique set of capabilities, yet none can address these urgent issues alone. To meet these challenges, North America must progress beyond the historic approach to cross- border emergency management, which has consisted primarily of sharing information, to a more systemic and operational cooperation. Establishing a North American approach is a key component to more comprehensive and effective emergency management structured to meet current and emerging threats. This paper briefly examines the history of emergency response coordination among the United States, Mexico, and Canada, highlighting some of the major bilateral, regional and non-governmental agreements. It analyzes the challenges in emergency response and the resulting shortfalls of existing agreements, as well as considering lessons from COVID-19 pandemic. These historic and current deficiencies support the creation of a more robust tri-lateral agreement to deal with the pressing nature of evolving emergency response threats in the future. The paper concludes with recommendations on how to adapt the current emergency response systems to function as a North American Emergency Response Compact.
Topic:
Climate Change, Natural Disasters, Homeland Security, and Crisis Management
Political Geography:
North America

54. Resilient Alliance: Moving the U.S.-Philippines Security Relations Forward

Author:
Jeffrey Ordaniel and Carl W Baker
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Pacific Forum
Abstract:
Authors of this volume participated in the inaugural U.S.- Philippines Next-Generation Leaders Initiative, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, through the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines. With backgrounds from academia, public policy, civil society and industry, the cohort brings rich insights on the past, present, and future of the U.S.-Philippines bilateral security relations. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of their respective organizations and affiliations. Pacific Forum’s publications do not necessarily reflect the positions of its staff, donors and sponsors.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, International Cooperation, Natural Disasters, Cybersecurity, Maritime, and Alliance
Political Geography:
Philippines, North America, United States of America, and Indo-Pacific

55. The Storms to Come: China and Natural Disasters

Author:
John Van Oudenaren
Publication Date:
04-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
China Brief
Institution:
The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:
The Chinese government is currently focused on sustaining its “dynamic clearance” zero-COVID strategy, while also mitigating the negative externalities of this approach, including shortfalls in food supply and access to medical services in Shanghai and other major urban centers (China Brief, April 8). Last Friday, netizens temporarily overwhelmed censors on WeChat to widely share the video- “Voices of April” (四月之声, si yue zhi sheng), which highlights the nightmarish lockdown experiences of many Shanghai residents (China Digital Times, April 23, 2022). Mounting popular frustration with the government’s pandemic response underscores how environmental factors, which include not only diseases but also natural disasters, threaten the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) political standing. Water-related disasters such as the severe flooding that devastated Henan province last summer, and the extended drought that hit southeast China beginning in late 2020 are a rising risk due to climate change and extensive environmental degradation in China (Xinhuanet, July 31, 2021; Sina, December 9, 2021).
Topic:
Natural Disasters, Governance, and Crisis Management
Political Geography:
China and Asia

56. The German Military Response to National Disasters and Emergencies: A Case Study of the Flooding in the Summer of 2021

Author:
Dominik Juling
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Advanced Military Studies
Institution:
Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
Abstract:
In the summer of 2021, a flood of unprecedented intensity occurred in Western Europe. This article describes the German crisis response mechanism to natural disasters with a focus on the deployment and tasks of the German Armed Forces and analyzes challenges and controversies connected with the internal use of the military in Germany after the flood.
Topic:
Natural Disasters, Crisis Management, and Flood
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

57. Staying First to Fight: Reaffirming the Marine Corps’ Role in Foreign Humanitarian Assistance Missions

Author:
Eric S. Hovey
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Advanced Military Studies
Institution:
Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
Abstract:
The U.S. Marine Corps’ 2019 Commandant’s Planning Guidance placed a dominant focus on modernizing the force to contest China within the Indo-Pacific region but deemphasized support to foreign humanitarian assistance missions. This article challenges the current framing of the Marine Corps’ role in disaster response missions, specifically the notion that they are not a part of the organization’s identity and that they detract from warfighting readiness. The case is made that U.S. military support to foreign humanitarian assistance missions will only grow, that the Marine Corps has and will have a role to play in these missions, and that participation in disaster relief operations improves their warfighting readiness.
Topic:
Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Aid, Natural Disasters, Armed Forces, Foreign Assistance, and Marine Corps
Political Geography:
Global Focus and Indo-Pacific

58. Guided by Experience: A Comparative Analysis of the U.S. Military Responses to Natural Disasters in Haiti (2010 and 2021)

Author:
Christopher Davis
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Advanced Military Studies
Institution:
Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
Abstract:
In 2010 and 2021, Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake and both times it left the nation in the grips of a humanitarian crisis. The U.S. military responded to both events with a large-scale, interorganizational relief effort to provide aid to the affected areas. Though the disaster in 2010 created unprecedented challenges, the U.S. Southern Command met those challenges and applied their lessons to its response to the 2021 earthquake 11 years later.
Topic:
Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Aid, Natural Disasters, Armed Forces, and Earthquake
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

59. A Tale of Two Storms: U.S. Army Disaster Relief in Puerto Rico and Texas, 1899-1900

Author:
Ian Seavey
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Advanced Military Studies
Institution:
Marine Corps University Press, National Defense University
Abstract:
This article argues that the disaster relief efforts following hurricanes in Puerto Rico in 1899 and Galveston, Texas, in 1900 represent a watershed in American military history. These two cases highlight a critical juncture where the U.S. Army became the lead federal agency in imperial and domestic disaster relief and established a precedent that lasted well into the twentieth century. By declaring martial law, directly overseeing relief efforts, and plugging into existing social hierarchies, the Army and local elites completely reconstructed the political, economic, and social order of both locales. As this was a relatively new role for the Army, they relied on the local social hierarchy as a matter of expediency because of the absence of any existing doctrine to guide their disaster relief efforts. These Army relief efforts culminated in fostering two antidemocratic governments: a colonial regime in Puerto Rico and the first commission-style government in Galveston that upheld Jim Crow policies that were eventually replicated throughout the United States.
Topic:
Imperialism, Natural Disasters, Army, Disaster Management, Hurricane, and Jim Crow
Political Geography:
North America, United States of America, and Puerto Rico

60. Pakistan's Climate, Economic, and Political Crises

Author:
Syed Mohammed Ali, Elizabeth Threlkeld, and Arif Rafiq
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
Relentless floods in Pakistan have resulted in thousands of deaths, widespread displacement, and economic devastation. Today, we discuss these impacts as well as Pakistan's broader economic and climate change challenges, the ongoing political crisis, and developments on the foreign policy front. Joining us today are Syed Mohammad Ali, Elizabeth Threlkeld, and Arif Rafiq. Mohammed Ali is a non-resident scholar with MEI’s Afghanistan and Pakistan Program and a weekly columnist for Pakistan’s Express Tribune. Elizabeth is a Senior Fellow and Director of the South Asia Program at the Stimson Center. She previously served as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State in Pakistan in Islamabad and Peshawar. Arif is the president of Vizier Consulting, a political risk advisory company focused on the Middle East and South Asia. He’s also a non-resident scholar with MEI’s Afghanistan and Pakistan Program.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Climate Change, Natural Disasters, Economy, Displacement, and Flood
Political Geography:
Pakistan and South Asia