(P1-96) Social Context of Natural Disaster

Abstract

Social context of natural disaster Danielle Maltais, Ph.D., Simon Gauthier, M.Sc. University of Québec in Chicoutimi (UQAC), Social Sciences Department, Social Work Teaching Unit, 555 Boulevard de l'Université, Chicoutimi, Québec, Canada, G7H 2B1, danielle_maltais@uqac.ca During the last few years, several countries in North America as well as in Europe or Asia were exposed to catastrophes that can be described as macrosocial catastrophes since a large number of people were affected. The death of an important number of people during the Katrina hurricane, the 2003 summer heat wave in Europe and the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia unfortunately showed that several countries and communities, even the most developed, are very badly prepared, in the event of a natural disaster, to protect and help its citizens and more specifically vulnerable people such as the old or the poor as well as lonely or sick people, those with reduced mobility or living in unsuitable housing conditions. Natural disasters are never completely quite so because of the frequency of the disasters as well as their human, community and social consequences and the extent of the subsequent material damage. They can be regarded as the result of human factors related to the deployment of ill advised activities for the environment (hasty urbanization and industrialization, deforestation, construction in zones at risk, etc), socio-economic conflicts (wars, political conflicts, displacement of segments of the population in environments at risk) or unequal distribution of economic, social and cultural resources between individuals, communities and countries. In social work, when we examine the causes and consequences of disasters on people's health and social activities, it is important to consider the notion of individual and social vulnerability of the people as well as the concepts of human adaptation to stress and impact strength. This communication will mainly make it possible to place the consequences of natural disasters in their social context and discuss the repercussions of this concept of reality on workers training and guiding.