Memory Of Disaster Research Articles

Maladaptive behaviors in disasters: case study evaluation of Hurricane Hugo, Hurricane Katrina and the Haiti Earthquake.

Maladaptive behaviors during a disaster refer to actions that do not benefit the individual or society. Quarantelli highlights several maladaptive behaviors myths associated with disasters: widespread antisocial behavior, passivity, role conflict or abandonment, and sudden widespread mental health breakdowns (1). Despite early work reporting these myths, the common perception is that maladaptive behaviors such as rioting, looting, panic, and criminal conduct are prevalent in the wake of disasters. This is despite research by de Ville de Goyet and Arnold which has called on public officials and the media to stop propagating false disaster myths (2, 3). The classic academic response has been that this is a misconception and that, in fact, such behaviors are a very small part of the overall disaster and are mostly non-existent. Misconceptions about the prevalence of maladaptive behaviors can lead to inappropriate resource allocation, such as allocating extra police officers to prevent looting when the overall crime rate for the most part, decreases during disasters (4). Furthermore, while there are several persistent maladaptive behaviors myths, this is confounded by the presence of actual negative behaviors post disaster: false damage claims, insurance fraud, illegally obtaining relief supplies, failure to provide contracted repair services, hoarding of essential items, psychological trauma (which can lead to intergenerational transmission of the disaster memory) and medications and price gouging (5).When reading lay-press articles about recent disasters, it appears that these behaviors are on the rise. This raises the question: Has there been a change in the basic human reaction to disasters and are maladaptive behaviors on the rise? This review article focuses on case studies from three natural disasters: Hurricanes Hugo and Katrina, and the Haiti Earthquake. The goal of this review article is to evaluate these three natural disasters for evidence of maladaptive behaviors.

Shattering event: The sensory mechanics of infrastructural breakdown in Kolyma, Russia

ABSTRACT Recent debates in anthropology and sociology have focused on non-events, with the difference between everyday violence and abrupt life-changing events disappearing, though abundant studies on disaster memories demonstrate the significance of collective shattering events even in lives characterized by immense ordinary suffering. This article uses the historical example of the large-scale breakdown of public utilities in an industrial community in Kolyma, Russia, in 1993–94 to bridge the gap between these two poles by describing the sensory mechanics of shattering. Based on insights from the cultural theory of modern senses, I argue that, in Kolyma, shattering involved the restructuring of the inhabitants’ sensorium shaped by the ecology of effortless modern amenities, particularly centralized heating. It occurred through redressing of attention and transformation in the shared materiality, with new substances, such as wastewater or bodily heat, coming into sensory exchanges in defiance of previous social conventions. I conclude by demonstrating the importance of collective shattering for local history, even in the absence of a discernible political turning point.

Stimulation of the collective memory of the 1999 Turkey earthquake through the Turkish media coverage of the 2023 earthquake

Turkey has been struck by several powerful earthquakes. Since the 1999 earthquake was the most recent and devastating earthquake before the last one happened in February 2023, many of these media channels’ depictions of the 2023 earthquake in Turkey may have been impacted by the collective memory of the 1999 earthquake. Collective memory of disasters and conflicts frequently takes on special significance as a mechanism for society to cope with the catastrophic events they have witnessed. Collective memory aids societies in dealing with the consequences of such events by giving a feeling of continuity as well as a structure for interpreting and comprehending what occurred. The media and social media are important in developing and conveying collective memory. They play an important role in framing events, transmitting details, and providing a forum for public debate. Social media, in addition to traditional media, has emerged as an innovative platform for the construction and diffusion of collective memory. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the Turkish media depicted the collective memory of the 1999 earthquake in the aftermath of the 2023 earthquake. If the collective memory of the 1999 earthquake is invoked in media coverage of the 2023 earthquake, how is it depicted in terms of lessons learned, public response, and influence on Turkish society? The study’s findings indicate that the analysis of Turkish media coverage pertaining to the 2023 earthquake has demonstrated a restricted collective recollection of the 1999 earthquake.

Comparative Study of Literacy Enhancement on Volcanic Disaster Reduction for the Residents and Visitors in Mt. Ontakesan and Other Volcanic Areas

After the eruption of Mt. Ontakesan Volcano in 2014, Ontakesan Volcano Laboratory, Nagoya University was established in 2017 to keep and develop the face-to-face relationship between the local community and volcano experts. In 2018, the Ontakesan Volcano Meister System also started to undertake activities for volcanic disaster management and promotion of the regional economy. Additionally, two visitor centers opened in Kiso Town (at the foot of Mt. Ontakesan) and Otaki Village (at the entrance of the trail to the summit) in 2022. We compared these activities in the Ontakesan area with other volcanic areas (Usuzan, Bandaisan, Hakoneyama, Fujisan, Asosan, Unzendake, and Sakurajima) from the perspective of literacy enhancement on volcanic disaster management. We made an interview survey of the organizations/facilities responsible for volcanic disaster prevention education in these volcano areas to evaluate the activity of the Ontakesan Voclano Meisters. We considered common and specific issues among them to clarify the characteristics of literacy enhancement for volcanic disaster reduction in the Ontakesan area. In all the organizations that we surveyed, there is a common emphasis on the education for children to transfer disaster memories to the next generation and to raise their awareness of disaster prevention. Though the Ontakesan Volcano Meisters have less interaction with the local residents than other areas, they exceed in the enlightenment for climbers and have made efforts to raise the safety awareness of climbers on site since their establishment.

Remembering a disastrous past to imagine catastrophic future(s) on social media: The expected Istanbul earthquake

This article explores how collective memory of the 1999 Marmara earthquake frames collective thinking of “the expected Istanbul earthquake” through numerous catastrophic earthquake scenarios posted on the prominent Turkish social media platform called Ekşi Sözlük for nearly two decades. The article first integrates memory, media, and disaster studies to theorize how a looming catastrophe is (re)imagined in retrospect. It then analyzes earthquake scenarios using representative samples to illustrate how the oscillatory dynamics and acts of disaster memory shape the future thinking of a not-yet-come threat within a Turkish social media ecology.

Social Memory, Public Memory, and Marginality: The Case of the “Death in Migration”

Memory is a source of ‘immunization’ for individuals (psycho-cognitive memory and biological immune system) and for communities (De Martino). We can consider culture as the memory of society. Particularly, the cultural memory of disasters plays a fundamental role. Ideally, it should help to reduce the vulnerability of societies to the risks of recurrence of natural/technological/social catastrophic events. However, memory is not an exact process, but a selective and reconstructive one (Bartlett). Furthermore, the memory of society is multiple and continuously exposed to the risk of distortions, interpretations, and manipulations. Social memory (Halbwachs) is the broader sphere of communicability that delimits the arena in which the different collective memories (of groups) compete for the relevance and plausibility of their own discourses. It will correspond, with good approximation, to the term “public memory”. In particular, the media and journalism play a very important function, as public memory is a memory of the public sphere (Habermas) and, somehow, the public sphere is itself memory (Jedlowski). This presentation aims to compare two social memories of a single catastrophic event in which a marginal social category was involved: migrants illegally crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The research focus concerns a watershed event of the recent migratory phenomenon: the Lampedusa shipwreck that took place on the 3<sup>rd</sup> October 2013. The goal is to show how collective and public memory contrast each other. We will discuss two cultural and communicative processes located along the oppositional materialization/dematerialization axis. In the article we will reinterpret the evidence collected in the research carried out in 2014 on the Lampedusa shipwreck that took place on 3 October 2013 in order to reflect on the dynamics between different types of memories in the framework of the memory of disasters. We assume that they can be deeply distortive as they promote interrelated memory bias.

Understanding memory transmission in disaster risk reduction practices: A case study from Japan

“Disasters strike when they have faded from memory”, is a powerful quote from the Japanese geophysicist Terada Torahiko (1878–1935). This sentence, often used when addressing the need to improve disaster resilience, is a powerful reminder of the role that local memories of past disasters play in ensuring the safety of communities exposed to hazards. Twelve years from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (GEJET) that hit Japan Tohoku's East Coast, this article aims at understanding how the transmission of local knowledge and experiences of past disasters contributes to increasing community resilience to tsunami risks. Based on field research along the coast of the Japanese prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, this study analyses 11 semi-structured in-depth interviews, to investigate the role of memory transmission in preparing for tsunami risks such as the GEJET. The data was analysed following a narrative approach and through thematic coding with the use of NVivo. Coding structures led to the identification of disaster memory transmission practices in the case study areas and allowed the testing of the relevance of the theoretical framework to community disaster resilience studies. Results are aligned with the theoretical framework and show that disaster memorials are more likely to influence community resilience if passed down using a combination of oral transmission and interpretation together with the use of backup memory archives and physical objects. Such practices are recommended as they allow both the communicability and durability of lessons-learned. Transmitting and maintaining a constant interaction between these two forms of memory is the responsibility of those institutions that oversee the keeping alive of memories, by continuously repurposing and renewing them while engaging with exposed communities.

Earthquake and War-Damaged Trees in Urban History: Non-Destructive Tree Diagnosis Using Sonic Tomography

It has been a century since the Great Kanto earthquake and 78 years since WWII, both of which were catastrophic events in Japan’s history. Preserving memories of urban disasters is essential for preventing future tragedies, and while survivors’ testimonies hold great power, their numbers dwindle over time. However, trees which bear the scars of disaster can also serve as valuable storytellers. This study investigates earthquake and war-damaged trees, including 11 Gingo trees, 1 Chinquapin, and 1 Japanese nutmeg tree, located at the Yushima Seido Temple in Tokyo, and highlights their importance in preserving memories. The trees were measured using a sonic tomography tree internal diagnosis device, resulting in a total of 41 cross-sections that captured their conditions in images. The results indicated an ideal measurement method for trees located on slopes, as well as identifying a new type of classification shape for measurement cross-sections. The results of this research should primarily be of benefit to tree owners, but it is hoped that the benefits can also extend to a wider audience by increasing awareness about the significance of trees with unique urban historical narratives, aiding the preservation of urban green space, aiding in disaster preparedness, and promoting the role of such tress in peace education.

A Dynamic Bayesian Network Probability Framework for Typhoon Risk Analysis in the Land-sea Regions

The life cycle of a typhoon is mainly divided into three stages: far away from the coast, offshore, and on land. The disaster bodies and typhoons affected are different at every stage. The traditional assessment methods could not consider the risk from the complete typhoon life cycle to cover the effects of both land and sea. This paper proposes a Bayesian network risk assessment model to evaluate the navigational ship risk and damage risk of coastal structures during the different typhoon life cycles. The disaster memory database of the typhoon is also constructed in this paper, which deconstructs the typhoon risk factors and forms a unified description semantics.

‘Art lovers of the world unite to aid Florence’: techniques to motivate the crowd in post-disaster heritage crowdfunding

Crowdfunding relies heavily on public participation and public participation is subject to certain conditions, such as the motivation to participate and the effectiveness of the call to participate. Using the case of the 1966 Florence Flood, this article explores the techniques to motivate the crowd adopted by the Committee to Rescue Italian Art, a committee formed in the USA to help protect the heritage of Florence, and newspaper reports published in the USA between 1966 and 1968. Seven overlapping frames were evident in the news reports and the CRIA’s call: damage, fundraising, people, rescue, restoration, the committee and its actions, and the value of Florence. In essence, the techniques adopted to motivate people to participate in the post-disaster crowdfunding included: (1) the dependency on mainstream media; (2) frequent use of all available communication channels; (3) multiple types of calls for support; (4) emphasis on the value of Florence; (5) highlighting a shared sense of ownership; (6) giving a sense of urgency; and (7) evoking the memory of past disasters. While the news media worked to inform the public, CRIA worked to encourage them to participate. The media reports analysed did not leverage emotive content to attract crowd participation whereas the calls initiated by CRIA used some emotive content. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications for managing crowdfunding campaigns to utilise the power of decentralised collective action.

“What could be spoken?”: Lessons on disaster memories and narratives from the case of the Great East Japan Earthquake

“What could be spoken?”: Lessons on disaster memories and narratives from the case of the Great East Japan Earthquake

Perceptions of past and future eruptions of Puyehue-Cordón Caulle (Southern Chile): connecting neighbourhood, social cohesion and disaster memory in volcanic risk research

Perceptions of past and future eruptions of Puyehue-Cordón Caulle (Southern Chile): connecting neighbourhood, social cohesion and disaster memory in volcanic risk research

TRAUMATIC MEMORY OF CHERNOBYL (IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVES)

This article focuses on the traumatic memory of technogenic disasters in human history in the XX and early XXI. The article uses the method of oral history, which is based on the biographical testimonies of people who were at the epicenter of the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant. The article notes that trauma and its study are becoming more common today in the scientific interests of researchers in various sciences, namely the concept of trauma - continues to expand its meaning and focus of research. Thus, according to Barbara Mishtal: "Traumatic memory is a memory whose origins lie in a certain horrific experience; it is often particularly pronounced, obsessive, uncontrollable, persistent, and somatic. ” Oral historical evidence of the Chernobyl accident and the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant gives us enough examples to confirm the thesis that there is an injury in their narratives. Trauma has a clear manifestation and not always clear and conscious speech. Negative experiences have certain signals that indicate the presence of trauma in the narrative. Noteworthy is the classification of Gadi Benezer, who formulated certain markers - signals of trauma, according to which we can trace the presence or absence of trauma in the narrative. These signals are: self-awareness of trauma; trauma as a hidden event; prolonged silence during the recording of the interview; explosion of emotions; emotional alienation; stupor; repetition of traumatic memories repeatedly; immersion in the events of the past, mentioning one event or picture, insult several times during the conversation; acquittal of the narrator; inability to tell; voice changes; body language. The classification used makes it possible to identify the presence of trauma in oral histories and to be able to analyze the trauma, investigate it, find mechanisms and ways to overcome it.

A neuroscience-based analysis of impacts of disaster memory on economic valuation.

A neuroscience-based analysis of impacts of disaster memory on economic valuation.

Memory of the Earth and Human Memory of Natural Disasters: the 1953 Earthquake in Western Aragón (Spain)

Occurred in 1953 in Used (Zaragoza province), an earthquake of magnitude 4.7 and intensity VII was the last destructive earthquake in the Aragón region, Spain. The remaining social memory of that event (a type of intangible geological heritage) and its influence on the perception of seismic hazard in the area are explored by means of interviews and a population survey. The results indicate that the memory is lively amongst the population within the epicentral area, both in the generation that experienced it and, to a lesser extent, in the following generations. However, this does not translate into a significant perception of seismic hazard, the latter being more influenced by cultural factors: in the epicentral area it is greater amongst people who did not live through the earthquake, but who have heard familiar stories or have had external information highlighteing its importance. The study of social perception is part of a citizen science project, in which the social memory enters into dialogue with the Memory of the Earth, i.e. the record left by that and other previous earthquakes in geology and landscape. The research on the effects of the shake on people, buildings, and environment has benefited from numerous testimonies from the elderly. Reciprocally, such knowledge is scientifically processed and returned to the citizens in the form of scientific outreach products (book, documentary film, talks), with the aim of promoting scientific culture about natural disasters.

Exploring the role of digital media dependency on the relationship between personal involvement and flashbulb memory during the pandemic: Empirical evidence from Mainland China.

Flashbulb memory (FBM) is viewed as a special type of autobiographical memory due to its richness of individuals' self-related details when hearing the news and the long duration. It also helps shape people's impression of public events to some extent. Given that personal involvement is one of the important antecedent variables of FBM, this study proposed to investigate it from spatiotemporal involvement (spatiotemporal distance) and empathic involvement (empathy level) to explore the impact of personal involvement on the formation of FBM during the Covid-19 pandemic. In particular, digital media dependency was considered in the influence of involvement on the FBM since it is a crucial information source for individuals and a path to spread information about their lives and work during the pandemic. In this study, a total of 546 valid questionnaires (from May 1, 2022, to May 7, 2022) and 349 valid questionnaires (from May 10, 2022, to May 17, 2022) were collected through a two-stage online survey in Shanghai, China towards the epidemic wave at the end of March 2022. The mediating mode of digital media dependency was also examined on personal involvement in FBM performance, which consists of FBM specificity, confidence, and consistency. Results showed that empathic involvement had a significant negative influence on FBM specificity, namely the higher the empathy level was, the worse the FBM specificity would be, in which digital media dependency played a suppressing effect. Individuals' spatiotemporal involvement was proved to have a significant positive influence on FBM specificity and consistency. It was one of the first to investigate the FBM formation process around "small peak" events in the context of the ongoing pandemic. Innovatively, empathy was adopted as the index of memory arousal for empathic involvement, and digital media dependency was considered an important mediator variable in the memory study. The research results have practical significance for promoting the process of epidemic recovery integrated with digital media and can provide a social reference for the shaping process of disaster memory from the perspective of digital information and emotional transmission.

Long-term intergenerational transmission of memories of the Vajont disaster.

Previous literature documented the traumatic consequences of exposure to disasters on psychological functioning, but little attention has been paid to the intergenerational transmission of the memory of disasters. We explored long-term effects on the memory of the Vajont dam disaster in Northeast Italy that claimed 1,910 lives in 1963. We collected data from 52 two-generation families in which the first generations were born before the disaster and the second generations after. The families were divided into an experimental group whose first generation survived the disaster and a control group whose first generation had moved there afterward. The interviews included an open-ended narrative on the memory of the disaster. We coded free narratives focusing on the richness of the memories (i.e., length, causes, core, aftermath), analyzing negative emotions and salience of the natural and psychological domains. We applied generalized linear mixed models. The richness of the memories, including references to negative emotions, diminished with lower exposure and with intergenerational transmission. Moreover, the participants built a shared representation of the disaster that did not markedly differ across exposure or generation. The reported causes were attributed more to the natural rather than the human domain; the consequences more to the psychological compared to the material domain. Our findings highlight the processes through which collective memories of historical traumatic events are built over the long term and the way a collective identity develops to bear the burden of highly dramatic events and to transmit intergenerational lessons from the past. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Development and validation of the parents’ cognitive perception inventory of disaster effects on children’s well-being (PCP-DCWB)

BackgroundParents’ cognition about the type and nature of consequences a disaster may pose on the children’s psychosocial health, could be a major protective factor against the long-term overwhelming complications. Given the lack of a reliable instrument to measure parents’ cognition about disasters’ effects on children’s well-being, this study was conducted to develop and validate the parents’ cognitive perception inventory of disaster effects on children’s well-being (PCP-DCWB).MethodsIn this cross-sectional study 300 parents of the survived primary school aged children from the Iran’s northwest earthquake on August 2012 were recruited in the city of Varzegan. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied to identify the subcomponents and Cronbach’s alpha and Guttmann Split-half coefficients were calculated to assess the internal consistency reliability of the scale.ResultsStructural indicators of the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure (0.69) and Bartlett’s test of Sphericity (P < 0.001, df = 153, X2 = 618.35) verified interpretability of the EFA output. Applying principal component analysis and direct oblimin rotation in the EFA four latent factors were identified (i.e., perception about child overall mental health, coping with trauma’s long-term effects, children or parents’ continuing memory of past disaster and perception about behavioral and educational problems) which explained 49.32% of the total variance. The estimated Cronbach’s alpha and split-half reliability coefficients (0.71 and 0.52 respectively) supported good internal consistency of the instrument.ConclusionThe study findings revealed sound psychometric attributes of the PCP-DCWB to be applied in assessment of parents’ cognition about psychological impacts of a traumatic event on the survived children. The instrument application can shed light on level of pre-disaster preparations in local, national and international scales and help effectiveness assessment of interventions that target maintenance of psycho-social well-being among disaster-affected survivors over time.

Japan’s Disaster Memorial Museums and framing 3.11: Othering the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in cultural memory

ABSTRACT With the proliferation of several dozen new exhibits and museums dedicated to this specific disaster, the 3.11 Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, can be considered a turning point in the preservation of disaster memory in Japan. Although there is limited research on disaster museums, they play a significant role in shaping cultural memory of 3.11, as they are regarded as reliable, objective institutions of memory. Through analysis of 17 government-established 3.11 museums, this research explores the following questions: How do public disaster museums frame their representations of 3.11, and what official narrative is created within the cultural memory of the triple disaster in Japan? Drawing from analysis of the museums’ mission statements and exhibitions, and interviews with curators and museum staff, we argue that most disaster museums support narratives of overcoming hardships to contribute to a better future, showing continuity with narratives typical of other memorial museums such as WWII, or pre-3.11 disaster museums. In contrast to the commemoration of war and its influence on cultural memory, disaster museums have received relatively little scholarly attention. Yet, these forward-looking messages, combined with tendencies of museums to focus on local disaster experiences and emphasize disaster risk reduction with an artificial separation between man-made disasters vs. natural hazards, contributes to an othering of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in cultural memory, as an outlier in Japan’s long history of disasters. Without full representation of the compound disaster, understanding of 3.11 and the effective transmission of the intended lessons is severely limited.

Remembering the Disaster: Isra Miraj Commemoration at the Telomoyo Slope Inscription Site during COVID-19 Pandemic

Isra Miraj is a commemoration of the amazing journey of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH to the seventh heaven in one night. In Indonesia, this day is celebrated by various traditions, including rejeban in Java. Some activities such as bersih desa (cleaning the village) ceremony, eating together in haunted or ancestral burial places, and performing various artistic performances are held in rejeban. By applying oral tradition methodology suggested by Jan Vansina (1964), this paper aims to propose that rejeban on the Telomoyo slope is more than a commemoration of Isra Miraj resulted from Islamic-Javanese acculturation. This tradition is a medium inheriting the collective memory of natural disasters in the XIX century. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, rejeban is a reminder of local disasters occurred globally.