Chronic Hazard: Weighing Risk against the Effects of Emergency Evacuation from Popocatépetl, México.
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Eric C. Jones, Research Scientist (Creator)
- Arthur D. Murphy, Professor and Department Head (Contributor)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: The global disasters of recent years have drawn worldwide attention to the number of people living in high-risk hazard zones that expose them to landslides, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. More than half the world's population, 3.4 billion people, live in disaster- prone areas (Dilley et al., 2005), and many reside in chronically hazardous conditions. These populations are a concern for planners, policy-makers and researchers who seek to understand why people continue to live in such areas, or why they will not move away when they know the risks. Explanations include: it is their home; their economic well-being is dependent on the place; their history and family are close by; or they cannot leave (Norris et al., 2005; Tobin and Whiteford, 2002; Whiteford and Tobin, 2004; Wisner et al., 2004). The question is not really why people continue to live in highly hazardous zones, but how they mitigate the dangers associated that situation, One response, of course, is evacuation during disasters, but this presents many challenges that are inextricably linked not only with the geophysical environment but also with socio-economic vulnerabilities and social support networks of the people concerned. This paper addresses just one component, evacuation activities of people living on the slopes of the active volcano Popocatépetl, Mexico, with a view to understanding the factors that impinge upon individuals' and families' evacuation responses in chronic hazard environments, particularly the extent to which younger and older people are dependent on others, and the extent to which older people may have developed a greater rootedness to the location and thus are less willingness to leave.
Chronic Hazard: Weighing Risk against the Effects of Emergency Evacuation from Popocatépetl, México.
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Created on 1/1/2007
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Proceedings of the Applied Geography Conference
- Language: English
- Date: 2007
- Keywords
- Emergency Evacuation, High-risk hazard zones,