Natural Barriers to Natural Disasters

Natural Disasters

Behavioral Responses to Natural Disasters

Catastrophic events can dramatically alter existing social and economic relationships. The consequences can be long-lasting and give rise to heterogeneity of behavior across populations. We investigate the impact of a large negative shock on altruism, trust and reciprocity in 30 small Honduran communities diversely affected by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. We conduct a survey of communities and beha...

Epidemics after Natural Disasters

The relationship between natural disasters and communicable diseases is frequently misconstrued. The risk for outbreaks is often presumed to be very high in the chaos that follows natural disasters, a fear likely derived from a perceived association between dead bodies and epidemics. However, the risk factors for outbreaks after disasters are associated primarily with population displacement. T...

poverty and natural disasters

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Cancer care during natural disasters.

W hen natural disasters occur, everyone is focused on survival. But for cancer patients, this challenge is all the more arduous — because hospitals and other health care infrastructures may be destroyed, wiping out their medical records, and both physicians and patients may be forced to flee. “Cancer patients are especially susceptible to the disruptions that natural disasters can cause,” said ...