New Findings in Disaster Prevention and Management Described from Institute of Risk & Disasterer Reduction (L’Aquila, central Italy, and the “disaster cycle”, 2009-2017)

Politics & Government Daily

2019 NOV 27 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Politics, Law & Government Daily -- Investigators discuss new findings in Disaster Preparedness - Disaster Prevention and Management. According to news reporting out of London, United Kingdom, by NewsRx editors, the research stated, “The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical examination of the aftermath of the L’Aquila earthquake of 6 April 2009. It considers the elements of the recovery process that are unique or exceptional and endeavours to explain them.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the Institute of Risk & Disasterer Reduction, “Design/methodology/approach The analysis is based on a survey and synthesis of the abundant literature on the disaster, coupled with observations from the author’s many visits to L’Aquila and personal involvement in the debates on the questions raised during the aftermath. Several aspects of the disaster are unique. These include the use of large, well-appointed buildings as temporary accommodation and the efforts to use legal processes to obtain justice for alleged mismanagement of both the early emergency situation and faults in the recovery process. Research limitations/implications Politics, history, economics and geography have conspired to make the L’Aquila disaster and its aftermath a multi-layered event that poses considerable challenges of interpretation. Practical implications The L’Aquila case teaches first that moderate seismic events can entail a long and difficult process of recovery if the initial vulnerability is high. Second, for processes of recovery to be rational, they need to be safeguarded against the effects of political expediency and bureaucratic delay. Social implications Many survivors of the L’Aquila disaster have been hostages to fortune, victims as much of broader political and socio-economic forces than of the earthquake itself. Originality/value Although there are now many published analyses of the L’Aquila disaster, as the better part of a decade has elapsed since the event, there is value in taking stock and making a critical assessment of developments.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “The context of this disaster is dynamic and extraordinarily sophisticated, and it provides the key to interpretation of developments that otherwise would probably seem illogical.”

For more information on this research see: L’Aquila, central Italy, and the “disaster cycle”, 2009-2017. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 2019;28(4):419-433. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal can be contacted at: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, W Yorkshire, England.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting D.E. Alexander, University College, Institute of Risk & Disasterer Reduction, London, United Kingdom.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm-01-2018-0022. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.