Collaborative SGER: Disaster Vulnerability in Relation to Poverty in the Katrina Event: Reconnaissance Survey and Preliminary Analysis

本研究的目的是确定在卡特里娜飓风事件的脆弱性新奥尔良最贫穷的部门，以确定可能加快或阻碍恢复过程的干预措施，并根据我们的观察，建议政策，将减少风险暴露于未来的灾害。易受自然灾害影响的脆弱性表现为人类与其建筑和自然环境之间复杂关系的薄弱环节。特别是，我们将分析四个系统及其相互作用：新奥尔良的穷人，他们居住的教区的基础设施，他们可用的金融和风险转移工具，以及他们用于生计的自然资源。首先，我们将调查基础设施系统及其故障。在第二部分中，我们将考虑一组在这些经济萧条地区的小企业的研究案例，并通过调查和个人访谈，我们将确定他们的备灾水平以及使用他们的环境进行正常活动之前，卡特里娜飓风的影响。这些信息将使我们能够初步评估经济结构的脆弱性。在第三阶段，当我们监测这些企业的回报时，我们将测试现有的复苏理论，并确定这一过程中显示出非凡成功或失败的里程碑。随着重建工作的进展，这些观察将有助于我们提出更有效的政策建议，以减少今后的脆弱性，并鼓励更快地进行灾后恢复。

The aim of this research is to determine the vulnerability in the Katrina event of the poorest sectors of New Orleans, to identify interventions that might potentially speed up or hinder the recovery process and, based on our observations, to suggest policies that will reduce risk exposure to future disasters. Vulnerability to natural hazards appears through weaknesses in the complex relations that humans have with their built and natural environment. In particular, we will analyze four systems and their interactions: the poor of New Orleans, the infrastructure in the parishes where they live, the financial and risk transfer tools available to them, and the natural resources that they use for their livelihood.This study is composed of three phases. In the first, we will survey the infrastructure systems and their failures. In the second, we will consider a set of study cases of small businesses in these economically depressed areas and, through surveys and personal interviews, we will determine their disaster preparedness level as well as the usage of their environment to carry out their normal activity previous to the impact of Katrina. This information will allow us to preliminarily assess the vulnerability of the economic structure. In the third phase, as we monitor the return of these businesses, we will test existing theories of recovery and pinpoint milestones in the process that show exceptional success or failure. As the reconstruction progresses, these observations will help us formulate recommendations for more efficient policies to reduce future vulnerability and to encourage speedier post-disaster recoveries.