Response to Disaster: Fact Versus Fiction & Its Perception

by Henry W. Fischer III

This book provides the reader with a basic understanding of how people and organizations usually respond to a disaster in contrast to how they are usually perceived to respond. The author also describes how and why the mass media helps to provide both accurate and inaccurate information. If each of us were to gain a better understanding of the behavioral and organizational problems commonly encountered during a disaster, we may facilitate more effective mitigation, planning, and disaster response activity in our own communities and in the nation. Contents: Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; What is a Disaster?; Behavioral Responses to Disaster; Why We Believe the Disaster Mythology; Organizational Response to Disaster; Future Research Needs; Bibliography; Index.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1994

Reviews

[Charles Haywood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is only going to be interesting to academic sociologists. That is, it is only relevant to people who are keenly interested in academic details and are willing to put up with atrocious academic-speak, including constant use of jargon and passive voice. I read this as a companion to "popular" books on disaster survival, such as Laurence Gonzales's "Deep Survival" and Amanda Ripley's "The Unthinkable." But this book is very different. Fischer writes to debunk the "disaster mythology" that claims society falls apart in disasters, with widespread looting, disorder and social chaos. He does a good job debunking it. But wow, is this book boring and poorly written. If you can stand that, and are looking for statistical proof that people usually behave better, rather than worse, during disasters (other that certain cultures), you can find it here..