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February 1, 2021
by Dale Dominey-Howes, The Conversation
The human and environmental costs of climate change are all around us and increasing. The UN reports that around 90% of all disasters are weather-related and that weather and climate are the main causes of disaster risk. Therefore, it is more important than ever to examine who is bearing the brunt of this change.
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A growing body of post-disaster research shows that people – even those living in the same region – experience disasters differently.
For some, the events are minor inconveniences. For others, they are devastating. Disasters exacerbate pre-existing inequalities in areas such as education, income, gender, ability / disability, and social status.
As the United Nations put it: « Poverty is both a driver and a consequence of disasters, and the processes that lead to Disaster risk-related poverty promoting poverty are steeped in inequality. Socio-economic inequality is likely to increase, and with it, disaster risk for these countries. » Communities, households and businesses with limited opportunities to manage their risks and build resilience. The geography of inequality is expressed at all levels: between regions and countries, within countries and within cities and towns. «
At the heart of this problem is a lack of power and access to resources to increase resilience. An ideology that calls on each of us to be personally responsible for our own resilience and disaster risk reduction – if power, wealth and income are so Unevenly distributed – has obvious flaws.
Research by colleagues and I has examined disaster statements in local government areas in New South Wales and found a « hotspot » in the north of the state, one of the most deprived local government areas in NSW 43% found in the state’s disaster hotspot.
Another study found that residents of Lismore city center had « significantly higher social vulnerabilities » and higher rates of smoking, alcohol use, pre-existing mental illness and poor health in the flood foodprint exhibited – all of this makes these people more vulnerable f For disasters.
Heat waves are becoming more frequent and more extreme with climate change. According to the Climate Council: « The most vulnerable are the very old, very young, those with existing health problems (such as heart, kidney, lung or liver disease) or disabilities, lower socio-economic, remote or marginalized communities. Socially isolated people , The homeless and people who work outdoors. People who do not have access to an air-conditioned environment are at great risk. «
Operating air conditioning is, of course, an expensive luxury that many Australians, and even those, cannot achieve who can afford it fear that it may become prohibitively expensive in the future. Some local parishes are testing a system in which local churches, halls, and other air-conditioned venues can act as « thermal shields » on extremely hot days.
The ideology of « personal responsibility » also sounds hollow when it comes to preparing for bushfires. As others have argued, preparation can cost time and money, especially for those who are physically unable to perform fuel-cutting measures on their own.
Evacuation as the primary security measure for any number of types of disasters may sound simple, but research shows that even this is not always easy for poorer, disadvantaged people. Disaster recovery can be extremely uneven across communities, especially in housing and labor markets, which can help aggravate pre-existing inequalities. Poorer, more disadvantaged people are less likely to be able to obtain household insurance which puts them at even greater risk.
Some researchers have argued that the COVID-19 pandemic is also a disaster, rooted in climate change and environmental degradation. « Along with habitat loss, changing climates causes wildlife to migrate to new places where they interact with other species they have never met before. This increases the risk of new diseases. »
The pandemic has certainly shed a dazzling light on how pandemics are experienced differently by owners and non-owners who work casual jobs, with lower wages and less job security, who are often at higher risk.Too often the difficult task of eradicating inequality is neglected in the disaster risk reduction discussion.
However, ensuring a minimum wage, improving working conditions and increasing job security are key elements in reducing the risk of disasters. It is important to increase the jobseeker (or newbie) rate to keep the recipients out of poverty.
Finally, we may need to set up a national « disaster pool » of funds to facilitate access to insurance for low-income households helping the poorest recover from disasters.
This article is republished by The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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