disaster-recovery - Disaster Minded

The lines of one skyscraper are distorted in the glass reflection from another.

community

How Trauma Warps Our Capacity for Resilience

And how even communities meant to bring us together can tear us apart

Miami Beach, Florida, aerial view, Indian Creek La Gorce Island Country Club, waterfront mansions estates homes and city skyline.

disaster-recovery

A(nother) Reblog from The Conversation: Federal flood insurance's 2 moral hazards

The problem with federal disaster insurance today isn’t just about subsidizing wealthier coastal homeowners – it’s equally about leaving low-income households systematically underinsured without resources to either protect themselves or leave.

A bald Black man wearing a checked shirt and a headset looks at dashboards across three computer monitors in an emergency operations center.

community

Venezuela's Cautionary Tale for US FEMA Reform

How years of political instability accelerated a humanitarian crisis into a catastrophe, and how it informs our current moment

Five people carrying bags walk ahead of the camera on a paved city street; two are crouching to get underneath a fallen telephone pole following a disaster of unknown origin

disaster-recovery

Triple Threats, Compounding Disasters

How the earthquakes and typhoons of September-November 2025 in the Philippines show the knock-on effects of climate change — and political tides

Brown eggs with cartoon faces drawn on them in black marker sit in a clear plastic egg carton on a kitchen counter

community

Go Ahead and Overshare. It Might Give You the Answers You're Looking For

Why locking ourselves behind "social acceptability" might be undermining our resilience after disasters

A car sits upside down amid other vehicles, flattened structures and trees in the aftermath of a flood or other disaster. The sky is still cloudy.

community

Could Social Outcasts Hold a Key to Disaster Response?

People worry about "crime" immediately after disaster. Directing people's energy to response could be a solution

A book cover image of "Love Rebels" with red and black lettering on a light yellow background, side by side with a reviewer quote

book-review

How to Organize When You're Not Good at It

A review of Love Rebels: How I Learned to Burn Things Down Without Burning Out

community

Have Our Online Lives Eroded Our Communities?

And can we bring ourselves back from collapse?

community

If FEMA Goes Away, Could Communities Step Up?

Three books offer a vision of future disaster recovery – if we can come together in mutuality

Men in red lifejackets and helmets paddle a rubber boat full of rescued people through brown floodwaters

disaster-recovery

If Disaster Response Shifts to States, How Can Communities Respond?

Waiting for rescue probably isn't sustainable for any of us

Volunteers organizing food distribution at a long table filled with canned and fresh foods. Their faces are not in frame, only their arms and gloved hands.

community

Organizing in Community, Also When You Have No Experience

Stepping up isn't just about collecting training or experience. It's also about healing past trauma.

A photograph of a rear view mirror reflecting the road and sunset scenery behind the traveling vehicle, whose windows are partially open.

disaster-recovery

Twenty Years After I Wrote About Emergency Management Topics, Where Do Things Stand Now?

The more things change, the more they've stayed the same, only maybe with more political urgency