When Disaster Strikes - Part 1: Disasters Don't Create Inequality-They Reveal It
When Disaster Strikes 1 Part 1: Disasters Don't Create Inequality-They Reveal It 2 Part 2: Why Some Cities Burn (And Others Don't) 3 Part 3: The Sacrifice Calculus 4 Part 4: Elite Disaster Strategies 5 Part 5: Famine and Political Power 6 Part 6: Earthquakes and Governance 7 Part 7: Pandemic Politics 8 Part 8: Why We Forget ← Series Home Key Takeaways Disasters reveal, not create: Earthquakes, floods, and famines expose existing inequalities—they don't generate them from nothing. Vulnerability is political: Who lives in flood zones, poorly built housing, or food-insecure regions reflects political choices, not random chance. Response reveals priorities: How societies allocate rescue resources, relief aid, and reconstruction investment shows whose lives matter most to those in power. The window closes quickly: Disasters create brief opportunities for reform that almost always close before meaningful change occurs. The Myth of the Natural Disaster On the morning of January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. Within forty seconds, the capital city of Port-au-Prince was transformed into rubble. The official death toll eventually reached over 300,000—though some estimates run higher. ...
