Sep 26, 2016
In this episode, host Doug Parsons speaks with
doctoral student Samantha Montano, a “Disasterologist”, an expert
in emergency management. Samantha also blogs on this subject
at her web site: www.disaster-ology.com. Samantha recently published a news
article for
Vox magazine, highlighting the recent, unprecedented
flooding in Louisiana, and how underprepared the country is
deal with natural disasters and how climate change is only going to
make responding to these disasters harder. In this episode,
Samantha explains what the country’s emergency management system
is; she also talks about what inspired her to join this
field, going into detail of her time living in New Orleans, helping
with the recovery in post Hurricane Katrina. Samantha also
discusses the media’s failure to appropriately cover the recent
catastrophic flooding event in Louisiana and what role the media
has in natural disasters. Doug and Samantha discuss how the
adaptation field can learn from the emergency management universe
and how the two fields can collaborate to improve what each other
is doing. We also talk about the shortcomings of our
regulatory and policy mechanisms to deal with disasters, especially
during the recovery phase, and the missed opportunities for long
term adaptation planning. Samantha also identifies her top
recommendations to adaptation professionals to get more networked
with emergency management professionals. Finally, Samantha talks
about the 4 phases of emergency management, 1. Preparedness;
2.Response; 3. Recovery; and 4. Mitigation and how adaptation
planning can learn from this framework. It’s a rich, enlightening
and boisterous conversation! For more information on this podcast,
visit our website at www.americaadapts.org and don't forget to subscribe to this podcast
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at America Adapts! Also, America Adapts plugs the
inspiring podcast, Everyday
Superhumans.