Papers by Maureen H Fordham
Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to connect the theoretical idea of warning systems as social... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to connect the theoretical idea of warning systems as social processes with empirical data of people’s perceptions of and actions for warning for cyclones in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach A case study approach is used in two villages of Khulna district in southwest Bangladesh: Kalabogi and Kamarkhola. In total, 60 households in each village were surveyed with structured questionnaires regarding how they receive their cyclone warning information as well as their experiences of warnings for Cyclone Sidr in 2007 and Cyclone Aila in 2009. Findings People in the two villages had a high rate of receiving cyclone warnings and accepted them as being credible. They also experienced high impacts from the cyclones. Yet evacuation rates to cyclone shelters were low. They did not believe that significant cyclone damage would affect them and they also highlighted the difficulty of getting to cyclone shelters due to poor roads, leading them to prefer ...
International Journal of Mass Emergencies and …, 1999
1. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1999 Mar;17(1):15-37. The intersection of gender and social class ... more 1. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1999 Mar;17(1):15-37. The intersection of gender and social class in disaster: balancing resilience and vulnerability. Fordham M. PIP: People who experiencedisaster are widely regarded as an undifferentiated group of victims. ...
Global Environmental Change Part B: …, 2001
Writing after a major Australian flood, an observer noted that women's concerns after th... more Writing after a major Australian flood, an observer noted that women's concerns after the flood were ''an extreme version of what they did before the flood''(Dobson, 1994, p. 11). Child care, domestic labor, employment and community work all increased, as did ...
The understanding of how people evaluate and respond to natural hazards in an urban area, and how... more The understanding of how people evaluate and respond to natural hazards in an urban area, and how this knowledge can be integrated in the planning and management process, are becoming very important elements of a comprehensive and participatory approach to flood hazard management. Such an approach demands a clear comprehension of the processes of the risks perception, causal attribution, possible solutions for the problem and patterns of behaviour developed during hazard situations. The willingness of the public to participate in flood management, and the attitudes to previous initiatives also need to be addressed. The provision of structural flood defences can have a major impact on the environment and there has been an expression of concern by many members of the public for the degradation of river corridors. In this context, it is becoming a commonly accepted practice by central or local governments to submit flood management plans to public discussion. Appropriate techniques for interfacing with the public are necessary to support this upsurge of public involvement. This paper presents results from research on public perception of floods, flood management and participatory initiatives in Setúbal, Portugal. An extensive interview programme was undertaken with residents and shopkeepers -with and without flood experience, professionals responsible for dealing with flood control problems and local authorities responsible for decisionmaking on flood management. The paper concludes with a number of recommendations for flood hazard management policy making and processes.
Hazards, Risks and Disasters in Society, 2015
In the disasters literature, aftermath is used to denote the predominantly negative consequences ... more In the disasters literature, aftermath is used to denote the predominantly negative consequences of a hazard event. Yet in old English the same term is used to describe the green shoots that emerge from a grass field after it is cut. Applying this second, more positive and more resilience-relevant framing to hazard consequences, this paper focuses on a specific finding from the case study's urban areas to illustrate the importance of 'social protectors' in facilitating affected communities' 'green-shoot' aftermath processes. Following the 2009 flood Cumbria's Local Resilience Forum (LRF) recognised the vitality of their County Council partner's community-based, social protection focussed, Community Development Teams in offering opportunities for the delivery of aspired civil protection related community resilience outcomes. Deeply embedded in the affected communities, these staff were initially forced into ad hoc Frontline Recovery Work (FLRW). Here t...
International journal of mass emergencies and disasters
Those who experience disaster are widely regarded as an undifferentiated group, labeled "vic... more Those who experience disaster are widely regarded as an undifferentiated group, labeled "victims." In the immediate crisis period, it is difficult for professionals to differentiate, except crudely, between varying levels of need and still carry out urgent duties and responsibilities. However, it soon becomes apparent that some are hit harder than others and that disasters are not the great levelers they are sometimes considered to be. Close examination reveals complex variations within, and not just between, social groups broadly understood as middle- and working-class. This paper examines the intersection of gender and social class in two major flood events and argues for a more nuanced appreciation of these factors, at both the conceptual and practical level, to be incorporated throughout the disaster process.
This Spring 2009 issue of the Regional Development Dialogue (RDD) presents examples of, and gaps ... more This Spring 2009 issue of the Regional Development Dialogue (RDD) presents examples of, and gaps in, gendered disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiatives and issues from around the world. The articles illustrate the intrinsic relationship between disaster and develop- ment: more specifically, between DRR and sustainable development. They further un- derline how the integration of gender is vital for realizing the key global policy initiatives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA )(see tables 1 and 2),1/ which are explained in more detail below. The fact that we must deal with two major policy initiatives, plus a cross-cutting concern (gender), hints at the challenge we face. The Millennium Development Goals In 2000, 189 countries endorsed the Millennium Declaration at the United Nations in New York, and this was later translated into eight time-bound and measurable goals to be reached by 2015: the MDGs. Table 1 presents the goals, but only...
International journal of mass emergencies and disasters
In January 1993 and December 1994, two areas of Scotland experienced intensive flooding and large... more In January 1993 and December 1994, two areas of Scotland experienced intensive flooding and large-scale evacuation of a spontaneous and unstructured nature. Both the flooding and the evacuation left their traumatic mark on the households. The research reported here was qualitative, with the objective of investigating the evacuation process inductively- how it operated on the ground, what were the problems, and how the process could be enhanced to maximize effectiveness for those who have to experience the consequences. This long-term or extended process of evacuation is described and discussed in detail in this paper, where it is emphasized that evacuation is not complete until everyone has returned home. The elderly, children, and women are also identified by the research as groups which suffered particularly as a result of the poorly executed evacuations and which require special attention. Policy and practical recommendations are drawn from the research, which may be equally appl...
Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research, 2007
... It is hard to demonstrate the benefit of work that results in the absence of something (An-na... more ... It is hard to demonstrate the benefit of work that results in the absence of something (An-nan, 1999), but preparedness that makes ... However, McEntire (1998a, 1999) and Aguirre (2002b) raise some concerns with the concept as it is applied to disasters, in particular the primacy ...
Global Environmental Change, 2014
Global health action, 2011
Despite national and international policies to develop social capital in disaster-affected commun... more Despite national and international policies to develop social capital in disaster-affected communities, empiric evidence on the association between social capital and disaster mental health is limited and ambiguous. The study explores the relationship between social capital and disaster mental health outcomes (PTSD, anxiety, and depression) in combination with individual factors (appraisal, coping behavior, and social support). This is a community-based cross-sectional study in a flood-affected town in northern England. The study is part of the MICRODIS multi-country research project that examines the impact of natural disasters. It included 232 flood-affected respondents. The findings showed that a considerable part of the association between cognitive and structural social capital and mental health is exerted through individual appraisal processes (i.e. property loss, primary and secondary appraisal), social support, and coping behavior. These individual factors were contingent on...
Fluid Mechanics and its Applications, 1992
Water Resources Management, 1996
This paper presents results from the EUROflood research project sponsored by the European Commiss... more This paper presents results from the EUROflood research project sponsored by the European Commission under the EPOCH programme. The paper evaluates levels of development of flood forecasting, warning and response systems (FFWRS) in the European Union with reference to riverine and tidal floods in The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Portugal. An experimental evaluation methodology, comprising fourteen criteria and five development stages, is used to evaluate FFWRS. Flood forecasting is the starting point, but the research addresses entire FFWRS. Despite advances in flood forecasting, FFWRS often under-perform because warning dissemination and response are unsatisfactory. FFWRS have developed in response to different water resource management problems, varying flood characteristics and different historic, cultural and institutional factors. FFWRS for flood defence and flood emergency response are the main focus, but they are also important for navigation, bridge clearance, fishing, recreation and industry. France, parts of Germany, The Netherlands and England and Wales have relatively mature FFWRS. FFWRS are much less well developed in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Portugal, and important areas for enhancement are identified in all countries. Cross-country and within-country comparisons reveal the potential for knowledge transfer, although ultimately the unique circumstances of each country places limits upon this process.
Landscape Research, 1997
... To gain insight into the relation between river use and attitudes, the respondents in two ...... more ... To gain insight into the relation between river use and attitudes, the respondents in two ... NWC Class 3). However, some overlap is apparent between the classes, particularly towards the lower ... A weighted sum, indicat-ing the strength of preference for each of the paired features ...
Landscape and Urban Planning, 1991
Fordham, M., Tunstall, S. and Penning-Rowsell, E.C., 1991. Choice and preference in the Thames fl... more Fordham, M., Tunstall, S. and Penning-Rowsell, E.C., 1991. Choice and preference in the Thames floodplain: the beginnings of a participatory approach? Landscape Urban Plann., 20:183-187.
European Journal of Soil Science, 1997
We have analysed the differences in infant mortality for 1981 to 1990 in areas of contrasting soi... more We have analysed the differences in infant mortality for 1981 to 1990 in areas of contrasting soil types in south-central England. The soils overlie rocks of varied lithology and hydrology, ranging from porous and permeable Chalk and limestones, to the generally wet and impermeable Oxford and Lower Jurassic Clays. The study area comprises 504 administrative wards, for each of which the soil has been classified as being predominantly 'Wet', 'Intermediate' or 'Dry', depending on the degree of seasonal or periodic waterlogging. The soil classes used are those mapped by the Soil Survey of England and Wales and relate closely to the underlying geology. We find proportionately more infant deaths on the 'Wet' soils, and a gradation towards lower infant mortality rates on the drier soils. Overall, infant mortality on the 'Wet' soils is 31.9 percent greater than on the 'Dry' soils, for reasons that remain unexplained. This relation between infant mortality and soil moisture remains after the effect of social class has been removed. 0 1997 Blackwell Science Ltd.
Global Environmental Change Part B: Environmental Hazards, 1999
Disasters, 1991
Four main groups are considered in relation to the risk from flooding: the engineers i n d u e d ... more Four main groups are considered in relation to the risk from flooding: the engineers i n d u e d in the design of flood afleuiation schemes, emergency planners, the public, including both the population at risk from flooding and the rest of the population Z O~O zoill bear all or most of the cost of flood alleviation schemes and the researchers, such as geographers and economists concerned uiith flood hazards and scheme appraisal. It is argued that these different groups uary significantly in their selection and definition of risks from flooding as a focus of concern and that their definition of risk influences their expectations about future events and the appropriate response f o those euenfs. But the different groups share two tendencies: the expectation that the future udl be a replication of the past; and the neglect of "uncertain uncertainties" in favour of known uncertainties of risk.
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Papers by Maureen H Fordham