RAPID: The Tohoku Catastrophe: Volunteers and Non-Profit Organizations in Post-Kobe Japan
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Abstract
Following Quarantelli (2000, 2005), catastrophes are significantly different types of events from disasters, especially in their response and consequences. In fact, relatively few catastrophes have been studied in any detail—the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, Hurricane Katrina, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and the earthquake in Haiti being perhaps the most recent examples. Natech catastrophes, like we have with Tohoku, are much rarer events and have received even less attention.
Given the enormity of the Tohoku destruction and the evident ingenuity that was required at all stages for damage assessment, search and rescue, accommodation of a sudden mass migration of hundreds of thousands of people, and the medical triage and care of thousands of others who may have been exposed to radiation, we argue that an entirely different framework is needed with respect to responding to natech catastrophic events. This RAPID project, however, is investigating only one of the components of that frame-work—the emergence and enhanced reliance on volunteer groups and organizations.
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Researchers should cite this work as follows:
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Alex Greer (2012), "RAPID: The Tohoku Catastrophe: Volunteers and Non-Profit Organizations in Post-Kobe Japan," http://nees.org/resources/4254.
