University Library News
Georgia State University

New Faculty Publication: Displaced by disaster: recovery and resilience in a globalizing world

Devastating hurricanes, earth-scorching wildfires and damaging tornadoes always happen somewhere far, far away from most Americans; or so they believe when they watch another disaster unfold on the news. And most times, they do.

However, no community is immune from the random nature of natural or man-made threats.

So every community should be prepared to respond to major disaster says Public Management and Policy professor Ann-Margaret Esnard. She tells why in her new book, Displaced by Disaster: Recovery and Resilience in a Globalizing World (Routledge, 2014), coauthored with Alka Sapat of Florida Atlantic University.

“We all live in a pre-disaster state,” says Esnard, a Georgia State University Second Century Initiative professor expert in disaster policy and preparedness. “We are all vulnerable to disasters, albeit differentially based on our location, the hazard, our socio-economic status and community resources.”

The book focuses on planning and recovery for those displaced, examining practices and policies in the United States and globally.

Esnard hopes it will encourage scholars and practitioners from a wide range of disciplines – policymakers, emergency managers, planners, sociologists, anthropologists, public health officials and business professionals – to think about joint solutions to displacement, including the repeated and protracted displacement faced by the most vulnerable residents of U.S. communities.

Other works by Dr. Esnard include:

Mitsova, Diana, Ann-Margaret Esnard, and Yanmei Li. “Using Enhanced Dasymetric Mapping Techniques To Improve The Spatial Accuracy Of Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessments.” Journal Of Coastal Conservation (Springer Science & Business Media B.V.) 16.3 (2012): 355-372

Mitchell, Christine M., Ann-Margaret Esnard, and Alka Sapat. “Hurricane Events, Population Displacement, And Sheltering Provision In The United States.” Natural Hazards Review 13.2 (2012): 150-161.

Esnard, Ann-Margaret, Alka Sapat, and Diana Mitsova. “An Index Of Relative Displacement Risk To Hurricanes.” Natural Hazards 59.2 (2011): 833-859.