Not just a matter of knowledge. The Katrina debacle

The paper deals with hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf coast of the US at the end of August 2005, with disastrous consequences. The paper sketches the chronicle of the main events and deals with preparation and response in New Orleans, exploring the connection between knowledge and disaster management policies, in particular communication policy. The main failures in applying and sharing available information for preventing and limiting damage are attributed to lack of coordination between elected officials, authorities and agencies at all levels. The critical role of the media in shaping the perception of the event and the immediate response to it is also highlighted.     

Perspectives on social capacity building for natural hazards: outlining an emerging field of research and practice in Europe

Social capacity building for natural hazards is a topic increasingly gaining relevance not only for so-called developing countries but also for European welfare states which are continuously challenged by the social, economic and ecological impacts of natural hazards. Following an outline of recent governance changes with regard to natural hazards, we develop a heuristic model of social capacity building by taking into account a wide range of existing expertise from different fields of research. Particular attention is paid to social vulnerability and its assessment, as well as to risk communication and risk education as specific strategies of social capacity building. We propose to distinguish between interventionist and participatory approaches, thus enabling for a better understanding of existing practices of social capacity building as well as their particular strengths and weaknesses. By way of conclusion, we encourage more research on social capacity building for natural hazards in the European context which at present is highly diverse and, at least in parts, only poorly investigated.