Episode 261: Disaster Management in the Era of Climate Change

The first major storm of the 2024 season, Hurricane Beryl, made history by breaking multiple records and causing widespread devastation along its path. Many of these records were previously set in 2005, a year infamous for storms like Hurricane Katrina, which severely impacted New Orleans. Professor Elizabeth Fussell, a resident of the city at the time, was compelled to study the impact of Katrina. Drawing on this research, she shares insights on how extreme weather events impact communities and what we can learn from this storm, and others like it, to improve our responses as climate change makes these disasters more common and powerful.  

For more on this topic:

• Read Fussell’s SSN policy brief: Time Does Not Heal All Wounds: Psychological Problems for Poor Mothers Five Years After Hurricane Katrina

• Check out her opinion piece on the connection between climate change and population growth in the Los Angeles Times