Hurricane Andrew : ethnicity, gender and the sociology of disasters.

Includes bibliographical references and index

Hurricane Andrew has proved to be the most costly natural disaster in US history. This book documents how Miami prepared for, coped with and responded to the hurricane, which slammed into one of the largest and most ethnically diverse metropolitan areas of the United States - Miami. With sustained winds of 145 mph, the infrastructure in the southern metropolitan area was laid to waste - nearly all public buildings were severely damaged or destroyed. Approximately 49,000 private homes were rendered uninhabitable, leaving more than 180,000 people homeless. Total losses were in excess of $28 billion. This book explores how social, economic and political factors set the stage for Hurricane Andrew by influencing who was prepared, who was hit the hardest, and who was most likely to recover. Disasters are often seen as natural physical phenomena that impact our communities in impartial ways. As a result, the damage they inflict and the difficulties experienced in recovering are simply seen as a function of the strength of the agent itself and where it happens to hit the hardest. But disasters are inherently social events. The nature of our communities - how they are organized, how they exploit and use the natural environment and how scarce resources such as housing are distributed - is a critical factor for understanding disaster impact and recovery. Employing data collected over three years using qualitative and quantitative techniques, the authors analyze the consequences of conflict and competition, especially those associated with race, ethnicity and gender, on preparation, response and recovery