Expert on Hurricane Katrina Anniversary
August 20, 2013
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Daniel P. Aldrich |
Daniel P. Aldrich, associate professor of political science, disaster recovery expert .
Aldrich is author of the book "Building Resilience: Social Capital in Post-Disaster Recovery," and he has studied evacuation, disaster recovery and community rebuilding following Hurricane Katrina, as well as other natural disasters. This year is the eighth anniversary of when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in Aug. 29 2005 causing flooding as levees broke. More than 1,800 people died.
His research shows that people who have stronger individual friendships, community connections and civic involvement are more likely to have access to resources and information during and after a disaster. He also is focusing on what efforts can be made to protect vulnerable communities prior to a disaster.
Specific to Hurricane Katrina, he has studied the political, social and geographic factors that influenced the placement of FEMA trailers and mobile homes. He also is the author of "Site Fights: Divisive Facilities and Civil Society in Japan and the West."
He was a professor at Tulane University when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and credits a neighbor with encouraging his family to evacuate as the storm approached. He continues to work with colleagues at Louisiana State University to study disaster recovery after the hurricane.
In addition to the 2005 hurricane, he also has focused on the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami in Tamil Nadu, the 1923 earthquake in Tokyo and the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan.
CONTACT: Daniel P. Aldrich, daniel.aldrich@gmail.com
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
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