SURVIVING DISASTER: The Role of Social Networks

Robin L. Ersing, University of South Florida
Kathleen A. Kost, State University of New York, Buffalo

Disasters both man-made and natural strike every population. Some communities are more resilient than others. Surviving Disaster: The Role of Social Networks is a timely tool for disaster planning and relief efforts, exploring the impact community ties—strong and weak—have on response to and recovery from disasters. The book covers the basics of disaster response and the role of social networks, providing essential terminology, theories, analysis, and case examples, with descriptions of methods that worked and did not work for a variety of populations facing different types of disasters within and outside the United States.

Features

• Case examples of different types of disasters
• Details of effective and ineffective community responses
• Specific content on tornadoes in rural areas

Contents
Preface

Chapter 1.		Approaching Practice: Social Networks in the Context of Disasters
		Robin L. Ersing and Kathleen A. Kost
Chapter 2.		A Social Network Approach to Disaster Planning: Implications to Mitigation and Response
		Dhrubodhi Mukherjee and Hussein H. Soliman
Chapter 3.		Building and Maintaining Social Networks: Application of the Community Readiness Model
		Kathleen A. Kost and Ruth W. Edwards
Chapter 4.		And the Winds Came: Tornado Disaster Recovery in Rural Wyoming
		Susan Markus
Chapter 5.		Hurricane Evacuation among Mobile Home Residents in Florida: The Complex Role of Social Networks
		Margarethe Kusenbach and Carylanna Taylor
Chapter 6.		The Role of Leadership in Disaster Relief and Management
		Golam M. Mathbor and Kathleen A. Kost
Chapter 7.		Using Social Networks to Build Disaster Resilient Communities: The Strategy of CODE ONE
		Robin L. Ersing

Conclusion
Index

About the Editors

Robin L. Ersing (MSW, PhD, State University of New York, Buffalo) is associate professor of social work at the University of South Florida, Tampa. She has a passionate interest in disaster recovery and prevention research and has published on the subject many times.

Kathleen A. Kost (MA, MSSW, PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison) is associate professor of social work at State University of New York, Buffalo. She has been a consultant and program evaluator for more than twenty years.

2012  paperback, 128 pages, ISBN 978-1-933478-51-7,  $32.95