Hi World,
The attached is an essay that I wrote last year for my Geography 122 class. It’s an examination of how natural disasters are not just concerned with environmental forces and factors, but how said forces are intimately tied with Economic, Social and Political factors inside the nation, as well as globally. In this case, I use the example of cyclone Nargis, which hit Burma in 2008 as a platform for such examination. I think that from understanding how these forces are interconnected we can begin to think about natural events and disasters differently, and hopefully communicate this understanding to others. After reading over this paper again I wish that I had added more about the global factors that led to the economic and political atmosphere in Burma, which in turn affected the populations vulnerability. So if/when you read it, keep in mind the global flows of power which led to the Political situation in Burma, as well as the geopolitical tropes of West-East inequalities through which you view Burma as a nation-state.
Thanks for reading,
Sam