Measuring trauma: a preliminary analysis of the hurricane-related traumatic experiences questionnaire This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the adapted Spanish version of the Hurricane-Related Traumatic Experiences (HURTE) scale among Puerto Rican adults (N = 312) who relocated to the...

Our **new** article! Measuring trauma: a preliminary analysis of the hurricane-related traumatic experiences questionnaire www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

A not-so-small sliver of hope: +70 years disaster-related research shows that people and communities almost always help each other after disaster. Your friends, family, and neighbors will be there for you regardless of what's happening at federal level.

🚨New article🚨
The Incident Management Measurement Tool (IMMT): A Tool for Measuring Public Health Incident Management During and After Emergencies

We describe our new, practical, tool for measuring incident management performance.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The impact of tropical cyclone exposure on infant mortality in low- and middle-income countries Tropical cyclones increase infant mortality across seven low- and middle-income countries with uneven country-specific effects.

🚨New Article: The impact of tropical cyclone exposure on infant mortality in low- and middle-income countries🚨

Exposure to cyclones during pregnancy or the first year of life increases infant mortality by 11% (!!!) on average in low-and middle-income countries.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Pathways to Resilience - Fire Adapted Communities in Action April 30, 2025 Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, RAND Corp and Allen Myers, Regenerating Paradise

Last week I had opportunity to present on the good and bad of community-driven disaster management based on my work in Kenya, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Zambia, and Sierra Leone.

Community approaches to disaster management can be great - but the devil is in the details.

vimeo.com/1080584009?s...

a close up of a man in a military uniform looking at the camera with a serious look on his face . ALT: a close up of a man in a military uniform looking at the camera with a serious look on his face .

What.

Parallels and discrepancies between non‐native species introductions and human migration Biological invasions and human migrations have increased globally due to socio-economic drivers and environmental factors that have enhanced cultural, economic, and geographic connectivity. Both proc...

🚨New Article: Parallels and discrepancies between non-native species introductions and human migration🚨

Terms like "invasion" are thrown around to describe human migration. Does invasion rhetoric hold up to scientific scrutiny? In short, no.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

We need to stop creating disaster risk A recent review of disaster risk creation discourses indicates that to account for rising risk, we must further risk reduction efforts by proactively avoiding the creation of disaster risk. This requi...

We need to stop creating disaster risk

New @preventionweb.bsky.social blog post provides a call to action to address disaster risk creation.

www.preventionweb.net/drr-communit...

‘We Herders Are Often Chased About by Drought’: A Systems Analysis of Natural Resource Degradation Within the Climate–(Im)mobility–Violence–Health Nexus in Sahel This study applies a systems analysis to further our understanding of the many pathways linking climate stress to human (im)mobility and interpersonal violence via natural resource stress within eight...

🚨OUT TODAY🚨: Ayeb-Karlsson, S., Hayward, G., and Kniveton, D. (2025). ‘We Herders Are Often Chased About by Drought’: A Systems Analysis of Natural Resource #Degradation Within the Climate–(Im)mobility–#Violence–#Health Nexus in Sahel. Earth, 6(1), 11. doi.org/10.3390/eart...

Pay wildland firefighters a living wage - High Country News To reimagine our relationship with wildfire, we must recognize the real value of federal wildland firefighters — and compensate them accordingly.

My friend Riley just penned this for @highcountrynews.bsky.social. Great to see some familiar faces here, and Riley really brings it home w/ this:
"There is no future without fire, and no future in which federal wildland firefighters are not its indispensable stewards."
www.hcn.org/articles/pay...

I've been on lots of large fires in states red and blue. I've seen thousands of homes destroyed, ranging from small tailers housing a retiree on Social Security to large custom homes where the most wealthy among us live. I've talked to many who lost everything. 1/

Likewise @jimwhittington.bsky.social - continue to learn a ton from you.

That's it for now, but will add to the thread as more comes out. Hoping some of these writings will be useful as we think over these fires in the coming weeks, months, and years.

When Fire Information and the Desire to Help Collide Online As wildfires swept through Los Angeles, misinformation circulated among citizens, celebrities, and some journalists, leading to significant confusion. This scenario highlights the challenges of ensuri...

LA specific (cont):

When Fire Information and the Desire to Help Collide Online
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

(9/n)

The Los Angeles Fires and the Need for Long-Term Strategy Building Wildland Fire Resilience The fires in Los Angeles highlight an urgent need for policy reforms in land management and community preparedness. Without sustained investment and effort, future disasters are inevitable.

Los Angeles specific:
The Los Angeles Fires and the Need for Long-Term Strategy Building Wildland Fire Resilience
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

As Fires Continue to Burn Around Los Angeles, Here Are Some Recovery Tips and Resources
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

(8/n)

Local Communities Need a Voice in How to 'Build Back Better' Long before it was popularized and made its way into political slogans and economic recovery battle cries, the phrase “building back better” was a central tenet of disaster recovery and community resi...

Recovery & resilience (cont):

Local Communities Need a Voice in How to 'Build Back Better'
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

We Aren't Helpless in the Face of Increasing Fires and Smoke
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

(7/n)

Realizing the Power of Community in Disaster Recovery Communities—not governments—are often the primary agents driving disaster recovery. Understanding their needs, improving resource allocation, and measuring results can better leverage the community's ...

Recovery & resilience:
Realizing the Power of Community in Disaster Recovery
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

Community-Driven Recovery: The Lahaina Wildfires a Year Later
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

(6/n)

What's Missing From Community Disaster Response? The Whole Community Across the United States, significant gaps exist in disaster response needs and capabilities. Community volunteers have stepped up to fill those gaps where possible. They may need more support and res...

Response (cont):

What's Missing From Community Disaster Response? The Whole Community
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

Maintaining wildfire and COVID-19 continuity of operations
www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfp...

(5/n)

As Fire Season Heats Up, Burnout Looms Increasingly intense fire seasons are taking a physical and mental toll on wildland firefighters. Without more direct attention paid to firefighters' mental health, burnout could decimate the ranks of...

Response:

As Fire Season Heats Up, Burnout Looms
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

Disaster Reporting and Its Impacts on Policy and Inequities
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

(4/n)

Causes (cont):
Exceptional drought and extreme heat: The fire risk in the West has never been seen before
thehill.com/opinion/ener...

(3/n)

Climate Change Is Only One Driver of Explosive Wildfire Season—Don't Forget Land Management The fire seasons that have been scorching huge areas and wiping entire towns from the map appear to be the future. Accepting that wildland fires are a part of our environment and working to live with ...

Causes:
Climate Change Is Only One Driver of Explosive Wildfire Season—Don't Forget Land Management
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

Another Record-Breaking Fire Season Shows the Need for a Comprehensive Strategy
www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

(2/n)

Here’s some of the bite-sized thinking that @jaybalagna.bsky.social, @jimwhittington.bsky.social, and I have been doing on wildfires over the years (🧵 1/n)

Community-Driven Relocation: Recommendations for the U.S. Gulf Coast Region and Beyond Read online, download a free PDF, or order a copy in print or as an eBook.

Shamelessly plugging a former student of mine, Anuszka Mosurska, who's done some great work on disaster narratives/discourse: scholar.google.com/citations?us...

NAS' excellent report on community-driven relocation also has a section on retreat: nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/2721...

The Los Angeles Fires and the Need for Long-Term Strategy Building Wildland Fire Resilience The fires in Los Angeles highlight an urgent need for policy reforms in land management and community preparedness. Without sustained investment and effort, future disasters are inevitable.

"America's structural and wildland fire response systems were never intended to address blazes at the scale and complexity witnessed today."

The wildfire crisis demands long-term thinking that focuses decades into the future. www.rand.org/pubs/comment...

As Fires Continue to Burn Around Los Angeles, Here Are Some Recovery Tips and Resources As Los Angeles battles ongoing wildfires, tens of thousands face displacement. Recovery begins now, but long-term healing will take years, requiring community support and resources for rebuilding and ...

As fires continue to burn around Los Angeles, here are some resources and recovery tips from RAND emergency response and disaster recovery experts: www.rand.org/pubs/comment... @aclarkginsberg.bsky.social

In recent decades, wildland fires have been enabled by many factors, including the legacy of fire suppression, human settlement and distribution patterns, other management actions, and even natural climate variability. 1/

Opinion: In crises like wildfires, Angelenos want to help. We need better coordination A request from the fire department was misconstrued online, illustrating the untapped resource of civic-minded neighbors eager to pitch in.

Nice op-ed in the LA Times co-authored by a buddy of mine, @jaybalagna.bsky.social, who should certainly be included in some of the wildland fire starter packs out there.

www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...

Yea!! Amazing!

Excited to share my final 2024 report, “First Responders’ Engagement with Marginalised & Hyper-Marginalised Groups.”

It highlights critical gaps in disaster response for diverse communities & calls for systemic reforms. Download it for free here: lnkd.in/e9nS9p97

#InclusiveDRR #LeaveNoOneBehind

The Stories We Tell: How Framing Shapes our Understanding of Climate-linked Migration The language and narratives we use don’t just describe climate-linked migration—they shape public attitudes, guide policy, and influence the solutions we see as possible.

Climate change is altering migration patterns. Discussing climate-related migration shapes perceptions and actions. Our words influence empathy or fear, public opinion, and political discourse, guiding potential solutions.