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Aftermath of natural disasters: Coping through residential mobility
Author(s) -
Belcher John C.,
Bates Frederick L.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
disasters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1467-7717
pISSN - 0361-3666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7717.1983.tb00805.x
Subject(s) - natural disaster , developing country , poison control , suicide prevention , coping (psychology) , population , geography , injury prevention , human factors and ergonomics , occupational safety and health , socioeconomics , natural (archaeology) , forensic engineering , economic growth , medical emergency , environmental health , political science , psychology , engineering , medicine , sociology , economics , archaeology , psychiatry , meteorology , law
Most studies of population movement have concentrated on the more developed nations and on trends that have not been influenced by man‐made or natural disasters. The experience of developing countries in the Caribbean basin, as studied after the Guatemalan earthquake of 1976 and the impact of Hurricane David in the Dominican Republic of 1979, highlights the importance of socio‐economic factors in the decision to make permanent migrations after a disaster, regardless of whether the migrant had personally suffered losses. In many cases the opportunities for personal betterment created by the disaster acted as a catalyst and accelerated a previously‐existing trend of migration.