Race, ethnicity and disasters in the United States: A review of the literature

In this paper we synthesise past disaster research that addresses issues of race and ethnicity in the United States. Using an eight-stage typology to organise the findings, this literature review presents the results from a w ide range of studies. The synthesis shows how various racial and ethnic gro ups perceive natural hazard risks and respond to warnings, how groups may b e differentially affected both physically and psychologically, and how disa ster effects vary by race and ethnicity during the periods of emergency res ponse, recovery and reconstruction. We show that studies have important fin dings, many illustrating that racial and ethnic communities in the US are m ore vulnerable to natural disasters, due to factors such as language, housi ng patterns, building construction, community isolation and cultural insens itivities. By presenting these studies together, we are able to witness pat terns of racial and ethnic inequalities that may be more difficult to see o r interpret in individual studies that take place in one specific time and place. We conclude the review with policy and research recommendations.