Disaster and social structure

ABSTRACT

All social events including disaster planning, response, and recovery activities reflect both the forces of social action and social order. To indicate that there is a social aspect to disasters justifies the sociological examination of disasters, exactly what should they study and how should they proceed? The possible combinations of the forces of action and order are expressed in social structure, the various forms of human association. If social action is visible in spontaneous, creative actions, social order is seen in the patterns of recurring human activities. If social action identifies the individual as the prime agent, social order highlights the social unit - groups and organisations - as the prime force. Gaining an understanding of the paradox of social structure, that action and order are autonomous yet related, can allow disaster managers to tranform social structure, the forms of human association, into an ally rather than an enemy.(AU)