Title
Human-made vs. Natural Disasters. Why the Distinction Matters?
Tipo de registro
Video
URL
https://youtu.be/yTCVDii6AN8
Contact
Jono Anazalone
Year
2,022
Publisher
Imara IHG

Summary
Jono Anzalone challenges the binary between "natural" and "human-made" disasters, arguing that natural events often expose man-made vulnerabilities like systemic neglect and governance failures. This distinction is a strategic tool, as a crisis's origin dictates legal frameworks, funding, and equity.
Description
In this video, Jono Anzalone explores a critical but often underexamined distinction in disaster studies and practice: the difference between human-made disasters and natural disasters, and why this distinction fundamentally shapes how leaders assess risk, design interventions, and lead in crisis.
While disasters are often categorized as either “natural” (earthquakes, hurricanes) or “human-made” (conflict, industrial accidents, protracted emergencies), this video challenges that binary. Jonno explains how so-called natural disasters frequently expose deep human-made vulnerabilities, including systemic neglect, substandard housing, governance failures, and fragile infrastructure.
Drawing on experience from the Haiti earthquake, Ebola response in Liberia, and climate adaptation work in the United States, the video highlights how the origin of a crisis affects legal frameworks, coordination structures, humanitarian access, funding streams, media narratives, and—most importantly—who is included or excluded from response systems.
Rather than treating disaster typologies as academic classifications, this session reframes them as strategic leadership prompts, especially in today’s reality of hybrid crises where conflict, climate stress, and governance failures intersect.