Natural' disaster

Amid the distress brought by Cyclone Gabrielle, questions begin to form around who is to blame. As is the case in most 'natural' disasters, ...

The large fossil-fuel enterprises and their acolytes and apologists have brought us here: they are a significant contributing cause in the destructive power of storms like Gabrielle. Numerous calls have been made in the past for officials to intervene in the forestry industry’s dumping practices, including criticism of its inconsequential fines for slash-related harms. Slash was picked up by floodwaters and became a key part of the destructive force bearing down upon our vulnerable communities and their fragile infrastructure. If you have substantially increased the chances that people will come to harm, then you are part of the cause of the harm. Our general understanding of culpability should include the background factors that have created a context in which the destructive outcomes of natural events are amplified. The building codes in Turkey were widely flouted and unsafe buildings were signed off by the authorities, thanks to an ingrained and well-known culture of corruption that existed in government agencies.