Me, Myself & Disaster

From FEMA camps to chemtrails designed to start bushfires - conspiracy theories are everywhere. We speak with Jo Uscinski to learn about the links between disasters and conspiracy theories.

How do emergency managers work effectively with the media and interact with social media groups? We discuss trust and transparency, the evolving media environment, preparedness movements, what happens when disaster related community Facebook groups turn on themselves, and how to manage disaster fatigue.

We speak with Kevin Blanchard, researcher and founder of the #NoNaturalDisasters twitter campaign. Kevin shares his experience and explains why there's no such thing as a natural disaster: "Nature doesn't cause disasters. It's our own failure as a species in terms of planning and policy that's caused 99.999% of so-called 'natural-disasters".

Learn why we need to speak about disasters differently, and how you can change the culture in your workplace.

In 2011 the city of Joplin, Missouri was severely impacted by a EF5 tornado - one of the deadliest in US history with 158 people killed. Following the disaster, volunteers from across America travelled to Joplin to assist.

In nearby Christian County, Director of Emergency Management, Phil Amtower, and Assistant Director, Linda Barger were preparing teams of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers to deploy to Joplin.

Join Andrew and Josh in episode 4 as they discuss coordinating volunteers, working with politicians, the Joplin tornado response and spontaneous volunteers.

Part two of our conversation with Amanda Lamont explores how we can better create an environment to attract and engage women in disaster roles. We also speak about Amanda's role establishing the Australasian Women in Emergencies Network.

Amanda Lamont is the co-founder of the Australasian Women in Emergencies Network and also works on a range of disaster related projects. She volunteers with the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Red Cross in Victoria.

Amanda Lamont started as a corporate lawyer working in Adelaide and discovered her passion for helping others after spending a year travelling and working in South America.

After a catastrophic bushfire season, Amanda joins us to discuss the unprecedented bushfire season and what this means in terms of 'building back better', community perception of their future risk, investing in recovery and coordinating spontaneous volunteers.

Amanda Lamont is the co-founder of the Australasian Women in Emergencies Network and also works on a range of disaster related projects. She volunteers with the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Red Cross in Victoria.

Amanda Lamont started as a corporate lawyer working in Adelaide and discovered her passion for helping others after spending a year travelling and working in South America.

After a catastrophic bushfire season, Amanda joins us to discuss the unprecedented bushfire season and what this means in terms of 'building back better', community perception of their future risk, investing in recovery and coordinating spontaneous volunteers.

Amanda Lamont is the co-founder of the Australasian Women in Emergencies Network and also works on a range of disaster related projects. She volunteers with the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Red Cross in Victoria.

In the first episode of the Me, Myself and Disaster, Josh and Andrew speak with Anthony (Antz) Rohan who volunteered with the Student Volunteer Army following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Thousands of properties were damaged or destroyed, and spontaneous volunteers were key to the community's recovery. Antz talks about his involvement and the resilience of Christchurch in the years following the earthquakes.

In the first episode of the Me, Myself and Disaster, Josh and Andrew speak with Anthony (Antz) Rohan who volunteered with the Student Volunteer Army following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Thousands of properties were damaged or destroyed, and spontaneous volunteers were key to the community's recovery. Antz talks about his involvement and the resilience of Christchurch in the years following the earthquakes.