Building Through Historical Knowledge: Social Construction of Disasters and Disaster Risk Reduction

Understanding the historical roots of contemporary disasters, and then identifying and analysing the social construction of vulnerability(ies) and risk(s) throughout time and compare them in different spaces, is essential to the reduction of the effects associated with natural hazards and to the prevention of future disasters. We pretend to enhance accumulated knowledge on these topics coming from the North and from the South, produced by members of four specialized international networks, located on both sides of the Atlantic. This side-event will address what historical disaster research can bring to GP17 main issues.