Catastrophic Incentives

Jeff Schlegelmilch is a research scholar and the director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. He serves in advisory roles for public, private, and nonprofit organizations on issues related to disaster resilience. He is also the author of Rethinking Readiness: A Brief Guide to Twenty-First-Century Megadisasters (Columbia, 2020).Ellen Carlin is a veterinarian and policy expert specializing in biological threats. She undertakes scientific study and policy development to address infectious pathogens, especially those that move between animals and people. She has worked on national security challenges and disaster preparedness across sectors, including as senior professional staff with the U.S. House of Representatives, founding staff member of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, and faculty at Georgetown University.

At this critical crossroads in human history, Schlegelmilch and Carlin expose the cracks in how we prepare and respond to disasters and call on us to develop and execute strategies for achieving a more sustainable and resilient future.

• AcknowledgmentsAcronyms and AbbreviationsIntroductionPart I. A Recent History of Disasters: Events, Trends and Organizational Responses1. The Birth of the Modern Era of U.S. Disaster Management and Its Global Implications (2001)2. A Pandemic Warning, Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricane Katrina, and a Bird Flu (2002–2007)3. An Influenza Pandemic, Earthquake in Haiti, Fukushima Disaster, and Superstorm Sandy (2008–2012)4. Ebola, Hurricanes, Wildfires, and a Pandemic for the Ages (2013–2021)Part II. How Organizations Respond to Disasters and Why They Behave That Way5. Disaster Politics6. Disaster Markets and the Private Sector7. Disaster Nonprofits8. Disaster AcademicsPart III. In Search of Disaster Resilience9. Humans Are Bad at Risk, and Even Worse with Uncertainty10. Reimagining the ModelNotesBibliographyIndex