Natural and Environmental Disasters Disproportionately Affect the Underprivileged
Many say that as natural and environmental disasters strike everyone is affected equally yet this is not the case. Women, the poor, and minorities are often more vulnerable and disadvantaged in the events of these disasters.
Women
Women for example do not have enough resources to get through a natural or environmental disaster. They may also lack mobility in the event of these disasters. Full-time working women earn just 78 cents for every dollar a man earns which leaves them at a disadvantage after the disaster has occurred (www.TheWhiteHouse.gov). It is likely that women face the same discrimination that they face regularly as compared to men before and after a natural disaster. After natural disasters women become more vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation, early pregnancy, violence and disease ( The Observer; Tracy Mcveigh).
Poor
Natural and environmental disasters do not only affect women they affect the poor. According to The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, over 90 percent of deaths caused by natural disasters occur in poor countries but even in developed nations, regardless of the abundance of resources, the poor suffer the most. Hurricane Katrina is a great example of that. The fact that there was a separation between the financially stable and the poor was devastating to see on the news. People who had money were able to fill up their cars with gas and go to higher grounds after knowing the hurricane was on its way. The quote above by Barbara Bush was used to illustrate the victims of a Houston relocation site in which she claimed the poor were faring better than before the storm hit. The quote not only illustrates the segregation of the privileged and underprivileged but the fact that the American people can be inconsiderate when talking about the poor in the events of disasters.
Racism
Racism also plays a part in determining who gets help and whose voice will be heard. Flint Michigan, for example, was recently hit by an environmental disaster. There was a water crisis due to the fact that the tap water was contaminated by levels of lead. Flint is a city where most of its citizens are poor and minority individuals and after having voiced their opinion about the toxic water not much was done soon enough. I believe that the fact that because the population is mostly minority and poor they were ignored. If it would have been someone who was of higher standing more attention would have been given to the issue. The City of New Orleans faced similar racism in the aftermath of the natural disaster Hurricane Katrina.
More needs to be done to help prevent discrimination against disadvantaged women, minority, and the poor. Not everyone is affected equally by a disaster. Women need different resources or even more resources than men and people should be helped regardless of their financial standing or their race.
The video below demonstrates how minority and the poor were mostly affected in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
