Is There a Difference Between a Disaster and a Catastrophe? Essay Example

Yes, there is. The difference lays on the concept of determining what is meant by the term and what it directly tends to refer to. Disaster often refers to the event, while catastrophe is defined in relation to the number of the individuals affected. In short, while the situation is determined as disastrous, it might not be dubbed as catastrophic if it does not fully involve a distinct number of individuals in the community being fully affected by the situation. Death tolls and property damages often differ disaster from a catastrophe.

• What qualifies as a disaster/catastrophe?

The rate of victimization is what qualifies the identifiable label that a particular event gets from authorities surveying and studying the situation. Depending on the data that has been collected by the researchers, a distinct identification of the situation is undergone especially if the event does affect the overall condition of the society and the way it faces distinct changes in the community.

• Who decides that an event is a catastrophe?

More often than not, there are larger umbrellas of agencies that are functioning as the primary authorities that are able to provide the needed assistance to the population that has been affected by the event. The smaller branches offering such assistance often operates under the national departments thus making the remote services more effective in serving the needs of the locals.

• Which disciplines are involved in disaster/catastrophe research?

Statistical analysis and community research as well as psychological analysis are all considered to have a distinct impact on how disastrous events are handled. All these studies give the chance for the national agencies to give attention to what is really needed by the people who have been victimized by the disaster.

• What is trauma in the wake of a disaster?

More often than not, victims of disasters experience trauma because of the sudden occurrence of the imbalance of situations that brings about massive changes in their lives. These situations often challenge their capacity to face life at a much positive perspective. With this challenge at hand, most victims are required to undergo intervention programs that are designed to help them get over the event and go on through with their lives, even amidst the massive changes.

Part B: Representation

• How can disasters be represented?

Disasters are often represented through documented reports that include statistical information and data which when presented to the public offers them a more logical picture of what exactly transpired in relation to the disaster. Other forms include mass media coverage and publicly recorded videos. As to the Titanic disaster, the mass media did not really exist at the time except for newspapers and magazines which together provided a great deal of coverage of the tragedy. Unfortunately, movie cameras/video equipment did not exist at the time either.

• Is it a concrete/literal representation or does it escape configuration?

While statistical data may be considered as a concrete form of representation, the true literal representation is photographs and images of a given disaster. When a disastrous event does occur, the mass media sets out immediately to cover it by recording it and then showing it on the major networks and cable. Thus, in many ways, this empowers the viewer to offer his/her support for the victims. With the Titanic disaster, there are unfortunately no direct images of the sinking. All that is currently available are artist representations as described by those who survived.

• What is negative representation?

Negative representation focuses upon the negative aspects of a given disaster which often increases tension and stress among the victims rather than aiding them in the recovery process. The only negative representations related to the Titanic are what was reported after the sinking in relation to the failure of the White Star Line to provide adequate lifeboats and the failure of the ship’s captain to steer further south so as to avoid icebergs.

• What representations are the most powerful?

Mass media representations are definitely the most powerful, due to the fact that the mass media is able to control and manipulate what the general public sees and hears about a given disaster. The same holds true for the Titanic disaster in the context of photographic images of the doomed ship in Belfast, Ireland before setting sail for New York City and photos of the survivors aboard the rescue ship.

• Does the representation impact reason or emotion?

Mass mediarepresentations do indeed impact human emotion and a person’s ability to view a given disaster with a sense of rationality and reason. With the Titanic, looking at the faces of the survivors in photographs creates a myriad of emotions like sadness, anger, and disbelief; photos also make the viewer think about how such a disaster could ever have happened.

Summary of discussion:

The representation of a disaster or catastrophe can make a huge difference between how the general public reacts to it and what it does to help prevent it from ever happening again, unless the disaster is related to natural occurrences like earthquakes and hurricanes. Of course, human emotions run high when people come to realize that a disaster like the sinking of the Titanic could have been prevented. In many ways, statistics are meaningless when people have real images of the victims to ponder and think about.