ABSTRACT
Hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes and other natural disasters cause large-scale physical and emotional damage. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused over 1,800 deaths and 125 billion dollars in damage, and displaced more than 400,000 residents (Geaghan 2011). In 2011, an outbreak of tornadoes devastated Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Joplin, Missouri, causing 222 deaths and 5.3 billion dollars in damage.1 Hurricane Sandy, which affected numerous countries in the Caribbean and every state along the east coast in 2012, caused 285 deaths and 68 billion dollars in damage in the U.S. alone. In less developed countries, the impact of natural disasters is even more pronounced. In 2010, an earthquake of 7.0 magnitude struck Haiti, causing more than 160,000 deaths and as much as 13.2 billion dollars in damage. Many Haitians lost everything. And, with more than a million people living in tent villages after the earthquake, safety and health issues, including a cholera outbreak, have exacerbated the problems of recovery.2
