Heather Lazrus
Location of experience: North America; North America; Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
Type of disaster work: Social vulnerability; Natural hazards; Disaster risk reduction
Primary Interests: Migration, displacement, and resettlement; Climate change and climate change adaptation; Risk perception
As an environmental anthropologist working in very interdisciplinary settings, I am thrilled to be part of an effort to emphasize the role of culture in risk and disasters. My own research focuses primarily on the pre-disaster phase: How can understanding things like risk perceptions, risk communication, and decision making help alleviate vulnerability and enhance adaptive capacities in ways that lead to less disastrous outcomes? I focus on the entire lifecycle of weather and climate hazards to understand how the pre-disaster phase influences the generation, understanding, and impacts of disasters.