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Dear all,
 
Jut to comment on this issue. Sometimes I am under impression that there are some concerns and research practices really senseless or, let say, obvious, from some realities. Meanwhile in Latin America we are trying to put in evidence that tornadoes do occur in most countries, in other contexts other colleagues are concerned on statistical driven clarifications about tornadoes and its social meanings and consequences.
 
There has been some tornadoes transboundary between Mexico and USA, crossing different contexts related to housing and other facilities structures. Very good lessons to learn. It could be a good instance to question on the role of society in face to that natural phenomena.
 
By the way, I let you know, dear colleagues we are organizing the First Latin American conference on tornadoes studies that will be held in the University of La Habana, Cuba, next November. Further information will posted on several media.
 
Best!
 
Jesus
 
-----Mensaje original-----
De: "Vivienne Bryner" <[log in to unmask]>
Enviado: Saturday, 27 May, 2017 19:28
Para: [log in to unmask]
Asunto: Re: Tornado Casualties Depend More on Storm Energy Than Population



Thank you Brian and Ilan for starting this discussion.
The highlighted statement below (taken from the paper Brian introduced) illustrates the root of my concern for our collective work in DRR. Similar statements sit in the abstracts and conclusions of so many DRR- and natural hazard-related papers....
Despite tornadoes’ danger, the correlations among the number of storm-related casualties, a twister’s energy, and the size of the population in its path are not well understood. Better understanding of those relationships could help scientists, policy makers, and emergency management personnel predict future tornado deaths and injuries based on trends in population growth and tornado activity.
How can we hope to be successful when we focus so much of our effort on 'prediction' and risk identification? 
To my mind this insidious framing needs to be shifted until we read scholars the world over writing instead:
 "While forecasting is useful, we need better understanding of the risk management options, and how populations who have experienced disaster have measured the success of those options. Understanding the options and measures will help scientists, policy makers and emergency management personnel introduce ways to prevent future deaths and injuries, and boost the post-event functionality of buildings and infrastructure in our communities."
Is there anyone else 'out there' interested in working with me to try to break the old paradigm?
Vivienne





Vivienne Bryner, PhD
Consultant: risk management - natural resources and nature hazards
----
Kowhiti - revealing the possibility
New Zealand.

On 26 May 2017 at 17:38, Mc Adoo, Brian Garland <[ [log in to unmask] ]( mailto:[log in to unmask] )> wrote:




“[US] National Weather Service data from nearly 900 tornadoes and a principle of economics reveal the relationship between storm energy, population, and casualty count."
There are very few examples of hazard intensity being strongly linked to losses where social factors, in this case, exposure, are of lesser import.  Curious interdisciplinary study.
[ https://eos.org/articles/tornado-casualties-depend-more-on-storm-energy-than-population ]( https://eos.org/articles/tornado-casualties-depend-more-on-storm-energy-than-population )
Brian

Brian G. McAdoo
 

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