Out of the dust: Britain's leading disaster expert on coping with crisis

After a catastrophe rips lives apart, whether it's a tsunami or a terror attack, specialists are on hand to take charge. Lucy Easthope, the country's leading disaster expert, reflects on a lifetime spent dealing with the aftermathThe word "disaster" is formed from the Latin dis and astro, meaning bad star. It refers to an ancient belief that when the stars are in a poor position, unfortunate events are going to occur. A misaligning of the astronomical bodies sends the world off kilter. On an individual level, a disaster might be losing our job, our relationship or just our house keys. But an official disaster - a "major incident" as English planners are now told to call it - is something on quite a different scale. Something that most of us don't expect or anticipate. Most of us don't think about disasters until they are on the news, after they have already happened.But I cannot imagine living my life like that. I have always found myself analysing what might happen and why. Since I was a child, I have tried to be the first to know about the perils all around and ahead of us, aware of the sliver of difference between near miss and tragedy. Continue reading...