Warnings and catastrophes: the 1999 storm, a treacherous risk

• Published in: Sociologie du travail (Paris) Vol. 51; no. 3; pp. 379 - 401
• Main Author: Dedieu, F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: French
• Published: 01.07.2009
• Subjects: Civil Defense; Cognition; Disasters; Forecasts; France; Information Dissemination; Natural Disasters; Organizational analysis; Risk; Risk Assessment; Uncertainty; Valuation; Weather

There is a recurrent paradox: why do catastrophes always seem to be 'anticipated' ex post but never ex ante? This study of the warnings issued prior to the last major natural catastrophe experienced by France - the storm of 27 December 1999 - focuses on the organizational factors accountin...