Disaster convergence is the phenomenon of individuals or groups moving towards a
disaster
A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...
-stricken area. Convergers have many reasons for heading towards a
disaster area
A disaster area is a region or a locale that has been heavily damaged by either natural, technological or social hazards. Disaster areas affect the population living in the community by dramatic increase in expense, loss of energy, food and serv ...
. Kendra and Wachtendorf (2002) identified seven distinct categories of convergers. These categories are
mourners, the
anxious
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
,
returners, the
curious
Curiosity (from Latin '' cūriōsitās'', from ''cūriōsus'' "careful, diligent, curious", akin to ''cura'' "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans ...
, the
helpers, the exploiters, and the supporters.
Sources
*Kendra, J. and Wachtendorf, T. (2002) ''Reconsidering Convergence and Converger - Legitimacy in Response to the World Trade Center Disaster.'' Research in Social Problems and Public Policy 11: 197–224.
Convergence
Convergence may refer to:
Arts and media Literature
*''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen
* "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics:
**A four-part crossover storyline that united the four Weir ...
{{disaster-stub