Resilience in the face of disaster
Tuesday, November 25, 2008 - 16:14
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Genetics, problem-solving skills and relationships affect how well someone bounces back. But resiliency can also be learned. Most of us can't comprehend the devastation of losing everything -- our home and all its contents -- suddenly and irrevocably and with no chance of retrieving even one personal belonging. Yet some 842 homes were destroyed in the most recent Southern California wildfires, leaving the people who lived in them without shelter, possessions or, in some cases, much more than the clothes they were wearing when they fled.