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is a concept that presents a false dichotomy between exceptional and normal events. They are not merely geophysical and not merely the function of calamitous events as opposed to everyday events.

The ontology of 'disaster' has long been a topic of debate in the field of natural hazard and disaster research, with most attention focusing on the question of whether disasters are exceptional as opposed to normal events. Hewitt (1986), among others, suggests that the traditional differentiation between disastrous events and normal ones represents a false dichotomy and an outmoded paradigm. He maintains that (1) natural disasters are not explained solely by geophysical processes, (2) human perception of natural disasters is not explained by these processes either, and (3) natural disasters are not the function of calamitous as opposed to everyday events (dove 446)

is a situation which overwhelms local capacity such that external assistance is necessitated.

Disasters in EM-DAT are defined as: 'A situation or event which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request to the national or international level for external assistance, or is recognized as such by a multilateral agency or by at least two sources, such as national, regional or international assistance groups and the media.' (Guha-Sapir 2004: 16)

is beautiful in that it brings to light the fraternity of strangers.

Great perils have this beauty, that they bring to light the fraternity of strangers. Victor Hugo

is of great value in that all our mistakes are burned up in it, and we can start anew.

There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start a new. Thomas A. Edison

, rather than putting me into question, annuls the question, makes it disappear, making me too disappear in the disaster which never appears.

For Blanchot, 'the disaster does not put me into question but annuls the question, makes it disappear as if along with the question, I too disappeared in the disaster which never appears' (WoD p.278).

is something which revivify's what really matters. Failure and catastrophe empower religion... religion, in turn, empowers people faced with adversity to overcome self-doubt and fear of failing, and to act in the world.

It is precisely when an individual, a family, or a community is threatened by catastrophe that people turn to religion for explanation. They seek support for their deepest values, succor for the existential feelings of loss and dread, and revival of hope. Religious rituals, and relationships with coreligionist and religious leaders, do just this. They revivify what really matters. Failure and catastrophe empower religion... religion, in turn, empowers people faced with adversity to overcome self-doubt and fear of failing, and to act in the world. Is it surprising that the current period of Christian reawakening and evangelical fervor (Kleinman 2006 : 14)

is an ever-present opportunity for Christians to practice a boundless narcissism and self-deceit of the saved, who disgracefully believe themselves spared by a loving God, while this same God drowned infants in their cribs.

As Hurricane Katrina was devouring New Orleans, nearly a thousand Shiite pilgrims were trampled to death on a bridge in Iraq. These pilgrims believed mightily in the God of the Koran. Indeed, their lives were organized around the indisputable fact of his existence: their women walked veiled before Him... their men regularly murdered one another over rival interpretations of his word. It would be remarkable if a single survivor of this tragedy lost his faith. More likely, the survivors imagine that they were spared through God's grace. It is time we recognized the boundless narcissism and self-deceit of the saved. It is time we acknowledged how disgraceful it is for the survivors of a catastrophe to believe themselves spared by a loving God, while this same God drowned infants in their cribs.

is unable either to be mastered or conquered, but they can be understood, responded to, as ethical, religious, and aesthetic challenges.

Such crises and limits cannot be mastered, in the sense of conquered. They are to be understood and responded to as ethical, religious, and aesthetic challenges. Getting a handle on what really matters for us requires a self-critical stance toward our emotions and values in which we try to step aside from (or, really, outside) our taken-for-granted world and sense of self. (Kleinman 2006 : 23)

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