Why ordinary people are crucial in disaster response

Delaware Public Media

When disaster strikes, we often picture emergency crews rushing in, but it's local communities that play the most vital role in the critical moments before first responders arrive.

That’s according to the co-directors of the University of Delaware Disaster Research Center Tricia Wachtendorf and James Kendra, who have spent decades studying how ordinary people respond to disasters and recently wrote about how local heroes are crucial to disaster response.

Delaware Public Media’s Kyle McKinnon is joined this week by Wachtendorf and Kendra to learn more about why local communities are often the first and most crucial line of defense in a crisis.