Annotated Bibliography (Revised for October 3, 2005)

Research on Micronesia Population, Culture, and Plans for Evacuation

Diana Jue

Team 7

September 23, 2005

(Revised October 3, 2005)

Adjaye, J.A. (2004). Integrating Economic and Environmental Policies: the Case of Pacific Islands Development Papers No. 25. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific: Poverty and Development.

This paper gives an overview of Pacific Island countries and comments on their ability to obtain sustainable development. Concerns include environmental issues and socioeconomic problems unique of each Pacific island country. The paper ends with a summary of future challenges. The reference would be useful to my research because it is important for us to know about the economy and social challenges that these island nations face. Environmental issues would affect our plans for evacuation because we’d have to take into account energy sources and other outcomes of various environmental practices. Social challenges are important to know because we need to make sure that when we do evacuate, we can evacuate as many people as possible—regardless of where they stand on the social ladder (or at least that is our attempt). The future challenges would be taken into account in the implementation of our evacuation plan.

The Associated Press. (2005, September 22).Elaborate Plans in Motion Ahead of Rita. The New York Times.

As Hurricane Rita is approaching Texas, hundreds of thousands of people are trying to flee Texas. Because of Hurricane Katrina, government officials are even more aware of the consequences that leaving people behind may have. The article notes necessary steps that are being taken that were learned from mistakes that occurred during Katrina. This source is included because hurricane evacuation techniques may be somewhat similar to tsunami evacuation techniques. For example, the government officials know that there are consequences to leaving people behind. As evacuation planners, we want to create a system such that we do not leave any people behind. We want to learn from the mistakes that occurred in Hurricane Katrina.

BBC News, (2005). BBC News: Country Profile: Micronesia. Retrieved Sep. 23, 2005, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1300849.stm.

This short article gives an overview of Micronesia, some facts, information about its government, and information about media there (television networks and radio stations). Some interesting bits of media on the page include a sound byte of Micronesia’s national anthem, as well as a small picture of its flag. This source is useful because it provides background information that will be necessary to us for ways to communicate the evacuation plan. Also, knowing about Micronesia’s government would be important because we need to create some type of structure that works with the government.

Besnier, N. (2001). Polynesia and Micronesia: Sociocultural Aspects. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 11723-11727.

Besnier writes this article about the group of islands collectively known as Polynesia and Micronesia in order to compare, contrast, and shed light on cultures unknown to many. He compares language, settlement, society, history, and political re-emergence as independent states. This source is included because we need to take Micronesian way of life into account as we create this evacuation system. For example, would families be willing to leave family land? Do we have to evacuate by family, even when there are many ten-person plus households? Do cultural beliefs tie into how willing/unwilling people would be to evacuate? And will language be a huge barrier to overcome, since each state of Micronesia has its own language? Are people of different states hostile toward each other?

Central Intelligence Agency. (2005). Retrieved Sep. 23, 2005, from The World Factbook: Micronesia, Federal States of. Web site: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/print/fm.html.

This is a list of facts about the Federal States of Micronesia. The facts include population, religion, language, area, area density, and other useful information for this project. Information like area density is important because it helps us evaluate areas of high risk so that we know which areas to evacuate first.

Cole, T., Ewel, K., & Devoe N. (1999). Structure of mangrove trees and forests in Micronesia. Forest Ecology and Management, 117(1), 95-109 (15).

Data analysis was taken for the five most common species of trees on the volcanic high islands of Micronesia. Tree structure and growth were some of the main attributes analyzed, and it was found that trees differed significantly from island to island. This information may be helpful as a method of evacuation (i.e. hoisting people up into trees). Therefore, knowing where the trees are and how they are built would be important to us.

Dunford, B., & Ridgell, R. (1996). Pacific Neighbors: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Bess Press.

This book is used as a complete reference tool for the islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. It contains information about geology, coral, weather, migration, navigation, life long ago, explorers, immigrants, colonization, and changes due to WWII and other post-war changes. Once again, knowing the history of the island people would aid in understanding how to evacuate them. If there are any social issues that we would have to take into account than, this would be a book in which to find that information. Also, knowing the geology of the islands would be important—it would give us information about where to send evacuees.

Federal States of Micronesia Government, (n.d.). Retrieved Sep. 23, 2005, from Government of the Federal States of Micronesia Web site: http://www.fsmgov.org/.

This site is a compilation of news about the Federal States of Micronesia that includes information for its citizens, recent news, and government facts. It’s a useful compilation of all the recent events occurring in Micronesia. However, some of this information may also be skewed, since it is provided by the Micronesian government and is accessible for all Internet users (tourists included). This site would provide more insight into current way of life in Micronesia, perhaps giving us a venue in which to educate the people about evacuation plans.

Gibbs, N. (January 17, 2005). Race Against Time. Time.

This article was written by one of Time’s editors, Nancy Gibbs. It was written after the tsunami hit and international global relief efforts were surging and aid workers were going into Asia. The article chronicles how Asia is working to overcome disease, hunger, and destruction of the tsunami that hit in December, and it does this by following survivors. This would be useful to us because we would want to address these problems while the people are being evacuated, thus finding ways to prevent disease and hunger in the evacuation process.

Goodenough, W. (2002). Under Heaven's Brow: Pre-Christian Religious Tradition in Chuuk (Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.

In this book, Goodenough brings together information about pre-Christian religion in Chuuk (which is predominantly Christian now). By doing so, he hopes to provide a written history for the people of Chuuk, as well as for Micronesian scholars. In order to study religion, he also gives sufficient information about family and society structure in order to show where daily concerns lay and address how pre-Christian religion addressed these concerns. These daily concerns would be useful to us because they affect how we would evacuate: who we would prioritize, for example, and their willingness to go.

Gorenflo, L. J. & Levin, M. J. (1991). Regional demographic change in Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia. Pacific Studies, 14(3), 97-145.

This paper analyzing the then-changing population state of island Yap, which is a part of the island nations of Micronesia. This occurred because of Yap’s interaction with more technologically developed states. There was a marked increase in population, and this study covers other factors that determined this, such as fertility, mortality, and migration. Yap’s development would be important for evacuation because it not only refers to population increase, but also to social remnants of a developing state that would affect evacuation techniques.

Hanlon, D. (1998). Remaking Micronesia : discourses over development in a Pacific territory, 1944-1982. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.

This book is about US ideology and foreign policy in the Pacific islands. He explores, particularly, the impact that colonialism has had on the development of such small nations and also gives insight into why stereotypes of island people exist. These stereotypes would be important for us to know so that we don’t naturally create them when we try to evacuate people. It wouldn’t be advantageous to us nor the peoples of Micronesia if we fed into what they’re usually seen as by outsiders.

Harp, E. L., Reid, M. E., & MIchael J. A. (2004). Hazard Analysis of Landslides Triggered by Typhoon Chata’an on July 2, 2002, in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1348.

In July 2002, devastating rainfall hit the Micronesian Islands of Chuuk. Multiple landslides were triggered during this period, causing damage to many of the islands’ roads and power lines. This paper provides a landslide-inventory map and a map that estimates landslide hazard, which can be used to relocated structure and people in the case of an emergency. Knowing where landslides occur is important because in the event of tsunami, they could also occur (if they’re close enough to the shoreline). Then we would have to plan evacuation routes around these landslide areas instead of through them. We need to determine where possible routes may lie.

Hezel, F. (2001). The New Shape of Old Island Cultures: a Half Century of Social Change in Micronesia. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i

Hezel writes about the forces that shaped modern Micronesia from its precolonial and colonial days. He gives a sociocultural profile of each island group before he begins in order to set the stage for possible discussions. Topics discussed include the role of the family, gender roles, the economy, infant care, death, and sexuality among young people. Pictures and maps are also included in the book. These sociocultural profiles are, once again, important to us because they would affect how much people would be willing to evacuate. For example, if gender roles play a large part in society, then we have to apply them to the evacuation plan as well. If infant care is done a certain way, then we have to have means by which to continue this lifestyle (Or do we? That’s something else to take into consideration).

McGreevy, P. (2005, September 10).Council orders tsunami evacuation plan; Katrina evacuees to get MTA passes. Los Angeles Times.

Because of the difficult times that New Orleans had with evacuating people because of Hurricane Katrina, Los Angeles proposed its own evacuation plan. The article highlights some preliminary plans that various councilpersons have to evacuate the city in the case of a tsunami. Because Los Angeles isn’t in danger of hurricanes, it focuses on tsunamis, and many of the same concerns would apply to Micronesia. Evacuation is a huge concern in Los Angeles because of the population. It’s helpful to read about what Los Angeles wants to do in such an event so that we can perhaps apply the same techniques.

Naylor, R., & Drew, M. (1998). Valuing mangrove resources in Kosrae, Micronesia. Environment and Development Economics, 3(04), 471-490.

Mangrove trees are prevalent in the costal regions of Micronesia, and just as trees, they have much value. However, the trees have other uses that this paper analyzes. The groves on the island of Kosrae have been evaluated to be worth between $666 thousand and $1 million a year once the trees are used for fuel and other ecosystem services like erosion control and shoreline protection. It’s highly possible that these shoreline trees would be helpful in the evacuation of many islands that we could not evacuate in Micronesia, since there are many, many islands that are populated and only a few with airports/ other means of off-island evacuation. Therefore, knowing their position and their uses, even, would be helpful. Also, trees can provide another type of resource doing evacuation, such as energy.

Nevin, D. (1977) The American Touch in Micronesia. New York City: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Nevin compiles a critical analysis of the negative American presence in Micronesia while making insightful observations into Micronesian culture. He notes that American colonialism caused Micronesia to stumble in terms of money, power, and corruption. Since America still plays a heavy role in Micronesia, understanding its history would be important as well. We might need some international effort to help evacuate Micronesia in the case of a large tsunami, so hopefully some of the power that the U.S. yields would be helpful.

Von Feldt, R. (n.d.). Tsunami survivor stories. Retrieved Sep. 23, 2005, from http://phukettsunami.blogspot.com/.

This blog started out as a blog for one person after he saw what happened in Phuket, Thailand last December. Now it has become a forum for tsunami survivors to share their own stories. The site also keeps up-to-date on the progress of various countries and tries to keep remembrance of the tsunami alive. This site is a great resource for us because it’s a way to gain knowledge of survivors’ stories, and it also shows us the problems that other countries faced because of the tsunami. So not only can we learn how to make survivors, but we also know what issue we have to specifically address so that these problems won’t occur.

Wikipedia. (2005). Federal States of Micronesia. In Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federated_States_of_Micronesia)

This is an encyclopedia article that gives information about the independent country, the Federal States of Micronesia, which has relations with the United States. The article includes history, politics, geography, economy, demographics, culture, and other external links. This site is useful like the other general sites because it gives Micronesia’s basic overview, which is necessary before we do any project with it.

Yardley, W. (2005, September 20).Mayor suspends flow of people to New Orleans. The New York Times.

Rather than allowing people back into New Orleans, Mayor Nagin calls for a mandatory “evacuation” of people who never left. The article addresses the unclear terms of evacuation and many constructional failures of the city. It also makes note of some faults the city had for evacuating: lack of planning, transportation, etc. Hopefully, we can learn from the mistakes of New Orleans and not make the same ones in Micronesia. We need to work on the construction of the planning and transportation so that there wouldn’t be a repeat of the same disaster that wasn’t even the natural one.