Narratives of Hurricane Ian: Moving Forward in the Aftermath - Frances Davey and Joanna Salapska-Gelleri, Florida Gulf Coast University
ABSTRACT: On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian hit southwest Florida as a Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of up to 155 MPH and a storm surge of up to15 feet. Ian moved northeast before pushing inland. Heavy rainfall exacerbated the destruction, causing major riverways to flood. Ian devastated property, collapsed critical infrastructure, and caused over 100 deaths in Florida. Lee, Collier, Charlotte, and Hendry Counties were the hardest hit. The slow-moving hurricane lasted six grueling hours. It is now nearly eighteen months past this event, but Floridians at present are still recovering from the most devastating natural disaster in this area in over 80 years. We are now collecting stories of those who experienced the storm itself and grappled (and in many cases, are still grappling) with the fallout. As we archive this collection, we look toward the future and ask: How do we prepare under resourced communities who took the brunt of the storm’s impact as evidenced by the immediate response as well as the long-term economic, social, and personal deficits and losses? In conducting oral history interviews with residents across the area, it has become evident that socioeconomic factors heavily influenced the extent to which individuals experienced this catastrophic natural disaster. A Lee country resident J.G. considered that “really there is a relationship between kind of where you live and how safe you are.... And kind of what people who lived in...much more vulnerable people who live in, in low lying areas, much more vulnerable. And there tends to be this relationship between, you know, rent prices and, and safety.” Recalling past hurricanes, Fabian E. said, “I know with Irma there was a lot of government aid, but that was like after it happened, but I think with Ian there was really nothing.”
Past and Present Environmental Change in the Chesapeake: Tangier Island's Cultural Landscape and Oral Anticipations of the Future - Lincoln Lewis, University of Virginia
The presentation analyzes how oral histories can document extreme environmental change and the impact on cultural landscapes. Tangier Island in the Chesapeake is the context for oral histories by watermen and the community that recount past and present environmental change, and residents’ anticipations for the future.
ABSTRACT: The presentation analyzes how oral histories can document extreme environmental change and the impact on cultural landscapes. Tangier is the last inhabited island in Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay and has been known as the soft-shelled crab capital of the world. First settled in the 18th century with primarily English emigrants from Cornwall, the unique dialect remains distinctly constant. However, what has changed is the island losing almost 70 percent of its land area between 1850 and 2015 because of environmental factors such as wave action and erosion, together with sea level rise and soil subsidence. In tandem since 1930, Tangier’s population has decreased by more than 70 percent. These local changes have been paired with wider transitions in the Chesapeake significantly impacting the watermen who rely on crabs and other bounty. Tangier’s licensed watermen once numbered nearly 200, however now only eight active watermen remain working with crabs and a few with other catch. Oral histories captured from both active and retired watermen describe their cultural working landscape of Mailboat Harbor and the wider Chesapeake. For the first time beyond a handful of historic photographs, oral histories have captured and animated the transition of crab house architecture and technology from floats to molting tanks. Such histories are important because of the island’s dwindling population and the pressures on the community increasingly suggesting potential resettlement to the mainland. Because of this, the oral histories importantly capture residents’ anticipations of the island’s future. Insights from Tangier’s oral histories inform methods of how specific traits of cultural landscapes can be better understood. The study also demonstrates how observed environmental change, social justice, and present-day scientific findings supporting climate change are approached in dialogues with interviewees. Research for this project was supported by the University of Virginia’s Center for Cultural Landscapes and the Environmental Institute.
NOAA Voices Oral History Archives | Past, Present & Future
Molly Graham, NOAA's Voices Oral History Archives
Micro-land Sales, CAFO’s and the Future
Alexander Timon Primm, Oral History of the Ozarks
NOAA Voices | Oral History Archive is a repository for firsthand accounts of environmental changes, serving as a crucial source of qualitative data for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), aiming to preserve and share experiences from communities nationwide and beyond, with plans to expand its accessibility and integration into NOAA's data landscape.
ABSTRACT: NOAA Voices | Oral History Archive is the oral history repository for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA Voices brings together, preserves, and shares first-hand accounts of the changing environment from communities across the US and beyond. NOAA Voices represents a unique and essential source of qualitative data related to the human experience associated with the NOAA mission. This presentation will describe the background, purpose, scope, and scale of this program. We will also explore the project's current accessioning focus and consider the next steps in integrating qualitative data into NOAA’s data landscape, expanding the archive's utility and relevance for researchers, educators, and the public.
