URCAD Sneak Peek: Taylor Watson

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:22:00 -0400

Visualizing Natural Disaster Inequality in America

Presenter: Taylor Watson

Mentor: Dena Aufseeser, Geography and Environmental Systems

Location: URCAD Film Festival: 9:45-10:00am, RAC 130- Fitness Studio B

*Popcorn will be served during the film festival.

In America, weather-related disasters have increased in frequency in the last decade, with forty seven percent of billion-dollar disasters (since 1980) taking place from 2015- 2025 (NCEI.NAAO.GOV). The frequency of disasters has led to a sense of inevitability and indifference, placing certain vulnerable communities at even more risk. In an effort to challenge indifference, this presentation visualizes the social inequalities of disaster. Utilizing animation, this project highlights the disastrous nature of weather phenomena on vulnerable populations, expressing the instances of increased poverty, displacement, and the uprooting of entire communities. This project’s research highlights disaster inequality in America, while simultaneously bringing awareness to the subject. Using the individual experiences of vulnerable adults who’ve experienced these inequalities, this project connects true stories, numerical data, and artistic expression to evaluate the concepts of vulnerability, equity, and how they relate to the current social outlook on “natural” disasters.

This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Assistantship Support (URAS) Award from the UMBC Office of the Vice President for Research.

URCAD is Wednesday, April 22 in the RAC:

URCAD.umbc.edu