Asian Quote by Amanda Ripley
“Women are far more likely to follow orders to evacuate, especially women with children. At the same time, women were much more likely to die during the South Asian tsunami. In some villages it was 3 to 1. And that was party because of the average strength it takes to hold onto something. Also it was cultural; women were less likely to know how to swim, as were children. So much of this is based on how we develop our own survival skills before something goes wrong: Even if nothing goes wrong, it might be good to know how to swim.”
About This Quote
Source Book: How to Fall Out of the Sky by Amanda Ripley, 2018
Women tend to obey evacuation orders but also face higher mortality in disasters due to physical strength, cultural norms, and lack of swimming skills.
In simple terms: Women follow orders yet die more in tsunamis because of strength, culture, and swimming ability.
Key Takeaway
Teach swimming and resilience to all genders.
Themes
gender
disaster response
physical strength
cultural norms
Mood
concerned
urgent
Type
educational
informative
When to use this quote
- community drills
- school curricula
- family preparedness
- public awareness campaigns
Key Concepts
survival skills
risk assessment
public health
education
Questions to Reflect On
- How can societies ensure equal survival chances?
- What policies improve swimming access for vulnerable groups?
A Different Perspective
Strength and cultural factors can limit survival despite compliance.
![“By sort of combining the research of a lot of smart people, I came up with an equation for dread [dread=uncontrollability+unfamiliarity+imaginability+suffering+scale of destruction+unfairness]. The dread equation is a simplification, but it's a way to explain why we fear something so much when it…” quote by Amanda Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/cf5/amanda-ripley-10708_car_by-sort-of-combining-the-research-of-a-l_338671.jpg)
