| Issue |
E3S Web Conf.
Volume 604, 2025
The 4th International Conference on Disaster Management (The 4th ICDM 2024)
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 02009 | |
| Number of page(s) | 6 | |
| Section | Social, Economic, Cultural, Community and Local Wisdom Issues in Disaster Management | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202560402009 | |
| Published online | 16 January 2025 | |
Learning from our vulnerabilities: Insights from Octavia E. Butler’s parable of the sower and West Sumatra’s 2024 flood disasters
English Literature Study Programme, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Andalas, Padang, Indonesia
* Corresponding author: edriasandika@hum.unand.ac.id
This article discusses the correlation between flood disasters in West Sumatra in March and May 2024 and the science fiction novel Parable in the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. The novel explores how social and environmental degradation amidst the extreme weather and climate change in the fictional setting of America in 2024-2027 mirrors West Sumatra’s lack of preparedness to face similar situations in reality. The novel warns people of the consequences of environmental issues by addressing our vulnerabilities and resistance to change. Through the concept of “Earthseed”, the story reminds society to work toward positive changes through resilient infrastructure, disaster preparedness, and empathy when facing natural disasters.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2025
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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