Not all disaster experiences are created equal: Expanding “recovery” practices to reflect the lived realities of those impacted by disaster
Abstract as pdf
Corresponding Author:
Jennifer Spinney
York University - Disaster & Emergency Management Canada
jspinney@yorku.ca
Author(s):
On September 21, 2018 an EF3 tornado swept across the community of Dunrobin, Ontario destroying or severely damaging greater than 50 homes, and resulting in several injuries. The following spring, the community of Westmeath, Ontario experienced catastrophic flooding when the Ottawa River reached unimaginable heights; many people lost their homes and approximately 100 more could only access their properties by boat for as long as 6 weeks. When these differing hazard types become disastrous, one with a quick and sudden onset, the other characterized by a slower and more prolonged onset, vastly different disaster experiences unfold for people.
In this presentation I compare findings derived from qualitative analysis of semi-structured interview data collected from two ethnographic studies carried out in Dunrobin, Ontario (n=23) and Westmeath, Ontario (n= 26) following the tornado and flood disaster, respectively. My aim in doing so is fourfold. First, I will show that differing disaster experiences generate disaster recovery needs that are variable across disaster-type and across households. Second, through a description of disaster experiences, I will highlight the role that emotion plays in contributing to the multi-dimensionality and non-linearity of disaster recovery (Tierney and Oliver-Smith 2012). Third, by sharing aspects of the differing day-to-day experiences following these disasters, I aim to broaden Quarantelli’s (1999) notion of recovery to include non-deliberate actions for those individuals and groups whose daily routines have been disrupted. And fourth, I plan to draw on these findings to offer possibilities for disaster recovery practice and policy that extend beyond the traditional strategies that typically rely upon short term financial aid or relief, and/or individuals’ enacting policy options to recover from insurable and non-insurable property losses.
In all, this presentation aims to elevate the lived realities of residents in two Ontario Canada communities affected differently by different hazards turned disastrous. By bringing greater focus and clarity to the diversity of experiences across Dunrobin and Westmeath, we become better poised to create more effective disaster risk management linkages, those grounded in empirical evidence, between community members and disaster practitioners, as well as raise the value of implementing an anthropological approach for addressing disaster recovery more generally.
Quarantelli, E.L. 1999. The disaster recovery process: What we know and do not know from the research. Preliminary Paper, 286.https://udspace.udel.edu/bitstream/handle/19716/309/PP 286.pdf
Tierney, K. and Oliver-Smith, A. 2012. “Social dimensions of disaster recovery”. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters. Vol. 30(2): 123-146.
Deep cultures of disaster: The significance of the anthropological perspective for understanding the interstices of hazards and disaster