Measuring Community Disaster Resilience in the Latvian Context: An Apply Case Using a Composite Indicator Approach

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) research has long recognised that social networks are a vital source of support during and after a shock. However, the quantification of this social support, primarily through its recognition as social capital, has proven problematic as there is no singular method for its measurement, invalidating the credibility of studies that try to correlate its effects with community disaster resilience. Within the wider resilience field, research that specifically utilises social networks as the focus of analysis is evolving. This paper provides a critical synthesis of how this developing discourse is filtering into community disaster resilience, reviewing empirical case studies from the Global South within DRR that use social network analysis and connectivity measurement. Our analysis of these studies indicates that a robust methodology utilising social network analysis is emerging, which offers opportunity for research cross-comparability. Our review also finds that without this bottom-up mapping, the implementation of top-down preparedness policy and procedures are likely to fail, resulting in the advocation of social network analysis as a critical methodology in future resilience research and policy planning.

Download Full-text

Benchmarking Community Disaster Resilience in Nepal

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17061985 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (6) ◽

pp. 1985 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sanam K. Aksha ◽

Christopher T. Emrich

Keyword(s):

Disaster Response ◽

Census Data ◽

Local Level ◽

Recovery Period ◽

Principal Component ◽

Large Earthquake ◽

Capital City ◽

Disaster Resilience ◽

Recovery Capacity ◽

Community Disaster Resilience

Building disaster resilience is a stated goal of disaster risk reduction programs. Recent research emphasizes a need for a greater understanding of community disaster response and recovery capacity so that communities can absorb shocks and withstand severe conditions and progress through the recovery period more efficiently. Nepal, which is prone to a multitude of hazards and having recently experienced a large earthquake in 2015, provides a unique opportunity for exploring disaster resilience in the developing world context. To date, no study investigating community disaster resilience across the entire country of Nepal exists. This study quantifies disaster resilience at Nepal’s village level, primarily using census data. Guided by the Disaster Resilience of Place (DROP) model, 22 variables were selected as indicators of social, economic, community, infrastructure, and environmental resilience. Community resilience was assessed for 3971 village development communities (VDCs) and municipalities while using a principal component analysis. Additionally, a cluster analysis was performed to distinguish spatial patterns of resilience. Analyses reveal differential community disaster resilience across the country. Communities in the capital city Kathmandu and in the western and far western Hill are relatively resilient. While the entire Tarai region, which holds the greatest proportion of Nepal’s population, exhibits relatively low levels of resilience when compared to the rest of the county. The results from this analysis provide empirical evidence with the potential to help decision-makers in the allocation of scarce resources to increase resilience at the local level.

Download Full-text