Representing Disasters and Long-term Recovery – Insights from Tamil Nadu

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandni Singh ◽  
Mark Tebboth ◽  
Jasmitha Arvind ◽  
Yashodara Udupa
Keyword(s):  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Shape Recovery ◽  
South India ◽  
State Policies ◽  
Indian Ocean Tsunami ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Disaster Impacts ◽  
Chennai City ◽  
Post Disaster

This study focuses on disaster impacts and recovery in Tamil Nadu, drawing on insights from Chennai city and Nagapattinam district. The research is part of a larger three-year project called “Recovery with Dignity”, which examines the experiences of recovery in post-disaster situations across three states in India – Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala – and explores how recovery processes represent vulnerable populations. In this report, we focus on three key disasters in Tamil Nadu: the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the 2015 South India flood, and the 2018 Cyclone Gaja. Through these events, we examine how the ways disasters and their losses are represented shape recovery outcomes. The study uses a range of data, from a review of state policies in Tamil Nadu (2005-2019), an analysis of media articles published in English and Tamil (2004-2019), to interviews with disaster-affected people and secondary stakeholders. The findings indicate that disaster responses and outcomes are highly differentiated based on how disaster-affected people and their needs and losses are represented. To enable inclusive recovery, it is necessary to recognising the heterogenous nature of disaster impacts and acknowledge different ideas of what recovery means.

Architects and rural post-disaster housing: lessons from South India

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gertrud Tauber
Keyword(s):  
South India ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Indian Ocean Tsunami ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Post Disaster

Purpose – This research aims to examine three housing projects implemented by local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and planned by local architects after the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 in rural South India. The key to the acceptance of post-disaster houses lies in meeting the peoples’ wishes and needs, and in integrating local know-how into the course of the project process (a premise intensively discussed in theory). After the tsunami of 2004, many (NGOs) appointed architects, assuming that these professionals would be qualified to facilitate the implementation of people-oriented houses (and villages). However, the architects’ roles vary significantly, which had, as will be shown here, a considerable impact on the degree of success of the project. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data for this study were gathered through household questionnaires (110); informal interaction; participant-observation (work assignment: 2.5 years; field survey: 4 months); semi-structured interviews (NGO representatives, architects and engineers). Secondary literature was studied on post-disaster housing, building cultures and cultures of knowledge. Findings – This study reveals that, in the course of rural post-disaster reconstruction, there is a crying need to appoint the “right” personnel having, first of all, the capacity to comply with the social dynamics at project level, and, second, being able to address those aspects critical for the realization of people-oriented housing. Architects can be a valuable resource for both the NGO and the villagers. However, this paper shows that key to this is, among other considerations, a thorough understanding of the rural (building) culture, its abilities and requirements, the strategic interplay of various roles and abilities during the course of an intricate building process and the design of appropriate roles for adequately-skilled architects. Originality/value – To this date, the debate on the role of architects in the context of post-disaster housing has neglected to examine empirically the implications of appointing these professionals in rural post-disaster contexts. This paper addresses this imbalance and complements the existing corpus of work by examining the impact of different roles of architects on the degree of success of the project at village level.

Post-Disaster Urban Recovery Monitoring in Pisco After the 2007 Peru Earthquake Using Satellite Image

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1059-1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoyo Hoshi ◽  
◽  
Osamu Murao ◽  
Kunihiko Yoshino ◽  
Fumio Yamazaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Satellite Image ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
The City ◽  
Post Disaster

Pisco was the area most damaged by the 2007 Peru earthquake. The purpose of this research is to develop possibilities of using satellite imagery to monitor postdisaster urban recovery processes, focusing on the urban change in Pisco between 2007 and 2011. To this end, the authors carried out field surveys in the city in 2012 and 2013 and also examined previous surveys to determine that building reconstruction peaked between 2008 and 2009. After analyzing the five-year recovery process, the authors compared its reconstruction conditions by visual interpretation with those by image analysis using satellite image. An accuracy of 71.2% was achieved for the visual interpretation results in congested urban areas, and that for developed districts was about 60%. The result shows that satellite imagery can be a useful tool for monitoring and understanding post-disaster urban recovery processes in the areas in which conducting long-term field survey is difficult.

Exploring Indian post-disaster temporary housing strategy through a comparative review

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arindam Biswas
Keyword(s):  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Homeless People ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Temporary Housing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Comparative Review ◽  
The Government ◽  
Post Disaster

Purpose Natural disasters not only cause dilapidated buildings and damaged infrastructure but also delay crucial aid for those affected in the event of a disaster and post-disaster recovery. An institutionally well-managed post-disaster housing strategy provides opportunities for physical and mental healing of its occupant. The time requires occupiers to remain in the temporary housing varies with circumstances. This paper aims to review post-disaster housing scenarios in India in comparison to two Asian cases from Indonesia and Japan. The study focuses on understanding Indian post-disaster housing strategies through a comparative review. Design/methodology/approach The research selects coastal cities of Tamil Nadu state, where the post-disaster temporary shelter and rehabilitation was planned and implemented after the Tsunami in 2004. The Tsunami created havoc in Nagapattinam and Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. Nagapattinam district reported 6,051 fatalities and many more homeless people. After the Tsunami, the government took measures to supply safe, secured and on-site shelter provisions. Surprisingly, many such shelters were never occupied. In many instances, people actually preferred to spend years in a temporary shelter rather occupying government housing. This paper evaluates such events and investigates India’s post-disaster shelter strategy against the derived best practices. This study is based on the sequential/logical reasoning and understanding of the facts. Discussions and findings from this study can be further generalised into a comprehensive policy discussion. Findings The paper finds that the manner of planning and design of post-disaster housing programmes influence medium- to long-term recovery of its occupant. A certain element of trade-off between implementation and quality of habitation results into compromises to achieving the desired outcome. When faced with socio-political, economic and financial constraints, the decision-makers are required to make trade-offs in deciding the manner and quantum of allocating resources. Coordination among these agencies is troublesome. It is true for all countries and there is no distinct answer to it. Public consultation and community participation in long-term rehabilitation are crucial to meet the aspiration of the local people. Originality/value The paper contributes in discussing a comparison of post-disaster housing rehabilitation between India and the two cases from Indonesia and Japan. As a review paper, the objective is to highlight the synthesis and overall understanding of post-disaster housing strategies from two cases and compare it with India.

scholarly journals The Economies of Love: Love marriage, kin support, and aspiration in a South Indian garment city

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 1220-1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEERT DE NEVE
Keyword(s):  
Parental Involvement ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
South India ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Linear Transformations ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Kin Support ◽  
Love Marriage ◽  
The Individual

AbstractThe article considers narratives and experiences of love marriage in the garment city of Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, South India. As a booming centre of garment production, Tiruppur attracts a diverse migrant workforce of young men and women who have plenty of opportunity to fall in love and enter marriages of their own making. Based on long-term ethnographic research, the article explores what love marriages mean to those involved, how they are experienced and talked about, and how they shape postmarital lives. Case studies reveal that a discourse of loss of postmarital kin support is central to evaluations of love marriages by members of Tiruppur's labouring classes. Such marriages not only flout parental authority and often cross caste and religious boundaries, but they also jeopardize the much-needed kin support youngsters require to fulfil aspirations of mobility, entrepreneurship, and success in a post-liberalization environment. It is argued that critical evaluations of love marriages not only disrupt modernist assumptions of linear transformations in marital practices, but they also constitute a broader critique of the neoliberal celebration of the ‘individual’ while reaffirming the continued importance of caste endogamy, parental involvement, and kin support to success in India's post-reform economy.

Coastal Indian Lifelines after the 2004 Great Sumatra Earthquake and Indian Ocean Tsunami

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 607-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Tang ◽  
David Ames ◽  
John McLaughlin ◽  
Ganapathy Murugesh ◽  
Graham Plant ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electric Power ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Electric Power System ◽  
Indian Ocean Tsunami ◽  
Telecommunication System ◽  
Heavy Damage

Damage to the electric power system was confined to the distribution system, in particular to electric power poles that were downed by the tsunami. The power generation plants and substations were over 1 km inland and escaped damage. The telecommunication system performed well, and the postdisaster response was reasonably efficient, but inundation caused the shutdown of equipment. The major Tamil Nadu port, the Port of Chennai, performed well, and its seawalls reduced the tsunami impact. However, all the fish auction stations were damaged, thus affecting many villagers’ livelihoods. The transportation system in the southern coast suffered heavy damage, and much of the infrastructure along the east coast was damaged. Most municipal water storage tanks remained intact. However, seawater contaminated wells and arable land, and the long-term environmental and ecological effects of this are unknown.

Self-Extensional Space in Relocated Housing After 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: Case Study of Namkem Community, PhangNga, Thailand

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Titaya Sararit ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Negative Feedback ◽  
Indian Ocean Tsunami ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Post Disaster ◽  
Positive Factor

This study focuses on some houses in Phang Nga Province in Thailand that were permanently relocated after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. It aims to analyze extensions and improvements by residents who have lived in the houses for a long time. Most previous research has painted spatial extensions in a bad light because of the negative feedback from residents regarding post-disaster housing; this could mean that residents were less than satisfied with such houses in comparison to their previous ones with respect to construction, function, or size. Observing and interviewing residents allowed me to infer that spatial extensions can also represent the positive development of long-term recovery projects, as they increase the satisfaction of residents who, more than 10 years after the tsunami, have changed their lifestyles, family sizes, and jobs. It also demonstrates why residents are more satisfied with house types that allow them to carry out the required space adaptions or extensions when they have an increase in their income. In this study, it was observed that extensional space could also be a positive factor revealing the developments in residents’ lives as they showed their intent to live permanently in this type of housing even after the disaster.

scholarly journals What we can learn from 2018 liquefaction in Central Sulawesi: Stories from the survivors

2021 ◽  
Vol 2126 (1) ◽  
pp. 012023
Author(s):  
U Wahyono ◽  
N M Wiwik Astuti
Keyword(s):  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Disaster Mitigation ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Disaster Data ◽  
Initial Intervention ◽  
Central Sulawesi ◽  
Post Disaster

Abstract This paper provides the stories of the liquefaction survivors about their experiences during and after the disaster. It is a phenomenological study that used the semi-structured interview to obtain the data. The data were acquired from 30 participants. There are some important points that can be summarised from the stories of the survivors. During the disaster, local people inclined to underestimate the quake at the beginning of the shaking. It could indicate the level of their risk perception and awareness on disaster. In addition, a unique finding from this study was that the survivors had conducted the initial intervention priority as basic resources for survival such as shelter and information of the victims’ identity. Also, regarding the post-disaster data, the results indicated that the survivors experienced the symptoms of trauma due to the disaster. It indicates that the psychological aspect of the survivors was neglected during the recovery process. On that regard, long-term traumatic recovery activities should be put into accounted during the recovery processes for all the victims of a disaster regardless of their ages and genders. Another implication of this study is the opportunity to use these stories into learning activities, both in learning about science or disaster mitigation.

Post-Disaster Housing Recovery

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anuradha Mukherji
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Catastrophic Event ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Recovery Programs ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Housing Recovery ◽  
Post Disaster

Rapid urbanization and growing populations have put tremendous pressures on limited global housing stocks. As the frequency of disasters has increased with devastating impacts on this limited stock of housing, the discourse on post-disaster housing recovery has evolved in several ways. Prior to the 1970s, the field was largely understudied, and there was a narrow understanding of how households and communities rebuilt their homes after a catastrophic event and on the effectiveness of housing recovery policy and programs designed to assist them. Early debates on post-disaster housing recovery centered on cultural and technological appropriateness of housing recovery programs. The focus on materials, technology, and climate missed larger socioeconomic and political complexities of housing recovery. Since then, the field has come a long way: current theoretical and policy debates focus on the effect of governance structures, funding practices, the consequences of public and private interventions, and socioeconomic and institutional arrangements that effect housing recovery outcomes. There are a number of critical issues that shape long-term post-disaster housing recovery processes and outcomes, especially in urban contexts. Some of them include the role of the government in post-disaster housing recovery, governance practices that drive recovery processes and outcomes, the challenges of paying for post-disaster housing repair and reconstruction, the disconnect between planning for rebuilding and planning for housing recovery, and the mismatch between existing policy programs and housing needs after a catastrophic event—particularly for affordable housing recovery. Moreover, as housing losses after disasters continue to increase, and as the funding available to rebuild housing stocks shrinks, it has become increasingly important to craft post-disaster housing recovery policy and programs that apply the limited resources in the most efficient and impactful ways. Creating housing recovery programs by employing a needs-based approach instead of one based solely on loss could more effectively focus limited resources on those that might need it the most. Such an approach would be broad based and proportional, as it would address the housing recovery of a wide range of groups based upon their needs, including low-income renters, long-term leaseholders, residents of informal settlements and manufactured homes, as well as those with preexisting resources such as owner-occupant housing.

scholarly journals A Comparative Analysis of Coordination, Participation, and Training in Post-Disaster Shelter Projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 4241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Opdyke ◽  
Amy Javernick-Will ◽  
Matthew Koschmann
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Infrastructure Systems ◽  
Recovery Processes ◽  
Developing Communities ◽  
Post Disaster ◽  
And Training

The delivery of post-disaster shelter assistance continues to be fraught with challenges derived from the coordination of resources, involvement of project stakeholders, and training of households and builders. There is a need to better understand what project elements in the delivery of post-disaster shelter projects most influence resilience and sustainability. To address this need, we examined nineteen post-disaster shelter projects in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan. We first characterized coordination, participation, and training employed across the planning, design, and construction phases of shelter projects and then used fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to assess the influence of these elements, alone and in combination, on building resilient and sustainable community infrastructure systems. Findings show that early involvement of households in planning efforts, combined with subsequent training, was important in evolving recovery outcomes. Our results point to the importance of: (1) supporting household sheltering processes over delivering hard products; (2) strategically linking project processes across phases; and (3) aligning humanitarian actions with long-term development. Conclusions from this study contribute to theory of sheltering in developing communities and more broadly to theory of recovery processes that link to community resilience and sustainability.

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