Risk Communication for Empowerment: Interventions in a Rohingya Refugee Settlement

Disaster Preparedness in a Resettled Refugee Community: Qualitative Findings

INTRODUCTION

Under-resourced communities face disaster preparedness challenges. Research is limited for resettled refugee communities, which have unique preparedness needs.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

This study aims to assess disaster preparedness among the refugee community in Clarkston, GA.

METHODS

Twenty-five semi-structured interviews were completed with community stakeholders. Convenience sampling using the snowball method was utilized until thematic saturation was reached. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted through an inductive, iterative approach by a multidisciplinary team using manual coding and MAXQDA.

RESULTS

Three themes were identified: First, prioritization of routine daily needs took precedence for families over disaster preparedness. Second, communication impacts preparedness. Community members speak different languages and often do not have proficiency in English. Access to resources in native languages and creative communication tactics are important tools. Finally, the study revealed a unique interplay between government, community-based organizations, and the refugee community. A web of formal and informal responses is vital to helping this community in times of need.

CONCLUSION

The refugee community in Clarkston, GA faces challenges, and disaster preparedness may not be top of mind for them. However, clear communication, disaster preparedness planning, and collaboration between government, community-based organizations, and the community are possible areas to focus on to bolster readiness.

Relationality: The Role of Connectedness in the Social Ecology of Resilience

Previous work has focused on the role of social capital on resilience. However, this research tends to search for civic and other organizations, often formal institutionalized groups which, when they are not found, leads to questions about how social networks are possibly governed. Without formal organizational structures to govern these networks, how is pro-environmental/pro-social behavior sustained. In this article, we focus on a diffused mechanism for collective action, which is referred to as relationality. Relationality is a theory that underscores how social connectedness, through mechanisms of empathy, foster collective action in noncentralized modes of network governance. The concept of relationality addresses important issues not considered by the literature on social capital --so being, we will refer to relational elements as relational capital. Relational capital constitutes a type of asset that communities can activate vis-a-vis environmental and other perturbation. As we describe, the evidence for relationality as an important mechanism for sustainability and resilience is accumulating.

Building Resilience from the Grassroots: The Cyclone Preparedness Programme at 50

As Bangladesh's Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) celebrates its 50th anniversary, we reflect on its legacy, the gains made, and progress that still lies ahead. The CPP is unique among disaster risk-management agencies, as more than 90% of its staff consists of community volunteers. This unique institutional design influences its functioning. An important part of its growth has included the expansion of the involvement and leadership of women in the CPP, so that today, women constitute about 50% of the volunteer corps. We reflect on the improvements made, since Cyclone Bhola of 1970 (the deadliest natural tragedy on record) and analyze institutional features of the CPP that other countries can learn from. Lastly, we reflect on remaining challenges for the years ahead.

How Land Use, Climate Change, and an Ageing Demographic Intersect to Create New Vulnerabilities in Hong Kong

As extreme weather events seemingly increase in frequency and magnitude, we are accumulating evidence about how the intersection of circumstances creates vulnerability. The specter of elderly residents in Brooklyn, New York, trapped in their apartments for days due to flooding from the storm surge brought by Hurricane Sandy, provides us a troubling lesson. As vulnerability emerges from the confluence of multiple factors, changing social, natural, and other factors combine to create unimagined problems. Hong Kong is a case in point. The city has seen much of its new development occurring on reclaimed coastal land. At the same time, there has been a significant demographic shift as the city’s elderly population has been its fastest growing demographic. The social transition also means more elderly persons living alone. All of these produce conditions that render the population increasingly vulnerable to coastal flooding. Yet, there is not enough systematic effort, in major cities, at identifying these vulnerabilities. Hong Kong is emblematic of coastal cities the world over, in that it has yet to come to a full realization of such emerging risks. Future research must be able to analyze intersectionalities.