Community Resilience to Address Urban Vulnerabilities: A Case Study of Flood-prone Communities

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Urban vulnerability is a priority concern and communities must build resiliency to respond to disasters and mitigate its negative impacts. This is a case study on the 2011 Matina flash flood affecting thousands of families in the following barangays: Matina Crossing, Matina Pangi and Matina Aplaya. The study areas are heavily populated, with business, and institutional establishments. Using the qualitative method, this paper highlights the vulnerabilities of the community and examined the role of risk communication and social capital that enable communities, groups and institutions respond quickly to the hazards of flooding. Review of literatures reveals that Davao City is a flood prone area, major tributaries drain towards the Davao Gulf. Affected families in these areas comprised 61.57% of the total affected families of the 2011 flash floods. The average number of households per family is 4.3, while the total number of casualties reached 29 – majority are women and children. Results of the study revealed that despite the lack of communication management protocols, there is a strong sense of social capital exhibited by communities, institutions and various groups involved in the emergency response. Inter-governmental, and cross boundary efforts for climate change adaptation initiatives to reduce vulnerabilities among communities must be factored in given the nature of ecosystems and river systems draining towards Davao Gulf. Further it is recommended that ecosystem-based and community-based adaptation be explored to build more resilient communities who able to with stand and reduce vulnerabilities during natural hazards such as flooding.