Abstract
Narrative analysis can serve as an interdisciplinary bridge for understanding social phenomenon, such as natural disasters, through a linguistic lens. This article analyzes narratives about an unprecedented swarm of earthquakes experienced by inhabitants of the island of Mayotte in the Mozambique Channel. This panic-inducing crisis had people leaving their homes in the middle of the night in order to gather outside in search of refuge. Stories are analyzed using the threshold chronotope, exploring liminality, evaluation, and (dis)placement in time. Findings show that movement in space and time plays an important role in plot development. Analysis of evaluative language reveals how storytellers assess events and express affect. During the night, exterior spaces become indexed with safety and togetherness, whereas interior spaces index isolation and death.
Highlights
Introduction and research questionsThe largest observed underwater volcanic eruption leading to the “birth” of a volcano in the Indian Ocean has recently made headlines in several newspapers and magazines (Flynn, 2020; Ter Minassian, 2019; Wei-Haas, 2019)
The island’s largest ever recorded earthquake occurred on May 15, 2018, a 5.9 on the Richter scale and which was a part of an earthquake swarm
Some report waking up because an earthquake had just occured. This complicating action is the moment of crisis, where in dividuals must decide how to respond to such news
Summary
The largest observed underwater volcanic eruption leading to the “birth” of a volcano in the Indian Ocean has recently made headlines in several newspapers and magazines (Flynn, 2020; Ter Minassian, 2019; Wei-Haas, 2019). Located 50 km off the coast of the island of Mayotte, the most recent French department, the volcano has caught the attention of seismologists, as this “birth” was not without its labor pains. Starting in May 2018, a series of unprecedented earthquakes were recorded on Mayotte, typically sheltered from such phenomenon. Effective institutional disaster relief and prevention initiatives have been known to be in conflict with local practices (Chester et al, 2019; Paradise, 2008). A first step in understanding how to implement such initiatives is to understand the responses to and the thoughts toward such disasters, such as people’s reactions during and after an earthquake
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