Evaluation of community resilience to debris-flow disasters: A case study of Nantou, Taiwan

Abstract

Taiwan is located in the subtropical monsoon region. Typhoons, earthquakes, and rainfall have historically been the most serious natural disasters affecting the region, especially its geologically sensitive mountain settlements. The heavy rain associated with typhoons can readily cause large-scale compound disasters such as landslides, rockfalls, and debris flows, and thus can cause sudden blockages to waterways. The existing body of research on earth and rock disaster prevention mostly considers the potential of occurrence and the degree of harm, but pays relatively scant attention to community resilience. To fully understand the potential risks of hillside communities exposed to debris-flow disasters, and the occurrence of unavoidable disasters, it is essential to gauge each community's pre-disaster preparedness, as well as its disaster response and post-disaster recovery capabilities. Accordingly, through a rigorous literature review, the Fuzzy Delphi method (FDM) and the analytical hierarchy process method (AHP), this study develops a resilience assessment framework. The development process indicated that the most important factor in community resilience is the community's environment, followed by adjustment and learning: i.e., the residents' cognition and response mechanisms to debris-flow disasters. Other key assessment indicators include the degree of potential hazard, the ratio of landslide area to exposed area, the local history of such disasters, risk perceptions, and population density. The framework is therefore valuable for enhancing community resilience and disaster preparedness, and reducing the impact of disasters.