Abstract
Abstract. A large earthquake and tsunami took place in February 2010, affecting a significant part of the Chilean coast (Maule earthquake, Mw of 8.8). Dichato (37° S), a small town located on Coliumo Bay, was one of the most devastated coastal areas and is currently under reconstruction. Therefore, the objective of this research is to analyze the risk factors that explain the disaster in 2010, as well as perceived restoration 6 years after the event. Numerical modeling of the 2010 Chile tsunami with four nested grids was applied to estimate the hazard. Physical, socioeconomic and educational dimensions of vulnerability were analyzed for pre- and post-disaster conditions. A perceived restoration study was performed to assess the effects of reconstruction on the community. It was focused on exploring the capacity of newly reconstructed neighborhoods to provide restorative experiences in case of disaster. The study was undertaken using the perceived restorativeness scale. The vulnerability variables that best explained the extent of the disaster were housing conditions, low household incomes and limited knowledge about tsunami events, which conditioned inadequate reactions to the emergency. These variables still constitute the same risks as a result of the reconstruction process, establishing that the occurrence of a similar event would result in a similar degree of devastation. For post-earthquake conditions, it was determined that all neighborhoods have the potential to be restorative environments soon after a tsunami. However, some neighborhoods are still located in areas devastated by the 2010 tsunami and again present high vulnerability to future tsunamis.
Highlights
A tsunami is a phenomenon known for its great destructive power in a short period of time; the process of post-disaster reconstruction usually lasts a long time and generates significant socio-territorial transformations
Scientific research has led to significant advances in the understanding of the generation and propagation mechanisms of these phenomena (Aránguiz et al, 2013; Løvholt et al, 2014), other aspects linked to social components are less understood, primarily for postdisaster conditions, given social system dynamics and complexity
The results showed no differences among neighborhoods
Summary
A tsunami is a phenomenon known for its great destructive power in a short period of time; the process of post-disaster reconstruction usually lasts a long time and generates significant socio-territorial transformations. A total of seven destructive tsunamis affected the coasts of Indonesia, Samoa, Chile and Japan in the last decade alone: 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 (27 February and 24 October) and 2011. These tsunamis took the lives of 237 981 people and generated an estimated USD 456 million in economic losses (Løvholt et al, 2012, 2014). These degrees of destruction have been explained by a number of factors, such as ineffective early warning systems, inadequate information management by the population, lack of emergency mechanism coordination and high levels of social vulnerability (Rofi et al, 2006; Løvholt et al, 2014; Reese et al, 2007).
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