Post-disaster Resettlement Research Articles

Prospective Interventions for reducing the vulnerability of communities in post-disaster resettlement, a case of Bunambutye camp, Eastern Uganda

Prospective Interventions for reducing the vulnerability of communities in post-disaster resettlement, a case of Bunambutye camp, Eastern Uganda

Unpacking water governance dynamics and its implications for household water security in post-disaster resettlement communities in the Philippines

Water security is important globally for sustaining households, communities, and the environment. However, most studies have focused on water availability and accessibility, whereas research examining the role of power and politics in shaping water insecurity remains marginal. This study contributes to this research gap by unpacking the overlapping drivers and politics in water governance dynamics that co-produce the water insecurity of Typhoon Haiyan disaster-displaced households in resettlement villages in the Philippines. Using political ecology and water governance perspectives, we ask, What does household water insecurity look like in post-disaster resettlement villages in the Philippines? What are its drivers and how do politics and governance dynamics impact the provision of water services to these villages? Our findings suggest five overlapping drivers: the haphazard relocation of internally displaced persons to areas without access to basic facilities like water; the institutional disharmony and late involvement of water institutions in the resettlement processes; the influence of governance regime in the rapid but substandard housing development, including water distribution systems; the micropolitics in water district management affecting water projects; and the impact of maladaptive resettlement outcomes on households’ capacity to afford water. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how various drivers, including power relations and contestations in water governance, lead to household water insecurity outcomes. It ends by providing brief policy recommendations to improve institutional arrangements for the better governance of water services to resettlement communities.

Persistent Vulnerability after Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Response: The Case of Salgar, Colombia

Community-based disaster management (CBDM) has replaced traditional models of disaster risk reduction (DRR), giving the community a more participatory role in the planning and implementation of risk mitigation and preparedness strategies, disaster response, and post-disaster recovery measures. This shift in disaster response approaches has impacted understandings of vulnerability and resilience, leading scholars and policy makers to move away from a physical definition of vulnerability and to incorporate social variables. However, in Colombia, a traditional DRR approach still prevails. The National Risk Management Policy employs a top-down approach to risk reduction and disaster management, relying on the action of governmental authorities without community participation in the design or implementation of risk management planning and strategy. This article reveals the deficiencies of traditional DRR approaches. The Colombian government’s post-disaster resettlement project after a 2015 landslide in Salgar, Antioquia that resulted in 98 people dead or missing did not contribute to the reduction of vulnerability for the resettled community. To accurately measure post-disaster vulnerability and resilience, a new holistic model of indicators that includes both social and biophysical variables that illustrate and measure the relevance of preexisting vulnerabilities was developed. Local data was collected through 178 surveys administered to the inhabitants of Salgar’s three post-disaster resettlement sectors—La Habana, La Florida, and Las Margaritas—to construct an accurate picture of the populations affected by the disaster. Our results show that in the case of Salgar, social vulnerabilities persist even in the physical components of the resettlement sites where new infrastructure would be expected to reduce hazardous conditions and exposure to risk.

Development and Initial Evaluation of the Resilience-Focused Family Psychoeducation (RFFP) for Families in a Post-Disaster Resettlement Community

Development and Initial Evaluation of the Resilience-Focused Family Psychoeducation (RFFP) for Families in a Post-Disaster Resettlement Community

Significance of critical infrastructure development in post-disaster resettlement in Sri Lanka

Post-Disaster Resettlement (PDR) is one of the most important, time and cost-consuming disaster management activity following a catastrophic event. Restoration of human lifestyle while safeguarding the victims by providing permanent houses and integrating them with critical infrastructures are essential in the PDR context. The better accessibility to critical infrastructures enhances the living conditions of disaster-affected community and influences the success of PDR projects. However, the success of PDR projects in Sri Lanka, is not at a sufficient level due to lack of concentration provided on the critical infrastructure needs of the resettled community. Thus, the study is focused on emphasizing the significance of critical infrastructure to enhance the success of PDR projects in Sri Lanka. The need of developing critical infrastructure was broadly investigated through the literature review. Subsequently, survey and case study research strategies were adopted to proceed with the research following the qualitative research approach. Empirical evidence was gathered in two phases. Preliminary expert interviews under Phase I and key-informant interviews under Phase II (case studies) were used as the data collection methods. Interviews in both phases were conducted in a semi-structured format. The data analysis was carried out through manual content analysis. The outcomes of the study revealed that provision of both physical and social critical infrastructure have an equal importance for the physical function and mental well-being of the disaster-affected community, respectively. However, to achieve the success in PDR projects, critical infrastructure development must be carried out considering the factors such as proper site selection criteria, previous livelihood of the people and their requirements, resilient features, and threshold levels.

Study on the Winter Thermal Environment and Thermal Satisfaction of the Post-Disaster Prototype and Vernacular Houses in Nepal

Post-disaster housing, constructed on a massive scale, often overlooks the indoor thermal environment, despite being a crucial design factor for residential satisfaction. This study examined the indoor thermal environment in post-Gorkha earthquake-reconstructed prototype and traditional vernacular houses in the Dolakha district of Nepal. It employed a questionnaire survey and measurement of indoor and outdoor temperature in both house types across two study locations: Panipokhari and Jillu, during the coldest winter month. Despite the indoor temperature in both house types falling below the ASHRAE comfort standard, the study found that prototype houses’ nighttime indoor temperatures were 2.1 °C lower in Panipokhari and 1 °C lower in Jillu compared to vernacular houses. This difference is attributed to the use of local building materials with low U-values, substantial thermal mass in vernacular houses, and a low window-to-wall ratio. Occupants expressed dissatisfaction with the thermal environment in prototype houses compared to vernacular ones. By incorporating climate-responsive features seen in vernacular houses, heating energy could have been reduced by approximately 21% in Panipokhari and 10% in Jillu, easing the economic burden on vulnerable households. These findings hold significance for policy-makers, implementers, designers, and other stakeholders involved in post-disaster resettlement housing programs, offering insights for enhancing long-term satisfaction and sustainability in such programs.

Factors Influencing Housing Satisfaction in Post-Disaster Resettlement: A Case of Nepal

Housing satisfaction, crucial for sustainable post-disaster resettlement housing, has received limited attention in research. This study aimed to identify households’ perceived importance of housing satisfaction factors and their significance in post-disaster resettlement housing programs. Focusing on Nepal’s Panipokhari Integrated Settlement after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, it identified relatively significant housing satisfaction factors using mean satisfaction scores, the relative importance index, and Spearman rank correlation. The data were derived from a structured questionnaire survey, complemented by field observations, measurement, and semi-structured qualitative interviews that support the findings. The study found key housing satisfaction factors as need-based housing design (r = 0.70), layout (r = 0.74), modification flexibility (r = 0.70), utility spaces such as kitchen gardens and cattle sheds (r = 0.67), house completeness (r = 0.80), thermal comfort (r = 0.63), and social and cultural aspects such as traditional hearths (r = 0.72) and spaces for rituals and events (r = 0.77). The study concluded that the integration of these factors in the policy-making, planning, and design is important for successful resettlement housing outcomes in regions with comparable socio-cultural and economic backgrounds. The study has practical significance and, thus, will help policy-makers, implementers, and researchers aiming for successful and sustainable resettlement outcomes.

Households condition and satisfaction towards post-disaster resettlement: The case of typhoon Haiyan resettlement areas in Tacloban City

This paper provides an assessment of residential satisfaction of post-disaster resettlement areas that were built in Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. We analyze four components of residential satisfaction: environmental, infrastructure and management, social and neighborhood and economic-livelihood services. Results from the study indicate that the residents are moderately satisfied with the post-disaster housing provided after typhoon Yolanda. A multiple linear regression was employed in the study to determine the factors that are correlated with housing satisfaction. Results from the regression show that use of houses for cultural activities, presence of health infrastructure and membership in associations were the common predictor variables to determine residential satisfaction. Meanwhile, the presence of infrastructural defects such as wall cracks and distance from the city center are negatively associated with housing satisfaction. The data from this study provides specific factors that can influence residential satisfaction which can provide targeted interventions for future resettlement projects.

Effects of the planning and implementation of housing reconstruction on community resilience in China

Many researchers agree that the current Chinese top-down housing reconstruction model guarantees both its enforcement and efficiency. However, many have also questioned its possible negative effects on the affected localities. Thus, this research conducted an empirical study on three recently serious-affected towns in China that were hit by earthquakes. Further, it identifies different types of housing projects according to their reconstruction methods, measures and compares their resilience levels, and proposes policy implications. Our findings clarify and indicate various implications. First, the housing reconstruction in China has been carried out primarily by on-site self-constructed housing (SCH) and relocated government-constructed housing (GCH). Second, SCH generally has high resilience levels and should thus be encouraged during the post-disaster resettlement period. Third, in the affected areas with developmental conditions, GCH should also be considered as it could also achieve a high-quality built environment and urban development. Fourth, this study found that, in less developed areas, large-scale relocation constructions always result in a low resilience and, thus, need to be avoided. Fifth, the mobilization of various external forces would provide strong support for achieving a high-quality reconstruction in both developed and less-developed areas. Therefore, a coordination method is important in leveraging their unique capacities without neglecting local demands. Finally, within the Chinese urban-rural divide, inhabitants with a transitional social identity are particularly vulnerable, requiring more attention and policy support in the long term.

Unravelling the challenges for long-term planning post-disaster resettlement in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines

Typhoon Washi hit the southern Philippine city of Cagayan de Oro in December 2011, causing massive destruction and displacing 40 per cent of the city’s population, 85 per cent of whom were informal settlers of highly vulnerable areas on the riverbanks. Informal settlers considered by the government as the most vulnerable residents were forcibly resettled in relocation sites in the peri-urban areas. The new settlements and houses fulfilled minimum Philippine standards for emergency housing with limited understanding of local conditions and creating gaps in the residents’ needs. In the following years, residents proactively modified their houses to fill initial housing gaps. The impacts of the residents’ self-help initiatives related to construction safety and the creation of new risks associated with low construction quality, materials and increased density in the houses are major concerns for the government which is responsible for policies to guide the urban development of these sites. This paper aims to assess the impacts of policies in the urban development of the resettlement sites for low-income disaster-affected communities. To do so, this paper analyses interviews with local government officials, analysing residents’ self-help housing construction seven years after the disaster and how these were considered in the local planning policies. Furthermore, the country’s post-disaster recovery planning changes will be analysed. The findings will provide insights into government-related challenges to guarantee the technical performance of the houses and the advances and crucial remaining governance challenges for implementing urban development policies.

Importance of Location Selection in Regions with Disaster Risk: The Case of Ayancık Babacay Village

ÖZET 
 Afet öncesinde alınacak önlemler, afetler oluştuğunda verebileceği zararları azaltmak anlamında can ve mal güvenliğini sağlayacak en önemli faaliyetlerdir. Türkiye’de yaşanan doğal olayların afete dönüşme nedenlerinden biri de yerleşmeler için yanlış yer seçimidir. Bu yanlış yer seçimi sıradan olmayıp, devlet eliyle tekrar yerleştirme esnasında ortaya çıkmışsa daha da dikkat çekici hale gelmektedir. 
 Bu çalışmada Sinop ili Ayancık ilçesine bağlı Babaçay Köyü örneğinden yola çıkılarak afet sonrası yeniden yerleştirme çalışmalarında doğru yer seçiminin önemi açıklanmaya çalışılmıştır. Babaçay Köyü’nün Sarnıç Mahallesi’nde 1985 yılında meydana gelen heyelan sonucunda birçok ev kullanılamaz hale gelmiş fakat can kaybı yaşanmamıştır. Afet sonrası evleri yıkılan vatandaşlar aynı köyün Makas Mahallesinde devlet tarafından inşa edilen yeni yerleşim alanında iskân edilmişlerdir. 11 Ağustos 2021 tarihinde meydana gelen sel ve taşkın felaketi esnasında bu kez yeni yerleşim sahası büyük zarar görmüş, can ve mal kayıpları meydana gelmiştir. Bu kayıpların ve ortaya çıkan zararların sebebi afetzedeler için seçilen yerin yanlışlığıdır. Fakat yanlışlık bununla kalmamış, 11 Ağustos 2021 selinden zarar gören vatandaşlarımız için, eski yerleşim yerinin hemen karşı yamacında, yeni iskân sahası belirlenmiştir. Yapılan arazi çalışmaları ve afet-risk analizlerinin sonuçlarına göre bu yeni iskân sahasının da heyelan riski taşıması ve bununla ilgili olarak ileride karşılaşılması muhtemel problemler bu araştırmanın konusunu oluşturmaktadır

From Transmigrasi to Relokasi

After the 2010 eruption of the Merapi volcano in Central Java, the Indonesian government set up a post-disaster resettlement program for eruption victims. Through a diachronic approach of this policy, this article shows how this program responds to specific interests and objectives that go beyond the interests of risk management. In addition to existing as a disaster management policy, it is also part of a more general context – national and international – of risk management and development of the national territory from which it inherits its particular logic and orientations. Furthermore, it also shows how to some extent, the recent resettlement policy marks a break with past government policies and thus fits into the changing perspectives that have taken place in national and international institutions over the past two decades in terms of risk and disaster management.

Sustainable Rehousing after Disasters: Learning from Post-tsunami Resettlements in Sri Lanka

Most post-disaster resettlement projects reflect the ideals of providers (state, donors, and designers) rather than those of the displaced. Thus, most such projects ultimately failed to provide the intended benefits for their residents. This paper presents some key lessons learned from studying the planning and design decisions that housing providers (architects and donors) made when designing resettlement projects in Sri Lanka in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami. Through interviews, this article studied five housing projects by gathering the providers’ design intentions and the residents’ feedback on their lived experiences. Findings indicate that residents of these new settlements are dissatisfied as the designs did not align with their cultural and lifestyle aspirations. The providers lacked knowledge of the community design process, the housing needs of this primarily economically disadvantaged population, and how to provide for displaced peoples. The findings of the study indicate four key lessons for sustainable resettlement designs: the need for residents’ involvement in the design process, the provision of physical and social support systems, the need for incremental growth of housing, and finally the use of appropriate building technology. These lessons would be useful for future post-disaster reconstructions, especially in the less-affluent communities around the world.

Cultural issues of community resettlement in Post-Disaster Reconstruction projects in Sri Lanka

Resettlement is identified as a fundamental stage in Post- Disaster Reconstruction (PDR) projects, which has proved to be crucial in determining successful or unsuccessful performance in terms of community culture. Currently, Sri Lankan PDR projects are in more severe condition due to various challenges faced by the government while providing the resettlements. Good coordination between organizations involved in resettlement and the affected communities is still hard to achieve. This problem has led to socially and culturally inappropriate resettlement outcomes, which are criticized by the affected communities. Therefore, this study intends to address the community cultural issues that were emerged in the post disaster resettlement projects in Sri Lanka. Since the community culture in Sri Lanka is different from other countries, this study should be carried out by following a proper research methodology that has the capability of addressing the research problem in detail. The investigation has been carried out by examination of the cultural issues of post-disaster resettlement projects, which have severely affected for the unsuccessful outcomes of PDR projects. Tsunami and landslide resettlement projects have been selected as the two case materials. The community cultural issues in each case have been discussed with the experiences expressed by the disaster affected community and the professionals involved in the resettlement projects. The findings disclosed in detail that majority of disaster affected communities were not satisfied with resettlements due to various cultural issues related to cultural factors like ethnicity, religion, social environment, natural environment, livelihood and lifestyle. Therefore, proper consideration of those cultural factors by resolving the identified cultural issues may direct the resettlement of Sri Lankan PDR projects to achieve successful outcomes in community cultural perspective.

Voices from communities relocated to Tacloban North after Typhoon Yolanda

Super Typhoon Yolanda caused destruction across the Philippines and devastated communities in Tacloban City on November 8, 2013. Recovery programs in Tacloban City focused on relocating people away from heavily damaged coastal areas to new housing in resettlement sites in Tacloban North. Using an asset-based approach to consider residents’ perceptions and evaluations of their living environments and children’s schooling in these resettlement sites, and with a hypothesis that schools might function as a community asset, this research explored connections between residents’ housing sites and the roles of schools in communities five years after Yolanda. Carried out in February 2019, this research combined interviews with individual households and Focus Group Discussions with residents from four resettlement sites in Tacloban North. Preliminary findings confirmed the existence of various active connections between schools and local communities in resettlement sites, and that residents perceive schools as a community asset. As housing relocation and children’s schooling are connected and have mutual impacts within the lives of families in post-disaster resettlement, findings support the importance of post-disaster coordination of housing and education, especially in cases of relocation and displacement.

From Strangers to Neighbors: Post‐Disaster Resettlement and Community Building in Honduras. RyanAlaniz. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2017. 196 pp.

The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean AnthropologyVolume 25, Issue 3 p. 490-492 Review From Strangers to Neighbors: Post-Disaster Resettlement and Community Building in Honduras. Alaniz, Ryan. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2017. 196 pp. Roberto E. Barrios, Corresponding Author Roberto E. Barrios rbarrios@siu.edu Southern Illinois University Email: rbarrios@siu.eduSearch for more papers by this author Roberto E. Barrios, Corresponding Author Roberto E. Barrios rbarrios@siu.edu Southern Illinois University Email: rbarrios@siu.eduSearch for more papers by this author First published: 09 October 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/jlca.12501Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume25, Issue3September 2020Pages 490-492 RelatedInformation

Unpacking the post-Haiyan disaster resettlement narratives of young Filipino women informal settlers in Tacloban City, Philippines.

Post-disaster resettlement narratives encapsulate the complex mobile-spatial processes that are embedded in a post-disaster context. The existing literature on disaster relocation and resettlement accords primacy to the logistical, practical, structural, and physical dimensions of residential transitioning. Building on this knowledge, this study conducted a spatial narrative inquiry to generate a link to mobile-spatial realities interspersed in diverse temporal trajectories. It did so by tracking the embodied rhythms of people and objects evoked through the retelling of post-disaster resettlement stories by 12 young Filipino women informal settlers. The key findings are organised in three spatial narratives: 'house near the sea'; 'there at the bunkhouse'; and 'here in Ridgeview'. These narratives are anchored in the overarching dimensions that underpin Filipino informal settlers' experiences of (not) moving in and out of disaster resettlement areas. Lastly, the findings are explained in the light of the theoretical, empirical, and practical implications of disaster resettlement specific to informal settlers.

636. De protagonistas a denegados: el doble trauma en un caso de relocalización post-incendio en Valparaíso, Chile

En el presente artículo, se analiza el proceso de relocalización, realizado por el Estado, de un grupo de damnificados por el mega-incendio de la ciudad de Valparaíso de Chile el año 2014. A partir de un enfoque cualitativo (relatos de vida y observación participante), se busca demostrar cómo este desastre constituye, para las familias afectadas, un doble trauma: por una parte, el incendio desestabiliza formas de vida consolidadas por años en los cerros de Valparaíso; por otra parte, el Estado, mediante el proceso de relocalización, genera un segundo trauma en los afectados, en la medida que reduce la experiencia vivida a la entrega de viviendas sociales, lo que es percibido por la comunidad como un abandono. A este proceso, lo caracterizamos como el paso del protagonismo- personas pobres que viven en precarias condiciones pasan a ser relevantes para el Estado en tanto damnificados- a la denegación, es decir, a la negación de la validez y veracidad de la experiencia a través de la relocalización postdesastre.

From Strangers to Neighbors: Post-Disaster Resettlement and Community Building in Honduras by Ryan Alaniz

From Strangers to Neighbors: Post-Disaster Resettlement and Community Building in Honduras by Ryan Alaniz

Building community resilience in post-disaster resettlement in Pakistan

PurposeThe extreme flood event of 2010 in Pakistan led to extensive internal displacement of rural communities, resulting in initiatives to resettle the displaced population in model villages (MVs). The MV concept is quite new in the context of post-disaster resettlement and its role in building community resilience and well-being has not been explored. This study aims to assess the role of MVs in building the resilience of relocated communities, particularly looking at the differences between those developed by governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).Design/methodology/approachFour MVs, two developed by government and two by NGOs, were selected as case studies in the severely flood-affected province of Punjab, Pakistan. A sample of 145 households from the four MVs was collected using a structured questionnaire to measure improvements in social, economic, physical and environmental domains and to form a final resilience index. Supplementary tools including expert interviews and personal observations were also used.FindingsThe analysis suggests that NGOs are more successful in improving the overall situation of relocated households than government. Core factors that increase the resilience of communities resettled by NGOs are provision of livelihood opportunities, livelihood skill development based on local market demand, training on maintenance and operation of different facilities of the MV and provision of extensive education opportunities, especially for women.Practical implicationsThe results of this study can guide policymakers and development planners to overcome existing deficiencies by including the private sector and considerations of socioeconomic development whenever resettling communities.Originality/valueIn resilience discourse, resettlement of communities has been extensively debated based on qualitative arguments. This paper demonstrates an approach to quantify community resilience in a post-disaster resettlement context.