The Effects of Natural Disaster on Community Resilience

There are many factors that can impact on the ability of a community to handle external and internal stressors, though arguably none so much as natural disasters. In the wake of the 2011 Queensland floods, numerous studies on social cohesion, wellbeing, and adaptation have taken the opportunity to explore the link between these important benchmarks of community resilience, and how they have been impacted by this devastating natural disaster.

Community resilience is perhaps best defined in terms of social cohesion, which is the perception that a community is tight knit, trustworthy and has shared values. There have always been strong links between the degree of cohesion of a particular society (and therefore their resilience), and that society’s associated response to problems or issues affecting the community. In short, a community with greater social cohesion and resilience is more likely to bounce back from a disaster, such as the 2011 floods. But what effect can such a disaster have on social resilience?

One such study which seeks to explore this question is ‘The Social Wellbeing Project’, carried out by the University of Queensland’s Institute for Social Science Research. Data collected prior to October 2010 was compared to results from a fourth wave of data collection in July 2011, enabling researches to measure the differences in response after the January 2011 floods. Surprising, while it is proven that higher social cohesion results in a community that is more resilient to the impacts of natural disaster, a correlated decrease in social cohesion appeared as an after-effect of disaster. Suggested explanations for this trend include the increased likelihood for individuals and households to move away from flood-prone suburbs, resulting in a sense of community fracturing. Disruptions to social support networks can also result from influxes of volunteers and clean-up crews, who subsequently leave the suburb once major repairs have been completed. While neither of these events are negative in themselves, they do appear to have an adverse impact on a community’s sense of togetherness.

While research has also shown positive correlations between social cohesion and a disaster event, with a trend towards residents feeling an increased sense of safety and confidence in their local government post-floods, it is clear that the negative impacts disaster can have on community resilience must be managed. The focus must be on government and organisation policies and procedures to positively manage and shape community resilience, not only before, but also after a major disaster.

By Sophie Lam, QLD