[No Title Available]

Abstract

After the Santa Catarina flood disaster in November 2005, which affected 1.500.000 people and killed 128, Brazil's central government promised to make disaster risk reduction a priority. At the moment however, it is fair to say that advances have been minimal. Still we can see a gradual shift in Brazil from disaster response to preparation, and from a deeply techno-centric approach to increasing acknowledgement of the important role social factors play when it comes to disasters. The present contribution argues for increasing prioritization of the social, recognition of culture, and promotion of a `disaster culture` (Wenger and Weller 1972, Wenger and Weller 1973, Wenger 1978, Moore 1964, Turner 1982) that promotes social resilience in the face of hazards (Engel and Engel 2012, Engel et al. 2014, Frerks et al. 2011.Hazards may be natural, but disasters are not. Disasters arise as nature and society interact; they are mediated by human settlement and behaviour. An extreme force of nature hitting an area where nobody lives is not considered a disaster. As Wisner et al. (1994: 7) underline, "social systems operate to generate disasters by making people vulnerable." Take cities, where over 50% of the world's population now live, and which are often poorly designed when it comes to disaster risk reduction. Even if we wanted to, fast-moving (mega)cities cannot be expected to be resilient as in `bouncing back` to the pre-disaster state after an event (Klein et al. 2003), and while ancient indigenous cultures and their architecture were often far more in tune with natural hazards than modern brick buildings (Hoffmann 2002), few urban dwellers would be prepared to forego their modern apartment for a Maya or Inca dwelling. Such realities put people at risk. Against this background it is important to realize that the current global trend for making vital infrastructure (roads, pipelines, schools, hospitals, town halls, green spaces) more resilient, reconsidering land-use planning, and rediscovering `green buffers` that can reduce exposure to and impact of shocks, behaviour is more difficult to control and communities continue to inhabit and settle in inherently hazardous areas such as at the toes of volcanoes, on geological fault lines, in flood plains and along coasts.To understand the logics underlying people's behaviour, social and cultural aspects are important and should not be overlooked. In fact, promoting a culture of resilience 1. Associate Professor of Disaster Studies,

Disaster Communication in Managing Vulnerabilities

“…In reality, inculcating a culture of resilience may support to avert unnecessary victims and losses. Hence, culture should be viewed as a pool of beneficial resources and not as a hindrance (Warner & Engel, 2014). Aspects of culture are reservoirs of resources and assets, which could be used to cope with disasters.…”