Cyclones and Societies in the Mascarene Islands 17th-20th Centuries

Garnier, Emmanuel; Desarthe, Jérémy

doi:10.4236/ajcc.2013.21001

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Changes in exposure and vulnerability related to land use is another potential explanation of the rise in the number of impacts (Magnan et al, 2012;Garnier and Desarthe, 2013;Camuffo et al, 2020). A major population growth happened, especially in Bonneville and Chamonix, leading to a strong and fast urban sprawl in the flood plain between the 1950's and the 2010's as shown by aerial photographs (Figure 6).…”

Section: Potential Drivers Of Changes In the Number And Spatial Distribution Of Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geo-historical analysis of flood impacts in Alpine catchments (HIFAVa database, Arve River, France, 1850–2015)

Boisson

Wilhelm

Garnier

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Abstract. In France, flooding is the most common and damaging natural hazard. Due to global warming, it is expected to globally exacerbate, and it could be even more pronounced in the European Alps that warm at a rate twice as high in the Northern Hemisphere. The Alps are densely populated, increasing exposure and vulnerability to flood hazard. To approach long-term evolutions of past flood occurrence and related socio-economic impacts in relation to changes in the flood risk components (i.e. hazard, exposure and vulnerability), the study of historical records is highly relevant. To this aim we analyze the newly constituted database of Historical Impacts of Floods in the Arve Valley (HIFAVa) located in French Northern Alps and starting in 1850. This database reports for the first-time flood occurrences and impacts in a well-documented Alpine catchment that encompasses both a hydrological and societal diversity. We analyze past impacts in regard to their characteristics and evolution in both time and space. Our results show an increasing occurrence of impacts from 1920 onwards, which is more likely related to indirect source effect and/or increasing exposure of goods and people rather than hydrological changes. The analysis reveals that small mountain streams and particularly glacial streams caused more impacts (67 %) than the main river. While increase in heavy rainfall and ice melt are expected to enhance flood hazard in small Alpine catchments, this finding calls to pay a particular attention to flood risk assessment and management in small catchments.

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Section: Potential Drivers Of Changes In the Number And Spatial Distribution Of Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geo-historical analysis of flood impacts in Alpine catchments (HIFAVa database, Arve River, France, 1850–2015)

Boisson

Wilhelm

Garnier

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…Work such as this that traces drivers of risk and their dynamics over periods of three centuries and more of historical influence remains rare. Notable exceptions include analyses of Peru's five-hundred-year earthquake (Oliver-Smith and Hoff-man1999) and drivers of cyclone risk since the 17th century in the Mascarene Islands (Garnier and Desarthe 2013).…”

Section: Dominica: the Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical Trajectories of Disaster Risk in Dominica

Barclay

Wilkinson

White

et al. 2019

Int J Disaster Risk Sci

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The calamitous consequences of 2017 Hurricane Maria for the Caribbean island of Dominica highlighted the acute and increasing susceptibility of the region to disasters. Despite increasing international attention to disaster risk reduction, recovery from hazard events can be especially lengthy and difficult for small island developing states. In this article, we build on existing understandings of disaster risk as a physical and social condition, showing that historical processes are fundamental to understanding how conditions of risk emerge and persist over time. We take an integrated approach to analyzing the drivers of risk accumulation, using the example of Dominica, where processes set in motion during the colonial period have shaped the location of people and assets, the degree to which they might be harmed, the societal repercussions of that harm and the prospects for recovery. We focus on the underlying economic vulnerabilities and physical exposure to hazards created by agricultural, economic, and social practices, and successive disaster responses that have constrained recovery. Uncovering these historical drivers and persistent issues, elucidates lessons for pursuing a more resilient development trajectory, including through the promotion of economic restructuring and diversification, and land reform.

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“…The transmitters of memory: states, religions and social elites Historical documentation provides a series of very varied archives, voluminous and geographically scattered (Brazdil et al, 2005;Garnier and Desarthe, 2013). Several types of series will be studied.…”

Section: 2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons learned from the past for a better resilience to contemporary risks

Garnier¹

2019

DPM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the potentialities offered by a historical approach by addressing its scientific and societal issues as well as its opportunities at the scale of different continents and cultural areas. The authors then show the major role played by traditional societies and indigenous peoples in preserving and transmitting a culture of risk which today is threatened by an unprecedented memory break resulting from the process of globalization. Finally, the authors present two concrete examples of projects aiming to use historical lessons learned to reduce the vulnerability of local communities. Design/methodology/approach Historical documentation provides a series of very varied archives, voluminous and geographically scattered. Several types of series will be studied. Besides the written archives, the authors shall also realize an inventory of all the elements of the cultural heritage and the memory evoking the risks and the vulnerabilities. Findings This study shows how forgetting past disasters has contributed to increasing the vulnerability of the modern societies and building a “society of risk.” Paradoxically, industrialization and the era of the engineer opposed “pre-modern” societies to so-called “modern” societies. In this way, ancestral knowledge and strategies have often been despised in favor of hard defense works whose limits are now being measured after the recent disasters. On the other hand, the paper promotes a different model combining both engineering and local historical/cultural knowledge in order to design a more sustainable and applicable strategy. Originality/value The authors show the major role played by traditional societies and indigenous peoples in preserving and transmitting a culture of risk which today is threatened by an unprecedented memory break resulting from the process of globalization.

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Cyclones and Societies in the Mascarene Islands 17th-20th Centuries

Cited by 13 publications

References 6 publications

Geo-historical analysis of flood impacts in Alpine catchments (HIFAVa database, Arve River, France, 1850–2015)

Geo-historical analysis of flood impacts in Alpine catchments (HIFAVa database, Arve River, France, 1850–2015)

Historical Trajectories of Disaster Risk in Dominica

Lessons learned from the past for a better resilience to contemporary risks

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