Remembering, Forgetting, and Absencing Disasters in the Post-disaster Recovery Process

Abstract

Sustainable post-disaster recovery implies learning from past experience in order to prevent recreating forms of vulnerability. Memory construction supports both the healing process and redevelopment plans. Hence, memory of disaster results from the balance between remembering, forgetting, and absencing elements of the disaster, and can be both a tool and an obstacle to sustainable recovery. We explore here how collective memory is built in a post-disaster context to respond to the needs of this critical period, and how it shapes recovery. This ethnographic study, conducted between 2015 and 2017, explores the recovery processes in Montserrat, a small Caribbean island affected by an extended volcanic crisis from 1995 to 2010. Although this study does not give tangible solutions for disaster risk reduction in a post-disaster context, it highlights potential obstacles for learning from a disaster and how they may be surmounted. We argue that it is crucial to acknowledge evolving collective memory in order to implement effective measures for preserving and sharing a shared understanding of disaster across generations and social groups in a way that supports disaster risk awareness. We also maintain that acknowledging the dilemma faced by authorities and disaster management agencies during a period of conflicting needs may encourage the reconsideration of risk framing, and hence reveal how to improve implementation of disaster risk reduction measures.

Resilience in Agriculture: Communication and Energy Infrastructure Dependencies of German Farmers

“…Beyond agriculture, providers of other CI also should be aware of their responsibility and possible precautions for potential risk scenarios (O’Rourke 2007 ; Rademacher 2013 ). This is essential in order to build a shared understanding of disasters and to comprehensively evaluate past incidents (Monteil et al 2020 ). Existing case studies (Meuwissen et al 2019 ) or other recent works (Perrin and Martin 2021 ; Snow et al 2021 ) do not cover our work’s technology-driven subject of study, but rather focus on aspects of socioeconomic resilience.…”

Development and Preliminary Italian Validation of the Emergency Response and Psychological Adjustment Scale

“…Secondly, it will uproot the memory of an experience in which, despite everything, effective behavior has taken place (Vernberg et al, 2008 ). This leads to a defense of the self-image and sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy, so important to reinforce resilient strategies (Wolfenstein, 1998 ; Monteil et al, 2020 ).…”

Helices of disaster memory: How forgetting and remembering influence tropical cyclone response in Mauritius

“…Thus, as for other repetitive environmental hazards, the impact and response to any single disaster has been heavily conditioned by the progression and sequence of past eventsnot just a sequela of the most recent comparable eventwithin which memory plays a complex role (Endfield et al, 2004). Equally, and as detailed by Monteil et al (2020), accounting for forgetting disasters can help explain the "reproduction of drivers of vulnerability despite a recent experience of disaster". Consequently, understanding this memory and its patterns are of key importance to DRR.…”

“…As research by Monteil et al (2020) demonstrates, collective memory can also anchor disasters in the past and not necessarily act as a reminder or warning of risk. Thus memory of disasters in their own right cannot be assumed to be useful.…”