Social impact of the 2004 Manawatu floods and the ‘hollowing out’ of rural New Zealand

Abstract

The Manawatu floods of 2004 have had significant, long-lasting social consequences. This paper draws on findings from a series of detailed surveys of 39 farm households directly affected by the floods and 17 individuals directly involved in managing the flood recovery programme. The nature of the impact on rural families highlights how the 'hollowing out' of rural New Zealand has changed the capacity of rural communities to respond to natural hazards and increased their sense of isolation. In addition, the floods exposed the vulnerability of rural communities. This is shown to have implications for policies designed to build resilience and improve responses to adverse events, including the need to support local, community initiatives on self-reliance and mutual support. Approaches to manage better long-term flood risks should be designed within a context of ongoing rural decline that has compromised the health of both individuals and communities.

Characterising rural resilience in Aotearoa-New Zealand: a systematic review

“…For non-farming organisations, insurers and lenders were of vital importance. Studies of both floods and snowstorms conclude that neighbourhood and community relations were integral factors in determining farmers' resilience; however, outside help is also needed to restore basic infrastructure following a disaster (Kelly and Smith 2012;Smith et al 2011). Postdisaster initiatives to provide psychological support to farmers and pre-disaster efforts to build community ties may contribute to farmers' resilience as well (Whitman et al 2013).…”

“…Technology is also an important influence on resilience for farming systems. Enhancing production during 'business as usual' has the potential to exacerbate vulnerabilities during crises and recovery (Smith et al 2011;Kelly and Smith 2012). For example, a lack of cell-phone coverage following snowstorms in southern Canterbury hindered recovery as farmers had come to rely on it for communications (Kelly and Smith 2012).…”

“…For example, a lack of cell-phone coverage following snowstorms in southern Canterbury hindered recovery as farmers had come to rely on it for communications (Kelly and Smith 2012). Likewise, if disaster events destroy or impair technologyintensive agriculture systems, farmers will not necessarily have the skills or resources to maintain the level of production required to remain viable (Smith et al 2011). While New Zealand farms are larger than they used to be, many are still familyowned (Smith et al 2011) and carry high levels of debt, which must be serviced (Cradock-Henry and Mortimer 2013).…”

“…Case study research could be instrumental in developing a framework for effective coordination between experts and rural community members. Rural communities often have pre-existing strong community ties (Smith et al 2011;Kelly and Smith 2012;Whitman et al 2013), so effectively harnessing existing relationships, collaborative groups, and social capital to build resilience could provide new pathways for disaster risk reduction.…”

“…Further research is also needed on the resilience of rural areas' primary income sources-farming and tourism. The increasing reliance of those systems on technology poses an interesting area for research in terms of how technologies might contribute to and hinder resilience (Smith et al 2011;Kelly and Smith 2012). Longitudinal studies of how individuals and organisations progress through the recovery process would also be particularly useful (Paton et al 2001; for a similar argument in the context of vulnerability to climate change and the use of cohort and trend studies, see Fawcett et al 2017).…”