Disaster recovery processes: Analysing the interplay between communities and authorities in Chennai, India

Abstract

This paper analyses the underlying factors of a disaster ‘recovery process’. Based on a household survey, conducted ten months after the 2015 South Indian floods in two affected constituencies (Mylapore and Velachery) of Chennai, residents were asked how long they took to recover from the floods and whether they took actively part in the recovery process. The results highlight that residents from the more affected constituency (Velachery) took significantly longer to restore physical aspects (e.g. energy, water, roads, etc.), but only partially longer for social and economic aspects. Aspects of social capital (leadership, communication, ownership and trust) were rated equally low in both communities. However, individual actions to help others or participate in volunteer groups increased more significantly in the constituency that was more affected. The findings from this case study point-out that flood disaster events trigger residents to become more solidary and active to help others, but have little impact on triggering a more active interplay between communities and authorities. This highlights that flood disaster events do not change inherent structural and institutional relationships between key actors (local government, communities, private sector, academia and NGOs) involved in disaster recovery processes.