Historical trajectories of disaster risk in Dominica

Abstract

The calamitous consequences of Hurricane Maria (2017) for the Caribbean island of Dominica highlighted the acute and increasing susceptibility of the region to hazard events. Despite the increasing international attention given to disaster risk reduction, recovery from hazard events can be especially lengthy and difficult for Small Island Developing States. In this paper we build on existing understandings of disaster risk as a physical and social condition, and take a novel approach showing that historical processes are fundamental to understanding not only how conditions of risk emerge, but also how societal inertia causes them to persist over time. We take an integrated approach to analyzing the historical, physical, and social and political drivers of risk accumulation, and the consequent barriers to the reduction of risk. Using the example of Dominica, we demonstrate how processes set in motion during colonial times have shaped where people and assets are located, the degree to which they might be harmed, the societal repercussions of that harm and the prospects for recovery. We develop an understanding of the historical factors that have shaped Dominica's development trajectory, focusing on the underlying economic vulnerabilities and physical exposure to hazards created by agricultural, economic, and social practices, and successive government and international responses that have constrained post-disaster recovery. We argue that 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. SignificanceThis paper provides an integrated approach to analyzing the historical, physical, and social and political drivers of risk and the barriers to risk reduction in the Caribbean island of Dominica. We show how a historical focus on these drivers can reveal the reasons why risk has accumulated over time, and how recurrent hazards have played an important role in further generating vulnerability and exposure. This paper demonstrates how combinations of events and processes have heightened disaster risk for the island, explaining why Dominica now faces significant challenges in pursuing social, economic and sustainable development. This work can inform similar analyses of the historical factors that have shaped the development of other small island developing states with colonial histories.

Evolution of vulnerability to marine inundation in Caribbean islands of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy

“…Abrupt increase in population, specialization of economy on a reduced number of sectors, social inequality, illiteracy, and unemployment are some of the weaknesses of these territories, especially in Saint-Martin [10,14,42,45,52,70]. However, the interrelation between social, economic, environmental, and politic trajectories in Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy are complex [10,3,14,49] and their accurate description is beyond the scope of this study.…”

“…The social and historical differences, could have played a role in the political strategies and economic activities [13,14]. Historical processes are fundamental to understanding how conditions of risks emerge and persist over time [49,50,51,52].…”

Integrative Post-event Impact Assessment Framework for Volcanic Eruptions: A Disaster Forensic Investigation of the 2011–2012 Eruption of the Cordón Caulle Volcano (Chile)

“…Pioneering studies have been conducted by the STREVA project (Strengthening resilience in volcanic areas, 2012(Strengthening resilience in volcanic areas, -2019. Most of forensic STREVA outputs are social-oriented analysis of various case studies (e.g., Armijos and Few, 2017;Few et al, 2017;Hicks and Few, 2015;Pyle et al, 2018;Barclay et al, 2019) with the exception of the study of Sword-Daniels et al (2015) that provides an interesting relational analysis for the health care system and associated essential services affected by the recent Soufrière Hills eruption on Montserrat Island (United Kingdom, West Indies). A comprehensive application of forensic analysis of the short and long-term cascading effects associated with the 1999 Mount Cameroon eruption (Cameroon) has been conducted by Wantim et al (2018).…”