People living under threat of volcanic hazard in southern Iceland: vulnerability and risk perception

Jóhannesdóttir, Guðrún; Gísladóttir, Guðrún

doi:10.5194/nhess-10-407-2010

Cited by 92 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…While local residents are, in general, aware of the risks and emergency response procedures associated with a volcanic eruption in southern Iceland (Bird et al 2009(Bird et al , 2011Jóhannesdóttir 2005;Jóhannesdóttir and Gísladóttir 2010), tourists are not (Bird et al 2010;Bird and Gísladóttir 2014). Although volcanic risk awareness among tourists appeared heightened during the Eyjafjallajökull eruption, it did not result in them seeking more information on safety strategies (Lund et al 2010).…”

Section: Beyond Eyjafjallajökull 2010-lessons Learnt and Improvementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crisis Coordination and Communication During the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull Eruption

Bird

Jóhannesdóttir²,

Reynisson³

et al. 2017

Advances in Volcanology

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Eyjafjallajökull became Iceland's most infamous volcano in 2010 when the ash cloud from its summit eruption caused unprecedented disruption to the international aviation industry and considerable challenges to local farming communities and villages. The summit eruption, which began on 14 April 2010, was preceded by a 24-day long effusive flank eruption that produced spectacular fire-fountain activity and lava flows. The 39-day long summit eruption, however, was far more explosive and resulted in medium-sized jökulhlaups to the north, small jökulhlaups and lahars to the south and considerable ash fall to the east and east-southeast of the volcano. As in other crises in Iceland, the Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management (DCPEM) coordinated efforts and facilitated crisis communication, while collaborating with the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland and the National Crisis Coordination Centre. The DCPEM's role included providing information to the government and its various agencies and feeding information from scientists to local police officials, civil protection committees and the public. Communication with local residents took place through agencies' websites, the national media and frequent open town hall meetings where representatives of institutions responsible for eruption monitoring, health, safety and livestock handling provided advice. These face-to-face meetings with local residents were critical as ash fall had not affected these areas for over 60 years and plans for dealing with this hazard were not established. This chapter explores these events and in doing so, provides a narrative of crisis coordination and communication in Iceland. The narrative is based on multiple sources, including an analysis of community perspectives of the emergency response and their use and views of the various forms of communication platforms. The chapter also considers the eruptions' impacts at the local level. This exploration reveals that the trust developed through close communication between all involved prior to and during the eruption increased the effectiveness of crisis communication. The experience gained from the Eyjafjallajökull eruption is important for volcanic crisis communication at a local and international level. While the immediate evacuation plans were effective, the ash fall problems illustrated the need for necessary precautions and broadly defined preparedness strategies.

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Section: Beyond Eyjafjallajökull 2010-lessons Learnt and Improvementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crisis Coordination and Communication During the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull Eruption

Bird

Jóhannesdóttir²,

Reynisson³

et al. 2017

Advances in Volcanology

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“…In Greece, Dominey and Minopoulos (2004) study the perception of the people living on two volcanoes in Santorini. Meanwhile, in South Iceland, simultaneous research by Johannesdottir and Gisladottir (2010) studies the perception of the Alftaver community living under the threat of the Katlan Volcano.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Rationality of Residents Living in the Area Prone to Merapi Volcanic Disaster

et al. 2017

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The research concerned here was to know the economic rationality of residents who dwelled again in their former village after the eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010 and refused to be relocated by the government. A combined research method, namely, a combination between a qualitative method and a quantitative one, was used to uncover the rationality. The qualitative part of the research was conducted first by deciding informants considered knowledgeable about the matter under research. Then the informants were interviewed in turns decided via snowball sampling. Some secondary data were used to support the qualitative research. As for the quantitative part of the research, it was conducted afterwards by turning members of the households in the village into respondents. The finding of the research is as follows. The residents perceive the disaster not only as a dangerous natural phenomenon but also as an economic blessing because tourists' visits to the areas suffering from the impact of the disaster enable residents to have activities that have economic value. That economic rationality was what motivated them to return to their village though its condition is categorized by the government as unfit for dwelling.

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“…Thus, in Adams' (1995: 69) widely cited definition, "risk… is the probability of an adverse future event multiplied by its magnitude". This has been transferred directly into some analysis of volcanic threats, for example in the work of Jóhannesdóttir and Gísladóttir (2010) on volcanic risk perception in Iceland.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fearing the knock on the door: critical security studies insights into limited cooperation with disaster management regimes

2015

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In seeking to provide for the safety of local communities in the global south, there has been an apparent policy focus on making early warning systems more robust, and improving the operation of disaster management programmes. However, the critical security studies literature has highlighted the ways in which security practices, including those nominally implemented on behalf of local communities can have negative impacts on peoples. Human security literature, in particular, highlights the ways in which the state security apparatus, which is often relied upon to notify and enforce evacuations, may often be perceived as a serious risk to communities. At the same time individuals live within complex security situations where daily threats to peoples' lives may outweigh geological hazards. Grounded within critical literature on the social construction of risk (Lupton; Beck, Douglas), the ways in which volcanic risk is calculated, communicated, and enacted upon, will be assessed in relation to the local communities' security dilemmas. Drawing on field work in communities at risk from lahars generated from Cotopaxi in Sangolqui, Ecuador, explores the ways in which competing claims of what constitutes security challenge the operating assumptions in emergency preparedness. In June 2012, 158 primary interviews were undertaken as a part of the EU funded VUELCO project in Ecuador. The findings were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative methodologies, drawing most heavily on interpretive methodologies to argue that the scientific representation of volcanic hazards, and the resultant disaster management strategies, do not account for local context. Indeed, the majority of interviewees indicated a lack of trust in either scientific expertise or government representatives, on questions of security. By incorporating a broader narrative of security beyond a narrow focus on natural hazards, disaster preparedness and communication plans can be more effective.

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People living under threat of volcanic hazard in southern Iceland: vulnerability and risk perception

Cited by 92 publications

References 26 publications

Crisis Coordination and Communication During the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull Eruption

Crisis Coordination and Communication During the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull Eruption

Economic Rationality of Residents Living in the Area Prone to Merapi Volcanic Disaster

Fearing the knock on the door: critical security studies insights into limited cooperation with disaster management regimes

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