Transnational migration and disaster risk reduction: Insights from Chinese migrants living in Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Migrants can be disproportionately impacted by disasters due to their increased vulnerability.Knowledge of Chinese migrants' perceptions and experiences in the face of hazards and disasters is limited. This qualitative descriptive study explored Chinese migration in relation to disasters and disaster risk reduction in New Zealand. Semi-structured interviews with 22 Chinese migrants living in Auckland were conducted and data were thematically analysed. Participants displayed strong transnationalism via the creation of 'mini-China' and conceptions of China as their 'mother' country and New Zealand their 'step-mother' country. Chinese migrants compared their experiences of disasters in China to those in New Zealand, with many expressing difficulties with accessing information and not trusting New Zealand government authorities, particularly given how the approach contrasts to China's more 'hands on' approach. Fear of losing life and property and responsibility to their family were key factors underpinning Chinese migrants' decision to prepare for a disaster. Participants shared insights to guide disaster risk reduction efforts from a community level and expressed a willingness to participate in disaster preparedness organised by agencies involved in disaster risk reduction. The findings indicate capacities of Chinese migrants that planners can leverage and highlight important cultural nuances that need attention in future planning.

The significance of local government in disaster management for international migrants: the case of Minoh City, Osaka Prefecture

“…A number of works examine disaster vulnerability and the capacities of international migrants in the event of a disaster (Morrow, 1999;Montz, Allen, and Monitz, 2011;Maldonado et al, 2016;Thorup-Binger and Charania, 2019;Roncancio, Cutter, and Nardocci, 2020), as well as the need to consider disaster risk reduction for migrants (Guadagno, Fuhrer, and Twigg, 2017). Studies focus on, for example, the connection between migrants' socioeconomic position and their recovery from disaster (Myers, Slack, and Singelmann, 2008;McAuliffe and Triandafyllidou, 2021), their communication and language difficulties, and their employment of diasporic transnational ties in coping with a disaster (Zhang, Le Dé, and Charania, 2021). Nevertheless, Hoffman (2009Hoffman ( , p. 1506 points out that research that concentrates on international migrants and disasters is still not prominent.…”

Older Chinese and Korean migrants' experiences of the first COVID‐19 lockdown in Aotearoa New Zealand: A qualitative study

“…Second, older Chinese and Koreans living in New Zealand have been identified in previous research as groups prone to loneliness/ social exclusion, due to linguistic barriers and racism in their everyday lives (Morgan et al ., 2019). Third, pre‐pandemic evidence suggests that within the Chinese migrant population in NZ was mistrusting of the New Zealand Government willingness and ability to support them in time of natural disaster (Zhang et al ., 2021). Fourth, a nation‐wide cross‐sectional geospatial study indicates that Asian New Zealander's have faced inequalities in accessing health care services during the COVID‐19 response (Wiki et al ., 2021), though qualitative evidence is warranted to further unpack this from the perspective of Asian migrants.…”

“…There has to date been little research around the experiences of Asian migrants in New Zealand in regard to the current pandemic (Liu and Ran, 2020). This evidence gap is reflective of the limited literature to date around migrant's experiences of disaster responses in the Asia Pacific region more generally (Zhang et al, 2021).…”

Vulnerability and Resilience to Natural Hazards among New Zealand’s Laotians

“…Although there are a number of disaster-related studies on immigrants from Asia, the research often includes Indians or Chinese immigrants (DeYoung et al, 2019;Li et al, 2010;Nguyen & Salvesen, 2014). Similarly, in New Zealand while there are some disaster-related studies focusing on refugees and immigrants documented, there is a research on Indian and -Chinese communities but very little that focusses specifically on Laotians, presumably because they are small in number (Ikeda & Ozanne, 2016;Marlowe & Bogen, 2015;Uekusa & Matthewman, 2017;Zhang et al, 2021). As vulnerability and resilience are context dependent it is important to explore the full spectrum of immigrant groups for making any claims about immigrant communities and natural disasters.…”