Citation

Afroz S, Cramb R, Grünbühel C. Asian J. Soc. Sci. 2018; 46(6): 601-637.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1163/15685314-04606002

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

We explore the vulnerability to cyclones of different socio-economic groups and their individual and collective responses to cyclone-related disasters through case studies of two villages in southwest coastal Bangladesh. We take a political ecology perspective, drawing on the widely-used Pressure and Release (PAR) Model to structure our analysis of the physical exposure of the villages to cyclone-related hazards; the multilevel processes leading to the vulnerability of different groups within the villages; the differential impacts of two recent cyclones; and subsequent responses undertaken through the actions of individual households, collective action at the village level, and the government-initiated Cyclone Preparedness Program. We conclude that recognising the complexities of vulnerability to multiple, interlinked, recursive hazards is essential to developing better risk reduction strategies for the coastal zone. However, the root causes of vulnerability are embedded in the socio-political structures and processes that determine access to resources and influence in Bangladeshi society.



Keywords:
vulnerability; natural hazards; disasters; political ecology; Pressure and Release Model; coastal Bangladesh

Language: en