Disaster governance and community resilience: reflections on Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan
Typhoon Morakot triggered flooding and mudslides in various areas and devastated Aboriginal villages located near areas under construction by the Water Diversion Project in Kaohsiung County. This paper examines the controversy surrounding Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan from the perspective
of disaster governance. This study provides competing perspectives regarding who was responsible for causing the disaster. Post-disaster reconstruction initiatives by the government tend to adopt a technical approach to risk, and do not incorporate the complex social and cultural dimensions
of vulnerability and sustainability. This perspective reflects misrecognition problems, and the lack of empowerment and participation in governance by residents, as well as their exclusion in decision making. Aboriginal civic groups have various methods of interacting with local residents
to alleviate the suffering of survivors, promoting tribal culture and building resilient communities. This continuing development of social interactions and new forms of engagement will effectuate transformation and contribute to broader reflections on the Morakot disaster and social capability
and building resilience.
Keywords: disaster governance; local knowledge; public participation; risk, community resilience; social capability; vulnerability
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: Institute of Science, Technology and Society, National Yang-Ming University, 155, Sec 2, Linong Street, Taipei 112, Taiwan, ROC
Publication date: 02 January 2015
- Editorial Board
- Information for Authors
- Subscribe to this Title
- Ingenta Connect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites
- Access Key
- Free content
- Partial Free content
- New content
- Open access content
- Partial Open access content
- Subscribed content
- Partial Subscribed content
- Free trial content