Progress in Disaster Science (Dec 2021)
Differential vulnerability and resilience of earthquake: A case of displaced Tamangs of Tiru and Gogane villages of Central Nepal
Abstract
BackgroundNepal's 2015 earthquake and its aftermath caused a total of 8979 deaths and 22,309 injuries. The earthquake brought rescue, relief distribution, reconstruction, and resettlement issues. The government authority has identified a total of 56 settlements for relocation. My argument is that the process of rescue, relief distribution, resettlement, and reconstruction actions are determined by the socio-economic and geographical/ecological settings of the affected people. I have substantiated my argument with the resettlement process of two Tamang villages, Tiru and Gogane in the Rasuwa district of Nepal.Research objectiveThe main objective of the paper is to explore the situation of differential vulnerability and resilience capacity of the Tamangs, an ethnically homogenous group. It examines disparities between the affected households in terms of assets, access, and opportunities; and analyses the role of social relationships, kinship network, and family size of the displaced Tamangs.MethodologyThis study is based on qualitative methodology. The methods of data collection include observations, interviews, narratives, and key informant interviews (KII). However, to supplement the qualitative data, 100 respondents were selected for the survey. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Previous studies and government statistics were used as the sources of secondary data.The resultsThe responsibility of the first primary rescue and relief works were led by the local communities later supported by outside agencies. Household structure, neighborhood relationships, community bonds were the principal mechanisms of the disaster risk reduction process. Results of my research show that vulnerability and resilience are context-specific that are determined by time, place, nature of the disaster, climatic conditions, power relations, culture, individual's age, sex, social, and economic status.Conclusions and recommendationsThe study concludes that vulnerability and resilience are two sides of the same coin. These two phenomena bring complexities and dynamism to human life. On the one hand, the earthquake and its aftershocks resulted in the complexities of the relocation of the victims, their livelihoods, and their social relations. On the other, it made the victims more resilient, more assertive, and more dynamics to utilize available resources and develop various adaptive strategies of survival. This study also infers that the general model of resettlement plans adopted by the government is inefficient and inadequate to address the context-specific problems of earthquake victims.
