Ecological communication in Asia-Pacific: A comparative analysis of social adaptation to maritime disaster in Indonesia and Fiji

Abstract

This article is of a comparative study of social adaptation in the Cyclone Winston disaster case in Fiji and rob flooding in Semarang, Indonesia. In February 2016, the largest tropical storm in the Southern Hemisphere, Cyclone Winston, struck Fiji and caused severe damage and loss of life. Meanwhile, in the last two decades flooding has become an increasingly acute disaster situation in Semarang and the northern coastal region of Java, Indonesia. Communities in the path of both these disasters are the ones who suffer most. Social adaptation is important to consider in these two cases to encourage improved future mitigation and adaptation efforts. Data was collected from interviews and documents in the form of news media articles and previous research reports relevant to tropical disasters and the impact of climate change. The results show that social adaptation to both types of disasters is not identical due to the characteristics of the two different disasters and the different social, economic, political and cultural contexts in Fiji and Indonesia.

Keywords

• cyclones
• Cyclone Winston
• ecological communication
• Indonesia
• Fiji
• maritime disasters