NATURE AS METAPHOR FOR UNDERSTANDING DISASTER VULNERABILITY AND RESILIENCE

At the 3rd Societal Planning for Natural Hazards Research Forum (Christchurch, New Zealand, February 20, 2007), disaster researchers discussed the need to advance the transfer of information between research teams, and the need for champions who can help translate social science conceptualizations of disaster vulnerability and resilience to researchers in the physical sciences, and vice versa.

Where to start? To achieve greater interdisciplinary understanding, physical, health, and social scientists can look for commonalities in their work. One fundamental element shared by geologists, behavioral health scientists, and psychologists engaged in disaster research is the study of stress-strain relationships and the capacity to carry a load under stress. Disasters, by general definition, are high-consequence events that exceed the ability to respond, cope, or manage. They involve independent events; powerful circumstances created by a stressor. But they are also a function of response – a dependent variable – where different levels of strain can result from the same stimulus due to the unique properties or thresholds of load-bearing capacity for each subject under stress.

Whether thinking about the response of the physical world or the human reaction to disaster, we can look to nature for metaphorical expressions of stress and strain, and the adaptive capacity for internal resilience to external forces. Geological examples, using principles of fluid dynamics and rock mechanics as metaphors for conceptualizing human stress, are illustrated through visual imagery from geomorphology (fluvial, glacial, mass wasting and mechanical weathering processes) and petrology. These examples suggest numerous ways geologists can engage health and social scientists in discussions on disaster management. Several potential avenues for interdisciplinary collaboration and coordination are also highlighted.

Managing the physical, social, economic and health impacts of hazards is a large and complex undertaking requiring input from many fields of research, education and practice. By transferring and integrating our respective knowledge, we can overcome isolation in our own specialty “silos” and contribute to all-hazards disaster resilience.