What's in a name? “Smong” and the sustaining of risk communication and DRR behaviours as evocation fades

TY - JOUR

T1 - What's in a name? “Smong” and the sustaining of risk communication and DRR behaviours as evocation fades

AU - Sutten, Stephen

AU - Paton, Douglas

AU - Buergelt, Petra

AU - Mailianda , Ella

AU - Sagala, Saut

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - There are familiar patterns in the ways individuals and society process disaster recovery and future disaster risk reduction (DRR) needs as the memory of a disaster fades. Affect is strongest immediately after the event. However, typically, for most people the memory of, and the negative emotions associated with a disaster event, increasingly fade with time, even while the actual memory of the event remains. While the fading of memories and emotions represents a mechanism for maintaining psychological wellbeing, forgetting disasters may have negative implications for DRR. As time passes, the decrease in the intensity of feelings is matched by a decrease in intensity of efforts to prepare for future disasters. This association is reflected in the intensity of reconstruction activity as well as the degree to which society focusses effort on continuing DRR programs. This process has been defied in Pulau Simeulue in Aceh Province. This island is well recognized as an exemplar of community-based risk communication and DRR activity as a result of managing maintaining the collective memory of ‘smong’ - the local Simeulue word for the earthquake/tsunami phenomenon - for 100 years. Using the findings from a grounded theory study, this paper examines the importance of having a specific word for natural hazard to successful DRR and what might be learned from the example of Simeulue.

AB - There are familiar patterns in the ways individuals and society process disaster recovery and future disaster risk reduction (DRR) needs as the memory of a disaster fades. Affect is strongest immediately after the event. However, typically, for most people the memory of, and the negative emotions associated with a disaster event, increasingly fade with time, even while the actual memory of the event remains. While the fading of memories and emotions represents a mechanism for maintaining psychological wellbeing, forgetting disasters may have negative implications for DRR. As time passes, the decrease in the intensity of feelings is matched by a decrease in intensity of efforts to prepare for future disasters. This association is reflected in the intensity of reconstruction activity as well as the degree to which society focusses effort on continuing DRR programs. This process has been defied in Pulau Simeulue in Aceh Province. This island is well recognized as an exemplar of community-based risk communication and DRR activity as a result of managing maintaining the collective memory of ‘smong’ - the local Simeulue word for the earthquake/tsunami phenomenon - for 100 years. Using the findings from a grounded theory study, this paper examines the importance of having a specific word for natural hazard to successful DRR and what might be learned from the example of Simeulue.

KW - Disaster risk reduction

KW - community-based risk communication

KW - indonesia

KW - song

KW - grounded theory

KW - natural hazards

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075916724&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/whats-name-smong-sustaining-risk-communication-drr-behaviours-evocation-fades

U2 - 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101408

DO - 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101408

M3 - Article

VL - 44

SP - 1

EP - 20

JO - International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

JF - International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

SN - 2212-4209

M1 - 101408

ER -