Communities Post-Disaster

Abstract (English)

In 2018, Palu in Indonesia suffered a large earthquake resulting in fatalities and significant damage to housing and infrastructure. This earthquake, in turn, triggered a tsunami, and substantial liquefaction in some areas. This trio of disasters resulted in over 5,000 fatalities, more than 170,000 displaced people, and economic losses of USD1.3 billion. Six years later there are still several hundred people waiting for permanent housing, and a similar number who are eligible for housing but are not on a waiting list. It is not known how many need housing yet are ineligible.
As a part of their risk assessment process the provincial government segregated areas of Palu into three zones that dictate where people can and cannot live: from uninhabitable (Red) zones to areas for secure permanent housing. However, those currently located in the Red Zone and who cannot produce a land certificate are ineligible to be relocated to permanent housing. This means that they are likely to remain in-situ, increasing their risk of vulnerability to future hazards.
The zonings can be considered terrains that reflect state territorialisation of the disaster zone - they were established through governmental control - to implement and maintain order in housing allocations. However, the success of the permanent housing areas is determined by the community themselves, though delineation of community in areas fractured by disaster can be vexed. A community that has strong intra-relationships will nurture the residents to help build on social connectedness. Those communities that have not built such intra-relationships are less likely to foster that sense of belonging, and shared purpose.
What of the people who are ineligible – what is their fate regarding community?
How can these communities build resilience for future hazards?
For those waiting for permanent housing, how is this uncertainty and state of flux affecting their sense of community?