Community and Agency Perspectives on Local Self-Reliance in Disasters

Abstract

One of the most critical activities to occur in the response to and recovery from a large-scale disaster is the connecting of affected people to the things they need, especially in scenarios that can leave a community stranded from external support. This study explores aspects of Information Sharing (IS), Resource Planning (RP), and Resource Matching (RM) through community and agency perspectives on five areas of interest: (1) Communication Platforms, (2) Information Sharing, (3) Community Resource Centers, (4) Resource Planning and Matching, and (5) Leadership and Participation. In order to inform future improvements to community-based disaster support, this study interviewed community members and leaders of three case communities in Washington: Laurelhurst (Seattle), South Park (Seattle), and the City of Westport. This study finds that communities and agencies are currently unprepared to coordinate during extreme disaster scenarios, but they can capitalize on individuals’ community knowledge and willingness to participate in order to bring information about a communities’ needs and capabilities to agencies, and vice versa. Future interventions might include the development of programs that make it easier for individuals to access and adopt community leadership and participation roles.