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Building Social Resilience after the 2014 Flood Disaster

Sarina Yusoff and Nur Hafizah Yusoff

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, Volume 29, Issue 3, September 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47836/pjssh.29.3.13

Keywords: Flood disaster, recovery, social disruption, social resilience, victims

Published on: 27 September 2021

The 2014 flood disaster has brought physical destruction, damage as well as social disruption that caused normal life to become less stable. A state of social equilibrium needs to be restored through effective restoration solutions to normalise life after the disaster. This qualitative research aims to identify two main issues, namely social disruption and social resilience, by utilising a case study of the 2014 flood disaster in Hulu Dungun, Terengganu. A total of 15 victims were selected using the purposive sampling method based on a set of defined criteria–the data collection method comprised of in-depth interviews and non-participant observation. The data were analysed through thematic analysis techniques. The results showed that the disruption suffered by the victims included disruption of social roles, the uncertainty of employment, instability of social routine, and collective trauma. However, the availability of social resilience had enabled the victims to rebuild their lives after flood disasters and restore the ‘normal’ or ‘stable’ situations of social equilibrium. The research is expected to contribute to environmental sociology that has yet to receive widespread attention from sociological researchers in Malaysia. This research is a meaningful effort towards promoting and increasing the environmental sociology study, which to date, remains disoriented.

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ISSN 0128-7680

e-ISSN 2231-8526

Article ID

JSSH-8101-2021

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