Community resilience, well-being and emotional support

Community resilience, well-being and emotional support

Dr Kate Walker-Springett

Dr Catherine Butler

Prof. Neil Adger

Overview

Impacts of flood events on well-being

Role of institutional support measures

Building resilient communities

Photo: Matilda Temperley

Background

Flooding is the most likely climate change impact the UK will face

Flood events are deeply traumatic for those that experience them.

Limited focus on community/relational aspect of resilience and the links with wellbeing


Winter Floods 2013/14Somerset - Land of the Summer People


In-depth longitudinal research – Somerset case study(n = 109), August 2014 - May 2015

Telephone Survey – Somerset Levels and Moors, Somerset and Boston, Lincolnshire(n = 1000, July 2015)

Methods

Flooding and well-being:

Kate Walker-Springett: [email protected]

Well-Being Impacts

Wellbeing defined as “judging life positively and feeling good”.

Four time points: • Now (all participants)• Before the floods• During the floods, and • 12 months post flood

Participants/community affected by 2013/14 winter

floods

Scale: 1 (low) – 10 (high)

We

ll-b

ein

g Sc

ale

5

6

7

8

9

10

Time Period

now 12 monthspost-flood

during flood

prior toflood event

F(1,493.095) = 33.755, p<0.001

F(1,528.687) = 9.652, p<0.001

Flood Affected

Not Flood Affected

Well-Being Impacts - Temporality

“When the floods were actually happening, it was very surreal, it was like you were watching it …the amount of times I went to look at it, you're noticing things, “oh well it got to there last time, now it’s here” and you're just … it was really, I don't think people could understand, it was so stressful, at one point I said I’d have been better off if I’d have been flooded because I’d have just abandoned it and gone and then you just deal with what’s happened but the not knowing, “is it coming?”, “is it coming?”, you're on edge all the time.” P6

Well-Being Impacts - Temporality

“Interestingly, there’s no doubt that I think once you flood, you flood and you deal with it but the worst part is when you dry out and the builders come in, it’s so stressful.” P23

“I don't think anything emotional or anything is any different really, still really concerned about you know, the drop in house prices and that sort of thing, it’s a real worry, not just for me but for everybody.” P6

Institutional Responses &Temporality

Whittle et al (2010)

M We’ve just had our kitchen that was put in ripped out because I’d been round and done the measurements myself. F It’s been poorly installed by the builders. So not only are we being reconstructed, we’re being deconstructed and reconstructed again. P13a & b


“I was looking forward at my one year, three years and five years and it’s full of things like my husband retiring and me thinking about retiring and going on that world cruise – we’re not going on a world cruise – but doing the garden or taking up hobbies and all that kind of thing and I can see forward and the flooding just wasn’t in there.” P20


“It’s certainly helped [the dry winter of 2014/5] and the fact that they’ve done the work has helped… I suppose you have to accept where you are and I don't know, we’ll see

how we go.” Interview Two, Participant 16a

85% of respondents said that they agreed with the statement “The

local community provided support that was not available from the

authorities”

84% of respondents said that they agreed with the statement “the

community spirit made it easier to cope with the flooding

Well being Impacts – Social Capital

“It was like some awful nightmare and then with wonderful breaks of comedy, when our friends from up the road came up in their canoe, opened the doors, and they canoed straight in here and jus sort of tied up and sloshed out and we sat with our legs up like this and had a lovely lunch again and then it was back to work again.” P23

Institutional Responses & Social Capital

“The internal walls are just plasterboard so there’s no soundproofing, so if anybody is in the toilet, everybody else in the house can hear them, it’s so horrible, I can’t tell you. It just is vile compared to my own home, it’s just horrible. Really horrible.” P20

Survey Results show those evacuated had lower well-being scores than those who remained at home, during the floods and 12 months afterwards.

Institutional Responses & Social Capital

“For some people, it was a very emotional experience at the time, we were involved a lot with the Moorland and FordgateKeep In Touch group, help setting it up, organising it, contacting people, giving support . . and supporting quite a few of the older people, a couple who went into a residential home, quite isolated, which was not a particularly good experience for them.” P13

Conclusions

• Resilience includes an important social dimension

• Linkages between well-being and community resilience.

• Institutional responses can positively or negatively impact resilience

Thank you

Contact: [email protected]@exeter.ac.uk

Project website: http://geography.exeter.ac.uk/winterfloods/

@drkatews, @drcbutler

Community resilience, well-being and emotional support

Environment

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