Post-disaster response and recovery in Fiji: A qualitative analysis of response and reconstruction post-Tropical Cyclone Winston 2016

Abstract

Fiji is subject to a recurring cyclone season that regularly affects people and property. However, the country’s disaster response and recovery activities are not helping the communities to self-recover from disasters. The housing reconstruction methods provided by various stakeholders seem to not be compatible with the situation in Fiji. During Tropical Cyclone Winston 2016, over 30,000 houses were damaged or totally destroyed, affecting half of the Fijian population. That was in addition to the financial burden it added to the local economy, which according to the Fijian government, surpassed 0.6 billion FJD in housing only. The losses resulting from Tropical Cyclones, and the difficulty in housing restoration, show a need to refine Fiji’s disaster management activities, particularly its response and recovery, to help building the local capacity of people in housing reconstruction. The main aim of this study was to investigate Fiji’s disaster responses and recovery processes post-Tropical Cyclone Winston. It aimed to find ways to improve these disaster responses and recovery processes. The study also analysed contemporary, traditional, and hybrid house-building methods to determine which is most appropriate for post-disaster housing reconstruction in Fiji. The study adopted an interpretative paradigm and used a qualitative approach to find out the roles of the different stakeholders that contributed to disaster response and recovery activities. A qualitative case study approach was undertaken in three different villages in Fiji to understand the three different housing construction methods used in the country, contemporary, traditional, and hybrid and the impediments to recovery and reconstruction of these housing types. The main findings revealed deficiencies in both the initial response and the long-term recovery phases, including communication and coordination. The fragmented chain of communication between the government organisation, agencies and communities delayed the flow of information coming from the villages during the initial response phases. Deficiencies at the inter-organisational communication level were also discovered in terms of communication both between the NGOs and the government and between the NGOs and the affected communities. This resulted from the NGOs post-TC Winston operating under the shelter cluster with no direct contact with the affected communities. Operating under this setup affected the efficiency of the process. A lack of coordination was observed during the recovery phase at both the intra- and inter-organisational levels. The findings of the study identified that contemporary reconstructed houses could not be considered as a post-disaster resilient housing alternative in the long term. Only one type of traditional house could be seen as a long-term resilient house type. In addition, the lack of resilience was found in the hybrid houses, which were those houses built featuring contemporary building materials and the incorporation of three of the features from the traditional construction method: “direct posts” for the house’s timber structure, an open-plan interior, and three doors, each on different sides of the house. The study suggests the involvement of the house owners in all the construction stages of the house, the use of locally available building material, and a house construction method that is not complicated and can easily be maintained by the house owner. Building local capacity through training should consider focusing on leadership in the village communities besides basic house construction skills. House construction training should include training on the use of local materials and the traditional construction method. The study also provides comprehensive practical recommendations for cyclone-resistant house features. The study recommends several measures to be considered by policymakers to incorporate into the disaster response plan to increase its efficiency. These include having liaison officers from the NGOs located in the provincial office, using multiple means of communication after a disaster, and ensuring rigorous inter-and intra-organisational coordination at both the response and recovery phases.