Disaster Archipelago

Maria Carinnes P. Alejandria is assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Santo Tomas.Will Smith is associate research fellow at Deakin University.

The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, and this edited collection brings together several anthropological studies examining disaster management in the island nation. Each chapter is a separate study focusing on a different disaster management issue or on a community or population that was devastated by disasters such as typhoons or earthquakes. The studies investigate disaster coping strategies, including humanitarian intervention, protection of vulnerable populations, post-disaster accountability, disaster resilience, insecurity and inequality of livelihood supplies, community-engaged aid programs, and implementation and evaluation of aid programs, among others. Chapters also examine social and cultural factors that impact and are impacted by coping strategies, such as local and federal governance, political-economic constraints, disaster preparedness by communities and the government, and the role of sociocultural traditions in coping with disasters. Importantly, disasters are not only viewed as natural phenomena but also as social justice issues. Overall, the anthropologists and scholars who contribute to this volume provide a panoramic view of disaster management in the Philippines as well as useful insights for global disaster studies. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals.

• Introduction: Place, Politics, and Disaster in the Philippines, Will SmithChapter 1: At a Glance: Disaster in the Philippines and the Philippine Disaster Management System, Zbigniew Piepora, Oliver Belarga, and Anthony AlindoganChapter 2: Aid Effectiveness and the Role of Evaluation in the Design and Implementation of Disaster-Oriented Programs in the Philippines, Anthony AlindoganChapter 3: Children in Post-Disaster Conditions: The Case of Humanitarian Intervention of Save the Children in Post-Typhoon Haiyan in Leyte, Philippines, Liezl Riosa, Fernanda Claudio, M. Adil KhanChapter 4: Post-Disaster Accountability in the Haiyan Shelter Response: Who had the Greater Say? Ladylyn L. Mangada, Irma R. Tan, Margarita T. dela CruzChapter 5: Sanay Kami sa Bagyo (We are Used to Storms): Unpacking “irrational” Evacuation Decision-making within the Sentient Ecology during Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), Pamela Gloria Cajilig, Diego S. Maranan, Kathryn B. Francis, Gintare ZaksaiteChapter 6: Surviving the Old Tides: Disaster Resilience Among Food-Insecure Older Adults in an Urban Poor Settlement in Manila, Maria Carinnes P. AlejandriaChapter 7: “Baha at mga bata” (flood and children): Exploring selected filipino children’s flood experiences, vulnerable contexts & resilience, Arlen Ancheta, Clarence Batan, Dan Angelo Balita, Maria Carinnes AlejandriaChapter 8: Drought, Food Insecurity, and Cultures of Hunger in the Philippines, Will SmithChapter 9: Ethnographic Approaches to Locating Disaster: Honey Harvesting, Livelihoods and Everyday Uncertainty on Palawan Island, Sarah WebbChapter 10: Community Engaged Resilience in an Island Community: Case of Fisherfolks in Pamarawan Island, Malolos, Bulacan, Philippines, Alain Jomarie G. Santos, Zosimo O. Membrebe Jr, John Christian C. Valeroso, Dr. Arlen A. AnchetaChapter 11: Harnessing Participatory and Community-Based Approach in Disaster Recovery Planning in Areas Affected by the Earthquake in Bohol, Emmanuel M. Luna, Rosalie Quilicol and Victor G. ObedicenChapter 12: Climate Hazard Effects on Socio-Environmental Health and Adaptation Strategies in Two Coastal Communities in Palawan Island, Philippines, Patrick A. Regoniel, Frederick A. Precillas, Melissa Theodora U. Macasaet, Nelly MendozaConclusion: Reframing “Disaster”, Noah Theriault