How do you recover from disasters? Flexibility begins in the neighborhood

The Beatles may have gotten it right.

When disaster strikes, you really get a little help from your friends, according to a new report co-authored by Ann Lisperance, director of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities on the Northeastern University campus in Seattle.

“A lot of times in emergency management we think about the physical activities that need to be done, expand this, build this, support this. But there is another aspect that we can easily do that can also enhance the recovery process,” says Lisbrance, who is also the director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Northwest Regional Technology for Homeland Security at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Left to Right: Ann Lisperance, Director of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities on the Northeastern University campus in Seattle; Daniel B. Aldrich, professor of political science, public policy, and urban affairs, and director of the Security and Resilience Studies Program at Northeastern University. Photography by Andrea Starr/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Photography by Robbie Wallow/Northeastern University

There is a growing consensus among emergency response researchers that in societies where social bonds are strong and there is a sense of connectedness, populations are better able to recover after a devastating event such as an earthquake, hurricane, hurricane, wildfire, or disease. So FEMA asked a panel of experts in risk mitigation, community resilience, engineering, and disaster recovery (including Lesperance) to distill this research body to inform emergency managers how to build resilience within the community. The resulting report was published in May by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

“The researchers found that bringing people together, creating that sense of community and identity – no matter what it is – will enhance response and recovery,” Lisbrance says.

The idea is that when problems do occur, the most resilient communities are those in which individuals and families have other people they can count on for help, establish relationships with emergency responders or authorities, or simply plan a collective response to a disaster. Neighborhoods might have a phone tree set up so that residents can check on each other to make sure everyone is safe, for example.

This is what the Lesperance community created. “Here in Seattle, we’re waiting for the earthquake,” she says. So in the Lesserance neighborhood, residents have compiled an inventory of who has a chainsaw, water purifiers, food pans, and other emergency equipment. They came up with a meeting place and a list of residents with details of who had children and pets.

“I don’t know all the details about who has the chainsaw,” she says. “But I know that we [have one]. And I know that when the earthquake happens and we show up at that meeting place, someone will say, “Yeah, I have one.” Neighbor helps neighbour, and families help families who will help us get through any kind of disaster.”

The planning was organized by the local fire department, Lisperance said, hosting meetings among neighbors and advising them. But it was the neighbors themselves who asked the firefighters to help them set up a system.

These concepts may sound familiar, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, says Daniel Aldrich, professor of political science, public policy and urban affairs, and director of the Security and Resilience Studies Program at Northeastern University. Aldrich’s research on resilience was cited in the panel’s report. He has also been studying the role of social connections in the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We need our friends. At the end of the day, the need for connectivity, the need for that kind of social capital to get through the trauma, I think that is very clear to most of us, as we go through COVID-19.” In fact, says Aldrich, we never should have used the term “social distancing” when we mean physical distancing from others.

There are three categories of social bonds that Aldrich found important for creating resilience in society. First, there are the “bondings” that connect people who are similar, and share traits or backgrounds. Bridging connects people who are different from one another, who have different backgrounds but share experiences or places. These social ties are formed through religious organizations, schools, clubs, or sporting events. Aldrich’s last category is called “connecting”. These types of relationships connect ordinary people with people in leadership positions, and build trust in formal emergency response organizations.

“We need all three of those connections during trauma,” Aldrich says. “Without them, things are going really badly.” And in his research, he found empirical evidence that this happened early in the pandemic.

“As COVID-19 was developing for the first time, we showed, across communities, where there was vertical trust, as I listened to the people above me, and I took this kind of measure to protect myself — wearing a mask, six feet distancing, not going to work — there was Fewer cases to start with, Aldrich says.

“Then, as cases penetrate across the community, across different levels of relationships,” he says, “where people have strong connections and bridges, there are fewer deaths. People take care of each other. They are going to bring their neighbors to the ICU. They are. They knock on doors and deliver food or toilet paper. They drop off masks for people who need them.”

However, these trends are not specific to COVID-19. The Lesperance report focuses more on natural disasters, and Aldrich’s research has originated in hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and other natural hazards.

Aldrich found that in the event of a major shock, such as a tsunami or hurricane, a tightly connected community would save about 20 times more lives than a less connected community where no one knew anyone. A community with trusted relationships with decision makers can also receive 20 to 30 percent more money to rebuild after a disaster than communities without those links.

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