ABSTRACT
Over the past 20 years, the number of natural disasters has increased. Simultaneously, the number of research on mitigation has also increased. Investigations have shifted from the direct impact of disasters to the cascading effects of disasters, which are associated more with the vulnerabilities which follow as a result of the disasters. This empirical research, conducted by Health Communications Resources (H-C-R), Australia, in collaboration with Nav Jagriti, India, in 2019, is aimed at detecting the critical nodes between the response network's mitigation efforts and at understanding how communication aided citizen and community resilience during the 2017 Bihar floods. Eastern Bihar has, in particular, experienced heavy floods since 2008 due to the Kosi River. The 2017 floods affected over 17 million people and killed over 500, making it one of the worst floods in the state. Our methodology involved analyzing content aired by First Response Radio (an emergency radio network), collecting citizen responses through a media questionnaire and a standardized health questionnaire, and conducting key informant interviews with response network representatives. Altogether, 449 face-to-face citizen interviews were conducted. This research shows that health and sanitation information, psychosocial support, and music mitigate cascading effects on citizens' physical and mental health. Delivering such information becomes difficult when disaster strikes. Therefore, this chapter emphasizes a multi-stakeholder approach to tackling cascading effects. Response networks (governmental and non-governmental) and media organizations need to coordinate communication plans before a disaster occurs. Simultaneously, citizens' preparedness levels need to be boosted by education and by strengthening critical communications infrastructure. The chapter begins with a discussion on the conceptual framework of “cascading effects,” followed by the importance of communications in disasters. We then move to the history of floods in Bihar, and our specific study, detailing the methodology and presenting the findings. The chapter concludes with recommendations on how emergency communications can be strengthened.
