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What’s in a name? “Smong” and the sustaining of risk communication and DRR behaviours as evocation fades
Sutton S.A.a, Paton D.a, Buergelt P.b, Meilianda E.c, Sagala S.d
a College of Health and Human Sciences, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia
b Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Australia
c Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Centre, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Indonesia
d School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development, Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB), Bandung, Indonesia
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624529070653{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner layout=”boxed”][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1624695412187{border-right-width: 1px !important;border-right-color: #dddddd !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Abstract” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]© 2019 Elsevier LtdThere are familiar patterns in the ways individuals and society process disaster recovery and future disaster risk reduction (DRR) needs as the memory of a disaster fades. Affect is strongest immediately after the event. However, typically, for most people the memory of, and the negative emotions associated with a disaster event, increasingly fade with time, even while the actual memory of the event remains. While the fading of memories and emotions represents a mechanism for maintaining psychological wellbeing, forgetting disasters may have negative implications for DRR. As time passes, the decrease in the intensity of feelings is matched by a decrease in intensity of efforts to prepare for future disasters. This association is reflected in the intensity of reconstruction activity as well as the degree to which society focusses effort on continuing DRR programs. This process has been defied in Pulau Simeulue in Aceh Province. This island is well recognized as an exemplar of community-based risk communication and DRR activity as a result of managing maintaining the collective memory of ‘smong’ – the local Simeulue word for the earthquake/tsunami phenomenon – for 100 years. Using the findings from a grounded theory study, this paper examines the importance of having a specific word for natural hazard to successful DRR and what might be learned from the example of Simeulue.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Author keywords” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Indexed keywords” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Funding details” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text][{‘$’: “This paper examines one example where a memory of a disaster, complete with information on how to recognize its onset and what to do when it manifests, was kept alive over several generations. As a result of managing to maintain the memory, the people of Simeulue Island survived the Indian Ocean tsunami in late 2004; the entire population responded quickly to the warning of a tsunami resulting in very low loss of life. Our research indicates that this survival capability could be traced to the existence of a traditional narrative wrapped around the concept of ?smong?. ?Smong? is the local Simeulue word for the earthquake/tsunami phenomenon. Locals are proud of the word smong and hold it to be the core of the island’s famous deliverance from disaster. ?Smong? was central to the Island being acknowledged with the Sasakawa award bestowed on them by the United Nations in 2005 [31]. This paper provides insights into the importance of the word ?smong? and its role in maintaining the collective memory of a disaster as the basis for Simeulue’s disaster risk reduction (DRR) behaviour that emerged from the analysis of interviews with the people of Simeulue and historical records of the island’s language.Assistance from Dr Ella Meilianda and Dr Khairul Munardi and their colleagues at the Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Centre at Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, made the project possible and is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks also to Kate Van Wezel for her gracious assistance with translation. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments and improvements recommended by anonymous reviewers. This research was funded through an Australian Postgraduate Research Award and a Bushfire & Natural Hazard Cooperative Research Centre scholarship as well as research funding from Charles Darwin University.”}, {‘$’: ‘Assistance from Dr Ella Meilianda and Dr Khairul Munardi and their colleagues at the Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Centre at Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, made the project possible and is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks also to Kate Van Wezel for her gracious assistance with translation. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments and improvements recommended by anonymous reviewers. This research was funded through an Australian Postgraduate Research Award and a Bushfire & Natural Hazard Cooperative Research Centre scholarship as well as research funding from Charles Darwin University . APPENDIX 1’}][/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”DOI” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101408[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_column_text]Widget Plumx[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row]