Author(s)

LUIS IZQUIERDO-HORNA, ANGELICA SÁNCHEZ-CASTRO, JOSE DURAN

Abstract

Disaster risk management (DRM) is a social process, which aims to prevent, reduce and periodically control disaster risk factors in society, taking into account both national and international policies, strategies and actions. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 25 countries aim to reduce risk, Peru is one of them with 1,535 provincial and local governments that have DRM instruments, however, in the Peruvian rainforest, there is a notable lack of these, meaning the population does not know what to do in an emergency situation. Of the multiple hazards to which Peru is exposed (i.e., earthquakes, mass movements, rainfall, etc.), 18% of these are debris, sludge and avalanche flows. Because of this, it is important to strengthen DRM strategies, specifically in the Peruvian rainforest, through an intercultural approach to reduce the level of social vulnerability to the debris flow. These strategies have to align with the Sendai Framework (2015–2030) and, at the same time, respond to the specific characteristics of each place due to the multicultural and multilingual nature of each sector. Therefore, this research proposes a holistic review for the improvement of vulnerability reduction strategies in social terms, with special emphasis on the intercultural dimension. In order to study the vulnerability factor, the conditions of exposure, fragility, and resilience were analysed, as well as urban centres, vital lines and services, poverty levels, socioeconomic fragility, and social organization levels. Finally, administrative decision-making, policy organization and implementation must respond to this cultural diversity and their capacities to cope with the adverse effects of disasters need to be strengthened.

Keywords

debris flow, disaster risk management, disaster risk strategies, vulnerability index, Peru