5. Conclusion
The study finds that the CBO has a crucial responsibility in managing disasters affecting their
communities. Their main responsibility is ensuring their community members are ready for any
eventualities and reducing their vulnerabilities. Furthermore, this study has also shown that as highlighted
by many authors discussed above, the urban poor are the group that is hit the worst in most flooding
incidents and the experience they shared have shaped how they led their lives. The vulnerability of these
squatters can be considered as ‘self-inflicting’ since they have knowingly chosen to occupy a hazardous
area but this choice may have been a function of limited resources. These links between human factors
and vulnerability, where disasters are primarily the consequence of human actions can be seen as an
‘actualisation of social vulnerability’. However, in responding to these geo-hazard events, the squatter
communities have adapted ways that they derived from their strengths, which are their sense of
belonging, their networking among themselves as well as with government officials, and also by adapting
a number of structural modifications that they could afford. It is through the involvement of the CBO,
their communications and sharing of knowledge with members within their communities, as well as
guidance by the responsible government agencies, in other words - their use of risk communication, that
they are able to share lessons from their experience in order to lessen or overcome their vulnerabilities to
the hazards presented in their daily lives. In most cases, 'actionable risk communication' was very
prevalent as imparting of experience and knowledge came from within the community itself benefitting
those who are less prepared. With the help of the CBO, the affected communities learnt of strategies or
change in behaviours that they need to adapt from those who have managed to reduce the impacts from
the recurrence of flooding. This has not only further strengthened the bonds between the neighbours, but
has also helped to enhance the sustainability of these communities.
References
Beck,