Disaster preparedness on hurricanes in Negril, Jamaica: “Preparedness is key, you know, in all cases, preparedness is key.” - Respondent 1

Abstract

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are exacerbated vulnerable to natural hazards and impacts of climate change due to their particular cultural, socioeconomic, historical and geographic features. Despite evidence that disaster preparedness can reduce the consequences of hazards, preparedness is low in most populations. The aim of this thesis is to understand practices of preparedness, expectations of communication and perceptions of governmental adaptive measures in the community of Negril, Jamaica. Through the conceptual framework of community resilience and aspects of actual preparedness, intentions to prepare and perceived preparedness this study contributes to the understanding of a specific cultural and geographic context of hurricane preparedness. This study has a bottom-up approach guided by three research questions answered by empirical data collected through semi-structured interviews. The data was transcribed, coded and analyzed through a thematic analysis. Findings show that the community performed several actions of actual preparedness. Social networks are emphasized as the community plays an important role in spreading information. However, concerns are illustrated in questioning the effectiveness of disaster communication and management. Further findings illustrate short-term measures of prioritizing economic interests above environmental issues. Several suggestions of improvements to increase community resilience are presented and discussed. The study highlights the importance of including different perspectives to recognize and understand vulnerabilities of the local context to achieve effective disaster preparedness implementation.