Resisting El Niño : an investigation into coping strategies to flood-related disasters in the Rímac river basin, Peru

Abstract: Flood-related disasters pose one of the greatest contemporary challenges to development. Analysing and developing effective local coping strategies to flood-related disasters is crucial if at-risk communities are to successfully mitigate the impact of natural hazards whilst not compromising long-term development objectives. This thesis utilises a combination of household surveys and key informant interviews to investigate the coping strategies taken by communities in the Rímac river basin in response to the 2017 El Niño Costero. This thesis then explores how the actions of the Peruvian state affected local coping capacities, and the repercussions of the coping actions implemented for future local development and disaster risk. This thesis demonstrates that the low coping capacity of affected communities and an ineffective state response led to the widespread adoption of erosive coping strategies. The societal-wide lack of long-term vision and a desire to return to normalcy as quickly as possible resulted in coping strategies that were simply reactive and failed to address the underlying drivers of risk. As such, the coping strategies implemented following the 2017 disaster amplified disaster damages whilst simultaneously hindering the building of resilience and the long-term socio-economic development of affected communities.