Seminar Speakers: CliMAS Graduate Students Anthony Corrales and Megha Rao
- Sponsor
- Professor Jeff Trapp
- Views
- 6
- Originating Calendar
- CliMAS Colloquia
Anthony Corrales:
When the Grid Goes Down, Neighbors Show Up: Understanding Social Capital in Western North Carolina during Hurricane Helene
Anthony Corrales:
The 2024 Hurricane Season saw the devastation of many communities in Western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene, partially attributed to the impact of a predecessor rain event (PRE) in the days leading to the storm. With 252 fatalities and widespread infrastructure failure, formal emergency systems struggled to reach many residents. How, then, did communities remain resilient? Drawing on 20 interviews with English- and Spanish-speaking residents, community leaders, and science communicators in Buncombe and Henderson Counties, this study examines how bonding, bridging, and linking forms of social capital shaped preparedness, response, and recovery. Using a phronetic iterative qualitative data analysis, we identify how different forms of social capital operated across phases of the disaster, often functioning as informal infrastructure when formal systems failed. These findings suggest that disaster resilience during cascading system failures depends not only on forecast accuracy and warning dissemination, but on pre-existing social networks that shape trust, information flow, and protective decision-making. We conclude with recommendations for risk communicators seeking to strengthen community-level resilience ahead of future tropical cyclones and PRE-related impacts.
Megha Rao: TBA