Unfamiliar Terrain: Perceptions of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Implications for Community Recovery

• In Event: 194 - Regular Session. Disaster

Abstract

For decades disaster scholars have compared natural disasters to technological disasters, finding distinctions in the types of harm experienced as well as differences in barriers to recovery. We evaluate whether perceptions of a disaster as “technological” affect victims’ outlooks on community recovery. To do so, we rely on data from interviews of residents of four Gulf Coast communities affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. We find that the greater residents perceived the oil spill as having components associated with technological disasters—such as being seen as larger in scope, unfamiliar and long-lasting, as well as generating uncertainty, anxiety, blame, less self-efficacy, a lack of solidarity, and ineffective response efforts—the less optimistic they were about the community recovering. Interestingly, these negative perceptions mattered above and beyond the physical damage of the disaster, such as the amount of oil exposure experienced in the region. This finding suggests that simply perceiving a disaster as having the traits associated with technological disaster, independent of physical effects, can generate pessimism about recovery. We conclude with recommendations for improving disaster response and recovery that integrate attention to these perceptions.

Authors

• Kelly Bergstrand, University of Arizona

• Brian Mayer, University of Arizona