Perspectives on resilience: A field study of housing recovery in Chile after the 2010 event

As part of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s (EERI) Learning from Earthquakes (LFE) Travel Study Program in Chile in January 2017, program participants studied the resilience of key community services seven years after the 2010 M8.8 Maule earthquake. One group focused on housing reconstruction programs to evaluate their progress and effectiveness and to investigate how housing influenced the resilience of the communities before and after the earthquake, using a resilience reconnaissance approach. First-hand interviews were conducted in communities that experienced significant damage during the earthquake and were later reconstructed and/or relocated. The interviews focused on the personal experiences of the interviewees and their families before, during, and after the earthquake, emphasizing narrative descriptions and personal evaluations of the process of reconstruction. Common themes were analyzed to draw high-level conclusions about the success of reconstruction, the resilience of housing in Chile after the event, and the challenge of meeting diverse and complex needs in a post-disaster environment. This session presents an overview of the field study process, conclusions of the study, and recommendations for future reconnaissance.