Skip navigation

Island vulnerability and resilience to wildfires: A case study of Corsica

Island vulnerability and resilience to wildfires: A case study of Corsica

Vaiciulyte, Sandra, Galea, Edwin R. ORCID: 0000-0002-0001-6665, Veeraswamy, Anand and Hulse, Lynn M. ORCID: 0000-0001-5582-3520 (2019) Island vulnerability and resilience to wildfires: A case study of Corsica. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 40:101272. ISSN 2212-4209 (Print), 2212-4209 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101272)

[img]
Preview
PDF (Author Accepted Manuscript)
24970 VAICIULYTE_Island_Vulnerability_and_Resilience_to_Wildfires_2019.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (642kB) | Preview
[img]
Preview
PDF (Author Submitted Manuscript)
24970 VEERASWAMY_Island_Vulnerability_and_Resilience_to_Wildfires_(Submitted)_2019.pdf - Submitted Version

Download (488kB) | Preview
[img] PDF (Acceptance Email)
24970 VAICIULYTE_Acceptance_Email_2019.pdf - Additional Metadata
Restricted to Repository staff only

Download (87kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

The number of wildfires occurring globally is exacerbated by urbanisation and changes in weather patterns. In response, researchers have conducted studies of wildfires and human behaviour in regions such as Australia and the USA. Regions in Europe have received less attention, despite facing the same issues. Even more overlooked are one particular type of territory: islands. With their climates, islands across the Mediterranean remain attractive second home and tourist destinations, resulting in urban development. Yet due to certain features (e.g. cultural, socio-political, geographical), the ways in which their people deal with wildfires may differ somewhat from that in some mainland territories. This paper explores human behaviour in wildfire emergencies in the context of island vulnerability and resilience in Europe, with the Mediterranean island of Corsica as a case study. Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews (n = 8) with Corsican professionals involved in wildfire management and quantitative analysis of around 100 surveys from civilians was conducted. This analysis revealed that Corsica’s population approach to wildfire safety is shaped by available information as well as a strong risk culture, which stands in contrast with new/temporary residents moving into the island each summer season. The results drawn from the analysed sample suggest potential social vulnerability in wildfires when a decision to evacuate the population is taken by emergency managers as the most effective emergency response. Population behaviour were not influenced by property attachment, perceived risk, hazard knowledge, community closeness and locus of control, suggesting that island WUI resident characteristics may not be generalised from human behaviour in wildfires studies carried out in the USA or Australia.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: forest fire, wildfire, human behaviour, Corsica, island resilience, wildland-urban interface
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group: Faculty of Engineering & Science > Centre for Numerical Modelling & Process Analysis (CNMPA)
Faculty of Engineering & Science > Centre for Numerical Modelling & Process Analysis (CNMPA) > Fire Safety Engineering Group (FSEG)
Faculty of Engineering & Science > School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences (CMS)
Faculty of Engineering & Science
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2022 13:06
URI: http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/24970

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics