Resilience as an Instrument of Analysis of Municipal Risk and Disaster Management

Abstract

The problem of the negative impacts resulting from the occurrence of extreme events in cities has increasingly presented the need for the implementation of measures that assist managers in minimizing the vulnerabilities of their municipalities. To this end, disaster risk management (DRM) is essential and should be pursued in the different sectoral areas in order to adapt processes in their five main steps: prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. In view of this, the main objective of this research was to analyze the municipal management of protection and civil defense of União da Vitória, being this, the municipality that presents the highest number of flood occurrences in the state of Paraná. The methodology used is based on the application of two indicators: Detailed UN Disaster Resilience Scorecard and Disaster Preparedness Indicator for Cities (IPDC) of PUCPR and CEPED/PR. Altogether, 164 items were evaluated, resulting in 52.5% resilience in the face of flood disasters in União da Vitória. Among the qualitative analyzes, it was possible to observe the profile of the current management of the municipality, presenting as aspects the strong culture of coexistence with the floods; the construction of new residences near the river; and the lack of capacity of the residents, even with the high frequency of floods. Finally, it was possible to conclude that the use of instruments that assess municipal risk and disaster management is essential for the promotion of measures that help managers to make their cities more resilient.