Exploring Potential of Communication Infrastructure Theory in Disaster Risk Management: A Study on Cyclone Fani in Odisha, India.

Abstract: 

Drawing on the case studies of past cyclone turn disaster 'Fani' on the coast of Bay of Bengal, the paper discusses the 'responsive approach' in disaster preparedness and collaborative actions. It explores the engagement of 'multilevel actors' and their 'storytelling' capacity to build a climatic condition of behavioral change in the disaster-prone areas of Odisha by borrowing the theoretical underpinning of the 'storytelling community' and 'communication context' of Communication Infrastructure theory (CIT). The paper has drawn on Kim and Ball-Rokeach's, idea of 'multiple community storytellers' where they argue that CIT distinguishes 'macro,' 'meso-' and 'microstorytelling' actors based on their storytelling referent and their audience. Macrostorytelling agents represent 'mainstream media' that tells the story about the whole city, nation, or even world, 'mesostrorytellers' are deals with a particular section of the town or specific communities. In contrast, neighbors, family members, friends are microstoryteller agents who talk story on certain premises. Disasters like 'Fani' reflected multilevel actors' engagement in the process, such as 'mainstream media,' 'federal government,' 'civil society' and many others in their respective circumstances. The entire process is the outcome of collaboration and coordination efforts of the long-run engagement of community members, the federal government, and their storytelling networks that able the tackle the fury nature of the natural disaster. The paper also has drawn the idea of the 'communication context' of CIT, where they talk about the 'residential environment' (i.e., cultural, social, economic, and physical) that facilitate or constraints the vitality of the storytelling systems. The frequent occurrence of disasters in the coastal belt of Odisha strengthens the community 'disaster resilience' and also everyday conversation with the people, media, and grassroots organizations promote 'culture of resistance' in the areas. Cyclone Fani, a 'tropical cyclone' struck on the 3rd of May of 2019, more than 1.5 million people evacuated and shifted to the safest places within the 24 hours. The paper is supporting the arguments by presenting the example of such intervention with the help of data collected through an in-depth case study method involving various qualitative methods of data collection such as In-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and participant observation. The study analyses the communication context in the disaster scenarios with the case study of cyclone Fani.