Navigating the Paradox of Resilience: Colonial Legacies, Climate Change, and Hurricanes in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Vulnerability is a significant concept in disaster studies because reducing vulnerability is one of the main opportunities for reducing disaster risk and impact. However, the nature of vulnerability is constantly changing and the processes that influence vulnerability are dynamic and rooted in varying conditions. Puerto Rico has remained on the most topmost vulnerable islands to extreme weather events, according to the Global Climate Risk Index, for two consecutive decades. Puerto Rico’s vulnerability does not only come from its geographical location. The island nation has a history of harm and unjust caused by colonialism and its continuation, which was unveiled even further by Hurricane Maria of 2017. However, even though coloniality is a recognizable factor, it does not show the full extent to why Puerto Rico has remained vulnerable. The missing component is a framework of disaster resilience, which enhances the explanations of Puerto Rico’s vulnerability by exhibiting the additional dangers of framing disaster risk and adaptation as a responsibility by the community. Engaging with a more recent narrative is necessary for a more comprehensive understanding of Puerto Rico’s vulnerability to climate change.