Community Resilience in the face of Natural Disasters: Caleta Tumbes, Biobío Region of Chile

On the basis of interviews with the population, the project analyzed five dimensions of the community resilience of Caleta Tumbes in the face of a natural disaster and the corresponding Reconstruction Plan. Results showed that the most solid dimensions of resilience are cultural identity associated with fishing; collective self-esteem, characterized by some aspects of topophilia; and social humor, understood as the collective manner of facing adverse situations. The weakest dimensions were the honesty of community government and a cohesive social structure. With respect to the Reconstruction Plan, the completed projects received a favorable evaluation, even though they did not contribute to strengthening resilience. This was due to the low participation of the community in their design, which, in turn, generated new social conflicts