| A 2010 report by the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination ranked El Salvador as the most vulnerable country in the world to natural disasters, with roughly 95% of the population at risk. The combination of recurring natural disasters and high vulnerability in a relatively small country has led to repeated exposure of local residents to significant natural phenomena of all sorts, including earthquakes, flooding, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes.;The effect of disaster assistance can be multi-faceted and this report examines the case of flooding hazards of a small town in the south-eastern San Miguel region of the country, called El Borbollon, in which assistance seems to have become a natural part of the local economy. . This community sits at the base of a large watershed. Wet season flooding events raise the lake levels by 1 to 3 meters almost every year, completely submerging the town's main road. Occasional 4 to 6 meter flooding events cause the evacuation of 1000+ community members; this occurred most recently during Tropical Depression 12-E in the 2011 wet season.;I argue that a purely hydrological approach to assessing the local flood hazard is insufficient. First, I evaluate the magnitude of the Tropical Depression 12-E flooding event via HEC-HMS computer modeling and GIS, coupled with an analysis of ASTER satellite imagery. Parallel hazard and vulnerability analyses were conducted, and I describe my findings from a social research perspective. I find that locals have largely decided to co-exist with this recurring flood event, because they have much to gain by living in a perpetually at-risk condition, through the benevolence of aid organizations. This exposes a fundamental question: is it still a disaster if it is routine? By examining the role that large-scale flooding events play on the lives of local inhabitants, we present examine a scenario that more closely represents the multifaceted reality in which we live.;Similar situations likely exist elsewhere, and lessons learned here may be more broadly applicable. The existence of a routine disaster means revisions might be necessary to government, scientist, and aid organization strategies. |
