A Q methodology application on disaster perceptions for adaptation and resiliency in an Andean watershed symposium: water and climate in Latin America

Natural and human processes have threatened human access to sufficient and clean water. In areas prone to natural disasters, governments play a vital role in the proactive development of measures prioritizing human rights to water. This article is a case study of a series of tragic events in 2011 that led to a landslide in the Cervantes neighborhood in Manizales, Colombia. The disaster left the city and surrounding municipalities without water for over 20 days; gas and power were intermittent during this period; 145 people were displaced by the disaster; and 48 died. There is still a debate about whether this disaster was caused by nature or people. Our goal was to determine stakeholders’ views and perceptions regarding the causes leading to the magnitude of this tragedy. The Q methodology (Q) was employed as a valuable qualitative and quantitative empirical tool to identify, analyze, and compare perception groups that emerged from the stakeholder participant pool of this case study. The Q allowed us to determine critical information for disaster mitigation that was based on the similarities and differences in viewpoints regarding the causes that influenced the magnitude of the event. The three social perception groups that surfaced from this study reflect the causes believed to have affected the magnitude and after effects of the events, namely (1) the lack of proactive measures to prepare for future landslide events; (2) the portrayal of nature as the main contributor to the magnitude and after effects of the disaster, while portraying the utilities company as a non-contributor; and (3) the apparent effort to avoid the incrimination of specific entities and authorities. Natural forces are more powerful than human, but measures can be taken to mitigate the magnitude of natural disasters. It is important for policy makers to ensure that the interests of all stakeholders are represented in actions to mitigate natural disasters in the city of Manizales.