Older people in disaster situations: An analysis from their experience at the Valparaíso fire of 2014: An analysis from the meanings of their experience at the Valparaíso fire of 2014

Abstract

Chile is recognized as a country subjected to several socio-natural disasters, and it is of interest to investigate how the elderly experience those, because they could present more difficulties than other groups to face them. In April 2014, Valparaíso was devastated by a fire that left more than 12,000 people affected, concentrating the highest number of elderly people affected on La Cruz hill. The objective of this qualitative exploratory study was to investigate how they mean their experience in disaster situations starting from this incident. The results of the interpretative analysis that emerged from the in-depth interviews revealed that they identify conditions of vulnerability in the context they inhabit, including material and emotional abandonment, that their ability to respond to disasters it is seen as a transit that evolves from fear to resilience, and that they value their personal resources over those granted by public institutions in relation to the strategies they use to restructure their lives.