Reconstruction Process and Social Issues After the 1746 Earthquake and Tsunami in Peru: Past and Present Challenges After Tsunami Events - Post-Tsunami Hazard: Reconstruction and Restoration - page 95

Chapter 7
Reconstruction Process and Social Issues After
the 1746 Earthquake and Tsunami in Peru:
Past and Present Challenges After Tsunami
Events
Erick Mas , Bruno Adriano , Julio Kuroiwa Horiuchi ,
and Shunichi Koshimura
Abstract Tsunamis, oceanic wave events that are most often triggered by earthquakes
at interplate subduction areas, result in damaged infrastructure, ecological disruption
and a substantial number of deaths among coastal communities. In recent years, a key
concept in the assessment of tsunami events has been resilience , which can be under-
stood as the ability of a group to anticipate risk, limit negative impacts and recover
rapidly from a catastrophic event through processes of survival, adaptability, evolution
and growth. The term resilience incorporates a dynamic and durable connotation of
constant preparedness, not only for the next tsunami event but also for the ensuing
process of reconstruction. The reconstruction of a community devastated by a tsunami
poses a multiplicity of challenges, including environmental, social, political, scientifi c,
engineering and architectural challenges. In this paper, we fi rst examine a 1746 tsunami
event (Mw9.0) that occurred on the coast of Viceroyalty-era Peru and consider the
challenges reported during the subsequent reconstruction of a devastated city and port.
We contrast those challenges, reported nearly 250 years ago, with analogous
challenges observed in more recent tsunami events. The paper concludes with comments
on the lessons learned and suggests areas of future research.
Keywords Reconstruction ￿ Tsunami ￿ Peru