Coping strategies identified and used by victims of flood disaster in Kolonnawa area: An analysis from a social work perspective

Kolonnawa was one of the main cities which had been affected by heavy floods in year 2016 which made residents of that area refugees for a few weeks. This study was aimed at examining the coping strategies identified and used by the victims at individual and community levels. Since social work perspective is used by the researcher to carry out the research, sub objectives of the study were to measure the already used coping strategies within a social work perspective and to identify differences between community based coping strategies and state interventions. The research problem addressed the coping strategies identified and used by victims of flood disaster in Kolonnawa as individuals and as a community. The research questions used to gather data and information were: (1) what were the coping strategies identified by each victimized household?; (2) what were the steps taken at the individual level?; (3) what were the steps taken at the community level?; (4) what else could have been used as coping strategies? and (5) what would be the role of the social worker in such a post disaster context. Since the study used a qualitative approach, data and information were collected from 15 heavily affected households in Egoda Kolonnawa and Megoda Kolonnawa where convenience sampling method was used as the sampling method. 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected 15 households which included affected people from diverse backgrounds ranging from gender and age. Thematic analysis method was used as data analysis method. The main argument developed through the data and information gathered in this study was that there were different coping strategies identified and used by flood victims in reactive and recovery phases during which appropriate and effective state interventions were absent and it resulted in victims becoming dependents due to loss of material possessions where empowerment and resilience within affected community were also not present as coping strategies which should have been considered through a prism of Social Work.