Abstract

In Latin America, social researchers have understood disasters as social processes. However, this does not mean that the concept of 'disaster' is univocal. Disasters are contentious processes, and moreover, the concept has particular Western roots that overlooks the situated knowledges and experiences of inhabitants of the global South. This paper aims to question the traditional contours of what we call 'disaster', following literature on critical disaster studies, and proposing an approach from different spatiotemporal scales. Focusing on a particular case (the south-east of Santiago, Chile, where the Quebrada de Macul debris flow occurred in 1993), the paper is based on qualitative ethnographic research, using data collected through interviews, participant observation and analysis of relevant documents (e.g., laws, policies, press). The results describe three spatiotemporal scales: one centered around the day of the 'event'; one on urban development; and the third, on a person's life. Each scale emphasizes different aspects and perspectives of what a disaster is. Such an approach problematizes the contours of what the literature and public policy calls 'disaster', decentering the concept in relation to conventional boundaries, and describing how multiple at-risk conditions persists in diverse experiences of actors, policies and situated practices.