Webinar given by Dr Catherine Butler to the Flooding and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Network, based on the 2013/14 Winter Floods Project at Exeter University - http://geography.exeter.ac.uk/winterfloods/

1. People and Politics in the
Aftermath of Floods
Dr Catherine Butler

2. 2013/14 Winter Floods and Change
• Previous research has theorised that events offer opportunity for change
(Kingdon, 1995; Baumgartner and Jones, 1993) as assemblages of publics,
knowledge and politics are brought into view
• Flood events have been identified as catalysts for the transformation of
environmental policy and human behaviour (Johnson et al. 2004; 2005;
Spence et al. 2011)
• However, these are also times of heightened stress which tends to
manifest in frustrated and highly charged contestation and confrontations
between those affected and those in positions of authority
• Less well understood is why continuities persist at times of crisis and how
the dynamic processes of reframing that occur in the immediate
aftermath of events determine the extent of change and continuity in
public policy and practice.

3. In-depth longitudinal research – Somerset case study
Semi-structured interviews with flood affected public (n=36 x 2),
flood professionals (n=28 x 2), August 2014 - May 2015
Survey of flooded areas – Somerset and Boston (June 2015)

4. Divisions and contestation in flood risk
management
“The overarching lesson learned from the events of winter
2013/14 is that left unchecked, flooding will become
increasingly socially divisive and that Government needs to
work with scientists, engineers and local stakeholders to
plan and deliver long-term solutions to flooding problems
that are otherwise likely to escalate unacceptably in a
‘business as usual’ future”.
(Thorne, 2014: 307)

5. Divisions, contestation, politics and
power
• Knowledge controversies ‘spark publics into
being’ (Marres, 2005) and see the constitution
of political capabilities (e.g. Whatmore and
Landstrom, 2011)
• Flood events can be seen as times when
publics are sparked into being – could offer
openings for improving resilience, resistance
and relations between stakeholders and
practitioners
• Modes of governing, issue framings, and their
consequences (Stirling, 2014; Vink et al. 2014)
• Social contracts (Rawls, 1971; O’Brien et al.
2009; Adger et al. 2012)

6. On the publics sparked into being…

7. On obscuring nuance…
“…it’s quite clear I think in my mind
that that’s the only way that we’re
going to reduce the need for being
rescued because once we’ve put all
the adaptation and mitigation in
place, then we just learn to live
with it, we expect it to come, our
houses are dry because we’ve
designed the schemes which will do
that, whether it means moving
higher up or as I said, building new
ones that can move with the floods,
then those are the kind of solutions
I’d like to see coming forward
because it feels like this all
happened, people get fixed up and
then suddenly what is going on?
Like they might be beavering away
up there but you know …” (Public 1)
“I guess again what we thought was that the
conversations that have been taking place over
the last five or so years, by Environment Agency
in the process of producing a catchment flood
management plan, that process and the
thinking and the dialogue that’s been
happening with the local authority and the
community, that all seemed to be thrown
away.” (SH2)

8. On obscuring and entrenched frames…
“So what has happened over the
years, I understand the expansion
of urban areas and all the rest of
it and land management systems
have changed, but I think that
has had an impact and that’s
why I'm not a great believer in
only dredging. The dredging is
just removing silt that’s been
washed down from somewhere,
you've got to actually deal with
what’s happening upstream and
it’s very clear that it’s not just a
recent problem but it’s been
happening over a period of
time.” (Public 23)
“I think [dredging] it’s part of the long term
answer. An essential part of the long term
answer.” (Public 19)

9. On distance between social actors…
Yes, bereavement really, the loss of
community that we’ve all suffered…
there has been a lot of ill feeling
actually and it’s quite difficult because
for a lot of people, there has been a
lot of inequality in what’s happened, it
does seem that some insurance
companies have done more than
others, the volunteers have helped
some people and not others so it has
made a lot of ill feeling and I think
some of it will never go. Some of it
will sort of subside but a lot of it will
never go and I think it’s a shame
because it’s a nice normal friendly
little place to live, you know…
(Public 2)
Gideon Mendel Art – drowning world
…you can’t fight it and I think that’s what’s
really amazing, the way it makes you feel, it’s
safe and lovely and beautiful that you live near
this water and then suddenly when it invades
your space, you just, you can’t really describe
it, it just makes you feel really out of kilter,
very unnerving and shocked, I would guess I
was in shock (Public 25)

10. On distance and othering…
“Not really because they were being told what to
say, the EA was in denial, no doubt about it, they
just thought it would go away and they’d done what
they could and there was one particular chap who
came on television, I think people practically threw
something at their televisions, he was so arrogant
about the whole thing. …obviously didn’t have the
slightest idea what was going on and couldn't seem
to care less either, that was in the early days before
it all went horribly wrong”. (Public 3)
…the Environment Agency got a lot of media
hatred and on social media they got so much
hatred, death threats and everything, we had
staff who were getting beaten up trying to put
up flood defences, it was awful. (SH11)
So I guess getting the locals to
realise that we’re human, I’ve
spoken to quite a few people
about my personal sacrifice
this summer and getting them
to realise that we’re trying,
we’re not working against
them… (SH8)

11. Concluding Thoughts…
• Social contracts and
societal expectations
(Rawls, 1971; O’Brien et al.
2009; Adger et al. 2012)
• Modes of governing –
pluralism (Vink et al. 2014)
and system shocks or
stresses (Stirling, 2014)

12. Thank you
Dr Catherine Butler
@drcbutler
c.butler@exeter.ac.uk