Disasta: Rethinking the Notion of Disaster in the Wake of Cyclone Pam

Tongoa was one of the worst-hit islands in Vanuatu when it was struck on 13 March 2015 by Cyclone Pam, the most severe climatic event recorded in the South Pacific for several decades. Nearly all of the buildings on Tongoa were damaged by winds and flooding. However, exceptional this cyclone might have been, such disruptive events are frequent and widespread on Tongoa Island: landslides, volcanic eruptions, cyclones and droughts all contribute to shaping the universe of its inhabitants. This paper seeks to understand the category of disasta or ‘disaster’ and how it is constituted in the context of Tongoa Island, where there is no vernacular word to express the concept of catastrophe. Disasta is a subjective Bislama term, varying with circumstances, the impact of the phenomenon and the cultural and social identity of the group affected. Is there a threshold with which to measure and define disasters? Reflections from the perspective of an anthropology of nature and an anthropology of disaster reveal how considerations around the notion of catastrophe are closely intertwined with the relationships between people and their environment.