The Rise and Fall of the Dimensions of Social Capital in Disaster Management: The Case of April 2019 Water Flood in Lorestan

Despite the increasing prevalence of natural disasters and their effects on different social subsystems, scientific study of these events has been neglected. This study investigates the change of social capital dimensions in the three stages (before, during and after) April 2019 (Farvardin 1398) water flood in Lorestan province. In the present study, Putnam’s theory is used as an analytical framework. The research was conducted by qualitative approach using various techniques of in-depth interview, focus group discussion and field observation. The results show that the dimensions of social capital (awareness, trust and participation) have evolved in different stages of crisis (before, during and after the flood). In the consciousness dimension, society has come to accept the deteriorating effect of human and government in natural disasters, despite their fatalistic perception. On the other hand, the trust of the society has changed from the mistrust gap between the state and the nation to the mistrust between the people and the use of trust-based procedures. In social participation with the entry of external forces and disruption of social arrangements, society has faced people's dependence to the government and a sense of passivity in social participation.