PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AFTER NATURAL DISASTER IN A RURAL AUSTRALIAN TOWN

Individual resilience is a well‐established concept within the field of psychology. However, community resilience is an emerging field of study particularly within the context of natural disasters and other adversities. This article reports a qualitative study related to community resilience in a rural Australian town. This particular community was affected by a series of flood events in 2010/2011, one of which necessitated the total evacuation of the entire town. The results from the study highlighted concepts associated with community resilience including: social connectedness, optimistic acceptance, learning tolerance and patience, and learning from the past for the future. We conclude that social capital forms a vital part of community resilience, and although resilience is tested only during times of adversity, social capital needs to be developed well prior to the anticipation of natural disasters.