Determinants of Post-flood Social and Institutional Trust Among Disaster Victims

The 2010 Pakistan floods affected a tenth of the population of that nation and one-fifth of its land, killing more than 1,700 people. Many observers have wondered the degree to which mass emergencies affect how residents see their decision-makers. We use original survey data from 450 Pakistan residents to evaluate the degree to which social and institutional trust were correlated with flood damage. Controlling for gender, educational level, occupation and flood experience, high material loss during the flood was negatively correlated with postflood trust levels. In contrast, housing stability and perceived fairness in the distribution of disaster aid were positively correlated with postflood levels of trust. Our study confirms past research on the variability of trust in postdisaster situations and the importance of investing in state-civil society relations.