HURRICANE HAZARD IN WESTERN-SAMOA

Vulnerability of agricultural societies to natural hazards sometimes increases as those groups are incorporated into the global economy. Data and observations taken after a 1990 hurricane suggest that market participation did not increase vulnerability of two rural communities in Western Samoa. Although a weakening of the moral economy probably accentuated the vulnerability of poor households, the relationship between market participation and a breakdown in precapitalist social relationships was not simple. Positive self-help response of villages to the hurricane can be attributed to strength of their social institutions.