Helices of disaster memory: How forgetting and remembering influence tropical cyclone response in Mauritius

Tropical cyclones have had a considerable impact on Mauritius. Large cyclones are relatively rare, and in popular imagination are thought to hit Mauritius every 15 years. Yet it has been over 25 years since the last cyclone widely considered as ‘significant’. Critically, there is little known about the role of memory in responses to cyclones and details regarding responses to past cyclones in Mauritian history are scant.

This article examines past experiences and impacts of cyclones in Mauritius, as well as contemporary perceptions of cyclone vulnerability and memories of historical cyclones. The analysis draws on both community interviews and archival research conducted in Mauritius and takes a longue durée approach. This approach combines an examination of both event and process with historical discourses in an effort to uncover the long-standing and slowly changing relationships between people and extreme events.