Understanding Community Resilience through Social Capital: A

Communities in Malaysia’s inland regions remain highly vulnerable to recurring flood disasters, yet empirical

understanding of how their internal social systems foster resilience is limited. This study addresses this gap by

examining the role of social capital in shaping community resilience during the 2024 flood in Hulu Dungun,

Terengganu, one of the most severely affected inland areas. Using a qualitative case study approach, semi-

structured interviews were conducted with 15 residents selected through purposive sampling to explore their

lived experiences, coping strategies and mobilisation of social networks throughout the disaster. Findings reveal

that social capital serves as a pivotal mechanism enabling communities to withstand, adapt to and recover from

flood impacts. Bonding capital provided immediate emotional support, shared labour and rapid neighbourhood

Keywords: Community resilience, bonding–bridging–linking networks, flood disaster, inland communities,

social capital

Flood disasters continue to pose critical threats to inland and rural communities in Malaysia, particularly in the

East Coast region, where monsoon patterns, river hydrology and land use changes intensify annual flood risks.

Terengganu remains among the most affected states, with recurring floods causing severe disruptions to homes,

livelihoods and local social systems. While climate variability, rapid development and environmental

degradation contribute to the increasing severity of these events, disaster scholars increasingly acknowledge that

community resilience is not shaped solely by physical or environmental factors. The robustness of internal social

disaster recovery must be implemented rapidly and systematically to restore living conditions, rebuild

infrastructure and support affected households and sectors (Terumoto et al., 2022). Understanding how

communities navigate this recovery process is therefore crucial for designing effective resilience strategies.

Despite growing attention to disaster impacts, existing studies typically prioritise structural and engineering

based mitigation approaches, such as flood barriers, drainage upgrades and technological warning systems.

While these perspectives provide valuable insights, they offer limited understanding of how residents mobilise

social networks, shared norms and interpersonal relationships to confront disaster challenges. For many victims,

both immediate and long term recovery remains difficult due to disrupted livelihoods, limited resources and

delayed external support. Moreover, the perceptions, strategies and local knowledge of affected communities

who play a central role in their own recovery are often overlooked in disaster planning and post disaster research

resources and linking ties provide channels for institutional assistance. Together, these social processes shape

how communities prepare for disasters, respond in the immediate aftermath and rebuild their lives during

recovery from events such as floods.

However, empirical understanding of how these different forms of social capital support community resilience

during major inland flood events remains limited, particularly in rural Malaysian settings. While post-disaster

recovery often involves collaboration with government agencies, NGOs and community organisations, the extent

to which social capital enhances the mobilisation of resources, information and collective action is not well

documented (Kriegl et al., 2020). This gap is especially significant for inland communities, where formal

assistance may be delayed and local networks play a decisive role in sustaining survival and recovery efforts.

To address this gap, the present study examines how bonding, bridging and linking social capital empower

the multi-layered social processes involved in disaster resilience.

The significance of this study lies in its theoretical, empirical and practical contributions. Empirically, it offers

insights from a rural inland context that is often understudied in Malaysian disaster research. Theoretically, it

advances understanding of social capital as a multidimensional mechanism shaping disaster resilience. From a

policy perspective, the findings underscore the need to integrate social capital considerations into disaster risk

reduction strategies, particularly in regions where access to formal support is limited or delayed. Practically, the

study highlights the importance of strengthening community led resilience efforts to ensure more adaptive and

effective responses to recurring flood events.

Malaysia is frequently exposed to natural disasters, particularly floods, which disrupt social, economic and

dissemination of early warnings, rapid mobilisation of resources and effective sharing of information, thereby

improving disaster management outcomes (Yu et al., 2022; Jamshed, 2020; Roque, Pijawka & Wutich, 2020;

Zander, 2023). Informal social support and local leadership further strengthen resilience by enabling

communities to coordinate collective action in response to flood hazards (Abenir, Manzanero & Bollettino,

2022). This underscores that community based social systems are a vital component of disaster resilience,

complementing technical and structural solutions.

Social capital, broadly defined as networks of trust, norms of reciprocity and collective action, constitutes a

critical communal asset that supports community resilience and adaptive capacity (Putnam in Liu et al., 2022;

Naithani & Saha, 2021). It operates at multiple levels. The micro level encompasses individual or household

networks, the institutional level includes horizontal and vertical organisational relationships and the macro level

pertains to broader societal structures and institutions that foster social norms. Theoretically, social capital is

friends, or people with similar backgrounds (Behera, 2021). Bridging social capital connects individuals across

diverse social identities for mutual benefit (Hudson, Hagedoorn & Bubeck, 2020). Linking social capital

establishes vertical relationships between communities and external actors’ such as government agencies or

NGOs (Khalil et al., 2021). These forms of social capital enable communities to share resources, information

Source : Hudson et al., (2020), Behera (2021), Khalil et al., (2021)

Social vulnerability refers to the susceptibility of individuals or groups to harm from hazards, shaped not only

by physical exposure but also by social, economic and institutional factors (Bucherie et al., 2022; Limante &

Tereskinas, 2022; Fan & Huang, 2023). Vulnerable populations often include the elderly, children, low-income

households, persons with disabilities and socially marginalised groups, whose capacity to anticipate, respond

and recover from disasters is constrained. For example, elderly residents in flood-prone inland villages may

that not only mitigate immediate risks but also enhance long-term resilience.

Community resilience refers to the capacity of social systems to anticipate, respond to and recover from hazards

while maintaining essential functions and protecting collective well-being (Imperiale & Vanclay, 2021; Ungar

& Lustig, 2020). Beyond restoring pre-disaster conditions, resilience encompasses the ability to adapt, learn

from past experiences and implement proactive strategies that reduce vulnerability. Social resilience emphasizes

the role of networks, institutions and informal leadership in shaping the community’s ability to share knowledge,

coordinate resources and make collective decisions (Fitzgerald et al., 2021). In practice, resilience emerges from

the interplay between social cohesion, local knowledge and coordinated action. For instance, residents of inland

area or villages like Hulu Dungun often rely on strong neighbourhood ties to mobilise boats and resources, alert

vulnerable households and provide emotional support during floods. This collective action ensures that

changing climate patterns have disrupted natural hydrological cycles, increasing flood risks in areas already

prone to seasonal inundation (Nursey-Bray et al., 2022; Tew et al., 2022). These environmental pressures place

communities under significant strain, as households and local economies are forced to adapt to maintain

livelihoods, social cohesion and essential services, while also aligning with broader sustainable development

goals (Terblanche et al., 2022; Echendu & Georgeou, 2021).

In Hulu Dungun, Terengganu, historical flood events in 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014 and 2024 illustrate both the

centrality of social capital, the trust, networks and norms within communities, in facilitating not just immediate

survival but also adaptive learning over time. Communities are therefore not passive victims; rather, they develop

collective knowledge and practical coping mechanisms that increase resilience against subsequent flood events.

Quantitative data from the Malaysian Department of Irrigation and Drainage and the Department of Statistics

Malaysia show that between 2014 and 2022, floods affected hundreds of thousands of people in Malaysia, with

economic losses accumulating to billions of ringgit (Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia, 2024;

Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2024). Table 1 summarises these events, highlighting the persistent and

escalating nature of flood risk, particularly in East Coast states such as Terengganu. Here, livelihoods are

predominantly reliant on natural resources and traditional occupations such as fisheries and small-scale

agriculture, which are extremely sensitive to flood disruption.

These social networks act as a buffer, mitigating immediate damage while fostering long-term community

preparedness and adaptive capacity.

socially inclusive and capable of enhancing both household-level and community-level resilience. It also situates

Source: Field Study (2024)

The sociodemographic composition reveals how resilience during the 2024 flood was shaped by diverse social

authorities. Gendered responsibilities further shaped coping strategies. Women in caregiving roles managed

domestic safety, cared for children and elderly dependents and provided emotional reassurance, illustrating how

bonding social capital was activated within household settings. At the same time, women engaged in formal

work or volunteerism played significant bridging roles by mobilising external assistance, disseminating

information and facilitating community coordination. This highlights the intersection of gender, education and

leadership in strengthening communal resilience.

Occupational diversity also influenced vulnerability and access to recovery resources. For examples, farmers

and fishermen suffered substantial livelihood losses, including destroyed crops and damaged fishing equipment,

making them reliant on bridging and linking networks for financial aid and material support. Informal workers

faced heightened economic fragility due to unstable income flows during the disaster. Meanwhile, a disabled

Educational backgrounds, which ranged from primary to tertiary, influenced communication patterns and

preparedness responses. Individuals with higher education managed digital communication channels, mobilised

inter-village information flows and supported analytical decision-making. In contrast, residents with primary

schooling relied more on interpersonal networks and long-standing community relationships. Length of

residence also played a defining role. Long-term residents demonstrated strong place attachment, deep

familiarity with flood-prone zones and well-established neighbourhood ties that facilitated rapid mobilisation

and mutual support. Newer residents displayed varying degrees of preparedness and dependency on established

social networks.

Overall, the socio-demographic profile highlights that community resilience during the 2024 flood was shaped

by intersecting factors such as age, gender, livelihood, education, physical ability and institutional affiliation.

Bonding Social Capital: Solidarity, Trust and Immediate Survival

both physical survival and psychological resilience. The significance of bonding capital was particularly

rapidly and cohesively, often long before formal responders arrived. What might appear as spontaneous action

was, in reality, the result of accumulated local knowledge, deeply rooted neighbourly trust and shared memories

of past floods. These experiences conditioned residents to recognise danger at its earliest signs. Rather than

waiting passively, villagers acted instinctively as a collective, demonstrating a form of grassroots disaster

governance that operated with remarkable fluidity and precision. Similar patterns have been reported in other

inland flood-prone areas, suggesting that long-standing social networks and shared local knowledge are key

determinants of early disaster response in Malaysian rural contexts.

Informant Ali, a forty-five-year-old informal worker who had lived in the village for twenty-five years and

experienced crop loss and partial flooding of his home, recalled the tense moment when the water began to rise:

“We noticed the water creeping up in the middle of the night. I didn’t even think twice. I rushed out and started

knocking on doors, especially homes with small children and older people. What amazed me was how quickly

Informant Siti, a thirty-eight-year-old housewife who had lived in the village for two decades, reflected on the

organic emergence of informal leadership from long-standing social relationships:

“Authorities had not arrived yet, but the village was already in motion. The men were launching the small boats

we had kept ready from previous floods and the women were coordinating who needed help first. Because we

had lived together for so many years, we already knew who had babies, who had elderly parents and who could

not move quickly. That familiarity guided us. It was what saved people who were trapped in their homes.” (Siti,

38, housewife)

For first-time flood victims, bonding ties served not only as practical guidance but also as a stabilising emotional

anchor. Informant Anuar, a twenty-eight-year-old public servant experiencing his first major flood, described

how neighbourly support restored a sense of control amid fear and uncertainty:

These findings illustrate how bonding social capital becomes a lifeline for individuals lacking prior disaster

experience. For residents like Informant Anuar, neighbourly support did more than provide guidance; it restored

a sense of control at a moment when fear and confusion threatened to overwhelm him.

evacuation helped responders target assistance more effectively:

(Azman, 33, district officer)

Similarly, Informant Mira, a twenty-seven-year-old NGO volunteer, highlighted how strong internal bonding

networks allowed aid workers to integrate quickly into village operations:

“The villagers knew exactly who was missing, who needed medical attention and which houses were unsafe.

We depended on their information. Without that level of trust within the community, our rescue work would

have been much slower.” (Mira, 27, NGO volunteer)

The insights from these external actors enrich the interpretation of linking social capital, showing that strong

internal cohesion not only aids self-rescue but also enhances the efficiency of formal assistance.

These findings highlight the sophisticated nature of bonding social capital as more than mere social closeness.

It functions as an informal yet highly effective safety net, capable of prioritising the needs of the most vulnerable,

and humane response. The outcome was not only physical survival but also the preservation of dignity, emotional

stability and a strengthened sense of shared agency at the height of the crisis.

The 2024 flood in the inland area of Hulu Dungun, Terengganu revealed that resource sharing and emotional

support were not merely acts of kindness, but fundamental coping mechanisms that sustained communities

through the crisis. Informant Lina, a twenty-nine-year-old informal worker who had lived in the village for a

decade and whose home was fully inundated during the flood, offered a vivid account of how collective action

transformed a moment of fear into a profound experience of solidarity. She recalled how the water rose with

alarming speed, leaving families with little time to react:

“The water came up so fast that evacuation was impossible. People started rushing to my house because it was

she became a focal point of refuge for surrounding families. Her household transformed into a temporary

communal space where tangible resources such as food, dry clothing, candles and drinking water were pooled

alongside intangible forms of support, including companionship, reassurance and shared prayer. These acts

formed a protective emotional canopy that softened the psychological shock of displacement, especially for

children and adults confronting uncertainty amidst the darkened, rising waters. By opening her home and