A Bosnian Refugee Community’s Hidden Capacity in Preparation for a Natural Disaster in the United States

The aim of this study was to map out the internationally resettled Bosnian community’s current capacity to overcome a natural disaster and identify the strengths and limitations for future community capacity building to increase disaster resilience. Thirty-three Bosnian refugees were interviewed to identify their community’s capacity to respond to and recover from a natural disaster, including community social capital, institutional support, access to resources, economic development, and knowledge and coping. Data were analyzed thematically and theoretically. Four themes emerged: the Bosnian community represents a home to its individuals, it is a cohesive whole with empowered community outreach, the community is capable of responding to a natural disaster because of its individuals’ aggregated coping skills learned from the war, and environment change affects the Bosnian community’s capacity to respond to a natural disaster. The Bosnian community has a strong capacity for social networking, social cohesion, coping, and economic development needed in case of a natural disaster. Future endeavors should be focused on further strengthening the community’s current capacity, expanding community links to social capital, and developing volunteer capacity.