Post‐Disaster Recovery Is About Relationships: The Case of the Rural Town of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria

ABSTRACT This qualitative study delves into the heart of the rural Town of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico's resilience in the wake of Hurricane Maria's devastation in 2017. By analyzing the complex network of social relationships, we uncover how communities utilized their social capital to access external resources and support. The research examines social capital dynamics through three dimensions: bonding, bridging, and linking. Our findings reveal that disaster recovery is fundamentally rooted in a web of relationships, with bonding social capital playing a central role. We argue that communities leverage bonding social capital as a gateway to access other forms of social capital, such as bridging and linking. We suggest that hybrid social capital grounded in bonding relationships may be a better way to understand the role of social capital during post‐disaster recovery in rural developing world contexts. This study provides insights for planners and disaster recovery professionals, highlighting the importance of fostering and strengthening community relationships in advance of potential disasters, ultimately enhancing community resilience.