Paper short abstract:

Flood waters rise rapidly and recede rapidly but they acquire stable place in people's consciousness. The paper will deal with flood memories of four urban communities. It will focus on the aspects of narrativity of natural disasters, as well as their place in life-stories and oral repertories.

Paper long abstract:

'Since then, I live with constant fear in autumn', these words the 93-years-old Berta used to summarize her memories of the flooding of the Daugava river in 1969. Flood waters rise rapidly and recede rapidly but they acquire stable place in people's consciousness. There have been two major events of flooding in the Daugava delta - in 1969 and 2005. Even though they did not pose real threat to peoples' lives, the experience of flooding is among those life changing events that are necessarily transformed into stories. The paper will deal with flood memories of the inhabitants of four neighborhoods of Riga located on the banks of the Daugava river. These urban communities are currently being studied in the project "Living next to the port: Eco-narratives, local histories and community activism in the Daugava delta' (sponsored by the Latvian Council of Science). The paper will focus on the aspects of narrativity of natural disasters, as well as their place in life-stories and oral repertories of the communities.