In 2007, a sequence of geophysical events occurred in Chilean Patagonia that manifested themselves in a series of earthquakes and a fjord tsunami, causing many months of disruption to the normal functioning of a region not known for seismic activity. Panic and uncertainty spread throughout the population and calls were made for an effective response and implementation of risk management plans. The geophysical events sparked a management crisis and subsequent socio-political conflict with mass demonstrations.

The present study explores this territorial conflict and seeks to identify institutional practices connected to disaster risk in Chile. Centralism, a lack of trust in the authorities, scant availability to the community of scientific information about local geo-hazards, and territorial heterogeneity are among the structural elements identified.

This conflict was explained by the various public actors in charge of the response as the consequence of a scientific controversy. We therefore question the links between knowledge production and dissemination. The study approaches the phenomenon from the point of view of the ‘experts’ – that is, those in possession of technical knowledge – before studying the handling of information and associated uncertainty. An analysis of the discourses and interventions on the part of public, scientific and technical figures, authorities, media outlets, official reports, communities and local residents confirms that information about disaster risk, communication of same, and the scientific communication were risk factors.

From this case study, we argue in favour of changes in scientific knowledge governance and integration of local knowledge for effective disaster risk reduction.

2007年，智利巴塔哥尼亚发生了一系列地球物理事件，这些事件在一系列地震和峡湾海啸中表现出来，导致该地震活动未知地区的正常功能遭受了数月的破坏。恐慌和不确定性在整个人群中蔓延，并呼吁有效应对和执行风险管理计划。地球物理事件引发了管理危机，随后引发了大规模示威游行，引发了社会政治冲突。

本研究探讨了这种领土冲突，并试图确定与智利的灾害风险有关的制度做法。集中主义，对当局的不信任，社区缺乏有关当地地质灾害的科学信息以及领土异质性都是确定的结构要素。

负责科学对策的各种公共行为者解释了这种冲突。因此，我们质疑知识生产与传播之间的联系。该研究从“专家”（即拥有技术知识的专家）的角度来研究该现象，然后研究信息的处理和相关的不确定性。对公共，科学和技术人物，当局，媒体，官方报道，社区和当地居民的论述和干预进行的分析证实，有关灾害风险的信息，灾害信息的交流以及科学交流是危险因素。

从本案例研究中，我们主张改变科学知识的治理方式，并整合本地知识以有效减少灾害风险。