The work proposes an empirical approach of the problem, identifying social-cultural indicators. Interviews and surveys have been carried out to the relevant local stakeholders during the emergency and reconstruction phases. The evolutionary resilience from Walker and Salt (2006) has been defined as conceptual framework. They propose that, as result of a destructive event, the urban structure can change into adaptive cycle related to the spatial conditions and temporal interactions. The model has been applied to the case study of Dichato, a coast Chilean locality prone to tsunami and earthquake. As a conclusion, this work presents a discussion about the necessity to improve and strength local social-cultural capital to achieve the sustainable urban development.