Once again nature‘s fury has taken a toll in pain, suffering, and lives lost. In recognition of the need for a rapid and appropriate response, CRC Press will donate $5 to the American Red Cross for every copy of Community Disaster Recovery and Resiliency: Exploring Global Opportunities and Challenges sold. In the past, societies would learn from di
In the devastation that follows a major disaster, there is a need for multiple sectors to unite and devote new resources to support the rebuilding of infrastructure, the provision of health and social services, the restoration of care delivery systems, and other critical recovery needs. In some cases, billions of dollars from public, private and charitable sources are invested to help communities recover. National rhetoric often characterizes these efforts as a "return to normal." But for many American communities, pre-disaster conditions are far from optimal. Large segments of the U.S. population suffer from preventable health problems, experience inequitable access to services, and rely on overburdened health systems. A return to pre-event conditions in such cases may be short-sighted given the high costs - both economic and social - of poor health. Instead, it is important to understand that the disaster recovery process offers a series of unique and valuable opportunities to improve on the status quo. Capitalizing on these opportunities can advance the long-term health, resilience, and sustainability of communities - thereby better preparing them for future challenges. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters identifies and recommends recovery practices and novel programs most likely to impact overall community public health and contribute to resiliency for future incidents. This book makes the case that disaster recovery should be guided by a healthy community vision, where health considerations are integrated into all aspects of recovery planning before and after a disaster, and funding streams are leveraged in a coordinated manner and applied to health improvement priorities in order to meet human recovery needs and create healthy built and natural environments. The conceptual framework presented in Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters lays the groundwork to achieve this goal and provides operational guidance for multiple sectors involved in community planning and disaster recovery. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters calls for actions at multiple levels to facilitate recovery strategies that optimize community health. With a shared healthy community vision, strategic planning that prioritizes health, and coordinated implementation, disaster recovery can result in a communities that are healthier, more livable places for current and future generations to grow and thrive - communities that are better prepared for future adversities.
The factor that makes some communities rebound quickly from disasters while others fall apart: “A fascinating book on an important topic.”—E.L. Hirsch, in Choice Each year, natural disasters threaten the strength and stability of communities worldwide. Yet responses to the challenges of recovery vary greatly and in ways that aren’t explained by the magnitude of the catastrophe or the amount of aid provided by national governments or the international community. The difference between resilience and disrepair, as Daniel P. Aldrich shows, lies in the depth of communities’ social capital. Building Resilience highlights the critical role of social capital in the ability of a community to withstand disaster and rebuild both the infrastructure and the ties that are at the foundation of any community. Aldrich examines the post-disaster responses of four distinct communities—Tokyo following the 1923 earthquake, Kobe after the 1995 earthquake, Tamil Nadu after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and New Orleans post-Katrina—and finds that those with robust social networks were better able to coordinate recovery. In addition to quickly disseminating information and financial and physical assistance, communities with an abundance of social capital were able to minimize the migration of people and valuable resources out of the area. With governments increasingly overstretched and natural disasters likely to increase in frequency and intensity, a thorough understanding of what contributes to efficient reconstruction is more important than ever. Building Resilience underscores a critical component of an effective response.
No person or place is immune from disasters or disaster-related losses. Infectious disease outbreaks, acts of terrorism, social unrest, or financial disasters in addition to natural hazards can all lead to large-scale consequences for the nation and its communities. Communities and the nation thus face difficult fiscal, social, cultural, and environmental choices about the best ways to ensure basic security and quality of life against hazards, deliberate attacks, and disasters. Beyond the unquantifiable costs of injury and loss of life from disasters, statistics for 2011 alone indicate economic damages from natural disasters in the United States exceeded $55 billion, with 14 events costing more than a billion dollars in damages each. One way to reduce the impacts of disasters on the nation and its communities is to invest in enhancing resilience-the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from and more successfully adapt to adverse events. Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative addresses the broad issue of increasing the nation's resilience to disasters. This book defines "national resilience", describes the state of knowledge about resilience to hazards and disasters, and frames the main issues related to increasing resilience in the United States. It also provide goals, baseline conditions, or performance metrics for national resilience and outlines additional information, data, gaps, and/or obstacles that need to be addressed to increase the nation's resilience to disasters. Additionally, the book's authoring committee makes recommendations about the necessary approaches to elevate national resilience to disasters in the United States. Enhanced resilience allows better anticipation of disasters and better planning to reduce disaster losses-rather than waiting for an event to occur and paying for it afterward. Disaster Resilience confronts the topic of how to increase the nation's resilience to disasters through a vision of the characteristics of a resilient nation in the year 2030. Increasing disaster resilience is an imperative that requires the collective will of the nation and its communities. Although disasters will continue to occur, actions that move the nation from reactive approaches to disasters to a proactive stance where communities actively engage in enhancing resilience will reduce many of the broad societal and economic burdens that disasters can cause.
In this volume, editors Naim Kapucu, Christopher V. Hawkins, and Fernando I. Rivera gather an impressive array of scholars to shed new light on how communities can increase their resiliency through policy interventions and governance mechanisms in the United States and worldwide.
Once again nature’s fury has taken a toll in pain, suffering, and lives lost. In recognition of the need for a rapid and appropriate response, CRC Press will donate $5 to the American Red Cross for every copy of Community Disaster Recovery and Resiliency: Exploring Global Opportunities and Challenges sold. In the past, societies would learn from disasters and move the location of their urban development to safer areas, allowing naturally occurring ecosystems to maintain themselves and for societies to exist symbiotically with the environment. These days, however, it seems that society no longer takes cues from the environment but rather relies on technical advancement to attempt to control and overcome the environment, sometimes with wholly unsuccessful and even catastrophic results. Emphasizing non-traditional approaches to disaster recovery and rebuilding communities, Community Disaster Recovery and Resiliency: Exploring Global Opportunities and Challenges brings together leading research from top academics and scholars on the different ways various societies have experienced disasters, learned from them, and revised their thinking about building community preparedness and resiliency pre- and post-disaster. Provides a clear, concise, and up-to-date understanding of best practices for rebuilding community institutions and community development after a disaster Focuses on integrated solutions for ecological restoration and community development in disaster recovery planning and implementation Compares and contrasts community rebuilding between different nations at different stages of development, economic power, and stability Includes case studies that illustrate best practices, integrating the concept of community and community rebuilding for local, national, and international stakeholders All chapters offer diverse community examples that form a framework for comparing best practices. They focus on integrated solutions for ecological restoration and community development and explain how communities can reduce their vulnerability to disasters and reduce recovery time following a disaster. The book indentifies the opportunities and challenges communities are most likely to face on the road to recovery and supplies the interdisciplinary, social scientific understanding required to effectively address those challenges.
Explores the unintended consequences of civic activism in a disaster-prone city After Hurricane Katrina, thousands of people swiftly mobilized to rebuild their neighborhoods, often assisted by government organizations, nonprofits, and other major institutions. In Rethinking Community Resilience, Min Hee Go shows that these recovery efforts are not always the panacea they seem to be, and can actually escalate the city’s susceptibility to future environmental hazards. Drawing upon interviews, public records, and more, Go explores the hidden costs of community resilience. She shows that—despite good intentions—recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina exacerbated existing race and class inequalities, putting disadvantaged communities at risk. Ultimately, Go shows that when governments, nonprofits, and communities invest in rebuilding rather than relocating, they inadvertently lay the groundwork for a cycle of vulnerabilities. As cities come to terms with climate change adaptation—rather than prevention—Rethinking Community Resilienceprovides insight into the challenges communities increasingly face in the twenty-first century.
Natural disasters-including hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and floods-caused more than 220,000 deaths worldwide in the first half of 2010 and wreaked havoc on homes, buildings, and the environment. To withstand and recover from natural and human-caused disasters, it is essential that citizens and communities work together to anticipate threats, limit their effects, and rapidly restore functionality after a crisis. Increasing evidence indicates that collaboration between the private and public sectors could improve the ability of a community to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Several previous National Research Council reports have identified specific examples of the private and public sectors working cooperatively to reduce the effects of a disaster by implementing building codes, retrofitting buildings, improving community education, or issuing extreme-weather warnings. State and federal governments have acknowledged the importance of collaboration between private and public organizations to develop planning for disaster preparedness and response. Despite growing ad hoc experience across the country, there is currently no comprehensive framework to guide private-public collaboration focused on disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Building Community Disaster Resilience through Private-Public Collaboration assesses the current state of private-public sector collaboration dedicated to strengthening community resilience, identifies gaps in knowledge and practice, and recommends research that could be targeted for investment. Specifically, the book finds that local-level private-public collaboration is essential to the development of community resilience. Sustainable and effective resilience-focused private-public collaboration is dependent on several basic principles that increase communication among all sectors of the community, incorporate flexibility into collaborative networks, and encourage regular reassessment of collaborative missions, goals, and practices.
This book offers an overview of disaster management, covering various aspects from preparedness to recovery. It begins by defining Emergency Management and exploring its historical context, highlighting significant disasters that have shaped the field. Central to the discussion is the concept of Disaster Resilience, which underscores the importance of understanding resilience frameworks and its role in mitigating the impact of disasters. Risk Assessment and Hazard Analysis are crucial components discussed in the book, focusing on identifying risk factors and assessing vulnerabilities within communities. Community-Based Disaster Preparedness is emphasized, stressing the need for community engagement and capacity-building to enhance resilience. The book also delves into the development of Emergency Response Plans and Procedures, stressing the importance of coordination among stakeholders for effective response efforts. Disaster Response strategies are explored, drawing insights from both successful and unsuccessful response endeavours through relevant case studies. The recovery phase is examined in detail, discussing short-term and long-term recovery processes, along with economic, infrastructural, and social dimensions of recovery. Sustainable Development and Disaster Mitigation are underscored, emphasizing the integration of disaster risk reduction with sustainable development goals. Technology and Innovation play a significant role in disaster management, with a focus on leveraging technology for risk assessment, response, and recovery efforts. Legal and Policy Frameworks are also addressed, providing insights into the legal basis for emergency management and policy development. Furthermore, the book delves into the Psychological Aspects of Disasters, addressing mental health impacts and recovery strategies for affected individuals. Lastly, Future Trends and Challenges in Disaster Management are explored, considering emerging threats, global climate change impacts, and evolving practices in emergency management to better anticipate and address future challenges effectively. Overall, the book offers valuable insights and practical guidance for navigating the complexities of disaster management, promoting resilience, and fostering sustainable development in communities.
