From disaster to sustainable community recovery: Challenges and lessons learned

The need for disaster preparedness and management is felt now more than ever before. The reasons contributing to this need are obvious. Disasters in recent decades have been causing more deaths than they did in earlier times due to the increased vulnerability of the people. Also, the same areas are affected by recurrent disasters, and yet the relief and rehabilitation carried out following one disaster does little to protect these areas against subsequent disasters. In areas vulnerable to recent disasters, the practice of not being able to learn from past experiences has led to a vicious disaster-poverty cycle. The main factors identified for such limitations are mainly limited education and awareness among the stakeholders, and lack of confidence in disaster-resistant practices. The reconstruction efforts are largely ad hoc in nature and lack a strategic framework, and appropriate coordination. This, coupled with the lack of disaster preparedness or mitigation infrastructure, poof information dissemination, and inappropriate measures for accountability have further aggravated the problems. Apart from this, the population increase has been felt in most parts of the world, which directly contributes to a rising trend in loss of life. Therefore, appropriate rehabilitation, and mitigation can potentially reduce this loss of life.