Community Recovery Following Earthquake Disasters

The effectiveness and efficiency of community recovery following a disaster is shaped not just by nature and scale of the physical impacts of the event but also on how the social environment supports the complex and protracted processes of recovery (Olshansky et al. 2006 ; Paton et al. 2014). Recent research following a number of disasters has highlighted the complex nature of community recovery and the importance of not only strong local government capacity but also a cohesive system of public, private, and volunteer groups integrated into the community (Olshansky et al. 2012). Research consistently shows that community recovery from disasters can be greatly enhanced by ensuring that the preexisting social environment supports the recovery process.