After a natural disaster, the road to recovery can be a long one, with uneven challenges for those affected. According to a recent study from Portland State University published at Phys.org, which followed various rural households after the 2015 Nepal earthquakes, sought to examine these disparate effects, and identify the various factors that influenced the speed of recovery. Focusing on 400 homes split among four communities, the study involved surveys at nine months and 1.5 years after the earthquakes, as well as research workshops 2.5 years after, while also examining 30 distinct recovery indicators.
Among the key findings were that households that showed greater resilience were likely to be less dependent on farming or herding, more closely tied to shops and tourism, and have easier access to rebuilding funds. The study also found that proximity to roads could be a positive or negative influence, depending on other circumstances.
“Recovery is a dynamic process with multiple dimensions which means that government and outside aid programs cannot be one size fits all,” says Jeremy Spoon, lead researcher for the project and associate professor of anthropology at Portland State University. “We feel that governments and aid organizations can use our approach to capture some of the most important facets of recovery in a variety of contexts over the short- and long-term, especially if they use participatory methods and outreach to develop appropriate recovery indicators.”
Source:
https://phys.org/news/2020-07-one-size-post-disaster-recovery.html
