A new report released by the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance encourages decision-makers, practitioners, and policymakers to consider resilient recovery to build back better after disasters, reducing vulnerability and enhancing resilience to current and future climate risks. Resilient recovery takes an evidence-based approach to improving disaster recovery outcomes based on Post Event Reviews by Country (PERC). Previous UK PERCs that have fed into the Flood Alliance evidence base include After the Storm: how the UK’s flood defences performed during the Surge following Xaver (2013) and Flooding after Storm Desmond (2015)
The report calls for resilient recovery as a strategy, supported by corresponding Recovery frameworks, that support the principles, processes, and capabilities necessary for managing and facilitating resilient recovery to deliver a risk-informed, multi-dimensional, and inclusive joined-up approach, one that has been integrated into pre-event activities and pre-established structures rather than post-event.
Whilst the report is centred on the context of middle-income countries, the principles, findings and recommendations apply to all nations wanting to pursue resilient recovery, preparedness and risk reduction. Read the full Report and Executive Summary.
A recent report by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Laws, Policies and Plans for Disaster Recovery: Multi-Country Synthesis Report highlighted a lack of attention to disaster recovery in domestic disaster laws, policies and plans. The report analysed the recovery efforts in Australia, Brazil, Italy, Indonesia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Spain, and The Bahamas and found that only 16% of countries have disaster management legislation that includes detailed provisions on disaster recovery. The report recommends comprehensive, multisectoral recovery plans and coordination mechanisms and encourages the integration of risk reduction into recovery consistent with the ‘build back better’ principle.