Disaster recovery – evidence from 100 natural disasters

This paper examines the factors that affect the recovery process following 100 major natural disasters. The study aimed to measure the speed and quality of recovery and to begin to answer the question of why some places recover faster and better than others. This worldwide study, conducted over a 15-year period, covers four natural hazards: major floods, storms, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
, Methodology abstract
A number of indicators were considered to measure the speed of recovery, based on a “return to normality”.[i] Measures of the quality of recovery were based on the concept of “building back better” and a change in resilience.[ii] The speed of recovery was measured separately for ‘economy’ and ‘society’, based on the time taken in months to return to ‘normal’ to comply with the conditions listed below. The quality of recovery was measured in terms of changes in economic growth, safety and amenity. Improvements in these factors result in improved resilience, while a deterioration results in impaired recovery. They are each measured on a five-point scale: from 1, much worse to 5, much better.
Dependent variables - Factors measuring speed and quality of recovery

 
Speed (months)
Quality (scale 1-5)

Economy
Livelihoods ≥90% back in work; Economy ≥90% businesses back in operation; Services ≥90% telecoms, water, power restored
Economic growth

Societ..., # Data from: Disaster recovery – evidence from 100 natural disasters

  The following files are available for download:

* 100_Disasters.xlsx
* CRS_Disaster_Recovery_DB2.csv

### **100_Disasters.xlsx**

 This file has nine worksheets.

Data_030520

         This is the data file with all fields as of 3 May 2020

Metrc_Definitions

         Defines all the fields used in the data file

Metric_Codes

         Coding of all fields

Countries

         Economic type, based on World Bank data, and Economist Democracy Index 

         World Bank World Development Indicators [http://wdi.worldbank.org/table/4.2](http://wdi.worldbank.org/table/4.2) 

Economic type based on the proportion of Agricultural, Service and Industry GDP

Manual-AI Comparison

Speed of societal recovery, defined by time in years for ≥90% residents to return to permanent accommodation. Manual estimates produced by the research team from field study and desk work compared with AI estimates by ChatGPT based on an internet s...,