Factors influencing the incorporation of hazard mitigation during recovery from disaster

This paper examines the factors promoting the adoption of mitigation measures during long-term recovery following Hurricane Hugo in the United States. Recovery from disaster offers opportunities for improving community resilience to future disasters and for promoting sustainability. Various dynamics during recovery, however, can interfere with mitigation of hazards. In this study the adoption of mitigation during recovery in three case communities after Hurricane Hugo is evaluated, with a focus on the influence of various regulations on hazard mitigation. There is a very strong connection between development management and hazard mitigation; resource management also contributes to hazard mitigation. Conditions that influence advancement of hazard mitigation at the community level include local leadership, a linkage between well-established ways of doing things and new policies, adaptation to dynamic local conditions, monitoring and compliance strategies tailored to suit local conditions, recognition of local rights, and stakeholders' involvement in developing strategies.