Abstract

The paper focuses on development of sustainable post-disaster intervention strategies, and guidelines for implementation. It proposes the examination of post-disaster rescue, relief, recovery and reconstruction phases as a continuum, based on the assumption that each phase presents opportunities for community development. It advocates that local as well as international organizations should be both responsive to immediate needs and pro-active, to facilitate sustainable community development processes. It hones in on the practical question: how can various change agents ensure that the window of opportunity that opens following a disaster is actualized and also generates sustainable development. It presents several physical and socio-political “opportunities” and suggests an analytical framework. The identified physical and socio-political opportunities include: planning and zoning, technological innovations, community integration, inter-group conflict, long term development and disaster management. The analytical framework comprises the following components: solidarity, integration, linkages, social entrepreneurship, leadership, and community development vision. In order to identify and illustrate opportunities and factors, data have been gathered from post-disaster interventions following the Tsunami in India, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Indonesia (2004); the earthquake in Pakistan (2005); the cyclone in Myanmar (2008); and the floods in Bangladesh (2008). The paper concludes with recommendations for community practitioners.