Disaster recovery: a review of the literature

This literature review addresses four key questions: - What is a disaster? - What are the effects of disasters? - What is recovery? - What are the key messages for successful disaster recovery? The disaster recovery literature of the past five years is the primary focus of the review. The review canvasses contemporary definitions of disasters which generally conclude that it is the situation created by major events rather than the event itself, and especially the social, economic, developmental and political consequences of events which is the key defining aspect of disasters. A disaster exceeds the capacity of the ‘community’ to respond and requires a coordinated response by the State and other entities to help the community recover. Disasters are also events which are shared by a group of people who develop an identity that together they have been affected by major catastrophe..