Resilience and sustainability in the face of disasters

Very few of the large number of major disasters in recent years have threatened the survival of the host region. Improvements in conditions underlying sustainability have helped in this regard, as has inherent and adaptive resilience associated with disaster recovery. Sharp breaks from the past do not appear to be the norm, but opportunities for major transitions do increase in the aftermath of disasters. This paper examines some major types of resilience that have been effective and encourages their incorporation into long-term recovery and mitigation strategies. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.