Rural communities challenges and ResilientSEE:Case studies from disasters in Florida, Puerto Rico, and North Carolina

Beyond Urban-Centered Responses: Overcoming Challenges to Build Disaster Resilience and Long-Term Sustainability in Rural Areas

“…The fields of disaster management and planning are increasingly recognizing the distinct challenges faced by rural communities-defined by the U.S. Census as geographies having a population less than 1000 persons per square mile [2]. While urban centers often dominate the discourse on disaster recovery and planning, researchers have been turning their interests toward rural communities in the path of powerful and frequent hurricane events such as those in Asia (e.g., Philippines, Bangladesh, and Vietnam) [3], along the Gulf Coast of the United States (e.g., Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama) [4], in the Caribbean (e.g., Haiti and Puerto Rico) [5,6], and in Central America (e.g., Honduras, Nicaragua, and Belize) [7]. Filling this gap is significant because rural areas have unique experiences when dealing with disasters that set them apart from urban regions [4,8].…”

“…Finally, this article's unique contribution is its examination of the differences in disaster recovery and resilience building between urban areas. The focus is not on the barriers as described before, such as geographic limitations, transportation issues, financial constraints, and a lack of media attention [6], but on how to be more resilient. Informants the importance of promoting collaboration across sectors and involving the community to enhance resilience.…”