Multi-agency community engagement during disaster recover: Lessons from two New Zealand earthquake events

Abstract

Effective survival and recovery from disasters depends not just on physical impacts of the event but also on how the social environment supports the complex and protracted processes of recovery. Recovery from disasters can be greatly enhanced by ensuring that the existing social environment supports the recovery process. This includes an environment where multi-organisational and multidisciplinary input can be fed into the recovery process, and where effective engagement within the community takes place to determine their needs in terms of physical, social and psychological recovery. This study examines the role of multi-agency community consultation during two recent New Zealand earthquakes: the 1987 Edgecumbe and 2003 Te Anau events and explores the effectiveness of various approaches in providing information, reducing stress and anxiety, and facilitating a recovery process.