The Political Economy of Post-Disaster Recovery

Virgil Storr talks about the strategies adopted by several people in the New Orleans community to recover from the damages of Hurricane Katrina. His research reveals how social and commercial entrepreneurs supported people to stay as cohesive as they were before the disaster, by encouraging them to return home. Additionally, he sets the Mary Queen of Vietnam Community as an example of those who, with great effort and excellent results, swiftly recovered from this tragedy. To conclude, Storr mentions the lessons learned from this post-recovery study which can be generalized and applied to public policy, such as the misleading intervention of governments in aftermath stages; that a reengineering policy is not appropriate immediately following a disaster; that response and assistance must remain to the basics but with promptness; and, to set expectations in achievable goals.