Project drawing on recovery lessons from Hurricane Sandy to improve U.S. resilience

What it's about:

Why do some communities recover from natural disasters more quickly than others?

An inter-disciplinary team at America's Purdue University is setting out to answer that critical question.

The team will use advanced simulations, game-theory algorithms and millions of social media posts and survey data to analyse the recovery of the New Jersey shore, which was devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The team will then apply their findings to address how best to develop more resilient infrastructure and disaster preparedness elsewhere.

The project has been funded by a $2.5 million, four-year grant from the National Science Foundation and will focus on six communities. Officials across the United States will also be able to use the simulations to carry out "what-if scenarios" in the future.

Why it's noteworthy:

Taking a data-led approach to measure how a society picks up the pieces after a major shock is a significant development in the resilience field.

Focusing on the impact of Hurricane Sandy on New Jersey, researchers will be able to probe how to efficiently allocate resources, better prepare, and reduce the time and cost of recovery when a community is struck by a disaster.