Extreme weather events are becoming more commonplace in the United States and across the globe. Infrastructure cannot be built to completely withstand damage from these extreme events, thus communities must prepare themselves to recover quickly and efficiently to limit disruption to community members' livelihoods. Non-coastal, rural communities in the Appalachian region are affected by many of the same barriers to recovery as more populated suburban and urban communities, however, they can also face unique circumstances due to heightened vulnerability caused by depressed socioeconomics, reduced access to public services, and nominal capabilities of small, rural town governments. Rural communities face challenges to disaster recovery, but they can also benefit from increased social capital and population homogeneity that reduces cultural and language barriers and has the potential to improve coordination and collaboration. Financial and coordination barriers, such as the late or slow allocation of funding and limited management capacity of local governments during disaster recovery, are prevalent in rural Appalachian communities. Legal and socio-cultural barriers to rural disaster recovery include historical development patterns in and around floodplains, higher percentages of vulnerable populations, and difficulty navigating the federal disaster aid application process. Collaborative planning efforts and capacity building through the cultivation of relationships among disaster recovery stakeholders are necessary to provide an efficient and effective recovery. Additional funding, and more timely funding, are often proposed to solve a variety of challenges, but money alone will not be enough to overcome many prominent barriers. By adopting planning and cross-sector collaborative practices, local governments can better leverage available resources and facilitate the recovery process for the benefit of the affected communities. The 2016 West Virginia floods served as a case study and recovery strategies used following this event provide lessons learned to mitigate disaster recovery barriers in the future. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 people from 15 organizations ranging from state cabinet secretaries and mayors to engineers and nonprofit workers. Interviews were transcribed and coded using qualitative data analysis software. Site visits accompanied interviews and thematic content analysis was used to analyze interview transcripts and supporting documentation. Codes were validated by an independent, third-party coder. / Doctor of Philosophy / A recent increase in natural disasters in the United States, and the recognition that infrastructure cannot be built to completely withstand damage from these extreme events, has created a greater interest in disaster recovery. Communities must prepare themselves to recover quickly and efficiently following events like flooding to limit disruption to community members' livelihoods. Rural communities in Appalachia are affected by many of the same barriers to recovery as suburban and urban communities, but they often also face unique circumstances due to heightened vulnerability caused by fewer financial resources, reduced access to public services, and limited capabilities of small town governments. Rural communities face challenges to disaster recovery, but they can also benefit from increased trust among community members and population homogeneity that reduces cultural and language barriers and has the potential to improve coordination and collaboration. Financial and coordination barriers, such as the late or slow allocation of funding from government agencies and limited management capacity of local governments during disaster recovery are common in rural Appalachian communities. Legal and socio-cultural barriers to rural disaster recovery include historical development patterns in and around areas prone to flooding, higher percentages of vulnerable populations like those over 65 years of age, and people's difficulty applying for federal disaster aid. Collaborative planning efforts and capacity building through the cultivation of relationships among disaster recovery stakeholders help provide an efficient and effective recovery. Additional funding, and more timely funding, are often proposed to solve a variety of problems, but money alone will not be enough to overcome many prominent barriers. By adopting planning and cross-sector collaborative practices, local governments can use available resources more wisely and facilitate the recovery process for the benefit of the affected communities. The 2016 West Virginia floods served as a case study and recovery strategies used following this event provide lessons learned to mitigate disaster recovery barriers in the future. Interviews were conducted with 25 people from 15 organizations ranging from state cabinet secretaries and mayors to engineers and nonprofit workers. Interviews were transcribed and coded using qualitative data analysis software. Site visits accompanied interviews and thematic content analysis was used to analyze interview transcripts and supporting documentation. Codes were validated by an independent, third-party coder.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/117274 |
| Date | 21 December 2023 |
| Creators | Poling, Kase Scott |
| Contributors | Civil and Environmental Engineering, Shealy, Earl Wade, Katz, Andrew Scott, Schenk, Todd Edward William, Garvin, Michael J. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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