Community Resilience When Disaster Strikes

This book addresses the operationalization of community resilience in the United Kingdom (UK) in connection with severe floods. Written for early academic professionals, students, and community practitioners, it investigates the educational and practical meaning and application of community resilience using a UK-centric local-level case study. Exploring the perceptions of both those who have been affected by a natural hazard and those who have not, the book reveals how trust, community resources, and neighborhood security can offer effective ways of bringing communities together after a natural hazard.

The author introduces the topic of community resilience as it applies to disasters in Chapter 1 and its implications for securing and improving the wellbeing of disaster-affected communities in Chapters 2 and 3. In Chapter 4, the lessons learned contributing to the available information and research on community resilience are reviewed. Finally, the author offers recommendations and outlines future directions in coping with the uncertainty and insecurity caused by natural hazards in Chapter 5.

Sonny S. Patel, MPH, MPhil, is an award-winning researcher and a former National Institutes of Health Fogarty Global Health Scholar. He is a Presidential Fellow in Transcultural Conflict and Violence Initiative at Georgia State University and a Visiting Scientist at Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. He has received his Bachelors from University of California, Berkeley, his Masters from University of Southern California (Public Health and Global Health Leadership) and King's College London (Psychological Medicine). He has developed protocols, programs, and training to build capacity and knowledge in communities worldwide from subject matters in Public Health, Community Health, and Mental Health to specialized topics in Emergency Management, Community Resilience, and Disaster Risk Reduction. Patel was named a top 40 under 40 Public Health Catalyst by the Boston Congress of Public Health. He was also bestowed with the Emerald Publishing Literati Award in 2021 for Outstanding Research Paper by the Journal of Disaster Prevention and Management. He was recognized by USAID in India as one of the top DevDisruptors in Mental Health (2020) and by NATO peers in Ukraine as a rising star in Environmental Health and Security in Conflict Zones (2018). Patel serves as a Public Health Executive on advisory committees and board of directors of organizations creating positive social and community impacts, such as The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center.