What is disaster resilience? How is it determined? Describe various elements of a resilience framework. Also mention the global…

Disaster resilience, as defined by UNISDR, is the capacity of social, economic and environmental systems to cope with, adapt to and recover from hazards, while maintaining essential functions and reducing future risk. It is determined by exposure to hazards, vulnerability of people and assets, coping capacity, adaptive capacity, and institutional preparedness. Poverty, unsafe land-use, environmental degradation and weak institutions increase vulnerability, while early warning, planning, response and recovery systems improve resilience.

A resilience framework comprises physical/infrastructure resilience—safe buildings, transport, energy and water systems, such as cyclone shelters and flood-proofing; social resilience—community networks, inclusion, health and education; economic resilience—livelihoods, insurance, credit and diversified income; and institutional/organizational resilience—governance, coordination, legal frameworks, funding and learning, including NDMA-SDMA-DDMA coordination.

The Sendai Framework (2015–2030) sets seven global targets, to be achieved by 2030: (A) substantially reduce disaster mortality; (B) reduce the number of people affected; (C) reduce direct economic losses to GDP; (D) reduce damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services; (E) substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies; (F) substantially enhance international cooperation to developing countries; and (G) substantially increase availability and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and early warning.

India’s National Disaster Management Plan (2016, revised 2019) aligns with Sendai priorities, the Disaster Management (Amendment) Act, 2025 strengthens urban and state disaster authorities, and the India-led Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI, 2019) promotes resilient infrastructure globally. Thus resilience is not mere recovery but sustained risk reduction, requiring integration of disaster risk reduction into development planning at national, state and district levels.