How Predisaster Planning Helped Rural West Virginia Overcome Barriers to Long-Term Flood Recovery

The slow allocation of funding, poor coordination among organizations, and limited management capacity of local governments are persistent problems following disasters triggered by natural hazards. The research presented in this paper explores solutions to these problems following a flooding event in rural West Virginia. Semistructured interviews were conducted with stakeholders, including local, state, and federal governments, nonprofit organizations, and engineering companies. Site visits accompanied interviews and thematic content analysis was used to analyze interview transcripts. The findings suggest that while funding is necessary, collaborative predisaster planning contributed to more efficient and effective recovery. Predisaster planning led to the faster allocation of financial resources for a unique bridge replacement program. Predisaster planning also helped reduce confusion around stakeholder responsibilities and build social capital between diverse organizations. This social capital helped fill the gaps in local government capacity. These insights underscore the value of predisaster planning and could be used to develop scalable programs. Future research is needed to understand the impact of varying degrees of social capital and the dynamics of preexisting relationships among organizations.