A systematic approach to analysis and prioritization of socioeconomic policies and legal barriers to rapid post-disaster reconstruction

A community�s goal, after a disaster, is to return to a normal level of functioning as quickly as possible. Hence, the barriers that cause delays in the post-disaster recovery phase are of high importance. Policy and legal barriers are the primary obstacles to a timely post-disaster recovery process. The objectives of this paper are to identify, categorize, and weight the socioeconomic policies and legal causes that affect the process of post-disaster recovery in the U.S. For this purpose, a thorough review was performed of more than 300 scholarly papers, then the socioeconomic policies and legal post-disaster recovery barriers (PDRBs) to timely recovery were identified and classified into either social or economic categories. Finally, the PDRBs were weighted and ranked through a survey, and some recommendations were presented for ways to prevent delays in the recovery process. Fifteen PDRBs in the social and economic categories were identified from past studies, and were weighted and ranked by subject matter experts (SMEs) in post-disaster recovery. This research assists in understanding how the PDRBs affect the timeliness of recovery after a disaster, and proposes ways to mitigate the delays. The results of this study will help the stakeholders and policymakers assess the policy and legal PDRBs, and achieve timely post-disaster recovery.