Post-disaster reconstruction strategies: a case study in Taiwan

After the Ji-Ji Earthquake in 1999, The Taiwanese Government worked to establish a more holistic disaster management system (Maa 2011); however the Morakot 88 Flood Disaster in 2009 then challenged the capabilities of the emergency response systems in post disaster response, recovery and reconstruction (Lu et al. 2011). Although the Government has invested heavily and made a serious effort to improve post-disaster housing projects, the debates on the development plans have generated tension between the Government and the aboriginal groups (Quan 2010).

Both good practice and lessons learned can be identified from these cases, and it is important that they should be shared with as wide an audience as possible within Taiwan and regions affected. In particular, the way the government works together with NGOs and also the adoption of a more holistic post disaster reconstruction framework are important aspects of this work.

This chapter aims to evaluate the post disaster reconstruction strategies implemented in particular after the Typhoon Morakot flood disaster in 2009. The objectives include firstly, establishing the context of Taiwan and examining how climate change has already affected the island; secondly, exploring post disaster management strategies taken to respond to these phenomena; thirdly, providing an extensive examination of the housing projects in relation to the affected populations post Typhoon Morakot; and finally, share the best practice for other countries confronted with same or similar issues and making recommendations for the planning of reconstruction projects.