This report explores the resilience of four essential infrastructure systems: power, water and sanitation, transport and telecommunications.
All of these systems provide critical services for the well-being of households and the productivity of firms, yet they are particularly vulnerable to natural hazards because they are organised in complex networks through which even small local shocks can propagate quickly.
Making them more resilient – that is, better able to deliver the services people and firms need during and after natural shocks – is critical, not only to avoid costly damage but also to minimise the wide-ranging consequences of natural disasters for the livelihoods and wellbeing of people.