Comprehensive disaster resilience index: Pathway towards risk-informed sustainable development

The occurrence of natural hazards on the earth is as universal as this universe. Though difficult to avoid or control, however, increasing resilience remains a crucial coping mechanism for disasters. This study focuses on the first target (SDG-13.1) of "Climate Action" which entails strengthening country-specific resilience and adaptive capacity towards natural disasters. Thus, we develop a novel comprehensive disaster resilience index that captures economic stability, emergency workforce, agricultural development, human capital, digitalization, infrastructure, governance, social capital, and women empowerment. We apply IMF index-making methodology using panel data of 62 indicators from 1995 to 2019 across 24 developed and 67 developing countries. Resilience index was higher in high-income countries (0.674) followed by upper-middle (0.463), lower-middle (0.372), and low (0.314) income economies. The top 5 countries with high resilience scores include Switzerland (0.789), Germany (0.777), France (0.751), New Zealand (0.749), and Australia (0.733). Disaster resilience score in 2019 was (a) greater than 0.7 for 9 countries, (b) between 0.5 and 0.7 for 31 countries, (c) between 0.3 and 0.5 for 44 countries, and (d) less than 0.3 for 7 countries. Our study recommends improvement in disaster resilience through risk-informed strategies (i.e., rescue and medical care services, early warning systems, training, and the latest technologies). It is recommended for low resilience countries to (a) increase the health budget and upgrade hospitals, (b) ensure economic stability and food security through agricultural growth and financial development, (c) enhance social and human capital, (d) introduce institutional reforms, and (e) empower women. Thus, improving resilience for preparedness, restoration, and loss minimization underpin the pathway towards riskinformed sustainable development.