Phase of disaster cycle: Before and during

“Resiliency to disasters means a locale can withstand an extreme natural event with a tolerable level of losses. It takes mitigation actions consistent with achieving that level of protection.”

Mileti, 1999

Phase of disaster cycle: During and after

“The capacity that people or groups may possess to withstand or recover from emergencies and which can stand as a counterbalance to vulnerability.”

Buckle, 1998

“The ability to resist downward pressures and to recover from a shock. From the ecology literature: property that allows a system to absorb and use (even benefit from) change. Where resilience is high, it requires a major disturbance to overcome the limits to qualitative change in a system and allow it to be transformed rapidly into another condition. From the sociology literature: ability to exploit opportunities, and resist and recover from negative shocks.”

Alwang et al., 2001

“The capacity of the damaged ecosystem or community to absorb negative impacts and recover from these.”

Cardona, 2003

“The ability of an actor to cope with or adapt to hazard stress.”

Pelling, 2003

“The ability of an organization to absorb the impact of a business interruption, and continue to provide a minimum acceptable level of service.”

Disaster Recov. Journal, 2005

“The capacity of a system―be it a forest, city or economy―to deal with change and continue to develop; withstanding shocks and disturbances (such as climate change or financial crises) and using such events to catalyze renewal and innovation.”

Stockholm Resilience Center: Sustainability Science for Biosphere Stewardship: What is Resilience? 2014