Evaluating the reconstruction methods in the stability of rural settlements damaged by earthquakes; A case study of Avaj County

The occurrence of natural disasters can have dire consequences both directly and indirectly in people's lives and livelihoods. Therefore, there is vital to achieve resilience in the field of natural disasters, avoid natural disasters in the future and reduce the financial damage and human casualties due to the occurrence of natural disasters.  

The current paper aims to evaluate the role of reconstruction methods in the stability of rural settlements damaged by earthquakes for Avaj County.

Considering the large number of villages and the extent of the region, using geographical classification and including a comparative study, 10% of reconstructed settlements has been determined as a study sample.

Geographical Context: 

Considering the large number of villages and the extent of the region, using geographical classification and including a comparative study, 10% of reconstructed settlements has been determined as a study sample.

Post-event reconstruction activities are significantly different in the three studied components: physical-environmental development, economic development and socio-cultural development with numerical average values and t-test statistics (3.86 and 38.21), (3.57 and 30.77) and (3.82 and 62.71), respectively. Also, the difference from the optimal numerical limit (3 is equal to the average of the 5-level Likert scale) was reported as positive, and the confidence interval at the 95% level was also positive at the lower and upper limits.

The analysis of the ranking Kruskal Wallis test showed that the relocated villages in the process of reconstruction have a much higher average rank than the villages reconstructed in the same place, due to more credit and financial incentives, land preparation. Therefore, it can be acknowledged that this method is successful.