As shown in previous chapters, the effects of disasters vary. For example, in the case of an earthquake, the impact on the community can be so great that the capacity to provide health services is sharply reduced for a long time afterward. Floods, not only impact the land and the production sector but also cause serious damage health infrastructure and hospital equipment, which often causes the functional collapse of health facilities, as this article on understanding critical infrastructure failure in the wake of Hurricane Katrina illustrates.

The reconstruction period offers both challenges and opportunities in the aftermath of disasters.