Building capacity in six disadvantaged communities vulnerable to natural disasters

This paper aims "to describe and analyze an Emergency Preparedness Demonstration (EPD) project aimed at reducing the risk to life and property in six disadvantaged communities in Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. EPD involves a community-based participatory planning process aimed at building the capacity of disadvantaged communities threatened by disasters. To understand the successes and limitations of the EDP approach we used multiple sources of evidence. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 key informants, field notes were taken during attendance of community planning meetings, and documentary materials prepared by local planning teams (memoranda, vulnerability assessments, household surveys) were content analyzed"