Resilience of Water Supply Systems in Vanuatu
Tropical Cyclone (TC) Pam devastated Vanuatu in March 2015. Vanuatu has also experienced a number of natural disasters such as cyclones, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes in the last few decades. The disaster events resulted in a scarcity of water as water supply systems and rainwater harvesting systems suffered from the impacts.
The resilience of water supply systems was investigated as part of built environment resilience for Building Back Better. Port Vila (the Capital), Laonkarae village on Efate Island and a few villages on Tanna Island were chosen as study sites to investigate the status of water supply systems. This research visit highlighted the importance of social, organizational, and environmental factors in water system resilience.
