KATHMANDU, FEBRUAEY 14

Build back better refers to largely aspirational plans to achieve recovery from disasters that is not only complete but leads to improvements above and beyond the pre-disaster status quo.

Build back better is often so vaguely defined that policymakers and analysts can declare their aspiration to build back better as fulfilled, even if the long-term outcome is less than successful. Indeed, the positive evidence for build back better is quite thin, but one notable success story is the Wenchuan earthquake recovery. As documented in our 2009 study, the key to the successful recovery was the massively generous and exceptionally speedy assistance of the People's Republic of China central government and its unaffected provincial governments.

On May 12, 2008, a massive earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale struck the southwest area of the People's Republic of China, followed by a large number of aftershocks.

The epicenter was in Wenchuan County, 92 kilometers northwest of the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu. The disaster affected 10 provinces and cities, with Sichuan suffering by far most of the damage, including 99% of mortality and morbidity.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 15, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.