Importance of Households in Business Disaster Recovery

Abstract

The authors seek to contribute to the understanding of post-disaster community interdependencies by examining the recovery linkages between businesses and households. Specifically, this research looks to identify the household dimensions that affect recovery quality in businesses in Lumberton, North Carolina, after the 2016 Hurricane Matthew. Through an interdisciplinary field study 15 months after the hurricane, businesses were asked about the loss of customers and various labor disruptions they experienced. Logistic regression used to examine the impact of these variables on the likelihood of a business reporting being fully recovered, controlling for damage, accessibility issues, business characteristics, owner or manager demographics, and financial assistance. This research found that customer loss in particular had a higher effect magnitude than initial damage in terms of hindering recovery. Labor disruption caused by transportation issues and childcare or school closure issues had a smaller relative effect, but it also significantly lowered a business’s odds of full recovery. Not all labor variables were significant—including employee personal household damage—stressing the importance of understanding the specific dimensions of households affecting business recovery.