protecting houses from the impact of disasters
Why aren’t people protecting themselves sufficiently from natural hazards? And how can they be effectively assisted to rebuild safer housing? Eefje Hendriks is an expert in the field of disaster risk reduction, disaster resilience and humanitarian assistance. Through her research, she aims to develop effective assistance to help vulnerable communities build back safer housing after disasters.
‘I work in post-disaster reconstruction,’ says Eefje Hendriks, Assistant Professor of Disaster Resilience and Humanitarian Assistance. ‘I study how people recover after a disaster, such as an earthquake or a hurricane, and how they make decisions during the reconstruction of their houses. People often rebuild their house in the same way it was, but it is important that their house is safer and more resilient. Given the scale of people at risk globally, it is problematic if people remain vulnerable.’
Safer reconstruction techniques are available, but they are only one piece of the puzzle, explains the Assistant Professor. ‘We need to consider the whole complex reconstruction process and decisions – how information is communicated, how people perceive risks and technical solutions, if they have access to information, funding, materials, tools and manpower and so on. Not everyone is in the same situation. We need to acknowledge their different needs for assistance. We can save many lives, if we manage to effectively support safer reconstruction.’
Hendriks works directly with humanitarian organizations that have local networks among vulnerable communities. This is crucial, as the scientist aims to understand people’s decisions and behaviour in the given context. ‘About 90% of people reconstruct their properties by themselves, without any help of governmental or humanitarian organizations. In my work, I test different types of interactions and their impact. At the moment, we don’t know exactly which interventions are the most effective. This is valuable information, because money and resources are scarce in humanitarian aid, and so we need to focus them on things that really work.’
Ultimately, the scientist wants to develop flexible methods that can be applied to many different situations. ‘It’s not a one size fits all,’ says Hendriks. ‘We need to know what works, when, where and how. We need to offer personalized help to affected communities. I’m essentially working on an interdisciplinary assessment tool that helps policy makers and humanitarian organizations. As scientists, we have a unique position to help. We have the time to think and investigate approaches. Therefore, this research can make a major difference for vulnerable communities.’
Education
As a senior lecturer in disaster risk reduction, Eefje Hendriks has taught Bachelor's, Master's and Graduate School Levels, and supervises PhD students. In 2020, she became Sustainable Teacher of higher education in the Netherlands for her efforts to engage students from different disciplines in understanding, preventing, and responding to disasters, taking them to volunteer in migrant camps.
About
Eefje Hendriks is an Assistant Professor of Disaster Resilience and Humanitarian Assistance at the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC) of the University of Twente. She is a member of the Centre for Disaster Resilience at the University of Twente, and she actively engages with stakeholders from the Global Shelter Cluster. She serves as an author, guest-editor, and reviewer for leading journals, including Disaster Prevention and Management and Disaster Risk Reduction. She also supports different municipalities and regions in adaptation to climate change for the EU Adaptation Strategy.
Hendriks has obtained a PhD degree (2020) on effective communication to reduce housing vulnerability in post-disaster reconstruction at the Technical University Eindhoven. Before her current position at the University of Twente, she worked as a lecturer, researcher, and coordinator for Avans University of Applied Sciences, where she continues to work as project leader with local and international NGOs. In 2022 she was awarded the VENI grant of 280.000 euros from the Dutch Research Council (NWO) for her project called ‘Enabling vulnerable communities to build back safer’. In 2022, she was selected as one of the 15 most promising Engineering Talents of the Netherlands.
Press photos
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