Chapter 7 – From Recovery to Prevention: The Swiss Avalanche Program

This chapter discusses the role of disaster events in the development of prevention mechanisms. An argument is made that disaster recovery can be a catalyst for changes to long-term regulatory planning practices. More specifically, the Swiss case of land use planning and avalanche zoning is used to demonstrate how the disastrous events of 1951 revealed land speculations in country areas, leading to an increased appetite for change from residents and interventions from local communes. These interventions eventually led to the development of land use planning in the country in a new sense with a consideration of natural hazards. This chapter demonstrates how a disastrous event can reveal ongoing problems of various nature, in this case, being land speculation and associated planning issues. Furthermore, it demonstrates how the impacts of such a devastating disaster event can “motivate” communes and residents to seek for government interventions.