Resilience: Moving beyond surviving climate disasters to supporting communities to thrive

February 17, 2026

How can disaster systems shift from reactive relief to proactive, community-driven resilience building at scale?
What financing mechanisms can ensure rapid, flexible, and locally controlled resources before and after disasters?
How can philanthropy embed resilience across sectors like education, health, and livelihoods rather than treating it as a standalone domain?
What structures are needed to ensure marginalized groups are included in planning, decision-making, and recovery processes?

Produced in collaboration with Dalberg Advisors, the report, ‘Resilience: Moving beyond surviving climate disasters to supporting communities to thrive’, shows that climate disasters are now a ‘new normal’ in India. Floods, droughts, cyclones, and heatwaves are happening more often, affecting most districts and disrupting people’s lives, livelihoods, and essential services. With annual economic losses from climate disasters already estimated at USD 12 billion and projected to rise as events grow more frequent and severe, the report argues that incremental improvements will no longer suffice. Today, 85% of India’s districts are exposed to floods, droughts, or cyclones, and in 2023, the country experienced extreme weather on 86% of days, underscoring how frequent and widespread these disruptions have become. More than 1.8 million hectares of cropland and over 80,000 homes were damaged in 2023 alone, signalling deep and recurring economic disruption.

The study adopted a three-pronged approach to understand the current state of disaster resilience, including extensive desk research, field visits, and learning circles & one-on-one interviews with leading experts and practitioners. The findings reaffirm that women and children face up to 14 times higher mortality risk during disasters, poor households can lose as much as 85% of their annual income from a single climate event, and recovery from a major shock can take nearly 19 years – locking families into prolonged cycles of loss.

The study recognises that India has made remarkable progress in saving lives, but goes on to argue that India must move beyond measuring success solely by lives saved and infrastructure rebuilt. True resilience lies in strengthening communities’ ability to absorb shocks, protect livelihoods, recover faster, and adapt to evolving risks – especially as hazard patterns themselves shift across districts.

Key Takeaways

Climate disasters are now a new normal: With 85% of districts exposed and extreme weather occurring most days, India faces a structural—not episodic—crisis that threatens development gains.
Communities must be central actors: Local populations possess knowledge, networks, and adaptive practices that make them the most effective first responders and long-term resilience builders.
Resilience requires strengthening five capitals: Physical, financial, human, social, and natural systems must be reinforced together, as resilience emerges from their interaction—not isolated interventions.
Philanthropy has a catalytic role: Flexible, patient, and trust-based funding can fill systemic gaps, scale proven models, and embed resilience thinking across sectors to protect impact from climate shocks.