Women on the frontlines of disaster resilience

Written by Uma Joshi,  Programme Associate at SEEDS

New Delhi: Women at the frontlines of disaster resilience Disasters do not affect everyone equally. Women from economically or socially vulnerable households often face deeper challenges during and after disasters due to existing inequalities – limited access to land, savings, secure housing, or formal employment can make recovery from the incident slower and more difficult.

Practical concerns are frequently overlooked too: access to safe sanitation, privacy in temporary shelters, and the heightened risk of gender-based violence. For pregnant women, elderly women, and women with disabilities, the absence of accessible facilities can make these risks even more acute.

Yet the same social roles that make women vulnerable in disasters also give them unique strengths in responding to them. Women often know who in the community is elderly or living with a disability, which families have infants, where drinking water sources are, and which homes are most fragile.

This local knowledge makes them powerful agents in disaster preparedness and response – and increasingly, disaster management programmes around the world are recognising this by placing women in leadership roles within local committees and preparedness groups.
In India, policy efforts are slowly reflecting the same shift, with preparedness initiatives now aiming for stronger participation of women in community task forces and cyclone shelter management committees.

Extreme weather is also broadening the challenge. Heatwaves, which are becoming more frequent across many parts of India, create additional burdens for women who often spend long hours managing water collection, cooking, and caregiving in high temperatures, sometimes without access to adequate cooling or healthcare.

From vulnerability to leadership:-What is changing today is not just participation but leadership. Women are increasingly stepping into roles as organisers, trainers, and community leaders. In regions like the National Capital Region and Bhubaneswar, they are helping coordinate evacuation plans, interpret early warnings, and guide neighbours through emergencies.

Across flood-prone and cyclone-prone areas, women are learning first aid, rescue techniques, and relief coordination – and in some cases training others. In Puri, for instance, women’s groups have pooled resources to create a disaster risk fund ahead of seasonal cyclones – providing critical support immediately after a disaster, when formal assistance may take time to arrive.

Communities with trained women leaders often respond faster to warnings, evacuate earlier, and are less likely to leave vulnerable groups behind. But perhaps the most important change is cultural. When women step into these roles, they challenge long-standing assumptions about who leads during crises. Once communities witness their effectiveness, these roles become normal rather than exceptional.

Community resilience in practice:-One organisation that has actively supported this shift is SEEDS (Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society), which works to strengthen community resilience to disasters and climate impacts long before emergencies occur – recognising that resilience grows from within communities, and that women often play a central role in that process. In the Sundarbans, where communities regularly face cyclones and tidal flooding,women are increasingly taking the lead in local resilience efforts.

In Heramba Gopalpur village, 39-year-old Supriya Kayal became involved when work began to strengthen the local streambank against erosion and flooding. With the help of the non-profit, she helped implement nature-based protections – binding bamboo-coir logs, planting vetiver grass – and encouraged other villagers to support and protect the initiative, building genuine community ownership.

Women in these regions also lead longer-term resilience projects: protecting local water sources, mapping flood routes, and safeguarding grain storage areas. During emergencies, they spread warnings through neighbourhood networks, check on residents who may need assistance, and help families move essential belongings before floodwaters arrive.

Their role continues well after evacuation – coordinating relief distribution, managing supplies, and ensuring food and water reach families who need them most. At the same time, in urban areas like Gurugram, community women are increasingly driving water rejuvenation initiatives by restoring neglected water bodies, reviving local ponds, and working to ensure safe drinking water access for their neighbourhoods. By taking ownership of these efforts, they help reduce everyday vulnerabilities that can worsen dramatically when disasters strike.

Building safer homes:-Another area where women have taken leadership is safer housing. In disaster- prone regions like Bihar and Wayanad, women are involved in training on construction practices that help homes withstand floods, cyclones, and earthquakes better.

Because they are closely involved in managing households, their participation ensures that safety improvements are practical, not just technical – decisions about layout, kitchens, storage, and sanitation become part of resilience planning from the start. In areas experiencing rising temperatures, women’s groups are also helping communities adapt to heatwaves by promoting access to drinking water, identifying shaded safe spaces, and spreading awareness about heat-related health risks.

Why this shift matters:-Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events across South Asia. In this landscape, disaster response alone is no longer enough -communities need stronger preparedness systems, local leadership, and the ability to adapt quickly to new risks. For many years, disaster management was seen primarily as a technical challenge: engineers built embankments, governments issued warnings, and emergency teams responded. Today, the understanding is broader.

True resilience comes from people from communities that are informed, organised, and prepared. Women are proving to be some of the most effective leaders in building that resilience.

Their participation strengthens communication networks, improves community trust, and ensures that disaster plans reflect the real needs of households – making evacuations more inclusive, shelters safer, and recovery more equitable. Disasters will continue to test our societies. But with women at the frontlines – planning, preparing, coordinating, and leading – communities are far better equipped to face what lies ahead.