In L'Aquila, the new houses were supposed to withstand earthquakes, but "they didn't even withstand the rain." The grim reality from this central Italian city is laid out by La Stampa on Wednesday, the 7-year anniversary of the earthquake that killed more than 300 people and left nearly 40,000 without homes. The news now is that many of the structures put in place following the disaster have collapsed or been declared uninhabitable, and dozens of people – entrepreneurs, architects, technicians and community leaders – are under investigation for fraud-related charges.

From the outset, rebuilding efforts in L'Aquila moved at a glacial pace amid fears that criminal organizations had infiltrated reconstruction works. There is still an ongoing debate over how to preserve the town's historic buildings and fortify them to withstand damage from future disasters.

L'Aquila is not unique. Recovery from natural disasters is filled with unexpected challenges, and too often made worse by human shortcomings. Last year, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center reported that since 2008, an average of 26.4 million people per year have been displaced by natural disasters across the globe. Due to the unpredictability of these events, scientists are worried that with climate change, the number of weather-related calamities will only continue to rise.