intro to disaster management harlow

intro to disaster management harlow

An Introduction to Disaster Management in Harlow

1. 1. Understanding Disasters and Their Impact

Disasters are defined as extreme events that cause major long-term changes or disruptions in society through a significant increase in loss of life, property, or the environment. Although disasters often have natural causes, the greater part of disasters are not natural phenomena. They result from a combination of socially created conditions and natural events. Commonly, the worldwide growth of urban populations, the quickening pace of industrial development, and the consequences of technological changes have significantly increased the severity of disasters. They cause environmental damage and the combination of a large number of people who need urgent care, living and working in areas most vulnerable to many phenomena. The number of natural phenomena and events that produce disasters, including earthquakes, storms, and tidal waves which form cyclones, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, droughts, and volcanic eruptions, and that occur with greater frequency in vulnerable areas, has iteratively increased. Indeed, often, these consequences arise from the social, economic, and political conditions that shape the vulnerability of socially disparate groups within a community to both natural and technological disasters.

Offered in an easy-to-read style, this introductory guide provides an outline of principles of disaster management, which should provide newcomers to disaster management with a basic understanding of the history, principles, priorities, and practical action required in this field. The introductory guide aims to provide a simple, but not simplistic guide to modern disaster management. The guide series is written and compiled by members of the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology at the University of Athens Medical School, Greece, with their colleagues from other disaster management experts of Europe in order to input their experiences and contribute to the teaching and practice of most disaster management around the world.

2. 2. The Importance of Disaster Management in Harlow

Disaster management refers to policies, programs, and practices that aim to minimize the damage caused by natural and human-made hazards and to manage and control the impacts of disasters when they occur. The following components are central to disaster management in Harlow: structural and non-structural measures to reduce vulnerable communities’ exposure to hazards; measures to organize and support large-scale emergency operations; planned menu actions to repair damaged infrastructure and provide other assistance for disaster casualties and affected communities; effective warning, preparedness, response, and recovery mechanisms to minimize the impact of disasters; and mechanisms for sharing information and enabling effective communication and mobilization of the public at risk.

Disasters affect millions of people annually and can lead to significant human casualties and economic damage. Disaster damages contribute to global poverty, creating a significant obstacle to sustainable development. Increasing the number, intensity, and complexity of natural disasters is a cause of concern in the contemporary world. Hazards threaten all human settlements. Disaster management, a systematic process at the local, national, and regional scales, is aimed at protecting vulnerable communities by mitigating, responding to, and recovering from disasters. Disaster risk reduction activities generate social, economic, and environmental co-benefits and can support progress towards the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals.

3. 3. Key Principles and Approaches in Disaster Management

Public Manager: A public manager is a person that is disciplined, efficient, effective, and committed to public service enforcing demands. They have leadership and proactive management abilities, substantial adaptability, proficiency in delegation, the ability to face all challenges without creating additional issues, strong involvement, organizing and coordinating abilities around them, and consideration of other kinds of perspectives to create and give a sense of purpose. These are key attributes that make them ready to manage multiple types of events. The ethical norms guiding the behavior of a public manager include an obligation to fulfill public needs, compliance with legal requirements, avoidance of conflicts of interest, dependability, fairness, and impartiality. This discipline demands respect for both society as well as individuals.

Risk and Disaster Reduction: Diverse efforts to reduce the impact, consequences, and occurrence of damaging events are called risk reduction. In some professions, these efforts are undertaken with the intention of reducing the consequences and scale of disasters through regulation or design. Sometimes professionals develop these efforts further to include activities and approaches that hope to prevent adverse activities that have other identities, such as crime. The term not only refers to efforts to reduce consequences, but also to the examination of why locations that are relatively unaffected by hazards can experience more severe impacts (known as the risk/direction relationship). Disaster reduction processes may include natural hazard reduction, rehabilitation, preparedness, and assessment.

While disaster management involves a range of structures and activities, several key principles, approaches, or concepts are central to this. This next section provides a brief introduction to these.

Key Principles and Approaches in Disaster Management

4. 4. Case Studies and Lessons Learned

Case studies in disaster management are created to teach people what to do when the next disaster strikes. The main tasks in these case studies are to summarize the event and to describe the response or action taken. The effectiveness of these actions or inactions is of primary concern. Disaster case studies should include a discussion of what happened, why it happened, whether it should have happened, and how to prepare for the next inevitable event. Lessons are more useful when participants learn their meaning through their own practices. Bodansky stated that “any lesson is more significant if it is learned through one’s own failures”. After a failure, it is easier to understand the impact of the action taken and to agree with those controlling the response. A disaster case study is useful only when participants apply their knowledge.

Many valuable lessons have been learned from historical and present-day disasters. In the Emergency Planning Reports, brief details of three fairly recent disasters are cited to illustrate the problems they presented and the lessons learned. It can be useful, as well as fascinating, to seek more information about a disaster and to consider the factors which might have influenced the actions taken by those responsible for managing the disaster, the media, and the people affected by the disaster. In this way, we can better appreciate the many difficulties involved in lessons learned and be encouraged to discover what can be done to help overcome possible future problems.

5. 5. Future Directions and Innovations in Disaster Management

Market analysts, software developers, and researchers of disaster management have also paid significant attention to the World Wide Operations. A significant amount of work and research is currently underway for various components covering the World Wide Operations. These components are able to stand alone and often create research streams of their own. Between September 11 and October 1, 2001, we conducted a comprehensive multidisciplinary and specialized disaster management research program. Three of the four authors, a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the University of South Australia, visited various designated authorities and patrons in Baltimore, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. to undertake guided interviews and focus group discussions, to observe firsthand the applied management processes of September 11, 2001, and to participate in professional seminars.

In recent years, demand for disaster management has increased. Many professionals and organizations are working hard to improve disaster prevention, protection, and response. Disaster management is unique in that it is not a single professional area, nor is it the responsibility of a single organization or group. Policy and decision makers, first responders, government officials, scientists, and everyone within our communities all have a stake in disaster management. With the advent of the World Wide Web and current innovations in information and communication technologies, there are many other areas in disaster management that are worth considering for research into better methods and technologies. There is extensive work being conducted in the areas of geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and database systems that support modeling, simulation, and visualization in the United States of America in disaster management.