what is disaster management

what is disaster management

Understanding Disaster Management: Principles and Practices

1. Introduction to Disaster Management

Disasters have negative effects on the social, political, economic, physical, psychological, and health of a community or country. They affect both the vulnerable and developed communities. The cause and effects of disasters are now sufficiently known to initiate prevention and preparedness planning for all aspects of a disaster. It is important to note that although the effects of a disaster may be widespread, the disaster is experienced and felt in many different and powerful ways at several levels. This is due to the different vulnerabilities of the community (e.g., to health, the environment, social well-being, economic strength). Such vulnerabilities also occur at the institutional and economic levels. For example, a river may flood homes and essential services such as schools, but hospitals, roads, airfields mask this impact. The households and health workers may corrupt the social fabric or create myths. These interactions are at the core of discussion when attempting to introduce disaster management as a regulatory and community-supporting tool, rather than a narrowly technology transfer emergency response strategy. They also suggest that multiple strands of expertise will be required in disaster management.

It is now a well-established fact that the severity and magnitude of disasters have been steadily increasing due to socio-economic, environmental, and developmental imbalances caused largely by the insatiable human craving for a better life on this planet. Apparently, though human civilization has developed the ability to think, invent, build, and invent very complex structures such as microchips, software, rockets, cellular phones, and powerful medicines, we have not yet been able to develop systems that can withstand disasters. However, the root cause of disaster occurrences is the imbalance and failure in the development process itself. The failures are linked to globalization dimensions including political, social, and economic. Most importantly, failure in these areas will compromise the achievement of what has been defined as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It comes as no surprise, therefore, that after a disaster, poverty, failure to achieve these goals, and poor social performance in the health and educational sectors are highlighted as trends, both before and after the calamity. This means that disaster-prone areas reflect poor social indicators.

2. Key Concepts and Definitions

Let us begin by looking at the meaning of the word “disaster”. While most people understand “disaster” to be some remarkable event of destruction, defining exactly what a disaster is tends to highlight more complex questions on broader issues of the role of people and societies in capitalizing on opportunity, calamity, and decision. Correspondingly, “disaster management” is not just a matter of coping with calamity, and it is not something that is equally relevant to any group of people in the aftermath of the disaster with equal effect.

Disaster management is a complex and often controversial field of professional activity. Like other complex fields such as international relations or environmental studies, disaster management is sometimes described, but not always clearly explained. As a result, the “management” of disaster is often left in the hands of a small number of experts who, in turn, leave the majority of people involved in disaster management bemused and disinterested. The purpose of this chapter is to define and describe the key concepts of disaster and disaster management and, in doing so, provide an informed and confident preamble to the more specific operational aspects of emergency, disaster, and recovery detailed in later chapters.

3. Phases of Disaster Management

There is no real dispute about whether the existing coordination and support systems are adequate. The general consensus of panels examining major recent disasters is that the multi-layer system that the United States uses to manage disaster relief has worked reasonably well and resulted in the minimization of suffering and monetary loss. It has some surface inconveniences. For example, it sometimes delays effective aid and compounds the problems of emergency workers at the disaster site. Nonetheless, it has had an excellent track record. The existing relief system, nearly unique among relief systems both in the quality of its work and in the egalitarian way in which it deals with victims, is sensitive, prompt, flexible, and relatively efficient. Indeed, the best evidence indicates that it is currently undertaking the rapid infusion of resources to the victims of Loma Prieta. It accepts orphans and never turns anyone away saying, “We don’t serve your kind.” And it operates on the consensus of the governors of the affected states, without intervention or significant expense from the Federal level.

The United States has had several successive large disasters that have shaken the foundations of disaster management and control. The controversy centers on the status of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the agency through which the Federal government coordinates and supports disaster relief efforts. Whether it should remain relatively ineffective until a state declares a disaster, or whether the United States should establish a nearly permanent, well-funded, well-staffed professional agency with nearly automatic involvement whenever disaster threatens significant harm to citizens is at issue.

4. Key Principles and Strategies

In “The Disaster Recovery Planning Guide: A-Z Best Practices,” author Nadeem Ansari states that the need for communication cannot be overstressed. Without a formal plan, the recovery teams, services, support, and communications may become chaotic or be miscommunicated. Points to keep in mind include using tried and tested communication tools that are easy to use face-to-face, such as rapid decision-making procedures, and making communication protocols available to all concerned. This can be done either through a backup for the backup site teams or quick access from laptops, cell phones, PDAs, and so forth. According to the National Research Council, the effectiveness of any response during and after a disaster depends on information. Immediate information is needed regarding the specific hazard (such as the exact nature of an earthquake or hurricane), the location of the hazard’s impact, the characteristics of the individuals and infrastructure, and the resources that can be used to reduce risk.

According to the National Research Council report “Facing Hazards and Disasters: Understanding Human Dimensions,” the most effective response to a disaster is based on the existence of strong and resilient social networks developed over time. These networks are built on trust, common experience, and a sharing of resources and wisdom. Strong social networks rely on strong communities. Key principles that enhance the ability to cope with disasters or other types of organization-wide crises include improved organizational communications, clear leadership and teams throughout the organization, revisiting and updating disaster recovery, crisis management, and business continuity plans, enhancement of personnel life safety, and consideration of outsourcing disaster recovery planning to experts outside the organization to ensure critical backup systems and services are maintained. The ultimate goal in terms of traditional disaster planning, recovery planning, and business continuity should be to achieve functional capabilities that reflect how successful and effective the organization can be in response to an event or threat scenario.

5. Challenges and Innovations in Disaster Management

While some work has been done in disaster management to quickly respond to a crisis and save lives, advancements in ways to identify and effectively deal with health issues in disasters are lagging. Secondly, disasters in the new millennium often involve complex health issues, but traditional ideas of disaster health management have yet to adapt to a changing environment and include these complexities. On a community level, there is often a lacuna, where vulnerable areas and critical points go unsupported. This paper reflects the experts’ responses on this issue – seeking and aligning a framework based on disaster management mechanisms that can answer to the health concerns engendered by them. It is important that the practices are informed, balanced, and based on a broad and comprehensive framework built on shared understanding.

Challenges to disaster management have been observed at every level – ranging from issues with preparedness or response measures, inadequate early warning systems and coordination, to the complexities of displaced people coping with loss and disruption. Tactical problems such as the lack of tools or support from stakeholders, lack of evidence and health system preparedness, and operational questions have only compounded these issues. Oversights at the policy level – such as how post-disaster recovery could be both long term and managed addressing health, and the absence of coordination when different mechanisms or systems are triggered – have all played a role in complicating disaster management. Finally, when policy is planned, often implementing these (especially at the community level) is done without a clear understanding of how to approach these challenges.