Showing papers on "Emergency management published in 2006"

Collaboration and Leadership for Effective Emergency Management

Abstract: Collaboration is a necessary foundation for dealing with both natural and technological hazards and disasters and the consequences of terrorism. This analysis describes the structure of the American emergency management system, the charts development of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and identifies conflicts arising from the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the attempt to impose a command and control system on a very collaborative organizational culture in a very collaborative sociopolitical and legal context. The importance of collaboration is stressed, and recommendations are offered on how to improve the amount and value of collaborative activities. New leadership strategies are recommended that derive their power from effective strategies and the transformational power of a compelling vision, rather than from hierarchy, rank, or standard operating procedures.

Metaphors Matter: Disaster Myths, Media Frames, and Their Consequences in Hurricane Katrina

Abstract: It has long been understood by disaster researchers that both the general public and organizational actors tend to believe in various disaster myths. Notions that disasters are accompanied by looting, social disorganization, and deviant behavior are examples of such myths. Research shows that the mass media play a significant role in promulgating erroneous beliefs about disaster behavior. Following Hurricane Katrina, the response of disaster victims was framed by the media in ways that greatly exaggerated the incidence and severity of looting and lawlessness. Media reports initially employed a “civil unrest” frame and later characterized victim behavior as equivalent to urban warfare. The media emphasis on lawlessness and the need for strict social control both reflects and reinforces political discourse calling for a greater role for the military in disaster management. Such policy positions are indicators of the strength of militarism as an ideology in the United States.

Community-based disaster preparedness and climate adaptation: local capacity-building in the Philippines

Abstract: Community-based disaster preparedness (CBDP) approaches are increasingly important elements of vulnerability reduction and disaster management strategies. They are associated with a policy trend that values the knowledge and capacities of local people and builds on local resources, including social capital. CBDP may be instrumental not only in formulating local coping and adaptation strategies, but also in situating them within wider development planning and debates. In theory, local people can be mobilised to resist unsustainable (vulnerability increasing) forms of development or livelihood practices and to raise local concerns more effectively with political representatives. This paper focuses on the potential of CBDP initiatives to alleviate vulnerability in the context of climate change, and their limitations. It presents evidence from the Philippines that, in the limited forms in which they are currently employed, CBDP initiatives have the potential both to empower and disempower, and warns against treating CBDP as a panacea to disaster management problems.

Introduction to Emergency Management

Abstract: 1. Introduction to Emergency Management. 2. Emergency Management Stakeholders. 3. Building an Effective Emergency Management Organization. 4. Risk Perception and Communication. 5. Principal Hazards in the United States. 6. Hazard, Vulnerability, and Risk Analysis. 7. Hazard Mitigation. 8. Disaster Myths, Disaster Demands and Citizen Emergency Response. 9. Preparedness for Emergency Response and Disaster Recovery. 10. Organizational Emergency Response. 11. Disaster Recovery. 12. Evaluation. 13. International Emergency Management. 14. Professional Accountability. 15. Future Directions in Emergency Management. References. Glossary. Index.

An integrated approach to natural disaster management

Abstract: Purpose – With an aim to develop an integrated approach for effectively managing natural disasters, this paper has three research objectives. First, it provides a framework for effective natural disaster management from a public project management perspective. Second, it proposes an integrated approach for successfully and effectively managing disaster crisis. Third, it specifies a set of critical success factors for managing disaster related public projects.Design/methodology/approach – A detailed case study of the tsunami was carried out to identify specific problems associated with managing natural disaster in Thailand.Findings – The investigations reveal that the country lacked a master plan for natural disaster management including prediction, warning, mitigation and preparedness, unspecified responsible governmental authority, unclear line of authority, ineffective collaboration among institutions in different levels, lack of encouragement for participation of local and international NGOs, lack of e...

Planning for Postdisaster Resiliency

Abstract: The focus of this article is planning for resiliency in the aftermath of a catastrophe. First, the authors offer their conception of planning for resiliency as a goal for recovering communities, and the benefits of planning in efforts to create more resilient places. Next, they discuss major issues associated with planning for postdisaster recovery, including barriers posed by federal and state governments to planning for resiliency, the promise and risks of compact urban form models for guiding rebuilding, and the failure to involve citizens in planning for disasters. Finally, they discuss lessons from prior research that address these issues and policy recommendations that foster predisaster recovery planning for resilient communities.

Agility and Discipline: Critical Success Factors for Disaster Response

Abstract: For more than thirty years, the U.S. emergency management community has been increasing its ability to structure, control, and manage a large response. The result of this evolution is a National Response System based on the National Response Plan and the National Incident Management System that is perceived to have failed in the response to Hurricane Katrina. Over the same period, social scientists and other disaster researchers have been documenting and describing the nonstructural factors such as improvisation, adaptability, and creativity that are critical to coordination, collaboration, and communication and to successful problem solving. This article argues that these two streams of thought are not in opposition, but form orthogonal dimensions of discipline and agility that must both be achieved. The critical success factors that must be met to prepare for and respond to an extreme event are described, and an organizational typology is developed.

The Evolving Role of the Public Sector in Managing Catastrophic Disasters Lessons Learned

Abstract: This article focuses on the emerging role of the public sector in dealing with catastrophic disasters. An empirical analysis of the 9/11 response operations provides a detailed case study with an eye to its implications for not only emergency management practice but public policy as well. The “horde of hurricanes” inundating Florida in 2004 provides a brief example of a “routine” disaster for comparative purposes. The argument is made that the response to the extreme event of 9/11 provides clear evidence of (a) the different standards expected of the public sector in the 21st century and (b) the fundamental difference in kind between routine disasters and catastrophic disasters. The article states that the public increasingly expects better public sector leadership before, during, and after catastrophic disasters than has been seen in the past. High standards of responsiveness and the ubiquitous media compel public leaders to coordinate resources effectively.

A Critical Evaluation of the Incident Command System and NIMS

Abstract: In this article, the authors comment on the incident command system (ICS) as a management tool for structuring the activity of disaster response agencies at the site of disasters in the United States. The authors drawn their analysis from the use of ICS in nine different disasters in which the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) task forces participated. The authors focus on the importance of context as a largely un-examined precondition to effective ICS. In other words, the system is more or less effective depending on specific characteristics of the incident and the organizations in which it is used. ICS works best when those using it are part of a community, when the demands being responded to are routine to them, and when the sense of emergency on a social and cultural level is at a minimum, i.e., prior to panic situations. The authors conclude that the current efforts in the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to use ICS as a comprehensive principle of disaster management probably will not succeed as intended.

The Importance of Governance in Risk Reduction and Disaster Management

Abstract: This paper identifies institutional failure as the root cause for underdevelopment and susceptibility to disasters and explores their interdependent relationship. It is demonstrated that only if a country’s governance structure enables the implementation and enforcement of public policies conducive to a country’s economic and social development can sustainable livelihoods be achieved and susceptibility to disasters be reduced. Accountability, participation, predictability and transparency are identified as the key features of a governance structure that fosters development and supports risk reduction.

Hazards, Vulnerability and Environmental Justice

Abstract: Part I: Old, New, and Familiar Hazards * The Changing Landscape of Fear * Chemical Hazards in Urban America * Fleeing from Harm: International Trends in Evacuations from Chemical Accidents * Ecocide in Babylonia * The Forgotten Casualties: Women, Children and Environmental Change * Part II: Vulnerability to Threats * Vulnerability to Environmental Hazards * Revealing the Vulnerability of People and Places: A Case Study of Georgetown County, South Carolina * Social Vulnerability to Environmental Hazards * The Science of Vulnerability and the Vulnerability of Science * Part III: Societal Responses to Threats * Societal Responses to Environmental Hazards * Risk Cognition and the Public: The Case of Three Mile Island * En-gendered Fears: Femininity and Technological Risk Perception * Evacuation Behaviour and Three Mile Island * Crying Wolf: Repeat Responses to Hurricane Evacuation Orders * Public Orders and Personal Opinions: Household Strategies for Hurricane Risk Assessment * Part IV: Environmental Justice * Race, Class and Environmental Justice * Issues in Environmental Justice Research * The Role of Geographic Scale in Monitoring Environmental Justice * Setting Environmental Justice in Space and Place: Acute and Chronic Airborne Toxic Releases in the Southeastern United States * Using Relative Risk Indicators to Disclose Toxic Hazard Information to Communities * Dumping in Dixie Revisited: The Evolution of Environmental Injustices in South Carolina * Part V: From Theory to Practice * Emergency Preparedness and Planning for Nuclear Power Plant Accidents * Airborne Toxic Releases: Are Communities Prepared? * Geographers and Nuclear War: Why We Lack Influence on Public Policy * Emerging Hurricane Evacuation Issues: Hurricane Floyd and South Carolina * GIScience, Disasters and Emergency Management

Communication, Coherence, and Collective Action: The Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Communications Infrastructure

Abstract: Communications infrastructure is critical to managing the complex, dynamic operations that evolve in disaster environments. The impact of Hurricane Katrina destroyed the communications infrastructure within the New Orleans metropolitan region, leaving emergency response personnel and the public with little capacity to exchange information vital for coordinating response actions. The loss of communications proved especially damaging, given the size of the geographic region and the number of people affected. The authors used content analysis of news reports to identify the network of organizations that emerged in response to Hurricane Katrina, and network analysis to examine patterns of interaction among the organizations. The patterns reveal significant asymmetry in information among organizations at different levels of authority and responsibility in the disaster response system, a condition that contributed to the collapse of coordination in disaster operations. Conversely, well-designed communications a...

Integrated Community-Based Disaster Management Program in Taiwan: A Case Study of Shang-An Village

Abstract: Taiwan has long made efforts to increase community emergency response capability, due to its vulnerability to earthquakes, typhoons, landslides and debris flows. Not until recent major natural disasters, such as the 1999 Chi–Chi Earthquake, Typhoon Toraji and Typhoon Nari, has the government reformed its policy toward empowering the community to take actions in hazard mitigation, emergency preparedness and emergency response. A new initiatve, Integrated Community-Based Disaster Management Program (ICBDM), was launched in 2001 by the Executive Yuan to achieve the goal of strengthening community resistance. The paper, taking Shang-An Village as an example, describes Taiwan’s new community-based disaster management program. Through a participatory process, community residents have learned how to analyze vulnerable conditions, discover problems, develop solutions and establish an organization to implement disaster management tasks. Further, basic response training courses and a disaster scenario were held in order to improve their emergency response capability. Based on the case study, a phased process, including initiation, assessment, planning and practice, is generalized.

Frequency of Man‐Made Disasters in the 20th Century

Abstract: This paper analyses two disaster databases maintained by the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters and by Emergency Management Australia. The objective is to quantify the frequency, nature and changes in man-made disasters in industrialised countries during the past century. The analysis shows an exponential growth in disaster frequency, largely due to an increase in traditional hazards such as fires and explosions, rather than from new technologies. Although the number of incidents has grown, this has been offset by a decline in fatalities per incident. An important implication of these results is that regulatory oversight and internal corporate governance processes are inadequate to ensure effective management of modern industrial risks.

Rules rather than discretion: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina

Abstract: This paper explores options for programs to be put in place prior to a disaster to avoid large and often poorly-managed expenditures following a catastrophe and to provide appropriate protection against the risk of those large losses which do occur. The lack of interest in insurance protection and mitigation by property owners and by public sector agencies prior to a disaster often creates major problems following a catastrophic event for victims and the government. Property owners who suffer severe damage may not have the financial resources easily at hand to rebuild their property and hence will demand relief. The government is then likely to respond with costly but poorly targeted disaster assistance. To avoid these large and often uneven ex post expenditures, we consider the option of mandatory comprehensive private disaster insurance with risk-based rates. It may be more efficient to have an ex ante public program to ensure coverage of catastrophic losses and to subsidize low income residents who cannot afford coverage rather than the current largely ex post public disaster relief program.

Hastily formed networks

Abstract: The ability to form multi-organizational networks rapidly is crucial to humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and large urgent projects. Designing and implementing the network's conversation space is the central challenge.

Hazards of Nature, Risks to Development: An IEG Evaluation of World Bank Assistance for Natural Disasters

Abstract: The World Bank's Independent Evaluation Group examined the World Bank's experience in disaster prevention and response over the past 20 years and found that the scale of Bank operations has grown over the period. The report found that the Bank has demonstrated considerable flexibility in its approach, but actions have tended to be more reactive than proactive, with disaster response taking more of the focus that preventative measures.

Disaster relief, inc.

Abstract: When disaster strikes, many corporations respond generously. After the 2004 tsunami, for instance, U.S. firms alone contributed more than half a billion dollars in cash and in-kind donations. But a host of reactive efforts don't produce the best results-and may even get in the way. To make the most of their humanitarian efforts, companies need to address two fundamental questions: What kind of aid do we want to contribute--philanthropic (money and in-kind donations) or integrative (backroom, operational assistance)? And how do we want to contribute it--by working one-on-one with a single agency or by joining a consortium? The permutations of those two decisions lead to four different approaches, each with its own strengths and challenges. Single-company philanthropic partnerships work well when there's a good match between what a company wants to contribute and what an agency needs, as with Coca-Cola's donations of water to the Red Cross. More diffuse, but also potentially more effective, are the benefits of joining a multicompany philanthropic partnership, which enables the resources of many firms to be matched to the missions of many agencies. More difficult to establish but more fundamental in its impact is a single-company integrative partnership, in which a corporation works to improve the way an aid agency operates, as the logistics giant TNT has done to help the distribution efforts of the World Food Programme. And most difficult to implement--but potentially most effective-is a multicompany integrative partnership, which brings to bear the collective best practices of many companies to improve the response capabilities of multiple agencies. It's easy to see why the image of a relief worker carrying a sack of grain delivers an emotional wallop, but the behind-the-scenes work of process enhancement is just as crucial to humanitarian efforts. The sooner executives realize this, the better positioned the world will be to respond to global disasters.

Globalization of disaster: trends, problems and dilemmas.

Abstract: After the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 donor countries subscribed to post-disaster relief appeals so copiously that all the money could not be spent quickly enough to justify the reasons for which it was donated. For other contemporary disasters, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, there was an alarming dearth of funds and a general failure to respond to international relief appeals. This paradox neither illustrates that the world is becoming more generous nor demonstrates the opposite. It does, however, highlight one of the many contrasts inherent in current approaches to disaster. As worldwide involvement in the relief and mitigation of catastrophe deepens and becomes more complex, so the approach becomes more fragmentary in some respects, particularly those that relate to global security strategies, and more uniform in others, especially in terms of where the international political system directs its limited attention. Over the last half-century the massive growth of worldwide travel and telecommunications has brought what were once essentially regional and local problems onto the world stage. In considering such momentous changes, this article surveys the global pattern of catastrophes and offers an analysis of modern systems of emergency preparedness and processes of disaster relief, with particular attention to the problems of creating resilience and the moral and practical dilemmas of prevention and response. First it examines the global impact of disasters with respect to changes in societal vulnerability and growing imbalances in economic development. Next, it considers mass communications in relation to the symbolic significance of disasters and the patterns of donation to relief appeals. It then looks critically at the logistical and organizational aspects of humanitarian relief, with particular attention to major events, such as the Atlantic hurricanes of September 2005 and South Asia earthquake of October 2005, and what they reveal about the international community's policies and practices regarding aid. Subsequently, the article considers disaster mitigation in relation to world economic trends and the changing structure of global financial power. It then examines the current international policy frameworks for catastrophe mitigation and the prospects for achieving positive change in the future. THE GLOBALIZATION OF MODERN DISASTERS In physical terms global disasters have been a recurrent and integral part of Earth history, as periodic mass extinctions have resulted from the "global winter" caused by gigantic volcanic eruptions or the impact of large extraterrestrial bodies. But because the geological timescale on which such events occur is so much longer than the one on which human lives are measured, these events are too rare to fall under the remit of an article about the globalization of disaster. (1) Moreover, it has taken the better part of two and a half millennia to appreciate the significance of major cataclysmic natural events. First, the form of the earth as a celestial globe had to be understood; second, the laws of modern physics had to be established, especially regarding the force of gravity; third, the age of the Earth had to be rolled back far enough to permit some understanding of the magnitude and frequency of exceptional events; and finally a robust geophysical explanation of seismicity, volcanism and the general circulation had to be worked out. Hence a proper understanding of the physical underpinnings of natural disaster only emerged in the mid 20th century. (2) It has contributed immeasurably to worldwide consciousness of major natural disasters, but much less to understanding of the key problem of vulnerability, which some scholars regard as a far greater determinant of disaster risk than the existence of hazards themselves. (3) In terms of human perception, prior to the 20th century the event closest to a global disaster was probably the Portuguese earthquake of 1755. …

The pediatrician and disaster preparedness

Abstract: For decades, emergency planning for natural disasters, public health emergencies, workplace accidents, and other calamities has been the responsibility of government agencies on all levels and certain nongovernment organizations such as the American Red Cross. In the case of terrorism, however, entirely new approaches to emergency planning are under development for a variety of reasons. Terrorism preparedness is a highly specific component of general emergency preparedness. In addition to the unique pediatric issues involved in general emergency preparedness, terrorism preparedness must consider several additional issues, including the unique vulnerabilities of children to various agents as well as the limited availability of age- and weight-appropriate antidotes and treatments. Although children may respond more rapidly to therapeutic intervention, they are at the same time more susceptible to various agents and conditions and more likely to deteriorate if they are not monitored carefully. This article is designed to provide an overview of key issues for the pediatrician with respect to disaster, terrorism, and public health emergency preparedness. It is not intended to be a complete compendium of didactic content but rather offers an approach to what pediatricians need to know and how pediatricians must lend their expertise to enhance preparedness in every community. To become fully and optimally prepared, pediatricians need to become familiar with these key areas of emergency preparedness: unique aspects of children related to terrorism and other disasters; terrorism preparedness; mental health vulnerabilities and development of resiliency; managing family concerns about terrorism and disaster preparedness; office-based preparedness; hospital preparedness; community, government, and public health preparedness; and advocating for children and families in preparedness planning.

The National Flood Insurance Program's Market Penetration Rate: Estimates and Policy Implications

Abstract: The Federal Emergency Management Agency is currently conducting a major evaluation of the goals and performance of the National Flood Insurance Program. This report contributes to that evaluation by developing more reliable estimates of the proportion of single-family homes that have flood insurance (the market penetration rate); by identifying factors that determine the market penetration rate; and by examining some of the opportunities for, and the potential benefits of, increasing the market penetration rate.

Katrinanomics: The politics and economics of disaster relief

Abstract: Hurricane Katrina revealed massive governmental failure at the local, state and federal levels. This commentary brings the modern theory of property rights and public choice reasoning to bear in explaining why officials failed to strengthen New Orleans's levee system despite forewarning of its weaknesses, failed to pre-deploy adequate emergency supplies as the storm approached landfall and failed to respond promptly afterwards. Its main lesson is that no one should have expected government to be any more effective when confronted with natural disaster than it is in more mundane circumstances.

Public access computing and Internet access in public libraries: The role of public libraries in e-government and emergency situations

Abstract: This article presents findings from the 2006 Public Libraries and the Internet study and other research that demonstrate the impact of public Internet access in public libraries on the communities and individuals that the libraries serve. This article focuses on the importance of public library Internet access in times of emergencies and for a range of electronic government (e–government) services at the individual and community–wide levels. Public access computing and Internet access in public libraries function as a first choice, first refuge, and last resort in a range of emergency and e–government circumstances, allowing individuals to engage successfully in essential e–government services such as registering for Medicare or other benefits and filing tax information. With this key centrality as agents of government services, public libraries increasingly play significant roles in times of emergencies, like the aftermath of a hurricane, in which communities rely on the public library Internet access to request aid, try to find missing family and friends, file Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and insurance claims, and begin rebuilding their lives. This article also discusses the need to revise government policy related to the role of public libraries in their support of e–government as public libraries increasingly serve as agents of e–government.

When Practice Matters More Than Government Plans: A Network Analysis of Local Emergency Management

Abstract: This study examines the disparity between formal plans and actual networks in practice for emergency services in a local government setting. This study found that the accuracy of participants'colle...

Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs

Abstract: Chapter 1 Emergency Management: A Historical Perspective Chapter 2 Emergency Management: A Social Science Perspective Chapter 3 The Emergency Manager: Evolving Roles and Shifting Paradigms Chapter 4 Establishing the Emergency Management Program Chapter 5 Assessing Risk Chapter 6 Developing Strategy Chapter 7 Planning Concepts Chapter 8 Planning Techniques and Methods Chapter 9 Coordinating Disaster Chapter 10 Managing Crisis

Not if but when : adapting to natural hazards in the Pacific Islands Region - a policy note

Abstract: Pacific Island communities are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters - ranging from tropical cyclones, drought, floods, storm surges and tsunamis. Each year, these events result in significant loss of life, the destruction of homes, public infrastructure and livelihoods and the reversal of hard-won economic gains. Recently, deadly tsunami and earthquake events in the Indian Ocean region have focused the attention of the world community, particularly those living in small islands and coastal regions, to the need for greater vigilance in disaster prevention and preparedness. This is all the more important as evidence mounts that climate change will exacerbate the incidence of extreme events and potential disasters. The goal of this Policy Note is to influence policy makers and development partners in the Pacific Islands region to undertake risk management of natural hazards and minimize the future impacts of natural disasters, climate change and sea level rise. As a short-term objective, the Policy Note aims to review the disaster trends and lessons learned from pilot risk management of natural hazards initiatives, and recommend a strategic way forward. Particular attention is paid to Incentives, Institutions, and Instruments.