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Progressiveness

Progressiveness. A Vital Principle in Emergency Management. What are the Consequences of Disasters?. Injuries Deaths Property damage Economic losses Distress on the physical environment Social disruption. Rising Disasters?.

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Progressiveness

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  1. Progressiveness A Vital Principle in Emergency Management

  2. What are the Consequences of Disasters? • Injuries • Deaths • Property damage • Economic losses • Distress on the physical environment • Social disruption

  3. Rising Disasters? • “Over the past 50 years, the number of disasters has increased along with the threat they pose” (Roberts 2005, 1). • “Communities in the United States are becoming more and more vulnerable to major disasters” (Waugh 2007, 5). • “We have every reason to believe that our citizens are going to face bigger disasters in the future” (Witt 2001).

  4. Rising Disasters? (cont.) • “In the near future, we will have both more and worse disasters” (Quarantelli 1993,12). • “Irrespective of whether the involved agents are natural or technological, there will be both quantitative and qualitative increases in disastrous occasions for all societies” (Quarantelli 1999, 9). • “Americans will see one or two catastrophic events that will be beyond comprehension” (Tolbert 2001).

  5. Causation of Disasters • “To understand what makes people vulnerable, we have to move away from the hazard itself and look at a much wider and much more diverse set of influences. The whole range of economic, social, cultural, institutional, political and even psychological factors that shape people’s lives and create an environment that they live in. Vulnerability is socially constructed” (Twigg 2001, 2).

  6. Factors for Rising Disasters • Industrial hazards • Biotech hazards • IT hazards • Terrorism and WMD • Climate change • Unwise development • Inadequate construction • Urbanization • Poverty • Elderly populations • ailing infrastructure • Politics • Unclear policy • Poor preparedness • Heterogeneous subcultures • Risk subsidization • Lack of resources • Lack of staff • Citizen apathy • Other

  7. The Need to be Proactive • Lu Canton recommends that we think strategically • This can be done in each phase of emergency management • We need to see the big picture and take disasters seriously

  8. Sustainable Hazards Mitigation • We must change our culture • We should focus on issues such as the environment, quality of life, personal responsibility, vibrant economies, equity, and consensus building • Tools for SHM include land use, warnings, engineering, insurance and technology • Social forces must also be considered

  9. Resistance • Project Impact: The Disaster Resistant Community initiative • Collaboration with the private sector • Focus on wise development and engineering • Grants enable mitigation measures • Mitigation is the cornerstone of this perspective

  10. Resilience • “The ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change” (Geis 2000, 152). • Understand hazards and vulnerability • Assess laws and pass legislation • Train and educate • Improve coordination • Maintain capabilities

  11. Comprehensive Vulnerability Management • Is built on, but goes further than, the social vulnerability school • We only have control over vulnerability, not hazards per se • There are many factors that make us vulnerable

  12. Comprehensive Vulnerability Management (cont.) • Vulnerability is determined by physical and social environments • These environments have negative and positive features • Risk, susceptibility, resistance and resilience determine disaster impacts • The focus is on liability reduction and capacity building

  13. Mitigation Recommendations • Assess natural hazards • Evaluate industrial and transportation hazards • Determine threat of terrorism • Use GIS • Create a HAZMAP • Change laws • Consult with engineering dept. • Enforce all regulations • Use caution with structural mitigation devices • Seek grants

  14. Preparedness Activities • Create a planning council • Seek political support • Obtain grants • Create and EOP • Train to standards • Conduct exercises • Establish an EOC • Promote community education • Ensure warning sirens are functioning • Develop a Community Emergency Response Team

  15. Response Activities • Provide advanced warning • Evacuate to safety • Assess damages • Conduct a needs assessment • Declare a disaster • Remove debris • Work with medical and public health communities • Provide info to media • Manage volunteers and donations • Communicate between EOC and ICS

  16. Recovery Activities • Plan priorities • Enact new regulations • Work with other emergency management partners • Address emotional needs • Monitor special populations • Enlist private sector • Take advantage of window of opportunity • Remove repetitive loss structures • Rebuild with next disaster in mind • Monitor fraud, waste and abuse of funds

  17. Assignments • Write a paper about the threat of terrorism OR • Write a paper about “progressive emergency management”

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