Session 7, Part 1 Logistics

1. Session 7, Part 1 Logistics Tricia Wachtendorf, PhD University of Delaware Disaster Research Center Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

2. Role of Logistics • Get the right supplies and personnel to the place where they are needed at the correct time, as efficiently as possible. • Make it possible for disaster responders to do their work. • Make it possible for catastrophe-affected populations to acquire what they need for survival and rebuilding. Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

3. Barriers • Communications systems down • Damage to/collapse of transportation, power supplies, water supplies • Overwhelming need/demand for relief from widely spread populations • The difficulties inherent in a multi-agency multi-government response • Convergence Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

4. Convergence vs. Convergence • Social Science/Disaster Research Meaning • Influx of people, materiel, and information toward response-related areas (may or may not be the impact site) • Interested in how best to coordinate convergence, or controlling it if possible and appropriate • Mathematical Meaning • Approach toward a specific value or definitive point • Interested in how to foster an accelerated convergence between dynamic needs and supply flows of critical resources Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

5. Convergence (influx) • External convergence • “the notion of movement toward the disaster-struck area from the outside” • Internal convergence • “movement toward specific points within a given disaster-related area or zone” • Fritz, C. E. and Mathewson, J.H. (1957). Convergence Behavior in Disasters: A Problem in Social Control. Committee on Disaster Studies. Disaster Research Group. Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

6. What are the features of catastrophe and how do they impact the delivery of critical supplies? For additional information see: Quarantelli, E.L. (2005). Catastrophes are Different from Disasters: Implications for Crisis Planning and Managing drawn from Katrina. Understanding Katrina: Perspectives from the Social Sciences, Social Science Research Council. http://understandingkatrina.ssrc.org Wachtendorf, T., B. Brown, J. Holguin-Veras, S, Ukusuri (2008). Catastrophe Characteristics and their Impact on Critical Supply Chains: Materiel Convergence Following Hurricane Katrina. Preliminary Paper No. XX. Disaster Research Center University of Delaware: Newark, DE Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

7. Consequence to Emergency Supply Chain Characteristics of Catastrophe • Most or all of the community built structure is heavily impacted….[and] the facilities and operational bases of most emergency organizations are themselves usually hit • Damage to roads and bridges creates difficulties navigating the impact zone, resulting in significant time delays in supply delivery • Damage to communication infrastructure leads to inadequate communications • Pre-positioned supplies may be damaged • Alternative space for supply warehousing and distribution may be difficult to identify • The response and short term recovery period may be protracted. A quick influx of long-term recovery-related supplies may unnecessarily clog the system Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

8. Consequence to Emergency Supply Chain Characteristics of Catastrophe • Local officials are unable to undertake their usual work role, and this often extends into the recovery period • Overburden on the local system and difficulties contacting those who would normally communicate needs in a disaster • Additional personnel from outside the area is especially needed to (_____ the) emergency supply chain, even though integrating outside personnel can bring coordination challenges Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

9. Consequence to Emergency Supply Chain Characteristics of Catastrophe • Nearby communities cannot provide help • Competition exists between communities for scarce resources rather than mutual aid provision(s) • Greater need for external convergence equals: • greater time delays in reaching impacted areas • increased challenges in coordinating what is coming in Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

10. Consequence to Emergency Supply Chain Characteristics of Catastrophe • Some community-based organizations that would normally play a role in distribution (e.g. some local food banks or churches) are themselves significantly impacted or not allowed back into impacted areas • Local commerce is impacted, making it more difficult to acquire large amounts of resources locally or to identify local suppliers still in operation • Most, if not all, of the everyday community functions are sharply and concurrently interrupted Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

11. Consequence to Supply Chain in Katrina Characteristics of Catastrophe • Convergence of donated goods from across the county and around the world occurs on a larger scale • As a result, logistics operators encounter additional challenges (more than the “typical disaster”) in sorting perishable or low priority goods from high priority items • Media may, more so than in a disaster, serve a role in providing the first picture of critical needs, thereby impacting the flow of supplies through their particular framing of the event • The mass media system, especially in recent times, socially constructs catastrophes even more than they do disasters Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

12. Consequence to Emergency Supply Chain Characteristics of Catastrophe • Heightened discourse will be present with regard to who is at fault, as different levels of government blame one another for inadequacies in supply distribution • Because of the previous five processes, the political arena becomes even more important Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

13. Consequence to Supply Chain in Katrina Characteristics of Catastrophe • Mass and extended out-migration of residents • Competing demands for emergency resources spread over a wider area, adding further complexity to the flow of goods as location of those in need changes Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

14. All photos below are from the weeks following Hurricane Katrina and include sites in Mississippi and Louisiana. All photos are copy written 2005 by the Disaster Research Center. All rights reserved. Photos are free for use for educational purposes and can be added to lecture slides by the course instructor. Photos must note the following caption: Photo courtesy of The Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

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18. In-Class Activity Materiel Resources Needed for a Catastrophic Event • subsistence • energy (e.g. oil and electricity) • administrative supplies • petroleum products • engineering and construction materiel • personal demand products (e.g. water and ice) • major items (e.g. mobile units) • medical materiel • property (e.g. space) • Facilities • Telecommunications • transportation   Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

19. All photos in the “in-class activity” slide were taken in India following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. All photos are copy written 2005 by the Disaster Research Center. All rights reserved. Photos are free for use for educational purposes and can be added to lecture slides by the course instructor. Photos must note the following caption: Photo courtesy of The Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1

20. In-Class Activity Catastrophe Readiness and Response Course Session 7-1