Dealing With Disaster - Essay Example

DEALING WITH DISASTER By Location Introduction Disaster management is how countries and organizations deal with disasters. It is the creation and development of plans that help communities reduce the risk and vulnerability to disasters and cope with the hazards. The process, however, does not eliminate the threat of the occurrence of the disaster. There are different types of disasters from natural to man-made disasters that need communities to be prepared. The process of disaster management, however, focuses on the creation of plans that help reduce the impact of the disasters. Planning help reduces the risk of human mortality, damage to assets and losing revenue. The essay is going to focus on the Chile flood disaster and how a plan would improve the disaster that the floods left in the country. Discussion Disaster management includes four stages that are completely helpful in dealing with disaster. There are eight elements of the disaster management strategic policy framework that communities need to embrace to manage disasters. The Chile flood is the worst rain disaster in over 80 years for the country. The flood occurred in the Northern desert region of the country. Twenty-five people are reported dead from the floods while one hundred and twenty-five others are still missing. Reduction (Mitigation), Readiness (Preparedness), Response and Recovery (Baird 2010) are important in managing such a natural calamity. Reduction (Mitigation) Disaster mitigation is the means that one takes in advance or after a disaster. The aim is to minimize or eradicate the impact of the disaster on communities, infrastructure, the environment, and the economy. Implementation of disaster management can be cost saving to the community. The government should have social investment decision and a rational benefits decision, especially in remote and vulnerable communities to help reduce the damage and destruction from disasters (Sharma 2001). For instance, the flash flood disaster in Chile would have less damage if there were adequate preparation for it. The northern part of Chile that had the flash floods disaster had no adequate preparation. Deserts experience abnormal rains occasionally. Building infrastructure design meant to prevent floods is appropriate in the reduction of death and destruction from floods. Disaster management practice is also part of the reduction and mitigation strategy. Cost effective measures are necessary for ensuring the community is prepared for any disaster. The flash floods in Atacama, Chile caused a big damage to homes. The aftermath of the floods was muddy swamps everywhere. The mud managed to go into some of the homes of the people. Reduction of such cases can be through planting plants that have strong roots and prevent soil erosion. Trees with deep roots are appropriate in such areas. The government should provide appropriate and cost effective ways to reduce soil erosion. The cost-effective measures that are taken to reduce the effects of disasters should have an evaluation to see and access the return on the investments. The government agencies usually have designs and seek knowledge from people regarding disaster management (Gupta 2003). The flash floods of Atacama, Chile were an unexpected disaster that caught the government by surprise. It is the worst natural disaster to happen in the country in over eighty years. The community had no enough preparation for the floods. Reduction of such incidences can be through flash floods alerts. There are two types of flash flood alerts; flash flood watch and flash flood warning. The flash flood watch happens when the conditions suggest and shows signs of a flash flood. The watch is there to help people evacuate to areas where they are least likely to be affected by the floods. Flash flood warnings happen when the floods are already there or they will be coming (Smith & Matthews 2015). There were cases of massive mudslides in the Chile floods. The warnings are used to help people evacuate to safer grounds before the destruction. The death toll and those missing from the flash floods indicate there were no warnings of evacuation before the floods. The residents may also have refused to evacuate the area after being warned about the floods and its effects. The warnings include; be on the lookout for any heavy rain signs, do not cross the flowing water and move to higher ground in case of rapid waters sound or sight. The instructions are helpful in saving lives. The infrastructure, however, does not benefit from these warnings. Chile people did not expect the floods hence did not have proper alerts to help the affected communities. Readiness (Preparedness) Disaster preparedness is a process that includes arrangements that make sure a community is aware and prepared for any disaster. Should a disaster occur in such a community, all the resources and services that they need to enable them cope with the effects can be efficiently deployed (Baird 2010). Preparedness for a disaster is critical in assisting minimization of an impact of the disaster to the community and ensures timely and effective operational response in case there is a disaster. The country of Chile was not adequately prepared to handle the flash floods. Provision of necessary equipment to save the victims of the floods was minimum. More than 2700 people in the country are now homeless due to the floods. Education on how to react to such calamities should be everywhere from the media to schools to enable people act fast in case of danger. The people from the community are left without electricity or water since the disaster struck Chile. Mudslides are expected to increase in the region with the rescue team decreasing in number as the demand of the people that need to be rescued goes up. Part of disaster preparedness includes establishing a framework for disasters and functions that defines service delivery in case of a disaster. The framework should have capabilities that are operational within the arrangements for the disaster management. Knowledge concerning how to manage disaster is essential in ensuring the process is handled with professionalism. The flash floods in Chile caused massive power outages and blockages on the roads. One of the victims of the floods got electrocuted while trying to go through the floods. The emergency rescue team is becoming increasingly concerned about the fate of the one hundred and twenty-five people who are missing (BBC 2015). The team is not able to locate the people who are believed to be either swept away by the waters or are covered in mudslides. The people should be able to move fast from the regions where they are massive mudslides to safer areas but the government is not able to evacuate everyone at a fast pace. The camps the community is supposed to move too are too congested for more people to move. Almost all the towns in the Atacama region of Chile are submerged in the floods causing significant destruction of property and infrastructure (Lynch 2015). The government of Chile is issuing measures to the people to evacuate the risk areas to safer regions to avoid the death toll from increasing. Preparedness for any disaster includes annual tests that ensure the effectiveness of the plans and arrangements for necessary improvements are undertaken. The community is also prepared for such disasters through education on what measures they should take in case of a disaster. Flash floods are a common disaster in desert areas. Thus, the people should always be prepared in case of such events. The country of Chile had preparations for the disaster, although they did not expect such a big storm in the area. The government had to move in to help the Atacama region by giving $10M to the victims of the flash floods (BBC 2015). The cost arising from dealing with the disaster is higher than the cost the government would have used for preparedness in case of massive flash floods. The abnormal rains in the region were a surprise to the country as the region has been fighting fire from the extreme desert conditions. The country should, therefore, ensure adequate preparedness for such a disaster in order to handle it better the next time it happens. Response Disaster response involves activities that are in anticipation of, during, and immediately after a disaster that ensures its effects are minimized. The activities of disaster response happen during disaster operations. The importance of adequate and timely resourced approach to disaster response is important with the greatest demands being placed upon available resources. It is due to the industry being close to high-density areas, the increase in urbanization and urban congestion. The approach of timely and adequate resources requires the definition of roles and responsibilities to be clear of the people involved in response activities (Gupta 2003). The people understanding their functions that are a contributing factor to those activities is also important. The flash flood disaster of Chile had a large rescue team that responded to the disaster as soon as they could. The rescue team, however, did not get to the victims and survivors in time due to the inadequate resources available to the rescue team. The flash floods in Chile moved from the higher ground to the valley causing more damage to the people living in the valley. The country has does not have enough resources to prevent such a disaster at a short notice. Hence, the victims of the disaster go up at a faster rate than what the rescue team can save. The rescue team should work on ensuring the people in the valley have evacuated their homes to a safer place to avoid being victims of the mudslides. The mudslides go up to the homes of the people living in the valley causing major destruction of properties and even lives. Thousands of people in Chile now have no access to electricity due to the natural disaster. The government should move fast to ensure electricity is available for the residence as soon as possible. Water is also a major problem for the victims of the flash floods in Atacama. The rescue team should ensure the people get adequate and sufficient water for the victims. The impact caused by the disaster can effectively be to a minimum by efficient and effective disaster response. The community should also be part of the team that helps in reducing the effects caused by the disaster. The people should listen to all the warnings from the experts and vacate to safer places to prevent further loss of life. The flash floods in Chile had the local government manage it to the best of its ability. The efforts were not very effective, but there was saving some lives from the mudslides and the floods themselves. The response becomes effective if they are faster in responding to the disaster and innovating new ways to save the people in case their initial strategy fails. A technological advancement over the years is a good thing in terms of responding to any disaster. The modern technologies can help reduce the effect of the disaster. For instance, the rescue team had special tools and equipment used for locating victims of the floods. The tools are not very reliable for the kind of disaster the country is facing. The government already declared the situation in the northern towns as critical, and they may require help from experts outside of Chile. The risk zones of the aftermath of the floods increase as the days increase. Thus, the scale and deployment of capable forces to handle such a large disaster should be available upon prevailing risk. Recovery Disaster recovery is the process of supporting the affected communities in the reconstruction of their lives. It includes; restoration of the economy, physical infrastructure, the environment, and providing support for the physical, emotional, and social well-being of the people affected by the disaster. Disaster recovery goes hand in hand with disaster relief that is the giving of immediate life support, shelter, and human needs of the people affected by a disaster or people who are responding to the disaster. Disaster relief activities happen during disaster operations (Sharma 2001). The flash floods in Chile are a recent disaster that has happened in the country. The affected, who have lost their homes and property need support to be able to reconstruct their lives. The government has already sent $10M to help the affected communities deal with the disaster (Lynch 2015). Donors from all over are also part of the people helping the survivors of the flash floods. Lead agencies that help communities recover from calamities are available to ensure the people get physical, social and emotional help that they need. The lead agencies usually maintain a strong relationship with the government to ensure the help they provide reach each and every individual suffering (Smith & Matthews 2015). The recovery and relief programs and efforts from different bodies satisfy the community’s needs. The United Nations is one of the bodies that ensure the communities without adequate shelter or drinking water can access the commodities. The flash flood survivors have shelter and drinking water from the United Nations since the aid from the government was not sufficient. The survivors were complaining how the money and help from the government were not enough to provide all their basic needs. Appreciation to the government and other agencies is important for the recovery process from any disaster is not easy. Conclusion Dealing with disaster requires an effective strategic plan that ensures the effects of the disaster are not massive. The four strategies help to prevent further destruction of lives and infrastructure, thus saving the community the cost of rebuilding their lives. The flash floods in Chile were an unexpected disaster that caught the people by surprise. However, the community should put effective measures in place to prevent such an occurrence in the case of a similar disaster in future. References Baird, ME 2010, The "Phases" of Emergency Management. Vanderbilt Center for Transportation Research, (PDF). BBC, World News 2015, Multiple deaths as flash flooding hits Chile Atacama desert region. Available from [April 5, 2015] Sharma, VK 2001, Disaster Management, National Centre for Disaster Management, India. Smith, AB & Matthews, J 2015, Quantifying Uncertainty and Variable Sensitivity within the U.S. Billion-dollar Weather and Climate Disaster Cost Estimates. Natural Hazards, doi:10.1007/s11069-015-1678-x, pp. 30. Read More