Disaster Risk Reduction of Farmington - Term Paper Example

Outline 1.0 Introduction -This paper will focus on risk assessment, policies, disaster systems and disaster risk reduction applications that apply to the community in Farmington, CT. 2.0 Risk assessment -Hazard assessment -Vulnerability assessment -Socio-economic assessment 3.0 Disaster policies -Stake holders in disaster policies -Policies enforced by FEMA 4.0 Existing disaster system in Farmington, CT -Importance of information and communication -Disaster systems in Farmington, CT -Disaster recovery services 5.0 Disaster risk reduction applications utilised in Farmington, CT -Applications in use -Land use planning -Early warning system -Building codes 6.0 Conclusion 7.0 References 1. Introduction Disaster reduction strategies are a challenge for communities globally. It involves the reconciliation between cost and future benefits in case of a disaster. These strategies aim at reducing the impact of a disaster in the society. The implementation and success of these strategies depends on the participation of the community and the government. The recent global activities, such as global warming, have led to increase in the community’s vulnerability to a disaster. Natural disasters include hurricanes, floods, storms, tsunami, landslides and volcano eruption. In the recent years, these have led to a raise in the number of deaths accruing from the disaster. Although the incidence of natural disaster may be constant, human activities contribute to the intensity of the impact of the disaster. This paper will focus on risk assessment, policies, disaster systems and disaster risk reduction applications that apply to the community in Farmington, CT. Farmington is a town in Connecticut, US in Hartford County. According to the 2010 census, the town has a population of 25,340 persons (Town of Farmington [TF], 2011). In 1955, the town experienced floods which resulted in the death of almost 90 people and destruction of property worth millions. The floods resulted from Hurricane Diane and Hurricane Connie. This served as a catalyst for development of new laws and safety measures. It also served to alert the community of other potential risks that would result in disaster. Risk awareness levels in the community depend on the availability of information and the society’s opinion on the risk. It is influenced by the understanding of the natural hazards and vulnerability of the society. All communities are vulnerable to natural hazards depending on the social, physical, environment and economic vulnerability. 2. Risk assessment Risk assessment is the method of identifying the extent and nature of a risk by critical evaluation of the potential hazard and the community vulnerability. It includes hazard, vulnerability, socio-economic and level of risk assessment. It is necessary for every community to apply risk assessment principle so as to come up with adequate policies and measures for disaster risk reduction. Hazard assessment aims at identifying the probability that a specific hazard can occur at a particular time in the future as well as the impact of the hazard. It involves the application of analytical techniques using standard computer software. In Farmington, the potential natural hazards include earthquakes, tornados, thunder winds, hail storms and other extreme weather related hazards. An example is the assessment of earthquake occurrence in Farmington. The aim is to determine the probability that a particular level of ground motion is exceeded or reached at a particular time. It involves the analysis of both earth shaking and movements. Each natural disaster has a method of determining the probability of occurrence which the community can adopt. This information is then represented on a hazard map which identifies the most vulnerable areas. Vulnerability assessment involves identifying the degree and extent of a community’s vulnerability. In US, the Federal Emergency Management Agency working with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has prepared information that a community may use so as to identify and prioritize their vulnerability to hazards. This information is aimed education emergency managers, building officials and other bodies responsible for disaster reduction in the community. In Farmington, the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is accountable for coordinating the disaster reduction measures (TF, 2011). Socio-economic assessment involves the identification of the resources that the community requires in case of disaster. This includes funds, hospitals, food and water storage, infrastructure as well as other humanitarian organizations. Availability of these resources determines the capacity of the community to cope in case of a disaster. The capacity of the community to deal with a disaster is directly linked with the society’s vulnerability. There are various methods put in place to assess the environmental, social and macroeconomic impact of the disaster in the area. In Farmington, various programs have been set up to carry out risk assessment of the community. The Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is in charge of implementing risk assessment procedures in the community. In the recent years, the trends of hazards and vulnerability have changed thus challenging the traditional method of risk assessment (TF, 2011). It is thus necessary to incorporate the people’s perception to a risk in implementing various methodologies in risk assessment. 3. Disaster Policies and Commitments of Organisations in Farmington CT Though the government should be central in the activism towards disaster risk reduction, other shareholders like the private sector and the local community should also participate in this process (ISDR, 2004). The government plays a key role in issues concerning disaster in Farmington CT. One way that the state participates in the issue of disaster is by issuing policies that govern disasters in the area. According to FT, the state does this through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA collaborates with various agencies in Farmington to ensure that inhabitants of the area are adequately equipped to handle and recover from disasters that are declared an emergency by the head of state (FT, 2011). This decentralisation of the outlook for disaster management has greatly improved the preparedness and response to disasters (ISDR, 2004). Moreover, it provides funds to facilitate garbage collection in the area, enhancement of measures to be taken during emergencies and strengthens the public and private infrastructure to enhance disaster preparedness. All these measures aim at mitigating disasters. The policies that are enforced by FEMA include, “Hazard Mitigation Funding policy, Seismic safety codes, the Interim Policy on Construction Standards and Codes for the Nisqually Earthquake Disaster and the Emergency Snow Mitigation policy that enables release of funds following potential hazardous blizzards and snow falls “ Though the area has satisfactory policies, the application of the concepts remains the most important thing if successful implementation is to be observed (ISDR, 2004). For this reason, mass awareness of the existing policies and their significance should be stressed to ensure that this is achieved. More non-governmental organisations should also come forth to support this course and supplement the responsibility of the state. 4. Existing Disaster Systems in Farmington, CT According to ISDR, proper disaster planning and follow up techniques are highly dependent on availability of information and means of communication (2004). Information is also important as it enables the community to effectively access risk and impacts the decision making process in the event of a disaster. For effective risk assessment, the available information must be easily available, relevant, precise and up to date (ISDR, 2004). Though new information regarding a disaster is useful, it should be incorporated to already existing information. This leads to the strengthening of the already developed Early Warning Systems hence boosting the process of disaster mitigation (ISDR, 2004). Though information regarding disasters is abundant, many communities still remain ignorant due to lack of access to this information. There are various disaster systems that exist in Farmington, CT. Among them is a computer program system that was created by North East Document Conservation Centre and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioner. The program, christened dPlan, aims to enlighten people attending the institutions in the area about the importance of disaster preparedness (TF, 2011). Moreover, it assists them to come up with adequate ways to respond effectively respond to disasters. This program can be utilised by institutions of any size and is particularly useful in organisations that lack disaster trained personnel. The mechanism of operation of the program entails imputing relevant information to the program which in turn processes it and comes up with ways to mitigate disasters as well as appropriate responses can be undertaken. The program, which is free of charge, comes in handy as it is easy to use and convenient (TF, 2011). In addition, Farmington area makes use of various disaster recovery services that can be easily accessed on the internet. These services include recovery from disasters like earthquake, storms and infernos. Moreover, the division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security has collaborated with Connecticut Department Emergency Services and Public Protection to come up with an emergency notification system (EMS) for the residents of Farmington, CT (TF, 2011). It is a service in which residents of the area are required to subscribe. In case of a disaster, the residents are notified early enough either by mobile phone or email. They are provided with information regarding the nature of the disaster, the area affected and the best way to respond to it. They are also provided with timely updates on the dynamics of the disaster with time (TF, 2011). Though these services are useful to the course of disaster reduction, more aggressive awareness and public sensitisation should be stressed so as to ensure efficiency. 5. Disaster Risk Reduction Applications Utilised in Farmington, CT According to ISDR, there are various disaster reduction applications. These include environmental management, planning of how to use land, construction and building codes, financial and economic tools and the utilisation of early warning systems (ISDR, 2004). According to ISDR environmental management refers to the strategic conservation of the ecosystem (2004). It involves the coming up of strategies that facilitate sustainable development and use, conservation and fair sharing of the returns accruing from the use of the resource. This has been greatly experienced through the aggressive plans set in place to collect waste material in Farmington so as to maintain the authenticity of the ecosystem (TF, 2011). This has been achieved through the drafting of the disaster debris management plan in October 2007. The aim of this document was to provide guidelines on how get rid of debris that remained as an impact of a wide range of disasters. Land use planning requires the establishment of a relationship between the available land for use, physical demand for the land and the population growth in an area (ISDR, 2004). Efficient land planning saves land and environment in case a disaster occurs. According to TF, the town of Farmland has managed to maintain its authenticity through the establishment of a planning and zoning department composed of professionals who oversee the community land use (2011). Early warning systems refer to the activities and processes that are put into place to forecast a looming disaster so as to minimize the loss of property and lives. They occur in three stages and are an important parameter in mitigation of the impact of disaster. In addition, they promote good decision making in the face of disaster. In Farmington, CT, there is an established department of Emergency Management and Homeland security which is mandated with the task of coordination of information during a disaster. It is part of a larger network that incorporates professionals in meteorology to deal with the most common disasters in the area. According to TF, there are specific building codes that are supposed to be adhered to during construction in the town of Farmington (2011). These include review of buildings that are above a certain optimum limit. In addition, the least flat roof snow load is considered as thirty while the buildings should have a frost protection depth of forty two inches. The adherence to these codes should be highly stressed to ensure compliance since the stakeholders may fail to implement them. 6. Conclusion Disaster reduction strategies are a challenge globally. The aim of these strategies is to decrease the impact of disaster in the society. The Farmington floods experienced in 1955 served to catalyse the development of new laws regarding disaster reduction. It is crucial to carry out risk assessment in terms of vulnerability, socio-economic and the level of risk. Various disaster policies have been put in place in Farmington so as to decrease disaster risk. Disaster systems, including computer programs, have been developed to further suppress the disaster risk. Reference List International Strategy for Disaster Management (ISDR). (2004). Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives, vol 1. Retrieved from http://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/publications/657. Town of Farmington, Connecticut. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.farmington-ct.org. Read More