Storms Over the Urban Forest - Term Paper Example

Crises and Disasters Crises and disasters occur mostly at the much unexpected moment and as such, it is important for those concerned with managing them to be always prepared and to have the ability to effectively deal with them should they occur. Normally, in many countries, the UK included, it is the local authorities and central governments that are charged with the responsibility of handling these situations given that they receive taxes to, among many other duties, manage disasters and crises. This article will analyze how local authorities and central governments handle disasters and crises and discuss the proposition that local authorities are in a better position to handle disasters and crises as compared to central governments. Brailsford (2009) states that disasters can mean calamities, mishaps, catastrophes or grave occurrences that may occur naturally or be manmade and lead to environmental degradation, human suffering, loss of lives and destruction or damage to property. Most disasters are usually beyond the cope of the affected communities. Crises may be defines as emergency situations that arise due to human or natural activities and pose threats properties, human lives or may result to disruption of the day-to –day lives of affected communities on a large scale (N.A., 1989). For instance, a flood is a disaster while heightened tension between countries can be regarded as a crisis, an example being the Cuban missile crisis (Perrow, 1999). While all disasters lead to crises, crises do not necessarily lead to disasters. In disasters, the affected individuals may find themselves being on their own for a while depending on the widespread nature of the situation (Faberow, 1999). Some disasters might be so bad that rescue services, like the medical assistance providers, police and fire fighters, may not be able to arrive at the disaster location right away. One way of looking at crises is that they are transformational processes in which the old ways of doing things have to be overhauled and change introduced (Hay, 1996). This is particularly true in incidences of political of political crises. Should change not occur, the crisis situation will be seen as either an incident or failed situation. Governments’ Role in Handling Crises and Disasters In general, the responsibilities and roles of governments in crises and disasters are huge in more ways than one. Apart from providing protection and assistance during situations of need, it is the governments that can calls such situations ‘crises’ and proceed to appeal to the international community for assistance (Ciottone, 2006). The role of coordinating and monitoring the activities of external assistance lie with governments which also set the regulatory and legal frameworks that govern the external assistance. The functions named above are important for the initialization and running of relief responses and the success and effectiveness of rescue operations hugely depends on how they are carried out. Taking the cyclone Nargis devastation of Myanmar as an example, the state had to consent to the various forms of relief that were offered and denied the use of naval vessels to deliver aid in its territory (Singh, 2009). Without the state’s consent, some of the necessary relief actions would have been impossible to offer however bad the situation may have been. The 2009 expulsion of agencies offering relief from Sudan also shows just how governments have a say in relief efforts. Definitions of what can be classified as disasters include events and situations that overwhelm the local authority’s efforts and capacities. In the US, following a disaster, the federal government can only offer its assistance following a formal request to do so by a governor from the state in which the disaster has occurred. Once a situation is declared to be a disaster by the country’s president, the federal agencies come into action and provide whatever assistance that may be required to provide relief to the effected individuals. Local Authorities’ Handling of Crises and Disasters The 9/11 attacks on the twin towers and the hurricane Katrina destruction of New Orleans are good examples that underscore the significance of the role of local authorities during the moments of crisis. Local governments ensure that public safety is maintained and should disasters happen, they respond to them with the necessary services of emergency management (Thackrah, 2004). Whenever crises unfold, it is the local authorities that respond first and normally assume the responsibility of deploying and coordinating the actions of the emergency control services until the emergency situation is declared safe to the public. Local authorities must therefore have with them emergency plans that will enable them deal with any emergency of disaster that may strike their areas of jurisdiction, such as floods, explosions, chemical spills, multiple shootings major accidents in their road or rail networks, or any other murderous attacks. Such plans should cover in detail the organizational steps that should be followed in the event of emergencies, contact numbers and any other information that may be necessary in crises and disasters (Crosbie & Gittus, 1989). A local authority’s way of dealing with the interests of the media, which are in many cases overwhelming during times of disaster or crisis, is not a matter of course covered in the local authority’s emergency plan (Franklin and Murphy, 1998). Some local governments, however, have developed their own public relations plans, usually in the wake of disasters within their areas of jurisdiction. There are also those local authorities that even go further to send some of their staff to colleges so they can learn the effective methods of dealing with the media during such situations (Morley, 2007). Discussion Terrorism has been a popular issue of discussions in the recent times, especially after the 9/11 attacks. But even before this incidence, there were the IRA attacks of the 1980s and 1990s in Britain that included the attempted take over of the Heathrow airport (Wright and Wright, 2006). The British government decided to use its military force to take back the airport and although it was successful in doing so, it received a lot of criticism for using too much force in a sensitive area like the airport as this could have affected the image of the UK abroad and had the potential of damaging the its tourism sector (Farazmand, 2001). It is much easier to assign the responsibilities of crises, disasters and hazards on the basis of geographical location. While terrorism has the potential and has even previously crossed borders and affected large numbers of individuals, some countries’’ legal system, like the American one, still assign the responsibility of dealing with such cases to the local authorities unless these cases involve bombing, kidnapping or bank robberies. Nevertheless, as first responders to situations, the public safety officers of the affected community area may have to deal with cases of terrorism until assistance arrives (Waugh, 2000). This is because it may not be possible for trained and experienced counterterrorism units and the national, regional or state emergency units to arrive at the emergency scenes within a short notice before important decisions are arrived at (Bolz, Dudonis & Schulz, 2005). The success or failure of such operations therefore lie with the local authorities and depend upon their ability to effectively handle crisis situations. In the US, the federal government’s role in managing public health crises is somewhat limited (Veenema, 2007). The role of the federal government in the intervention in public health crises is regarded as a subservient to state and local government, with exceptions the state or local authority requests for assistance from the federal government. Since it is the local authorities that are the first to respond to health crises or any other crisis, most of the state laws of the US require of the local authorities to take the necessary steps towards handling any crises of disasters that may occur. Most of the states even have a provision in law that allows local authorities to create an agency that would specialize on handling emergency cases (Farazmand, 2001). Should disasters or crises occur, the local authority executive, who in many cases is the city’s mayor, may be authorized by state law to declare a state of emergency, an example being the New York’ Executive Law number 24(1) of 2002 (Cornell university, 2002). Once the state of emergency is declared, the mayor is in most cases authorized by state law to suspend laws or to enforce certain regulations like extending the state of emergencies. The above mentioned New York state law gives the local authority executive, among other powers, the power to limit, prohibit or enforce curfews and to establish medical emergency shelters. As mentioned above, for disasters and crises of huge magnitudes, local governments may find themselves incapacitated in terms of resources, and as thus, state governments have to frequently involve themselves in large emergency cases. Some state laws in the US allow the state governor to arrive at decision on his or her own as long as the executive of the local authority has requested for assistance. The governor can then utilize the state’s resources to provide any required assistance that can aid in coping with the emergency situation. The governor, under state laws is also allowed to suspend certain legislations in emergency situations (Burban & Anderson, 1996). For bigger magnitudes of emergencies, the state may also be overwhelmed and may seek assistance from the federal government. This in most cases involves the state governor requesting the president to declare a portion or the whole state as federal disaster area. This will then allow the utilization of federal resources in quelling the disaster. Under certain circumstances, especially when the disaster is seen as grave, the president may declare emergency without being requested by the state governor. All these means that, as related to crises due to terrorism, just like local authorities prepare themselves for other emergency situations, they also need to have some capacity to respond to disasters related to terrorism. They may have to be prepared to respond to an array of possible disasters and although, nuclear, chemical or biological disasters may outstrip their capabilities and resources in short time periods, they should at least have some sort of procedure that can be followed to the demands of the terrorism event. In conclusion, as far as the debate on who is better placed to handle crises and disasters, the local authorities are. This is because, as mentioned in this essay, it is the local authorities that have the geographical advantage and can access the location of the emergency scenes fast. This essay has mentioned the IRA incidence which was criticized as having a negative effect on Britain’s tourism sector. Industries like tourism and indeed any other industry that hopes to attract investors rely heavily on a country being seen as stable and being capable of handling whatever challenges came along. By giving the responsibility of handling disasters and crises to the local authorities, the central governments send out a message of confidence in the local authorities’ abilities to handle the situation. To the outside community, this also, to some extent sends out the message that the country is stable even in its local authorities and very capable of handling whatever challenges. Involving the central governments is small disasters can be very expensive since the mobilization of resources at a national level has to go through many stages and movement of resources from locations that many be geographically distant is costly in terms of both time and money. It is therefore advantageous to let the local authorities handle the situations first and only involve governments when the local authorities feel overwhelmed or request for assistance. This essay has mostly used the case of New York in trying to show local authorities’ preparation in dealing with emergency cases. It has even shown a few of the legislations that give local authorities the power to handle crises and disasters within their locality. The essay used New York as an example since it among the cities that have had to deal with emergencies of big magnitudes. With the steps taken by New York and other local authorities, it can be said that they are better placed to handle disasters within their areas of jurisdiction but in bigger disasters, it is important that the local authority and central government work together to bring the situation under control. References Bolz, F., Dudonis, K.J. and Schulz, D.P. (2005). The counterterrorism handbook: tactics, procedures, and techniques. New York: CRC Press. Brailsford, P. D. (2009). Crisis and Disaster Counseling: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina and Other Disasters. California: SAGE. Burban, L. and Anderson, J.W. (1996). Storms Over the Urban Forest: Planning, Responding, and Regreening - A Community Guide to Natural Disaster Relief. New York: Diane Publishing. Ciotone, G.R.(2006). Disaster Medicine. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Health Sciences. Cornel University Law School. New York Court of Appeals. 4th June, 2002. Available at: http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I02_0059.htm. 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