Disasters, Catastrophes, and Emergencies - Essay Example

Disaster Relief Plan Evaluation of Effectiveness Introduction Disasters, catastrophes, and emergencies are the problems, the impact/destruction of which could not be exactly measured or calculated, as most of these circumstances are of uncertain timing. That is why whenever evaluating a disaster plan for a country we should consider some factors that are common throughout the world such as: accessibility, mobility, means of communication, trained human resource, adequate funds and supplies, government support, livelihood protection issues, integrated and coordinated disaster management (John Harrald-2006). There are always some issues that are specific to a particular country, which in our case is Thailand, here transparency of the utilization of the relief funds and corruption are considered to be the major issues by the foreign or domestic donor and relief agencies. Without the proper and adequate evaluation of these issues proper Disaster Management Plan could not be evaluated. How to Evaluate Disaster Relief Plan The most important element when evaluating any disaster relief plan is the integrity, honesty, coordination and availability of the local administration. Relief work would be very difficult if these elements are not available. After that one should consider the accessibility and logistic support available in the affected areas, because it is necessary to determine to scope of relief work. And it should be followed by the availability of trained and qualified professional, who could coup with any particular emergency or disaster. Gathering the support and trust of the locals administration is also very important, this would ensure the security of the relief team and adds to the capacity building of the relief work. Collection, storing and distribution of supplies is of fundamental importance, a good plan must cover these issues, this could be easily achieved through the participation from corporate or private sector of the country (Jaffin & Bob, 2008) Issues Specific to Thailand As discussed earlier, the misappropriation and corruption in the relief funds is the main issue which the international community closely monitor when considering any relief effort for Thailand. Lack of transparency would cause a sense of unrest and lack of trust in the Sovereign Government, by the foreign or domestic fund or relief agencies. This issue would be of utmost importance when considering any disaster relief plan for Thailand. Efforts to mitigate and reduce the corruption in the funds received for relief of those affected by a catastrophe must be ensured. The foreign and Non-governmental agencies involved in the relief work must ensure the proper utilization of resources and, should also ensure its supply to the needy people. And if these agencies or organization believe that local administration could not be trusted than they should take the matters into their own hands for the collection and distribution of the funds, whether received in cash or kind. It could be difficult for these agencies as they now had to put some extra effort, and develop their own system for the allocation and utilization of the funds received, but this extra effort would be worth it. Thai government should consider the issue of corruption altogether more seriously, as it is the most swelling issue in the country which had been hit by various disasters from late 2004. The misappropriation in the relief funds if not incorporated in the Disaster Relief Fund than it could be very easy to manipulate the relief fund account. In order to coup with such irregularities government should consider developing a disaster relief authority which would be accountable to each and every penny spent. Honest, hardworking and able administrators must be allocated in the affected region. Any centralized disaster relief authority could integrate any and every detail of the relief plan and progress through these administrators and this would also ensure the role and involvement of the central government. If such an effort for the transparency and proper allocation of relief funds could be ensured by the Thai government, it would be very easy for it to access and obtain help from various international relief agencies and organizations. This effort would also impact the trembled economy in the areas affected to be restored, as it would allow the finds to be distributed among the affected and not among the corrupt local regime. Because it will remove all the blatant corruption involved in the awarding the contracts, distribution of the relief goods and abuse of authority. Keeping in view the previous measures taken when covering the catastrophe of a disaster, if funds released from top go down the departments without corruption, it can be much easier for the people working on the ground to help the disaster victims. This is not specific to Thailand, the rule works all over the world. The less corruption there is in the transfer of funds the easier it is to implement a disaster plan. Problems when Evaluating Disaster Relief Plans The most important problem that could be faced and could halt the progress of any relief work is the lack of means of communication. If proper channels of communication and transportation are not available the devastation of the disaster could multiply. All the airports must remain open during the relief work, all the roads and channels must be primarily allocated for the relief work and a disaster communication system must be devised (West & Philip, 2005). Another problem that could be that scarcity of resources, nothing could be more damaging. Relief funds and supplies would be required in quiet a huge quantity as compared to the normal environment, which would cause economic issues for the government, which already is trembling with the natural disaster. It would also force the authorities to select among the affected areas which must be addressed first (Lindell, Prater & Perry, 2006). Diseases and viruses could easily spread in a disaster, and once such incident occur it would do nothing more than to panic the authorities, and also those which were already been struck by a catastrophe. The supplies of life saving drugs, vaccines and other medical and surgical instruments, along with the trained personnel must be available. So that the possible impact of any instance could be mitigated (Cuny & Fred, 1983). List of References Cuny, Fred C. (1983). Disasters and development. Oxford: Oxford University Press. John, H. (2006) Agility and Discipline: Critical Success Factors for Disaster Response, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Jaffin, Bob (September 17, 2008). "Emergency Management Training: How to Find the Right Program". Emergency Management Magazine. Lindell, M., Prater, C., and Perry, R. (2006). Fundamentals of Emergency Management. Retrieved from http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/fem.asp West, Philip (2005). A Framework for Responsive Content Adaptation in Electronic Display Networks. Department of Computer Science, Rhodes University. Read More