The Key Stages of the Disaster Management Cycle - Essay Example

Discuss and Evaluate the Key Stages of the Disaster Management Cycle in the Context of Your Chosen Disaster Table of Contents Introduction 3 Earthquake Risk and Vulnerability 4 Discussion and Evaluation of the Key Stages of the Disaster Management Cycle in the Context of Earthquakes 5 Mitigation 6 Preparedness 8 Response 9 Recovery 11 Conclusion 12 References 14 Introduction Earthquakes occur throughout the world. It is recognised as one of the most destructive natural disasters. Every year hazards as a consequence of earthquakes leave behind the trail of deaths, destroyed homes, traumatised communities and have far-reaching impact on the national economies. In keeping with conservative estimates, millions of individuals have deceased in earthquakes and damages have cost billions of dollars. It has been measured that the percentage of loss of human lives as a result of earthquakes is increasing manifold in developing countries as compared to developed countries (International Council for Science, 2008). Accordingly, earthquakes are considered to occur owing to sudden transitory motion of the ground due to the release of elastic energy experienced for a few seconds. The impact of the earthquakes is most devastating as it affects large areas because it occurs all of a sudden and at the same time earthquakes are largely unpredictable. Besides, its impact is widespread resulting in large scale loss of life and the damage to property is massive as well. The impact of earthquakes on the human lives is the worst as it may disrupt the life supporting equipment and facilities such as water supply, power, sewage and communication among others. The aftermath of the earthquakes has also a radical impact on the economy and society in the form of slowed economic development and threat to human lives arising from the outbreak of epidemics. Correspondingly, the purpose of this essay is to discuss and to evaluate the key stages of the disaster management cycle in the context of earthquakes. Earthquake Risk and Vulnerability It has been observed that over the last few decades, the global population has become more susceptible to natural disasters such as earthquakes. The unplanned as well as unregulated use of land, failure to exhibit adequate environmental control along with the improper application of building standards have largely contributed towards increasing exposure to natural disasters including earthquakes. It is perceived that the trend towards augmenting vulnerability is expected to continue and it has been predicted that the loss arising from natural disasters such as earthquakes will rise in the years to come (RMSI Pvt. Ltd, 2008). According to Hualou (2011), almost 75 per cent of the global population resides in the areas that are at least once impacted by earthquake and other forms of natural disaster. It is further stated that around 8.5 per cent of world’s population is exposed to one or the other form of natural disasters. The average annual economic loss arising from such disaster was estimated to be US$659.9 billion in the year 1990 and is constantly rising with increasing population and constant infrastructural development (Hualou, 2011). Moreover, rapidly rising population followed by intensive civil and industrial building as well as a lack of adequate public awareness regarding the seismic hazard have led towards increasing vulnerability to earthquakes (Babayev & et. al., 2010). Discussion and Evaluation of the Key Stages of the Disaster Management Cycle in the Context of Earthquakes It is apparent that there has been a considerable increase in the number of natural disasters in the last few decades, which has resulted in increasing the loss of life and damage to property. Its impact in the current scenario is viewed to have more severe outcomes. Consequently, the need to replicate disaster management is now being felt to a larger extent (Vadivel & Rav, 2010). Currently, governments across the globe are viewing disaster management as an effective measure towards reducing harm and fatal consequences to people and infrastructure during the catastrophic events such as earthquakes. Disaster management is believed to be extremely useful for coping up with sudden and unpredicted calamities such as earthquakes (Ismail, n.d.). Risk management is considered as the most important aspect of disaster management. Over the years, several measures are used to deal with the event of disaster. Disaster management in the context of earthquake can be considered to be unique as there is no scientific technique that can be used to issue warning. An effective disaster management plan involves a series of different stages. Correspondingly, the different stages of disaster management in the context of earthquakes can be best understood through disaster management cycle as illustrated below. Disaster Management Cycle Mitigation Mitigation is the first stage of disaster management cycle. It deals with the activities that eliminate and reduce the possibility along with vulnerabilities of occurrence or the potential effect of a disaster. This stage of disaster management cycle usually begins with the execution of hazard identification followed by vulnerability analysis which is considered to be essential for the planning of other stages in the disaster management cycle. This stage primarily involves two key steps. The first step requires the identification of hazard that has the potential to impact the population. The second step involves determining how the structures and property will be impacted by the event of disaster (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1983). In the context of earthquakes, it is not possible to eliminate the force and magnitude of the earthquakes. Thus, it is crucial to build an environment that is able to withstand the adverse effects of ground shaking resulting from the event of earthquakes. Mitigation in the context of earthquakes can be bifurcated into two classes involving mandatory-structural mitigation and non-structural mitigation grounded upon the generally accepted mitigation standards. In relation to mandatory-structural mitigation, the concerned government bodies strive to reduce the danger of the event by means of improving building standards and codes as well as inducing mechanical changes. Accordingly, it has been identified that there are several aspects of mandatory-structural mitigation but not all are pertinent to earthquakes. Correspondingly, only a few aspects of mandatory-structural mitigation are useful with regard to earthquakes, which include resistant construction of “new stock”, structural modification of “old stock” and formulation of building codes and their enforcement (Hayward, 2011). Corresponding to the domain of resistant construction, designing and constructing is considered as the efficient cost-effective way of referring risk. In terms of structural modification, it is admitted not to ignore the existing structure. Accordingly, it is claimed that there is a need of continuously updating the resiliency of buildings that are already constructed in order to reduce the possibility of becoming a victim of subsequent disaster. Furthermore, concerning the domain of building standard and enforcement, it is claimed that government bodies should regularly review the building codes in order to bring improvement in building codes and standards and they must enforce them in order to ensure effective mitigation of the risks arising from the event of earthquakes (Hayward, 2011; Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1983). Unlike mandatory-structural mitigation, the non-structural mitigation primarily focuses on people and non-permanent household items. The aspect of non-structural mitigation deals with non-structural governing measures, non-structural physical changes and community education programs. In relation to regulatory measures, management of land is considered to be an effective way of practicing mitigation. Besides, public awareness which involves informing people about the actions that needs to be taken at the time of earthquake is considered as another effective way of ensuring mitigation. Lastly, non-structural physical modifications are also recognised as an important constituent for practicing mitigation. Responsively, in dealing with the event of earthquakes, every aspect of mitigation discussed above is considered to ensure adequate safety of people by preventing collapse of the structure. It is evaluated that mitigation is a crucial stage in the disaster management cycle as it prevents disaster from taking a catastrophic shape (Hayward, 2011). Preparedness The next stage in the disaster management cycle is preparedness. Preparedness usually deals with the actions that are taken prior to the occurrence of disaster in order to ensure effective response to the recovery of the consequences of disaster. Preparedness stage in the disaster management cycle involves those groups of people who will be in disaster response. Preparedness measures that are to be undertaken greatly rely on the analysis of the severity of hazards and vulnerability. The primary goal of the preparedness plan is to ensure a systematic way to respond during the event of disaster. Accordingly, three board conditions are identified to be necessary in order to ensure successful preparation for an individual. Correspondingly, ‘knowing what to do’, ‘knowing how to do it’, and ‘having the appropriate tools to do it’ are deemed to be three broad conditions of preparedness (Hayward, 2011). The role of government bodies are considered as imperative for ensuring effective implementation of programs that drive the accomplishment of these three broad conditions. Moreover, in order to ensure that the goals of preparedness are duly achieved government bodies are required to design and conduct programs that are instrumental to planning, training and exercise. Besides, equipment and clearly defined roles are also ascertained to be essential for successful preparedness. Concerning planning, it is stated that every government needs to have established departments such as Emergency Operational Plan (EOP) that will have the detailed plan about the agencies as well as the responders along with the tasks that are required to be executed during the event of earthquakes. Similarly, exercise is another program that needs responders to participate. Accordingly, exercise is likely to provide a clear idea about the reliability of the plan. On further note, training is considered as another important area that shed light on how to execute the assigned jobs in better and improved manner. Apart from this, availability of appropriate equipment is also considered as important for responding to the emergency situation. In this regard, a few of the important equipment that can be worthwhile during the event of natural disasters such as earthquakes include interoperable communication equipment, fire suppression systems and means of transportation. Clearly defining, the functions of agencies are also recognised to be important during the event of earthquakes. Nonetheless, it is argued that prior preparedness is extremely crucial when natural disasters such as earthquakes occur. This is because during the event of earthquakes, there is no time to engage in training of person, generating awareness or buying equipment. Preparedness saves time which occupies a vital place especially during the event of earthquakes (Hayward, 2011). Response Response stage of disaster management occurs immediately following the disaster as well as continue during the event of disaster. Response is generally designed to provide immediate assistance to the people who have been faced with the tragedies such as earthquakes in order to reduce any further secondary damage. Response in the context of earthquakes can be can be categorised into five different phases that involve warning, prompt public safety, security of property, public well-being and restoration (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1983). Warnings: It is the first phase of response, in the context of earthquake; warning is required to be issued primarily to two groups involving general public and agencies as well as departments who will be responding during the event of emergency. Notably, the use of communication channels such as television and radio can be ascertained as effective for alerting public about the disaster (Smet & et. al., 2011; Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1983). Prompt Public Safety: It is an important phase of response stage. This phase relates with providing emergency assistance such as medical services as well as the phase includes rescue and evacuation of people from the earthquake affected area. The primary aspect of this phase is to ensure safety of people who have acquired injuries as a consequence of earthquake (Smet & et. al., 2011; Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1983). Security of Property: Next vital phase involved in the response stage of disaster management cycle in the context of earthquake includes protection of property. In this regard, the role of fire-fighters and police can be ascertained to be extremely important (Smet & et. al., 2011; Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1983). Public Wellbeing: This phase involves two main activities namely caring for the people immediately after the occurrence of the earthquake and assessing damage. In this phase, an integrated effort of service agencies is pivotal. This phase is concerned with the need of shelter, food, medication and clothing (Smet & et. al., 2011; Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1983). Restoration: It is the final phase of response which encompasses actions pertaining to repair and renovation of the basic necessities. In other words, it involves restoring of basic utility services as well as disposal of debris from the affected area (Smet & et. al., 2011; Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1983). Recovery It is the final phase of the disaster management cycle. This stage lasts until all the structures after the earthquake return to normal or close to normal. The recovery phase involves identification of priorities for the purpose of restoration. In the context of earthquakes, recovery phase can be segregated into two broad categories involving short-term and long-term. In this regard, short-term recovery deals with restoration of basic facilities and services to minimum standard. Moreover, it also involves the disposal of severely damaged buildings and infrastructure as a result of the earthquake in order to ensure adequate safety of public. Besides, restoration of water and electricity supply and other necessary amenities of life are executed in this phase. Generation of awareness regarding the good hygiene practices in order to eliminate the possibility of outbreak of epidemic followed by cleaning and rehabilitation of the disaster site encompass the immediate short-term recovery. On the other hand, long-term recovery in the context of major earthquakes can continue for many years. Long-term recovery usually involves redevelopment of earthquake knocked areas. Besides, this phase allows the assessment of weaknesses as well as elimination of those weaknesses for averting any future consequences arising from the event of earthquakes which reverts back towards mitigation stage (British Columbia, 2008; Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1983). Conclusion It has been observed from the foregoing discussion that earthquake is a global phenomenon. It is also recognised as one of the worst natural disasters which results in widespread loss of life as well as destruction to property. The effect of earthquake is not limited to a specific community but its impact can be realised on the overall economic development of a nation. Over the years, as a consequence of earthquakes, millions of people have been estimated to lose their lives and billions of dollars have been reckoned to cost due to the event of earthquake. Earthquake as a natural disaster is ascertained to occur due to the sudden transitory motion of the ground. It is projected that the consequences of earthquake in the upcoming years will be even worse. Rapid increase in the population size as well as a lack of environmental control and continuous process of unplanned urbanization are considered to increase the vulnerability and risk to earthquake. In the backdrop of increasing risk and vulnerabilities due to earthquake as well as severity of impact associated with it, there has been an upsurge in the need for effective disaster management. In order to cope up with the challenges imposed by natural calamities such as earthquake, disaster management framework has been widely implemented to reduce the adverse impact of earthquake. In this regard, disaster management cycle that involves mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery stages are identified to be effective to deal with the risks and vulnerabilities of earthquake. Mitigation is the first stage which deals with elimination and reduction vulnerabilities of disaster event or its effect. Preparedness is second stage that seeks actions which are undertaken before the occurrence of disaster. The third stage in the disaster management cycle includes response which deals with providing instant assistance and operation of rescue and evacuation services. The final stage involves recovery which encompasses activities concerning repair and redevelopment of the affected area with the purpose of bringing everything into normal. References Babayev, G. & et. al., 2010. Scenario-Based Earthquake Hazard and Risk Assessment for Baku (Azerbaijan). Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci, Vol. 10, pp. 2697-2712. British Columbia, 2008. British Columbia Earthquake Response Plan. Recovery Phase. [Online] Available at: http://embc.gov.bc.ca/em/hazard_plans/EQ_Plan.pdf [Accessed March 31, 2014]. Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1983. Emergency Program Manager: An Orientation to the Position. The Agency. Hualou, L., 2011. Disaster Prevention and Management: A Geographical Perspective. Disaster Advances, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 3-5. Hayward, D., 2011. A Global Assessment of Large Scale Earthquakes: The Impact of Mitigation and Preparation Policies on the Loss of Human Life. Mitigation. [Online] Available at: http://honors.usf.edu/documents/Thesis/U62281621.pdf [Accessed March31, 2014]. Ismail, I. B., No Date. The Need for Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Plans. Emergency Planning on Disaster Management/Preparedness, pp. 197-204. International Council for Science, 2008. Science Plan on Hazards and Disasters. Earthquake Scenarios. [Online] Available at: http://www.icsu.org/icsu-asia/publications/science-planning-reports/science-plan-on-hazards-and-disasters/Earthquake-%20Floods%20-%20Landslides.pdf [Accessed March 31, 2014]. RMSI Pvt. Ltd, 2008. The Future of Earthquake Disaster Management. Geoworld, pp. 30-31. Smet, H. D. & et. al., 2011. The Response Phase of The Disaster Life Cycle Revisited. Proceedings of the 2011 Industrial Engineering Research Conference, pp. 1-8. Vadivel, S. & Rav, S. B., 2010. Disaster Management: A Global Issue. International Journal of Civil and Structural Engineering, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 80-90. Read More