The Complexity of a Disaster, the Cause-and-Effect of Such Disaster in Our Lives - Essay Example

SYSTEM FAILURE IN CASE OF DISASTER 1. INTRODUCTION The term disaster is complex and although it has no universal definition, it is being use whenever a certain event resulted in significant loss of life and property. Deconstruction of a certain destructive event such as a disaster can give us better understanding of its complexities, the cause-and-effect, the impact it has on our society, learn lessons that can guide us in the future. The following section discusses the complexity of a disaster, the cause-and-effect of such disaster in our lives, previous disasters and their root causes, and lessons learned after deconstructing the various events. 2. COMPLEXITY OF DISASTER In realty every human being has the right to propose a definition of disaster but finding a credible definition or meaning of the word disaster can be a complex task since one should also find consensus with other definitions. According to Perry et al. (2007, p.3), there is no single definition that can be generally useful and acknowledged. Basically, some people identify ‘disaster’ as an occurrence of something devastating to people but it also means many things to many people. In the early days, disaster was being defined as a phenomenon associated with any event that generates considerably negatives consequences (Carr 1993 in Perry 2007, p.4). In Challen (2004, p.4), disaster is the destruction of the natural world and communities that are caused by nature or human actions. According to Quarantelli (1998, p.77), some interpretation of the word disaster is purely definitional where it seems to create and take in the object of interest. Most interpretation of disaster, he added, subscribes to the view of hazards theory that disaster has a physical agent acting upon them. Similarly, some defined disaster as an event affecting the entire society or group of people (Fritz 1961 in Perry 2007, p.6) that is a “severe, relatively sudden, and frequently unexpected disruption” (Sjoberg 1962 in Perry 2007, p.7). There are many issues in defining disaster this is because the term ‘disaster’ is sometimes interpreted in a particular context (Beaver p.93). For instance, a disaster may be defined in political context, business, publicity, and natural. For this reason, some people may view disaster fits in one context but not with the other. There were a number of ways in which the term ‘disaster’ was used in business to describe a significant loss in investments or in market share. Today, although the term disaster is more often identified with flood, earthquake, hurricane, and others, it is also being use to describe an irrecoverable erasure of critical files in a database. Apparently, disaster is no longer confined with natural destructive events but include the inability to deliver products and services due to disruption caused by a certain element (Beaver 2003, p.93). For this reason, a disaster may be generally accepted as a state of condition that momentarily or permanently disrupts a social system (O’Leary 2004, p.3). Moreover, disaster can be in the form of malfunctioning, partial or complete destruction, and anything that requires communities to use more effort to regain stability. 3. CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF DISASTER There are a number of definitions of disaster and similarly to explain disaster; one must trace the connection between the causes of such disaster and its impact to people (Wisner p.52). A flood for example can be readily identified with some abnormal hydrological event but its root causes may be improper land use such as settlement of a number of people in hazardous areas which is commonly induced by poverty, inadequate infrastructures, poor environmental management, and other factors. According to Stoltman et al. (2004, p.321), the existing cause-and-effect relationship between disaster and social and economic development cannot be ignored. For instance, many believes that poverty is the primary cause of disasters in developing countries as evidenced by significant number of families or communities living in hazardous areas such as river banks, dump sites, etc . Since “disaster events is not always clear and recognizable” (Handmer & Dovers 2007, p.8), some root causes may not always visible. For instance, the root cause or causes of Hurricane Katrina cannot be immediately identified to nature or to some instant phenomenon because there are a number of factors that are already affecting the environment for decades that might cause this such as climate change, ozone depletion, and other environmental change caused by pollution and other human interventions. People are often vulnerable and affected by natural hazards not entirely because of usual weather phenomenon but as a consequence of their own actions (Stoltman et al. 2004, p.317). People and the environment interact and shaping each other. For instance, the volcanic eruptions that killed a number of people would have been just an eruption if no people decided to live near it. Similar, pollution will not exist if people do not burn fuel, disposed waste, and produce hazardous chemicals. In other words, when people do or modify things, they also modifies the environment around him because they do not just co-exist but affect each other (Quarantelli 1998, p.209). To better understand the cause and effect of disasters, cause-and-effect models emerged and one of them involves linear progression demonstrating the causes to impacts (Alexander p.290). A cause-and-effect diagram can be use as a tool for analysis of different factors or causes that are responsible in the occurrence of a certain situation. This is done may be done by breaking down the main causes into smaller and smaller specific causes (O’Leary p.114). A cause-and-effect or better known as Ishikawa or “fishbone” diagram for a particular disaster can be presented as: 4. CASE STUDY On record, hurricane Katrina who devastated the North Central Gulf Coast is the sixth strongest hurricane ever to hit the United States. In August 23, 2005, Katrina was believed to be forming in the Atlantic during the hurricane season and six days later it was already causing severe destruction from Florida to Texas. However, the most notable and severe was the significant loss of life and property in New Orleans. The region was nearly swallowed up by floodwaters due to the tragic failure of levee system. Over a million residents were displaced and most of them were living in way below the poverty line which makes them more vulnerable during and after the storm. An estimated 1,836 people were killed by Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing floods. Roughly 80 billion dollars of properties and other facilities were damaged (Levitt & Whittaker 2009, p.3). Aside from the economic effects, the ecological impacts of hurricane Katrina are overwhelming. For instance, the storm destroyed havens for wildlife and migratory birds, salt water instructions, destruction of forest, and pollution in Lake Pontchartrain caused by floodwaters (Uzochukwu et al. 2009, p.97). Due to criticism of the federal and local government, an investigation was conducted along with the resignation of the head of FEMA. One of the main issues was the failure of the levee protection system that was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. According to Levitt & Whittaker (2009, p.3), hurricane Katrina not only reveals the weakness of an infrastructure but uncovered the devastating effect of structural racism and classism. Along with shocking levels of poverty, hurricane Katrina unearthed the dislocation and vulnerability of African Americans in particular. “Poverty has its roots in racial discrimination” (Hartman & Squires p.2), which is the same poverty that made vulnerable to the wrath of the storm, the subsequent flooding, and the massive failure of government basic services and relief response made the matter even worse. The people of New Orleans was actually confronted by three consecutive disasters; the wrath of hurricane Katrina, the failure of the levee system, and the failure of FEMA to rescue people, provide food, water, or safe shelter (Healey 2009, p.36). In January 12, 2010, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 struck Haiti. The epicentre was in Port-au-Prince in the Quest province with 2.2 million people. Many people were at work when the earthquake strikes the densely populated area of Port-au-Prince. Contributing to the devastating effect of the earthquake was poor quality construction, the already very difficult human condition in the country, and the lack of emergency and contingency plan (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 2010, p.2). In a report from USAID, the earthquake affected roughly 3 million individuals with an unknown number still trapped under collapsed buildings. The assistance and relief operations were also being affected by debris on roadways leading to disaster area (USAID 2010, p.1). The area that is largely affected by of the earthquake’s epicentre is the low income housings with unreinforced masonry. Extensive damage was also recorded in governmental, private commercial buildings, roads, public utilities, infrastructure, hospital, fire stations, health centres, water, sanitation, schools, and productive activities. In other words, the earthquake caused the whole system in Haiti to fail (Mora 2010, p.7). Once again, similar to New Orleans, the natural calamity was further complicated by the fact that people in Haiti are mostly living in poverty and dwell in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking and placed in unstable hillsides (IRISH 2010, p.3; Perito 2010, p.4). In another report concerning why an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 had caused so much damage and death in Haiti, points to the poorly designed structures and quality of construction that is generally widespread in Haiti. Another reason is the lack of adequate preparation for known earthquake hazards (UWI 2010, p.2) and failure to develop a national disaster management system that can provide assistance to people in crisis (Perito 2010, p.4). The massive destruction and sufferings of the people of Haiti from the occurrence of earthquake was due to the “absence of governance” (Perito 2010, p.3) coupled by failures in establishing and enforcing building codes and zoning policies. Moreover, Haiti’s laws and administrative structures are outdated and restrictive and corruption in government was widespread. In general, the disaster in Haiti was the consequence of a number of things such as social and geological factors. These are poverty, corruption in government, negligence, outdated laws, and pervasive social exclusion (Perito 2010, p.5). Earthquake tragedies are not new because just 9 years ago the disaster that hits El Salvador and Gujarat in 2001 still needs some explanation. Earthquakes do happen since it is probably part of living on earth. However, it is not normal for humans to be buried under a landslide caused by earthquake. According to Pelling (2003, p.45), disaster occurred because of human action and inaction. For instance, the devastation of 400 homes in the middle-income neighbourhood in the hills of Santa Tecla, just a few kilometres from the city was due to a landslide or the collapse of slope above the hills. There seems a big difference between dying from an Act of God through a naturally occurring disaster and dying because the multi-storey structures you are living in were not built according to appropriate building codes. Moreover, it is also not an Act of God to develop a slope and ridge above residential houses. Again, the poor and middle class suffered because they live in makeshift houses that are vulnerable to earthquake. Similarly, some middle-class was attracted by new apartment houses built near slopes by contractors who are often times neglectful of building codes (Pelling, p.45). 5. LESSONS LEARNED Deconstruction of disaster through system methodology can give us a clear and closer view of the root causes of events and its impact to society. The case studies presented may be deconstructed is a way that it can clearly reveal some useful lessons concerning previous disasters. For instance, when deconstructed, the case of hurricane Katrina will reveal the fact that the cause of disaster was not due to the hurricane alone but from a much deeper and shocking social and political issues. The discrimination and dislocation, failure of rescue and services, and widespread poverty are reasonable sub-causes of the disaster. The earthquake in Haiti is another disaster caused by poverty, failure of governance, corruption, and lack of concern from the very people that manage the affairs of the country. The El Salvador earthquake and subsequent landslide was also brought about by the same root causes. One very important lesson learned from deconstructing these disasters is the reality that naturally occurring phenomenon such as hurricane, earthquake, flooding, volcanic eruption and others are merely part of a bigger problem. For instance, if the levee system did not fail and the people of New Orleans were living in stable houses with a government that is ready to provide immediate assistance, hurricane Katrina is just another seasonal hurricane. Similarly, the earthquake in Haiti is just another earthquake in the Caribbean if people are living in the stable, well-planned, and well-constructed houses under good governance with an established contingency plan. In the same way El Salvador is a be a better place to live in even with earthquake if no one is buried alive in a landslide, no make shift homes collapsing, no corruption and negligence in construction, and so on. 6. CONCLUSION There is no doubt disaster is complex considering the significant number of definitions and interpretations available in literature. However, as far as this study is concern, disaster is something understandable and its cause-and-effect can be clearly identified. Through deconstruction and use of system methodology, the complexity of disaster can be reduced to comprehensible form where its root causes and associated impacts can be easily analysed and understood. Naturally occurring phenomenon such as the hurricane and earthquakes discussed in our case studies were merely the visible cause since there are still a number of hidden sub or root causes that greatly contributed to the disaster that needs to be identified. It is therefore necessary to deconstruct these events to get a clearer of view of disaster. 7. 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