Legal Aspects of Disaster Management - Essay Example

LEGAL ASPECTS OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT Name: Course: Professor’s Name University Name City, State Date due Introduction Most countries have been faced by many catastrophes in the past and proper disaster management techniques adopted have helped them to reduce the effects of the catastrophes. The major catastrophes in most countries are floods and earthquakes, fire due to long droughts and hurricanes. The study will focus on the structure and governance of disaster management in different countries to help identify the legal aspects and other elements required for better disaster management. It has been argued out that a disaster can be prepared for, before it happens. Disaster management should include administrative decisions and operational international risk management standards which provide a set of principles, frameworks and processes to enhance ways through which individuals and organisations manage risk. Many have suffered directly from disaster strikes by losing their close relatives and friends or property being destroyed by the different catastrophes [Can07]. A number of setbacks such as ignorance, lack of basic education and poverty have led been a hindering factor to proper disaster management. It is however, a legal requirement that irrespective of the background of the people, they should be communicated to when warning for future disaster through well defined channels. This will help reduce the negative effects of the calamities as people will be better prepared to face the situation. The governments of most countries have been keen to identify key priorities and strategic direction in disaster management. The disaster management policies and plans are set to cover four main areas namely; risk management, the local government capacity and capability, community capabilities and effective disaster management operations. The policies and plans of risk management are covered through prevention, preparedness, response and disaster recovery phases which are well communicated to the community to be adopted. The local government is required to stay alert and effectively prepare to respond to disaster events. The policies and plans are expected to provide an effective and flexible disaster management plan for the state as a whole. Key issues concerning the legal aspects of disaster management Disaster related concerns in different countries for disaster management is aimed at limiting, controlling and minimizing the effects of disaster in the state. The introduction of new systems to govern disaster management in such countries is a legal requirement of both the national and international law on disasters. The disaster management changes and plans should consider both the pre-disaster stage and during and after the disaster. The following are among the issues that concern the present disaster management systems. The pre- disaster management stage includes aspects such as proper preparedness, mapping of the whole country and determining the areas that are most prone to calamities. During and after the disaster management techniques include the evacuation process for the affected areas and the authorities working to provide medical attention as well as providing resources such as water and food, sanitation, nutrition, shelter, smooth administration and survival of the affected citizens [Ahn04]. The international laws concerning disaster management consist of a number of multilateral treaties that have been established to foresee proper disaster management. The international human rights laws emphasize that that the needs of the vulnerable and special groups in the society should be considered. Some of the special groups include children, women and persons with disabilities. The international laws that have been developed to create a framework for disaster management are grouped into four. The first group is that of protection of life that deals with security and physical integrity. The second law is the right to basic necessities such as food, shelter, education and good health. The third group is the right to long term economic and social needs. Finally, the last group of laws is that of the civil and political needs. One of the key issues concerning the legal aspects of disaster management is the establishment of functional recovery groups to provide assistance when disaster strikes in any given area. Another legal aspect of disaster management is one that considers the prevention and preparedness of disasters in the state. Recommendations The role of the media is an integral part in disaster management. The media plays the role of providing information to the public as well as creating a positive or negative reputation through support and criticism of the performance of other parties. The media is in most cases under criticism since they report on every situation thus generating publicity to every activity being undertaken by different parties. Other important duties of the media include planting of ideas, creating media events and providing long term and short term campaigns to the public. Many states should often use the media to create awareness to the public on matters concerning disaster management and prevention. The media as a variety of ways through which they reach more individuals thus through the use of the media, the public becomes informed and thus better prepared to face disasters when they come. The introduction of observation systems would play a major role in determining the faults in different geographical regions and determining the weather patterns to determine when it would be likely for the state to face floods or earthquakes. Technology today allows us to determine and have a picture of the climatic changes. With such technology, it is possible to predict the weather changes thus creating some preparation when predictions show that there is a chance of a calamity occurring. The observation systems also requires that they partners with other agencies that have better equipment and technology such as the NASA in the united states to provide the states with better pictures from space on the weather patterns of the state. When the country becomes well aware of the changes and calamities that are likely to affect them, they can inform the citizens and have military personnel deployed to offer support services to the citizens. The government is given ample time to release resources such as the medical and surgical response resources, ships and air transport to transport those living in the high risk areas. The government is also able to communicate with the existing hospitals and have them increase their capabilities and become ready to offer medical relief to a huge number of casualties in case the calamity becomes severe. Another important recommendation for disaster management would be the introduction of more agencies to foresee the disaster prevention plans by providing information to the public for warnings and providing refugee and rescue services to those affected by any given disaster. It has been argued that after disaster strikes, many governments fail in their task to manage the disasters effectively. Some of the international calamities like the Katrina, that left thousands dead, could have been better managed and the effects of such calamities could have been less. The lack of better disaster management plans by the governments made the effects of the calamity more severe. In as much as the agencies are formed to foresee disaster management, they require support from all the different stakeholders such as the government, international bodies, non-governmental organizations and the citizens as a whole [Coo06]. The non-governmental organizations act as agents and watchdogs to the performance of the government. They help keep the government on its toes and also offer support services during disaster strikes financially and at time medical resources. Key leadership strategies required for better disaster management It is not necessary that the leaders be the person in authority, they can however be senior citizens in a given community who have a clear vision that would promote the disaster management strategies in a state and be able to communicate the plans clearly to others. A leader should have a clear vision which works in line with the objectives and mission of the disaster management plan. The leaders should, therefore, understand the strengths of the people that are around and help understand how best they can realise the disaster management plans and in time. The clear vision that the leaders may have is usually triggered by their ability to effectively see the success of the vision using different ways that target the achievement of the disaster management [Fra01] The notion of leadership is, usually, characterised by character and credibility. Leadership should not only be seen as good by the other people, but also possess the knowledge to express their ideas and intentions. Knowledge by the leaders is vital as it helps them to tackle the challenges that they may face as they manage the change. The leaders should also take the lead to effect the plans that they have developed to manage different cases of disasters. They should set an example for the other to follow to ensure that the plans are managed effectively. To achieve quality and a good following of the people with whom the leader works with, the leader should build a strong and solid relationship with the people that they intend to serve by building on their trust (Joseph, [Jos04] For the success of leadership strategies set to manage disasters in an area, a framework of well defined plans is expected to be laid to ensure preparedness before, during and after disaster strikes. The framework should provide preparedness, prevention and disaster mitigation techniques that are adoptable to the very lowest level of the community. Different states with assistance from the local and international agencies have set a plan for disaster management comprising of three parts. These are the disaster specifics which comprise of issues and methodologies, the cross cutting issues that are common to all types of disasters and the general issues such as the broad vulnerability profile of the state [Boi03]. Although leadership strategies to ensure better disaster management activities are undertaken before, during and after disasters is the work of the agencies responsible for disaster management, it should also be the work of the local leaders to ensure the smooth management of disasters. In disaster management, the leadership strategies are usually performed by four distinct groups of people. The first is at the grassroots level where the role of disaster management is played by the elders, senior citizens and the locally respected leaders of the area. The nongovernmental organizations, community based organizations and self help groups also play an important role in disaster management. The third group of active participants in disaster management is the role that women play. When disaster strikes, it is the women and children who suffer the most in the community. The women thus play a crucial role in disaster management by ensuring that the risks are reduced as well as providing awareness to the people on disaster management techniques. Finally, the urban and rural bodies, as well as the governmental and international agencies also play a vital role in disaster management [Boi05]. The different types of crisis that are likely to be encountered in different states include floods, earthquakes, fires, geophysical catastrophes, epidemics and water crisis. Where leadership roles are played by the people in authority and senior citizens, the leaders are expected to perform conformance roles and performance roles both internally and externally. The external conformance roles of those in authority include the provision of accountability to the different stakeholders such as law regulators. The internal conformance roles that they play are that of monitoring and supervision. The performance roles of the leaders are strategic thinking and direction selling. The internal performance roles that they play are policy making to ensure that a proper guide is formulated that will provide for proper rescue missions in case of disaster strike [Che05]. When considering leadership strategies at the organizational level, there are three major factors that need to be considered namely; culture, change and the networking of the organization. Culture and leadership refers to the support system that organizations have as they develop the organization to meet its goals and objectives. Among the issues considered when promoting a culture of leadership at the organization level are agility and flexibility, innovation to take up the available opportunities and being flexible in decision making [Mee04]. It is also important to consider a change when it comes to the disaster management at the organizational level. Change is usually a gradual process irrespective of where it is to occur. However, for a change to occur, it should be profitable to people or have a positive impact on the firm. It should be embraced by the people, and they should see its importance. It should be, however, noted that change is inevitable for any given society and best way to deal with change is to embrace it then identify the means through which they can reduce the negative consequences of the change [Jen07]. Effective change in an organization should consider resource utilization. Positive change should be as a result of better utilization of the human and natural resources that are available for the business. Change for the organization should be considered for disaster management as it helps the organization to prepare for future challenges. With the environment change every day, and instances of global warming and other climatic hazards being experienced in the world, disaster preparedness becomes a vital part for the organizations tasked with the duty of disaster management. To manage change, the organizations need to promote environmental sensing through sourcing diverse views, be passionate to find solutions to complex challenges that are emerging and promote reflective learning and knowledge sharing [Bob09]. Finally, networking is an important part of disaster management. By establishing relationships and regulatory partnerships, the organizations are able to cooperate and achieve their goals effectively. Effective disaster management recognizes the need for organizations to partner together as no organization that can achieve its objectives as a single agency. The collaboration should extend beyond the state borders to encompass the interstate and international partners. Partnering with the government allows the disaster agencies to be provided with a sense of direction and leadership. It also provides them with the resources that are necessary to provide assistance to those affected by the disasters and also provides the agencies with the authority to act. REFERENCES Can07: , (Canton, 2007), Ahn04: , (Ahn, Adamson, & Dombusch, 2004), Coo06: , (Cooper & Block, 2006), Fra01: , (Francis & Helen, 2001), Jos04: , (Joseph, Robert, & Peter, 2004), Boi03: , (Boin & Hart, 2003), Boi05: , (Boin A. , Hart, Stern, & Sundelius, 2005), Che05: , (Chen & Silverthorne, 2005), Mee04: , (Meese & Ortmeier, 2004), Jen07: , (Jennifer, 2007), Bob09: , (Bob & Douglas, 2009), Read More