Mitigation and Reduction Risk - Case Study Example

Mitigation and Reduction Risk Assessment and Investigation Plan I. Acquiring Information The local government of the area, specifically the city council, should be the first area of visit. “This is because it is the place with the area information and it is also the immediate response centers during the occurrence of the floods” (The state of Floridas Division of Emergency Management, 2011). To be able to obtain the coverage of the total area affected by the flood, there is the need to get the floor maps of the city. This is helpful in that it will assist in determining the flood zone designation and an understanding of the area around it since one does not need to be in the flood zone to experience a flood. This information will all be acquired at the city council’s office or the city building authority The other important aspect of this floor plan is to get information about the infrastructure, drainages and gutters, general slope of the land, any nearby streams and rivers, underground pipes and cables and other features that are in the area. It also helps in determining the accessibility of the whole area, type of terrain, location of the safe houses and whether they can easily be accessed II. Acquiring the Rapid Needs Assessment “The rapid needs assessment is a description of the extent of the damage that is sustained by the community. It is the general scope of the disaster in the area” (Flood plain management, 2011). This information can be acquired in the local authorities or any disaster management officials in the city, such as the Red Cross. The rapid needs assessment contains information on: Medical needs and availability of resources – This is information on the injuries, loss of lives and the number of victims that required assistance. It also states the number of medical teams that were at the scene of rescue and the facilities that are functional in the area. The availability of adequate medical equipment and supplies and the requirement for outside assistance are also documented in this assessment. Mass care – This is the mass equipment such as shelter, food and water and relief supplies that are available for the rescued group and the community in general once they are moved from the affected areas. Effect on infrastructure – This is the assessment of the amount of damage caused to the infrastructure. This is the impact on things such as buildings, roads, sewages and drainages, power generating facilities, schools and hospitals, communication lines, water pipes and distribution facilities. Release of dangerous materials – These are the materials that may have been released and can cause harm to the general population. They can range from the bursting of gas pipes to the release of dangerous chemicals to the surface, and this can cause another disaster to the community Fire and missing persons report - This is the number of fires that took place and the ability to sustain them. Any reports of missing people and the general rescue capabilities should also be included here. III. The overall damage Visit the area so as to investigate the overall damage on the businesses, housing, and bridges and document it by taking pictures or videos. “Also look for incidences of erosion or landslides” (The state of Floridas Division of Emergency Management, 2011). IV. Making recommendations Reasons for apparent failure in the implementation of an effective mitigation program Failure to meet and implement an effective mitigation program is mostly as a result of non-compliance with the accomplishment of the program. This happens when the implementers of the plan, the permittees, do not meet the terms and conditions of their permits. Some of the reasons for failure include: Lack or failure to meet the required funds With the increase in the number of population, the economic costs of disaster management also increases with every year. The migrations that come with the increase in population will, no doubt, cause people to also move to the regions prone to natural hazards such floods. Thus, the increase in population will not necessarily be at par with the speed of improvement of mitigation plans to accommodate all these people since it costs money that is also becoming hard to acquire in these financially hard times. With the lack of money to meet these mitigation plans and improve them to accommodate a larger community, the community is bound to be hit by disaster since they have no sense of protection. Lack of proper infrastructure plans that can withstand the flood Buildings and infrastructure that have no resistance to damage will incur heavy losses in the occurrence of a disaster such as flood. This will happen due to lack of improvements in construction codes, poor methods of building, low quality of building materials used for the new construction and post disaster repair and recovery. If effective measures had been used after the first flood, there would have been a huge reduction in the damage that was caused. Failure to meet the requirements of project specific plans This can be because of negligence of the implementation agency that is required to achieve this. Some agencies that are employed can be incompetent. In most cases these are the agencies that have acquired their permits through illegal methods but pose as reputable organizations. Their intentions are to make profits from the process and with this they end up providing poor services which in the end will prove their failure. Lack of proper enforcement and compliance officials Enforcement officials help preserve the integrity of a regulatory program by ensuring that everyone is treated fairly and consistently. “A compliance officer, on the other hand, is one that ensures the proper implementation of a mitigation program so as to ensure that the plans are met with accordance.” The two of them will work together to provide efficiency of the whole process since the compliance official will overlook the plan and the enforcer will prevent any form of criminal activities such as the breaking of the environmental laws from happening. Community cooperation “The general community also plays a great role in the implementation of the mitigation plan. While agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’S) Flood Mitigation Assistance provides the 75% of the funds to execute the plans, the community should be ready and willing to contribute the other 25% of the money” (Flood plain management, 2011). Lack of this cooperation can be a cause of the lack of implementation of the plans. Recommendations concerning the improvements of the city’s mitigation plan The acquiring of Geographic Information Systems “This is a system that links maps and databases to produce graphical layers that can help communities organize their resources like infrastructure development, funding, shelters and emergency centers so as to enable the development of an effective mitigation strategy” (Case study- Innovative floodplain management, Kinston, North Carolina, 2011). In these databases there is the inclusion of information such as the boundary information, infrastructure information and property statistics. This information will be helpful in various stages of mitigation planning and disaster control such as the pre-disaster mitigation planning where planners can use the system to predict the impacts on the infrastructure.” The City of Kinston- Lenoir County used GIS to show the 100 and 500 year floodplains and identify structures that could be affected.” The GIS can also be used in recovery and rescue missions so as to access disaster response. Building of infrastructure and facilities that could withstand the floods The first step to this is the assessing of the vulnerability of the buildings and infrastructure. After this the resistance of the structures is increased. This is done by improving construction codes and standards, designs and methods, and the materials used should be of high quality. The buildings should install systems that help stop water from entering their houses. These systems help by blocking doors, windows and air vents from entering the houses. People can also elevate their houses from the ground level with strong foundations which will also help. “If there are any rivers running through the city, their beds should be raised with embankments, walls or levees to avoid bursting.” (Promoting mitigation in Carolina - Performance analysis of mitigation projects - A case study, 2011). The roads should be built in a way that they can drain water by being slightly slanted and the water should have specific drains out of the city. Elevations Fires by electrical default can be avoided more effectively by elevating the electrical system. This helps reduce damages by fire during flood greatly. It also helps during the resettling by saving a lot of cost, thus making it the best way to install the electrical system. This is also the best way to save appliances from damage since they are moved onto higher grounds. The disadvantage is that this will only apply to shallow flood waters. Wet Flood proofing This is among the cheapest retrofit yet very effective. It is convenient since it requires no additional land. It allows the water to enter the home in a way that minimizes damages to the structure and its contents. Its further advantage is that it doesn’t change the appearance of the house though according to (FEMA, 2011), unfortunately, it cannot be used in the V areas.” Necessity and implementation of mitigation measures Saving of cost As it is said “prevention is better than cure,”, the implementation of the program would have reduced a lot of cost since the damage would have been less than what was instead incurred. Limiting economic losses associated with disasters is essential in the recovery. Recovery entitles retaining businesses, promoting continued or new economic development and ensuring that businesses are be less vulnerable to future disasters Sustainability of economic infrastructure Keeping local businesses and economic infrastructure out of risk areas or disaster and protecting them is advantageous since it promotes a more sustainable economy and will help in a fast recovery when hit by a disaster especially with the recession that is being experienced worldwide. Prevention of other consequences Floods cause effects such as social consequences that may undermine community sustainability, e.g. the loss of security, severe stress and anxiety, diminished trust in the government and the disruption of familiar environments and daily routines. All this can be avoided with the implementation of a good mitigation plan. The occurrence of floods can also cause health issues and even deaths during the whole commotions. Good mitigation plans can reduce this by up to 70% with fewer chances of people being hurt. Availability of funds for rebuilding and recovery “Community Rating System which is encouraged by FEMA offers flood insurance premiums which are reduced based on a community’s floodplain management activities” (Flood plain management, 2011). The mitigation plans will help use this money wisely and also make it immediately available in case of a disaster. Emergency Operations The advantage of having emergency operations outweighs the disadvantages. The upside is that the operations enable effective and fast recovery. There is also urgent medical facilities, shelters and transportation on standby needed to respond during the emergency situation. This includes the equipment of good communication systems, cloths and food supplies, shelter and rescue gear. The only downside is that all this will require a lot of funding though it is a worth investment. References Case study - Innovative flood plain management, Kinston, North Carolina. (2011). Retrieved November 25, 2011, from FEMA: http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=1790 Flood plain management. (2011). Retrieved October 11, 2011, from Disaster Recovery Today: www.disasterrecoverytoday.com Promoting mitigation in Carolina - Performance analysis of mitigation projects - A case study. (2011). Retrieved November 23, 2011, from FEMA: www.fema.gov/pdf/casestudy/performance.pdf. The state of Floridas Division of Emergency Management. (2011, October 3). Retrieved May 2012, from Florida Disaster Org.: www.floridadisaster.org Read More