Defining Disaster Management
Disasters take many shapes. Human-made disasters result from human errors and include industrial explosions or structure failures. Natural disasters result from physical phenomena and include earthquakes and droughts. Disasters classified as complex can include epidemics or armed conflicts.
In whatever form, disasters disrupt communities and can take a serious toll on people, property, economies, and the environment. They often stretch a community’s capacity to cope.
Disaster management is a process of effectively preparing for and responding to disasters. It involves strategically organizing resources to lessen the harm that disasters cause. It also involves a systematic approach to managing the responsibilities of disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.
Understanding Risks in Disaster Management
Often, issues such as a poorly maintained levee system or other negligence can worsen the outcome of a disaster. Such was the case when Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed New Orleans’ levees in 2005.
By addressing deferred infrastructure maintenance and other causal factors, governments and organizations can often prevent, or at least reduce, the fallout of disasters.
Disaster management involves examining and managing causal factors. It requires assessing the extent to which a community can withstand a disaster. Some communities are more vulnerable than others. For example, poorer communities have fewer resources to prepare themselves for a storm or bounce back from flood damage.
Disaster management also involves analyzing exposure to loss. For example, homes built below sea level may face greater exposure to flooding if a hurricane hits them.
The Scope of Disaster Management
Disaster management has a broad scope. To understand what disaster management is, it is useful to study prevention, preparedness, and response and recovery.
Prevention
Mitigation and prevention efforts aim to reduce the potential damage and suffering that disasters can cause. While disaster management cannot prevent disasters, it can prevent them from becoming compounded as a result of neglecting causal factors and manageable risks. Mitigation specifically refers to actions taken that can lessen the severity of a disaster’s impact. Investing in measures that limit hazards can greatly reduce the burden of disasters.
Strategies that disaster management professionals implement to protect vulnerable communities and limit hazards include the following:
- Raising awareness about potential hazards and how to address them
- Educating the public about how to properly prepare for different types of disaster
- Installing and strengthening prediction and warning systems
Managing hazards and risks means planning to minimize a community’s vulnerability to disasters. This can involve:
- Encouraging community members to buy appropriate insurance to protect their properties and belongings
- Educating families and businesses on how to create effective disaster plans
- Promoting the use of fire-retardant materials in construction
- Advocating for capital works initiatives, such as the construction and maintenance of levees
- Building partnerships between sectors and agencies at the federal, state, and local levels to collaborate on mitigation projects
Disaster management professionals working on mitigation efforts also focus on the following: