Ethical Principles on Disaster Risk Reduction - Coursework Example

Response to Workbook Questions in Disaster Management Response Activity 1.1 From a community perspective, disasters refer to serious, sudden, and unpredictable disturbance to community life, norms, and events that jeopardize or cause deaths, injury, or destruction of property in the community leading to the need for an immediate and coordinated response and management by government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and individual volunteers in form of material, monetary, or moral support. Examples of recent disasters include the floods in Sudan, Odisha flooding, and the landslide in Sindhupalchowk, Nepal. The Odisha flooding is a disaster since it has already claimed 34 lives and affected about one million people in 23 districts (Disaster Report, 2014). The Sindhupalchowk landslide is a disaster since it has already claimed 156 lives, destroyed property, and blocked the Sunkoshi River (Disaster Report, 2014). Moreover, rescue workers have managed to retrieve 33 bodies from the landslide area. The Sudan floods is a disaster since it has claimed 17 lives and displaced 42,000 people in the last one week (Disaster Report, 2014). Response Activity 1.2 Disasters are a social phenomenon since they derive significant effects that alter the course of life, health, economy, and settlements in the society in a great scale. Moreover, disasters are a social phenomenon since they occur in the society and require response and management from government agencies, volunteers, and nongovernmental organizations that serve social needs. Ultimately, societal behaviors, events, and conduct are factors that cause some of the disasters. This understanding has changed over the last 20 years where different societies have been addressing the causes and mechanisms to control and minimize the effects and magnitude of a disaster. For example, the Kyoto protocol and awareness programs by various organizations have been encouraging the society to focus on disasters and disaster management. This understanding would be different in a resource poor society since they would underrate and disregard their capacity to cause and respond to disasters. Response Activity 1.3 The outbreak of Swine Flu in 2009 started in Mexico and spread to various countries raising global pandemic fears (McVeigh & Tuckman, 2009). I consider this as a disaster because it claimed about 284,500 people and attracted global concern and interventions from WHO that declared swine flu a pandemic in June 2009 after spreading to 74 countries (Begley, 2012). However, it may not relate to a disaster since its effects spread over a long time and affected different people differently. The factors that influence a disaster include the presence of a humanitarian crisis, need for humanitarian and military response, loss of human life, destruction, or loss of property, injury, or illness, and disturbance of the environment in a wide scale (The Johns Hopkins, 2006). An event that leads to humanitarian crisis relates to widespread loss of human life, destruction, or loss of property, injury, or illness, and disturbance of the environment. The immediate, unpredictable, and serious occurrence of these aspects defines a disaster since it derives huge negative effects and requires significant, coordinated, communal, and immediate response from the society. Response Activity 1.4 The number of natural disasters is on the increase according to a report from the New England Journal of Medicine established and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction that established 83,000 deaths in 2003 compared to 53,000 deaths in 1990 from natural disasters (BBC NEWS, 2004). The world lost $528 billion between 1981 and 1990 from disasters compared to a loss of more than $1.2 trillion between 2001 and 2010 (The Borgen Project, 2013). Various factors contribute to the increasing rates of disasters include the steady uptick of climate-related disasters or climate change that causes the increase in disasters (AccuWeather, 2013). Global warming, human activity, infrastructural vulnerability, increased populations, and economic assets equally lead to the increasing rates of disasters in the world. Response Activity 1.5 The normal psychological reactions to a disaster include fear and anxiety about the recurrence, disrupted eating and sleep patterns, and school phobias, as children tend to avoid schools (McMahon, 2011). The victims depict intense and unpredictable feelings that relate to flashbacks and emotional upsets on remembering the disaster (American Psychological Association, 2014). Victims lose the capacity to make concrete decisions and establish stable relationships. Response Activity 1.6 The primary principles of disaster management include Prepared Community approach, comprehensive approach, integrated approach, Community Emergency Risk Management (CERM), and all hazards approach. Prepared Community approach- This is a community centered disaster management approach that involves the entire local community in disaster management efforts. In this case, the community is well equipped for emergency management and ready for supporting voluntary organizations. In addition, the local government plays a key role in disaster management and preparedness. Integrated approach method involves all stakeholders in disaster management efforts. Such stakeholders include, local community, local government, international community represented by commonwealth, state and territorial administration as well as other statutory authorities. All hazards approach is defined by its characteristic nature of handling all types of disasters using a set of rules or code. However, it is important to note that although the same code may be used, there exists some variations from one hazard to another. Comprehensive approach on the other hand is defined by the distinct 4 step approach. This approach separates disaster response, prevention, recovery and preparedness into four distinct categories. Response Activity 1.7 The key legislative provisions that are relevant to disaster management in U.S include Disaster Management Act 2003, Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, the Public Safety Preservation Act 1986, and the Resource Management Act (RMA) 1991 (Rotimi & Wilkinson, 2014). In the threat of a flood, a disaster manager would find the legal protection necessary to order a community evacuation in the Public Safety Preservation Act 1986 that allows a disaster manager to order a community evacuation in the threat of a flood regardless of the magnitude of the threat. Response Activity 1.8 External assistance will always be helpful in disaster management since it helps in enhancing primary health-care, provides physical, material, and moral support to the victims, offers critical information on the dynamics of the disaster, and increases the response speed. However, the providers must coordinate such assistance with other efforts aimed at responding to the disaster. Response Activity 2.1 The top five risks for my community and the management mitigation strategies Risk Mitigation Strategies Flood Flood plain mapping Raising of homes Earthquakes Earthquake-proofing houses Tornadoes Reinforced tornado safe rooms Moving into safer places Not venturing out to sea Icebergs, sea ice and fog Bury electrical cables to prevent ice build-up Volcano Avoid weak structures Cover house inlets with filters Response Activity 2.2 The principles of management of non-routine risks include the requirement for a lower threshold for intervention, uncertainties, and allocate significant resources for immediate response. The management requires minimal threshold to identify and address non-routine risks. The management must have diverse capacity to address and predict uncertainties. The management of non-routine risks requires huge resources since it is challenging to ascertain the magnitude of the risk. Response Activity 2.3 Below is a fire disaster plan. Establish fire as the most prevalent risk in my area Determine what to do in case of a fire disaster Select a meeting spot and a way of contacting with my colleagues Establish a contact person and allocate the duties of each member Debate fire disaster scenarios with the respective members to help them understand the plan Train the members on basic fire techniques Gather the tools and equipment required for responding to the fire disaster Practice the disaster plan Develop a contingency plan The core components of the plan are determining the disaster, identifying the mitigation strategy, selecting the response location, coordinating the response, understanding the plan, and implementing the plan. This plan addresses the needs of potential victims at all stages. Moreover, the ultimate goal of the plan is to improve the response to fire disaster. It also involves the conduct of fire disaster drills, improves the response capacity, and enhances integration of the potential victims. The plan reduces fire risk, builds community resilience, correlates with other relevant plans, and guarantees effective response and recovery in a fire disaster. Response Activity 2.4 Developing specific risk scenarios for disaster response, predetermining specific exercise objectives, focusing on the community, preparing the community, and utilizing new technologies foster effective community resilience and preparedness (Margaris, 2013). Moreover, training the community for disaster response, re-examining rotating responsibilities, and enhancing better collaboration and communication also fosters effective community resilience and preparedness (Margaris, 2013). Enhancing rapid adoption to changing circumstances, identifying and addressing gaps in community capacity, expanding response teams, enhancing social cohesion and civic engagement, and developing action plans foster effective community resilience and preparedness (NYC Service, 2013). Response Activity 3.1 Incident assessment refers to the initial analysis of the nature, extent, and impact of hazardous materials that pose an immediate threat to humans, property, and systems. The components of incident assessment include identifying the common active failure that relates to violation of procedures, ineffective supervision, and delayed diagnosis, poor monitoring among other management problems (Mahajan, 2010). Framing the problem is another component that establishes an accurate assessment of the chronology and details of the events preceding the incident (Mahajan, 2010). Defining the problem is another component that defines the exact way and time that the incident happened. Response Activity 3.2 The options for overall command of an incident in my community include the investigative mode, fast attack mode, and the command mode. The investigative mode require investigation by the initial arriving Company while the fast attack mode requires the initial arriving Company to act immediately and the Company Officer's to provide effective supervision in the action (Byers, 2013). The command mode relies on immediate strong, direct, overall Command where the Company Officer establishes an exterior, safe, and effective Command (Byers, 2013). Response Activity 3.3 The components of the Incident Command System include the command function, operations function, planning function, logistics function, and finance/administration function. The command function relates to the Incident Commander who manages the incident while the planning function relates to the collection, analysis, distribution, and application of information regarding the manifestation of the incident and status of resources (Kestrel Management, 2013). The operations function conducts the response activities while logistics function offers the facilities, resources, and services for addressing the incident. Ultimately, the finance/administrative function track incident costs (Kestrel Management, 2013). The stampede at the Jamaraat that defines the Hajj incident that occurred in 2006 was a disaster that caused 380 deaths and injured 289 pilgrims (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). The incident began as some pilgrims tripped over fallen luggage and later spread leading to hundreds of injuries and deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Numerous improvements in preparedness have occurred since the mass gathering incident that occurred at the Hajj in January 2006 (Thomson Reuters, 2006). Indeed, the Saudi Arabia government demolished the Jamaraat pedestrian bridge and replaced it with a wider, multilevel bridge (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013) that included a four-level system of entrances and exits to the three walls and a subway (Thomson Reuters, 2006). Moreover, the improvement included expanding the stoning targets, turning the circular barriers around the walls into ellipses to ensure a smooth flow of traffic, providing an unprecedented security blanket that involved 60,000 security men for crowd control and preventing possible terrorist attacks (Thomson Reuters, 2006). Service operators affiliated to Haj operations got large areas. The principles that should govern the deployment of foreign medical teams to a disaster in an underdeveloped country include awareness of nature of the country, understanding the health policy of the country, and convincing awareness of the deployment of foreign medical teams. Self-sufficiency of the host nation, conditions attached to the deployment of foreign medical teams, and foreign relations between the involved countries govern the deployment of foreign medical teams. Response Activity 4.1 The key strategies required for community recovery include forming a community of victims and enhancing communication to facilitate unity and social bonds in the recovery process. They also involve the provision of facts and information about the dynamics of the incident to discard uncertainty and address misrepresentations. They also include a frame of reference for informed analysis of the incident and establishment of mitigation factors. Acknowledging and building capacity as well as enhancing infrastructure and economies foster community recovery. Ethical principles that underpin disaster management include focusing on consequences, focus on duties and obligations, rights and fairness, and respect community norms and persons. Other ethical principles include freedom of expression, access to justice, compulsory evacuation of populations, emergency assistance for the most vulnerable persons, importance of rescue workers, and protection of civil and political right (Prieur, 2011). References AccuWeather. (2013). Steady Increase in Climate Related Natural Disasters. Retrieved from: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-blogs/climatechange/steady-increase-in-climate-rel/19974069 American Psychological Association. (2014). Natural disasters. Retrieved from: http://apa.org/topics/disasters/ Australia South Africa Local Governance. (n.d). Principles of Disaster Management. Retrieved from: http://devplan.kzntl.gov.za/ASALGP/Resources/Documents/ASALGPhandbooks/2-principles-of-disaster.htm BBC NEWS. (2004). Natural disasters 'on the rise.' Retrieved from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3666474.stm Begley, S. (2012). 2009 swine flu outbreak was 15 times deadlier: study. Retrieved from: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/25/us-swineflu-idUSBRE85O1DF20120625 Byers, B. (2013). Incident Command. Retrieved from: http://www.firedepartment.org/about/SAM/references/Category%205%20-%20Programs/5A.5/SRVFPD%20Operations%20Policy%20and%20Procedure%20-%20Incident%20Command.pdf Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Saudi Arabia: Hajj Pilgrimage. Retrieved from: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2014/chapter-4-select-destinations/saudi-arabia-hajj-pilgrimage Disaster Report. (2014). Recent Natural Disasters. Retrieved from: http://www.disaster-report.com/ Kestrel Management. (2013). Incident Command System (ICS): 5 Major Components. Retrieved from: http://kestrelmanagement.com/incident-command-system-ics-5-major-components/ Mahajan, R. (2010). Critical incident reporting and learning. British Journal of Anesthesia, 105 (1), 69-75. Margaris, C. (2013). Three Steps to Improve Disaster Preparedness. Retrieved from: http://www.interaction.org/blog/three-steps-improve-disaster-preparedness McMahon, K. (2011). The psychology of disaster. Retrieved from: http://www.resilience.org/stories/2011-03-17/psychology-disaster McVeigh, T, & Tuckman, J. (2009). Mexico swine flu outbreak triggers global pandemic fears. Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/25/swine-flu-mexico NYC Service. (2013). Community Preparedness and Response. Retrieved from: http://www.nyc.gov/html/sirr/downloads/pdf/final_report/Ch8.5CommPreparedness_FINAL_singles.pdf Prieur, M. (2011). Ethical Principles on Disaster Risk Reduction and People’s Resilience. Retrieved from: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/majorhazards/ressources/pub/Ethical-Principles-Publication_EN.pdf Rotimi, J. O. B., Wilkinson, S. (2014). Improving environmental management legislation to facilitate post disaster reconstruction, International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Vol. 5 Issue 1. The Borgen Project. (2013). Are Natural Disasters Increasing? Retrieved from: http://borgenproject.org/natural-disasters-increasing/ The Johns Hopkins. (2006). Disaster definitions. Retrieved from: http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/center-for-refugee-and-disaster-response/publications_tools/publications/_CRDR_ICRC_Public_Health_Guide_Book/Chapter_1_Disaster_Definitions.pdf Thomson Reuters. (2006). Saudi Arabia: Double Tragedy Strikes Haj Pilgrimage- Reuters Access. Retrieved from: http://access.reuters.com/saudi-arabia-double-tragedy-strikes-haj-pilgrimage.html Read More