Crisis Management of Natural Disasters - Essay Example

Crisis management A natural disaster can spell a crisis that can cause untold losses, both material and financial as well as large scale losses of human life. A crisis can be defined as any situation that poses a threat and has the potential to cause serious harm and damage to Natural disasters are largely unpredictable; however, to some extent the losses arising out of such disasters can be mitigated through effective management. In the wake of huge losses of life and property arising out of natural disasters such as tsunamis, tornados, earthquakes and similar disasters, governments all over the world have initiated disaster management programs that are focused upon providing early warning signs about an imminent disaster and have also introduced action plans to educate members of the public and make them aware of measures they need to institute in order to be effectively prepared in the event of a natural disaster occurring. The United States: While there have been several disasters in the United States, one of the most memorable ones is the Katrina disaster, which resulted in losses of life and property that could have been easily prevented. Federalism is the system whereby certain portfolios are designated under State authority while others such as defense are under the Federal Government’s control. The Katrina disaster caused havoc in the state of Louisiana in particular and has come under sharp criticism because it was ineffectively managed. There was a lack of effective coordination between federal and State agencies in executing the Disaster Management Plan that was already in place. The FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) in the United States has been subject to sharp criticism on account of its bungling and mismanagement of the Katrina disaster which struck on August 29th, highlighted especially in the incident at the Convention Center in New Orleans where 25,000 people remained stranded for four days before they were rescued.(www.abc.go.com). The State of Louisiana has an exhaustive Hurricane Disaster Plan. [Tapscott, 2005] which called for citizens to be evacuated early, however, none of the guidelines were followed, neither did the FEMA respond quickly and effectively to the disaster [Editorial, 2005]. Losses of life and property have been reported on an unprecedented scale. Although Federal response to disasters had already been initiated in past years for flood and earthquake control, the efforts were still largely decentralized until 1979 when the FEMA came into being. The Katrina problems however, arose because of mismanagement and the lack of coordination between the state agency and the Federal FEMA, lumped under the Homeland Security division, where most of the funds, talent and skills were diverted towards the terrorism prevention effort. There were allegations of fraud using FEMA funds and the Sun Sentinel investigation revealed mismanagement of FEMA operations on a broad scale. FEMA inspectors were inadequately trained, in some instances criminals were hired to inspect damage and submit reports and the agency paid out monies for events unrelated to actual disasters (www.abcnews.go.com). All of these events show how gross mismanagement produced the net result that monies allocated by the Government for disaster management never ultimately reached the victims for whom it was intended. Thus, despite a plan being in place and monies being available for the purpose of dealing with the crisis, the lack of coordination between the central and State agencies, as well as the mismanagement of funds produced the dismal outcome. In the developing countries, where there may be no effective crisis management system in place, it is even more difficult to ensure that the crisis is managed in such a manner as to minimize loss of life and property. This was the case with the tsunami that occurred in 2004, which was unprecedented in the recent past in terms of the scale of the crisis. Crises and Disasters: In the year 2004, an earthquake of magnitude 8.9 erupted under the sea near northern Indonesia. The earthquake also had a secondary effect, i.e., it caused a tsunami, which multiplied the losses arising from the crisis (www. Esri.com). It was a Tsunami of the greatest magnitude observed in a time span of 40 years. With no warning, the earthquake erupted, causing giant waves to rush to shore and slam into coastal areas, killing numerous people and destroying so many homes that millions of people were left homeless. As detailed above, the Katrina disaster also resulted in needless deaths and people being trapped in flood waters with no effective relief available to rescue them. In Gujarat in 2001, an earthquake of a magnitude 7.9 on the Richter scale caused the death of 20,000 people and destroyed three towns (www.sristi.org). Effectively dealing with such crises would require not merely the administration of effective relief in the aftermath of a disaster but also devising effective early warning systems and providing information to people on the sources and availability of resources, together with prior information on how to deal with a crisis, should it arise. Crisis management systems: One of the most important aspects of managing a disaster is having an early warning system in place. Such warning systems are very useful in monitoring potential geo-hazards, so that if such geo-hazards could pose a threat to life and property, both their short and long term effects could be monitored (www.geohazards.no). This would be of inestimable benefit in assessing the potential consequences of a crisis and developing effective means to ensure that necessary protective measures are taken. The following aspects would be important in terms of developing early warning systems: (a) setting the threshold values for the parameters which have to be monitored (b) developing monitoring equipment and related systems (c) coordinating data obtained from satellites with that obtained from local monitoring systems (d) developing decision making tools aided by computer based systems, for example – mapping and retrieving mobile data, the management of information using Geographical Information technology (GIT), Remote Sensing and 3D modeling (www.geohazards.no). Computer based systems can however, be useful, not just in the planning stage but also in dealing with the aftermath of a disaster. ICT is an integral part of the after effects of a crisis, because it can play a significant role in coordinating and disseminating information. During this tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean in 2004 for example, a software package named Sahana was used, developed by the Sri Lanka Software Foundation. This package is specifically designed to deal with a post-crisis scenario and contains some provisions which aid in the process. For instance, the software package contains a Missing Person’s Registry, which is akin to a bulletin board that contains a list of the people missing as well as the people who have been found. This is an invaluable aid in reuniting people after a crisis, because even in those instances where local persons may not have direct access to computers or be able to use them, local NGOs and crisis relief teams can access such portals on behalf of the survivors and help them reunite with their loved ones. The Sahana package also contains other features such as an electronic registry for coordinating relief donor groups such as international NGOs and community groups among others. This helps to avoid duplication of relief efforts, so that they can be effectively targeted elsewhere. The system was also used in the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami to record the location and number of the temporary shelters that were set up to provide a refuge for the victims. The system recorded the number and location of such camps and the number of people estimated to be present in them, which was useful to aid agencies in estimating and allocating funds and resources necessary to help the victims deal with the aftermath of the crisis. In the aftermath of an earthquake in northern India, the Disaster Management System has been devised by information professionals in India. This system also aims to provide a centralized portal of information that is accessible to all individuals, as well as local and central government agencies and non governmental organizations (www.srisiti.com). This comprehensive database also contains information from volunteers, government and non governmental bodies that have participated in relief efforts and therefore contains a wealth of information about past crises and how the individuals in question dealt with them. In the United States, measures have been implemented to specifically deal with the threat posed by Tsunamis. In the aftermath of the 2004 disaster, several nations who were affected by the disaster and those who were not, came together in a lateral effort with the objective of developing an early warning detection system for a tsunami (Morrissey, 2007). Measures which have been suggested include the use of ocean observation and monitoring networks, collecting data on a regular basis on tides, winds, waves and similar natural phenomena, the use of global telecommunications systems and the use of marine buoys and tidal gauge networks. As pointed out in a congressional report that offered these recommendations (Morrissey, 2007), it would be necessary to develop interoperability of systems and the standardization of international communication protocols. The proposal that was mooted to cover early detection and warning systems for tsunamis was expected to cost $30 million in the development of infrastructure; while this was deemed to be too high, existing ocean turbulence detection systems have been expanded. Most significant however, Congress recently passed the Tsunami Warning and Education Act, which address the social issues related to tsunamis and the difficulties experienced by people in making psychological adaptations to the loss of life. In the Caribbean region, two separate programs were designed and found to be effective and viable as a means for risk management pertaining to a crisis. One of these is the Tsunami Scenario Simulation Model (TSSM) and the other is the Disaster Awareness Game (DAG).(Cleveraux, 2009). The former comprises a database of information on the risks associated with a crisis in a form that can be accessed by individuals from different parts of the globe and different cultures. This multi-lingual, multi cultural aspect of the software helps in arriving at a realistic assessment of the risks associated with a crisis and the means and measures that would be effective to deal with it. It offers a simulation model of a potential tsunami and assesses the implications of a potential crisis, but most importantly makes provision for access of the model in different languages and provides information from different cultural perspectives. This is invaluable in the process of management of a crisis such as a tsunami, a flood, a hurricane or a similar crisis, because it ensures that local and central authorities can coordinate with each other effectively, without the barriers of language or culture further impeding the provision of relief (Cleveraux, 2009). The Disaster Awareness Group means of crisis management aims to evaluate the level of awareness existing among different groups of people about the potential dangers and risks associated with a crisis. The objective of this plan is to specifically target children, because past disasters have shown that children are the most vulnerable to suffer from the damages arising out of a crisis. In developing countries in particular, children are present in larger numbers and they are largely ignorant about the potential for the development of a crisis such as a tsunami and what actions they should take if a crisis erupts. The Disaster Awareness Group thus seeks to implement education in schools about potential crises and the measures that each individual can take to protect themselves. For example, children need to be made aware of the warning signals that indicate the onset of a crisis, places and/or people they could go to in order to hide and take shelter from the approaching storm or crisis and the signs and symbols that indicate a relief organization such as the Red Cross that they can approach for help. Making vulnerable children aware of the dangers and educating them about how to deal with the crises may serve to ensure that the survival rate of this group of individuals is higher. Conclusions: On the basis of the above, it may thus be concluded that technology has been a great aid in the development of systems that not only assess the risks of occurrence of a crisis; they also provide a means to deal with the aftermath of a crisis and therefore form an integral part of crisis management. The electronic medium in effect, provides a central site where all information pertaining to a crisis is stored on an ongoing basis, thus enabling a variety of parties to access the most up to date information. As highlighted through the Katrina disaster, the lack of effective coordination between central and state governments can also result in a tragic aftermath, where there is needless loss of life. As a result, effective coordination between local and state agencies, as well as international aid organizations is vital in effective management of a crisis. Moreover, the psychological implications also need to be considered, because people who have lost their homes and families are in a state of psychological shock and may need clinical help to recover their equilibrium. The effective use of information is thus vital, both before and in the aftermath of a crisis. As may be noted from the discussion above, most governments who have faced disasters and natural crises appear to be instituting crisis management programs where a centralized database of information is being made available through the electronic medium. The effective use of earthquake monitoring technology and a public awareness campaign, both in schools and through the local media, has been effective in educating people about such a crisis and how to deal with it, if and when it occurs. In the developing countries, where technology is still in a developing stage, the provision of information through an electronic medium poses a slightly more difficult challenge because many local people may not have access to it. Designing centralized database is however extremely useful in a crisis because it provides a central source of information and local people can also have access to the same information by contacting their local NGOs. A centralized database also prevents duplication of relief efforts; it provides aid organizations with the necessary information about shelters and the number of people who need help. Electronic crisis management systems are also useful because they provide early warning systems through the measurement of natural phenomena such as ocean currents, tides, wind, atmospheric pressure and various other means, to effectively forecast the occurrence of a crisis, so that necessary measures can be instituted to prevent large loss of life by evacuating people in time. Education also plays a vital role by providing information to individuals, especially vulnerable children in developing countries, about the protection that is available to them and the measures they can take to seek relief in an emergency. References: Cleveraux, Virginia, I, 2009. “Risk information and communication for hazard risk reduction in Caribbean multicultural societies”, Retrieved June 13, 1020 from: https://gair.media.gunma-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10087/4834/1/Ph.D_E1-365.Virginia.pdf Editorial Opinion, 2005. “Exposed by Katrina, FEMA’s flaws were years in making”. USA Today. [Online] Available at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-09-07-our-view_x.htm “Sources Say Michael Brown Also Expected to Be Out as Head of Agency” ABC News. [Online] Available at: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=1111074 * “Prevention and mitigation”, ICG, Retrieved June 13, 2010 from: http://www.geohazards.no/projects/theme_4_mitigation_and%20_risk.htm * Morrissey, Wayne, A, 2007. “Tsunamis: monitoring, detection and early warning systems”, Retrieved June 14, 2001 from: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32739.pdf Tapscott, Mark, 2005. “Katrina: why didn’t Nagin follow his own plan”, Retrieved June 14, 2010 from: http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/005372.php Read More