Disaster Response and Recovery. David A. McEntire
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to increase readiness for a disaster. Examples of preparedness initiatives include the creation of laws/ordinances, the acquisition of grants or other resource s, and various measures such as planning, training, exercises and community education.
These two phases ‐ mitigation and preparedness ‐ should be given the highest priority in the emergency management profession today. For this reason, emergency managers must not be seen solely as an extension of first responders— our wonderful police, fire, and emergency medical personnel who serve so valiantly when emergencies occur. The goals of emergency managers are more proactive and encompassing than emergency response, even if they do overlap with the objectives and operations of these heroic public servants at times.
However, because it is impossible to eliminate all disasters, emergency managers must also be involved in disaster response and recovery operations. Disaster response includes actions “taken immediately before, during, or directly after an emergency occurs, to save lives [and] minimize damage to property” (Godschalk, 1991, p. 136). Examples of disaster response functions include
Warning people of severe weather
Evacuating those who are assumed to be at risk
Sheltering the affected population
During response operations, it may also be necessary to provide emergency medical care, relay information to the public, and manage the arrival of donations and volunteers.
Disaster recovery, in contrast, consists of actions “to return vital life support systems to minimum operating standards and long‐term activity designed to return life to normal or improved levels” (Godschalk, 1991, p. 136). This incorporates efforts to repair homes damaged by disaster and rebuild community infrastructure such as power lines, roads, and courthouses.
Each of the phases described in this section is closely related to the others (Neal, 1997). For instance, it is difficult to separate mitigation from preparedness as both are proactive measures to reduce the impact of disaster. Preparedness also has a significant influence upon the success of post‐disaster management since it enables a community to anticipate response and recovery needs. In addition, it is difficult to determine when response ends and when recovery begins. For instance, are damage assessment and debris removal response functions or part of disaster recovery operations? Also, during recovery, it is vitally important that steps be taken to prevent future disasters or minimize their potential impact. Instead of simply rebuilding homes that have been damaged by a flood or a tornado, it may be necessary to relocate these structures to safer areas or implement more stringent construction requirements (e.g., improved anchors, hurricane straps, safe rooms, etc.). For these reasons, the word “phases” may be somewhat misleading. With this in mind, it may be advisable to substitute “phases” with the term “functional areas” or “functional activities.” Also, these “phases” or functional areas or activities of emergency management do not appear or proceed in a neat, linear fashion. They occur and unfold with a degree of complexity, so it is sometimes difficult to separate them conceptually.
It is also imperative that emergency managers are aware of other important terminology related to their profession. Due to the rising threat of terrorism and the advent of homeland security, new lexicon was introduced in emergency management. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Homeland security was defined as “a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and recover from and minimize the damage of attacks that do occur” (Office of Homeland Security, 2002, p. 2). It is easy to see that this concept is related to emergency management. But, this concept is slightly different in that it also encompasses other distinct terms such as prevention and protection. Prevention refers to efforts to stop the commission of terrorist attacks. It includes the gathering of intelligence, counterterrorism operations, and border control functions among others. Protection, on the other hand, is more concerned about actions that discourage attacks through increased security measures or efforts to minimize damage if such attacks cannot be always prevented in the first place. The reliance on guards, fences, video surveillance, and access control to sensitive locations falls into this category. As can be seen, it is likely that emergency managers and others in homeland security will work together to deal with all types of emergencies, disasters and terrorist attacks.
1.1.2 Preview of Disaster Response and Recovery
As indicated by the title, this book describes strategies and tactics to improve the management of disaster response and recovery operations. This decision is not meant to deny the value of functions relating to mitigation, preparedness, prevention and protection. It is instead based on the assumption that there is a need for a comprehensive textbook about post‐disaster activities. Although there are great works on this subject already, it is necessary to have more current information and not just approach the material from a pure academic or practical standpoint only. For instance, it is important to note that response and recovery operations have changed significantly over the past few decades and even substantially in recent years. The informative research generated by disaster scholars over the past several decades likewise must also be integrated with the lessons gained from the extensive experience of professional emergency managers. Furthermore, there is a dire need to further educate government leaders and public servants in order to avert the repetition of mistakes made after many disasters. Nevertheless, this book may also be of use to corporate leaders or humanitarian workers who are also involved in response and recovery operations.
In order to meet these goals, Disaster Response and Recovery: Strategies and Tactics for Resilience will provide a comprehensive discussion about post‐disaster management issues and recommendations for their improvement. Chapter 2 will help you as an emergency manager identify the actors involved in response and recovery operations. This includes government officials and agencies as well as corporations, nonprofit organizations, and even everyday people and the victims themselves. Chapter 3 discusses human behavior in time of disaster. It dispels widely held myths and illustrates typical social reactions to collective stress. Chapter 4 compares alternative theoretical stances regarding the management of disasters. It acknowledges the strengths and weaknesses of traditional and professional approaches. Chapter 5 covers initial response measures, and it provides ideas on how to protect people through hazard detection, warning, evacuation, and sheltering. Chapter 6 lists steps that can be taken to care for those who have been adversely affected by a disaster. This chapter shares information about search and rescue, emergency medical care, fatality management and psychological stress. Chapter 7 shares recommendations on how to manage public relations and community resources. In particular, it discusses how you can effectively manage the media, donations and volunteers after a disaster. The transition from response to recovery is the subject of Chapter 8. It reviews functions such as damage assessment, disaster declarations and debris removal. In Chapter 9, disaster assistance programs are discussed along with ways to reduce vulnerability. This chapter provides information on recovery and how this post‐disaster activity must be linked to mitigation. The challenges of response and recovery are exposed in Chapter 10. This section will help you understand difficulties associated with communications, decision making, transportation, politics, special populations, legal issues and record keeping. Chapter 11 points out tools that can be utilized and employed during response and recovery operations. These include technological equipment as well as organizational arrangements (e.g., incident command, emergency operation