DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Sean Steven Puleh

Dept. of Public Health
Lira University
 Learning Objectives:
At the end of this chapter students will be able to:
 Discuss disaster management cycle
 Explain disaster preparedness
 Discuss disaster response, disaster mitigation and
disaster recovery
 Explain disaster mitigation strategies
 Introduction

The scope of disaster management can

include all disaster-related activities.
These activities are categorized as
 disaster preparedness,
 disaster response,

 disaster recovery,

 post disaster epidemiological surveillance,

 environmental management and

 disaster mitigation.
Aims of disaster Mg’t
Reduce (avoid, if possible) the potential
losses from hazards;

Assure prompt and appropriate

assistance to victims when necessary;

Achieve rapid and durable recovery.

 Disaster preparedness
Disaster preparedness is defined as a state of
readiness to respond to a disaster, crisis, or
any other type of emergency situation.
 More broadly it is stated as the leadership, training, readiness and
exercise support, and technical and financial assistance to strengthen
citizens, communities, state, local governments professional
emergency workers as they prepare for disaster, mitigate the effects
of disaster, respond to community needs after a disaster, and launch
effective recovery efforts (www.fema.gov).
 Disaster preparedness
All measures and policies taken before an event
occurs that allow for prevention, mitigation, and
readiness constitutes disaster preparedness.
Preparedness includes designing warning
systems, planning for evacuation, and reallocation,
storing food and water, building temporary shelters,
devising management strategies, and holding
disaster drills and exercises.
 Preparedness

Contingency planning is also included in

preparedness as well as planning for post-
impact response and recovery.

Being prepared also means having thorough disaster

contingency plans comprising of:

 Covering emergency housing, repairs, replacement of essential

equipment and protection of the most vulnerable people in the
community: the sick, the very young and the old.
Contingency planning
 Improvement of water supply and sanitation systems
 Logistics of the predicted need for health and social
services need to be laid down in advance, including early
warning systems to detect health effects.
 Planning for climate change: as global warming and its
effects on water will increase the frequency of water related
disasters.
 Public information and education: to ensure early
warnings to communities at risk; and give information about
how to conserve water and keep it safe from contamination.
 Steps of disaster
preparedness
Preparedness consists of three basic steps:

 preparing a plan,
 training to the plan, and
 exercising the plan.
Preparedness deals with the functional aspects of
emergency management such as;
 The response to

 And recovery from a disaster.

Whereas mitigation attempts to lessen
these effects through pre-disaster
actions as simple as striving to create
“disaster-resistant” communities.
The following are some of the means to plan for
disastrous situations:
 Escape routes

 Family communications

 Utility shut-off and safety

 Insurance and vital records

 Special needs

 Safety Skills
 Disaster Response
Response is the immediate reaction to disaster. It may
occur as the disaster is anticipated, as well as soon after it
begins.
Examples include mass evacuation, sandbagging
buildings and other structures, securing emergency
food and water, covering windows, providing
emergency medical services, search and rescue,
firefighting, and restoring public order to prevent looting.
 Emergency Response
Activities
Emergency response activities are those carried out during the actual
emergency or immediately prior to it.

Evacuation of threatened communities, emergency assistance during the

disaster.

Actions taken in the immediate aftermath during the time when the
community is rather disorganized, basic & infrastructure are not fully
functioning.
 Tasks/activities likely to occur in
most disasters
1. Inter-organizational coordination is important.
2. Sharing information among organizations, Resource
management,
3. When advance warnings are possible, evacuations
from areas of danger can be the most effective life-
saving strategy in disaster.
4. The public tends to underestimate risks and downplays
warnings if messages are ambiguous or inconsistent.
 Tasks/activities likely to occur
in most disasters

5. Search and rescue

6. Using the mass media: to deliver warnings to the

public and to educate the public

7. Triage: is a method of assigning priority for treatment

and transport for injured citizens.
 Problems are likely to occur in
most disasters
1. Casualty distribution: in most domestic
disasters, several medical resources can
handle the casualty distribution.

2. Patient tracking: is complicated because

most persons evacuating their homes do not
seek lodging in shelters where their
presence will be registered.
 Problems are likely to occur in
most disasters…..2
3. Caring for patients when the health care infrastructure has
been damaged requires careful advance planning.
4. The management of volunteers and donations: is a common
problem in disasters. Procedures should be established to
manage large number of resources.
5. Plan for organized improvement in response to the
disruption of shelter, utilities, communication systems, and
transportation.
 Declaration of disaster:
The social disorganization surrounding a disaster and the
number and types of responding organizations and groups
create the need for a well-ordered mass response system.
Consequently, a complex organizational environment has to be
developed to respond in disaster situations.
To mobilize these organizations, a declaration of disaster is
initiated according to an increasing level of emergency
(disaster).
Disaster Recovery (Rehabilitation
and Reconstruction):

It is “the coordinated process of supporting

emergency-affected communities in
reconstruction of the physical infrastructure and
restoration of emotional, social, and physical
wellbeing” (Emergency Management Australia,
2004).
 Recovery
Recovery essentially concerns rehabilitation as well
as developing the tools to mitigate against the future
impact of a disaster, and should return the
community to an improved state of post-disaster.

Includes those activities that continue beyond the

emergency period to restore lifelines.
 Eg, providing temporary shelters, restoring power,
critical stress debriefing for emergency responders
and victims, job assistance, small business loans,
and debris clearance.
 Recovery efforts should identify opportunities for community
development, especially in terms of creating sustainable, safer,
and more resilient communities.
The four elements of recovery are:

1. Community recovery (including psychological recovery);

2. Infrastructure recovery (services and lifelines);
3. Economy recovery (including financial and political
considerations, and business continuity);
4. Environment recovery.
 Phases of disaster recovery &
reconstruction:

Three phases describe as to what happens to

post-impact in the affected community:

1. Emergency phase: activities should focus on saving

lives through search and rescue, first aid, emergency
medical assistance and over all disaster assessment.

Efforts immediately begin to repair critical facilities, to

restore communications, and transportation networks,
and in some cases, to evacuate residents from areas
still vulnerable to further disaster.
2. Transition or recovery phase: people return to work, repair
damaged buildings and infrastructure, and initiate other actions that
allow the community to return to their normal as soon as possible.
Victims begin emotional recovery and may experience depression
and post-traumatic disorder.

3. Reconstruction phase: is characterized by physical reordering of

communications, utilities, roads and general environment.

Residents repair or rebuild their housing and agricultural activities

resume.
Disaster mitigation
Mitigation is defined as a sustained action to
reduce or eliminate risk to people and property from
hazards (disasters) and their effects.

The function of mitigation differs from other

emergency management disciplines since it looks at
long-term solutions to reduce risk as opposed to
preparedness for hazards, the immediate response
to hazards, or the short-term recovery from a hazard
event.
 Disaster mitigation
Disaster mitigation includes those activities designed to prevent or
reduce losses from disaster.

It is usually considered the initial phase of emergency management,

although it may be a component in the other phases.
 Examples include land-use planning, to limit or prevent
development in floodplains, building codes to reduce
losses from earthquakes and fires, dams to prevent
flooding.
 Mitigation efforts must include
Emergency housing, especially after floods, but also if
drought has caused mass population movement in an
attempt to find better water and food supplies.
Provision of emergency supplies of safe drinking water.
Emergency repairs to homes, drains and water supply
and sanitation infrastructure.
Early warning systems to identify health effects and to
detect rise in mosquito borne diseases, such as malaria,
and diarrheal diseases, such as cholera.
Facts
Both disaster preparedness and its mitigation
require multi-sectoral cooperation and joint
planning.

Both need evaluation after a disaster to

reduce the ill effects of later crises.
 Tools used in risk reduction
The following widely accepted tools are used to
reduce risks:

 Hazard identification and mapping,

 Design and construction applications

 Land-use planning,

 Financial incentives,

 Insurance,

 Structural controls.
 Post disaster epidemiological
surveillance:
Post-impact needs assessment provides
information necessary to begin recovery.

The first step is to assess community capacities and

vulnerabilities, including physical environment, social
conditions and population attitude towards and motivation to
recover.

Communication must be established between the people

affected by the disaster and the responding organizations.

Needs are determined by visiting representative areas, by

talking to selected groups in affected communities, and by
conducting rapid health assessment surveys.
 Principles of the undertaking
are to:
Maximize use of pre-existing surveillance data for "baseline"
information, and to modify conditions

Coordinate efforts after disaster with the normal surveillance activities

in the health sector.

Avoid duplication of efforts

Be familiar with the epidemiology of endemic diseases and with the

national surveillance system.
 Principles of undertaking
Coordinate the relief surveillance of communicable
disease with activities of national health authorities.

Strengthen the reporting systems.

Strengthen the documentation system at the central

level, in hospitals and clinics at the intermediate level.
 Steps in Epidemiologic
Surveillance
1. Identification of the diseases and other conditions to be monitored, and
selection of suitable indicators.

2. Delineation/describe precisely of the areas affected by the disaster.

3. Rapid statistical sampling of sites (ideally including unaffected localities

for control purposes).

4. Rapid, gross detection of cases or presumptive cases based on the

presence of a symptom or complaint.
 Steps in Epidemiologic
Surveillance
5. Monitoring and reporting by local health services of the
selected diseases or symptoms.

6. Interpretation of data at the national level by a health unit

of the disaster-affected country that is experienced in
data analysis and has direct access to relief authorities.

7. Investigation of any "unusual" occurrence of disease by

local health workers, assisted when necessary by
epidemiologists.
 Requirements for epidemiological
surveillance
For surveillance to be most effective, there are four
requirements.
1.Establishment of priorities for investigating unusual
occurrences of diseases, whether confirmed or
rumored.

2.Establishment of a mechanism for dissemination of

surveillance information to both encourage taking of
appropriate measures and discourage expenditure on
inappropriate measures.
 Requirements for
epidemiological surveillance
3. Training and involvement of local
health workers at all levels of the
health system.
4. Pre-disaster planning, including
identification of real health risks in
various disaster situations, assignment
of responsibilities, and development of
an assessment and surveillance plan.
 Environmental health
management
The impacts of disasters, whether natural or man-
made, not only have human dimensions, but
environmental ones as well.
Environmental conditions may exacerbate the
impact of a disaster, and vice versa, disasters have
an impact on the environment.
Deforestation, forest management practices,
agriculture systems etc.
 can exacerbate the negative environmental
impacts of a storm or typhoon, leading to
landslides, flooding, silting and ground/surface
water contamination.
 Conclusion
Emphasizing and reinforcing the centrality of environmental
concerns in disaster management has become a critical
priority, requiring the sound management of natural
resources as a tool to prevent disasters or lessen their
impacts on people, their homes and livelihoods.

There is a clear need to reinforce the importance of

environmental concerns in the entire disaster management
cycle of prevention, preparedness, assessment,
mitigation and response and to integrate environmental
concerns into planning for relief, rehabilitation,
reconstruction and development.