Disaster and emergency management have increasingly become challenging in different countries due to increasing complexity, frequency and magnitude of disasters. There are four stages involved in the management of a disaster. These include the mitigations stage prior to the occurrence of the disaster, where various mitigating activities and actions are put in place. Disaster preparedness is the second phase of disaster management, which involves education, outreach programs and trainings to the local communities in planning for disaster. The response phase is the phase after the occurrence of the disaster and involves a response from various involved stakeholders. The final phase is the recovery phase, which aims at reinstating the lives of people into normalcy.
Disaster management requires timely, urgent, and efficient actions, which will facilitate further prevention of loss of lives and property. There has been an increasing concern on disaster management strategies due to exacerbation of disasters as a result of poor planning and uncoordinated activities from various stakeholders. This paper will focus on economic recovery providing an in depth inquiry into the issues that can facilitate such recovery. In addition, the paper will address the major challenges that disaster management managers encounter during the response phase of disaster management. The paper will seek to identify the major issues in the recovery phase and provide an analysis of why the issue is of great importance and various ways through which the issue can be resolved.
The response phase seeks to address the immediate threats and damages presented by disasters such as providing humanitarian aid, saving lives, assessing the damage, resource distribution, and cleanup activities among others. As the response phase progresses, the focus shifts to immediate recovery programs such as repairs, restoring utilities, cleanup processes and establishing operations for the restoration of public services, which leads to long term recovery. The recovery stage seeks for full restoration of all aspects of disaster impacts, returning the affected communities into normalcy. This stage is broken down into two phases such as the short term phase within the first six months and the long term recovery, which involves long term strategies, which may even run for decades.
Major Challenge That Emergency Managers Contend With During the Response Phase
Disaster management managers are faced with myriad of diverse challenges at various stages of disaster management. However, during the response and the recovery phase there are various challenges that disaster managers have to contend. For example, lack of leadership in response to a disaster leads to uncoordinated activities of different agencies and stakeholders. In addition, there are challenges such as lack of information, where the participating agencies such as the government and humanitarian agencies fail to collect data and information. Information and dissemination of such information is essential for disaster management managers. In addition, there are aspects of communications, which is an important aspect during the management of a disaster in the response phase. However, this analysis will focus on financial constraints that disaster management managers face when managing the response to a disaster.
Response to an emergency requires timely, urgent and efficiency of actions taken by various agencies such as the government and other humanitarian agencies. In the response phase, the overall aim is for the short term and direct impacts of a catastrophic event. The actions and activities involved in this phase are primarily directed to saving lives and property as well as meeting the basic needs of the during and after the occurrence of the disaster. In addition, the response phase also facilitates execution of emergency operations, plans, and mitigating activities, which are designed to limit adverse outcomes of the disaster. The response phase should last for 72 hours after which the recovery stage begins.
The majority of the activities in disaster management and especially in the response and recovery phase require urgent and timely delivery of services. Financial challenges have been among the top most challenges faced by disaster management managers. This has led to a derailment in providing quick and efficient response to people faced by the disaster. In most cases, it does not primarily mean that there is a lack of funds to be used in the response phase, but the occurrence of a disaster and poor planning leads to uncoordinated activities. For example, the uncoordinated activities lead to poor and uncoordinated means through which people and organizations provide donations, gifts and grants.
Lack of financial resources in a timely, and efficient manner leads to an exacerbation of the impacts of the disaster. For example, it leads to an increased loss of life, and property as the required actions are not taken in a timely manner. Financial resources form a primary and basic requirement in responding to a disaster as everything entails the use of resources. For example, various actions in the response phase such as relocating people, providing basic needs such as food and clothing require massive resources. Therefore, there is a need to ensure proper planning and allocation of funds to ensure a smooth process.
Businesses and other enterprises should have reserves inform of food, first aid appliances and water, which can last for not less than 72 hours without depletion. However, the majority of small business enterprises lacks adequate financial resources to prepare adequately. According to emergency experts the response of a community towards a disaster significantly affects the recovery process in terms of cost and time taken. There has been various efforts that have been made to facilitate the creation of funds in the form of micro loans with simple collateral and low interests have been used in availing funds to small businesses. There is also the need for the local coordinating agencies to ensure efficiency in management of funds because, in some cases the local official are wrapped up in the response stage and end up spending more funds that what would have been used. However, it is imperative for the disaster management managers and agencies to approach the response phase with recovery in mind. This has been due to the aspect of the interconnection between response and recovery. Emergency management has been viewed as a mutually dependent and overlapping processes, which requires multi-organizational and multi-disciplinary coordination.
There is a need to develop a unified command center especially in large disasters. This has been due to the need for inter-organizational decision making that will facilitate coordination in responding to the disaster. In addition, coordination will facilitate funding and identification of the needy areas that require immediate attention. Poor coordination and cooperation among the responders lead to misunderstandings and increased delays and duplication of efforts by various agencies. Effective management of the response phase of disaster management plays an imperative role in the recovery phase. However, there are various issues that also hamper the recovery process, which may be due to inefficiencies of the agencies, and some originate from poor response phase.
Financial Issue and the Recovery Process
The recovery phase of disaster and emergency management is an imperative process as it facilitates reinstatement of the affected communities to their normal lives. For example, the aspect of economic recovery is an essential part of reinstating the lives of the affected communities to normalcy. There is a need for the planners, managers and workers working in the management of the disaster to ensure development of strategic planning, which will facilitate successful transition the response phase to successful recovery. This phase requires intensive use of funds as it requires supplementing business and enterprises reinstates their operations. Disasters affect the business community adversely leading to some business enterprises becoming bankrupt and indefinite closure of business while others reinstate operations with the difficulties of stabilizing their operations.
In addition, disasters lead to breakdown of infrastructure and communication systems, which plays an imperative role in carrying out business activities. There has been various areas that have been identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) that should be addressed when preparing for a long term recovery on the occurrence of a disaster. The first aspect is financing, which plays an imperative role in rebuilding homes, businesses, recreation amenities schools and public services. Therefore, financing plays an imperative role in rebuilding and reinstating of the local community lives into normalcy.
However, there is a need to focus on various key success factors that will facilitate a successful recovery such as efficient local leadership. There is a need for a clear vision, diverse funding and a well defined plan, supportive and involved business community, establishing effective partnerships at both the federal and local levels. The process of financing long term recovery in a disaster poses a substantial challenge and frequent frequent frustrations especially for local leaders who place reliance on full federal financing. Such challenges are exacerbated when the required funds are required in an urgent manner, and the crisis funding does not provide options or negotiability. Therefore, it is essential to develop a framework, which will facilitate long term recovery which will improve the success rate of the process. There is a need for development of a strategic framework prior to the occurrence of a disaster which identifies all the requirements of the federal government in documentation and release of funds and grants and reimbursement processes. In addition, the framework should identify all possible potential sources of funding for the process of long term recovery.
The framework should provide strategic and broad sources of financing, which establishes the various lines of credit, which can provide cash flow for direct expenses while the local authorities wait or the federal funds. The strategic framework should also facilitate identification of both internal and external staff involved in financial management of the recovery process. The local authorities should ensure that they have full knowledge of the rules governing access to the federal government resources, which will maximize funding that will facilitate long term recovery.
There are various pre-disaster financial recovery actions that the local government and communities should be involved in such as modifying the purchasing and contracting procedures, which will facilitate expeditious purchasing during emergency. In addition, the local authorities should facilitate adoption of repair and construction ordinance, which will enhance the use of Federal Emergency Management Agency public assistance funds.
Economic Recovery and Financial Assistance
Disaster management managers and leaders should ensure understanding of the economic environment and conditions of businesses, to facilitate adoption of programs that suit the local business communities. The program should facilitate the development of a framework that encourage all business to develop continuity plans. In addition, the framework should provide a platform that facilitates involvement of professionals in supporting the local business community. The recovery of business communities affected by disaster is supported by a range of financial measures, which provide funds for business, government, household and communities affected by disaster. The major sources of financing in the recovery phase include insurance, natural disaster appeals and reliefs. Insurance provides a means through which the business communities and homes among others are compensated the cost of restoring damages and loses caused by disaster.
There are various types of insurance cover available to policyholders in recovering from losses and damages caused by disasters, such as home and contents policies, property policies and business interruption policies. The homes and contents policies provide replacement and restoration insurance covering the costs replacing and repairing damaged properties. The operations of an insurance scheme are complex, and there is a need for proper understanding of the policy in terms of the terms and conditions of the insurance policy. Policyholders should ensure that they are aware of the policy exclusions and the various risks, which are not covered in the policy.
In general, Commercial insurance policies are designed to aid in various risks, which include damage and losses caused by disasters. These include risks such as coverage of building, plants, vehicles, equipment and fixtures and fittings, as well as interruptions of business activities. In various developed countries, with wide experience in dealing with the aftermath of emergencies and disasters they have developed insurance disasters response organizations. These units facilitate coordination insurance industry in the occurrence of a disaster. This facilitates improvement of the recovery process. The presence of coordinated and unified insurance industry plays an imperative role in providing a central point of contact, where the affected people can access information about insurance.
In addition, it has led to improvement in the assessment of disasters, as well as identification of insurers lodging claims in the insurance companies. It also leads to improved collaborations with various other agencies involved in the recovery stage. For example, it facilitates coordination between various relief agents and government in providing the best possible services, as well providing support for innovative research involved in disaster management and recovery process. Therefore, insurance plays an imperative role in providing support for the recovery process and aiding the affected people reinstate their financial status.
The natural disaster relief arrangements also plays an imperative role in enabling business units, homes and other social services return to normalcy. They provide assistance in terms of funds reducing the financial burden associated with the disaster. This mostly benefit the community when they are severely affected by the disaster in terms of financial, economic and social well being. Funds play an imperative role in reinstating the communities in their initial financial, economic and social status. For example, they are used in counter disaster operations, in relation to emergency services provided by federal agencies and local government. These services are imperative in ensuring safety of life, provision of health and financial assistance that will facilitate a successful recovery. In addition, it facilitates the provision of assistance in repairing and replacing damaged properties and essential household dwellings and contents. Funds also play an imperative role in restoring public assets provided by the local and federal governments.
In ensuring economic recovery and restoration of business enterprises primary producers, there is a need to provide concessional loans provided to primary producers, which facilitates repairs a replacement asset of the business. The concessional loans also enable small and medium enterprises reestablish operations after the disaster. Therefore, ensuring the provision of funds in the recovery phase of disaster management is an imperative process as it ensures that the economic activities of the affected communities is reinstated. There is a need for the participating agencies to cooperate and coordinate, in ensuring efficiency and effectiveness activities involved in the recovery process.
Globally an occurrence of a disaster attracts people in the country and other countries to provide aid to the affected people in terms of donations and disaster appeal funds. Various organizations initiate disaster appeals such as churches and media are the most renowned social institutions involved in disaster appeals. However, the local government in various cities such as mayors of principal cities also launches disaster appeals within the state when the disaster is widespread or it can be focused on a certain region of special interest.
Disaster financial Assistance (DFA) is an integrated approach that facilitates the provision of financial assistance for various identified disaster related losses. However, when the disaster is widespread it leads to the creation of an unreasonable financial burden that requires intervention from various agencies. Disaster financial assistance (DFA) establishes a disaster assistance, which facilitates recovery of local government, small business, residential properties, and some of the non-for profit organizations. To ensure efficiency of allocation of funds in the recovery phase, criteria are created to ensure funds are allocated efficiently and effectively. For example, the cost involved are classified into eligible and ineligible costs, which can be compensated. In addition, there must be a well formulated claim process to ensure timely and efficient provision of funds. This will facilitate the prevention of delays and provision of funds in a timely manner to facilitate the recovery process.
In conclusion, disaster management involves a complex four stage process involving mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery phase. Disaster management requires timely, urgent and efficient actions to facilitate prevention of further loss of lives and property. Especially during the response phase activities and actions are directly involved in the prevention of further damages and provision of immediate basic needs and urgent needs of the people. However, there is a high inter-connectivity between the response phase and the recovery phase. Therefore, there is a need to ensure that the response phase is efficient as it will facilitate a successful recovery. Financial assistance plays an imperative role in the recovery process. The issues of financial assistance are a central issue in the recovery process in terms of economic and social recovery of the affected communities.
References
Australian Society of Microbiology. (146-162). The Asian Tsunami Disaster: Emergency Management Aspects. Austraian Journal of Emergency Management , 2005.
Awasthy, A. (2009). Disaster Management: Warning Response And Community Relocation. New Delhi: Global India Publications.
Coppola, D. P. (2010). Introduction to International Disaster Management. New Jersey: Elsevier.
Drennan, L. T., & McConnell, A. (2007). Risk and Crisis Management in the Public Sector. New York: Routledge.
EMA. (2002). Economic and Financial Aspects of Disaster Recovery. Emergency Management Australia, 1-25.
GAO. (2012). Disaster Managament . Retrieved May 15, 2013, from Government Accountability Office : http://www.gao.gov/key_issues/disaster_management/issue_summary
Phillips, B. D., Neal, D. M., & Webb, G. R. (2011). Introduction to Emergency Management. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
