It is also referred to as the disaster management. It is a discipline that deals with and the avoidance of risks. It is a proactive discipline in that, it prepares for a disaster before happening and also the disaster response upon occurrence. Generally this is a continuous process in which communities and individuals manage risks or hazards so as to avoid or mitigate the effects of such disasters. The effective disaster management heavily relies on the inclusion of emergency plans at every government and private involvement levels. Oftenly, the responsibility of governmental disaster management is placed with the institutions of the civil defense. However, this should start from the lowest level and hence increasing to higher levels. In the private sector this emergency management is also referred to as the BCP (business continuity planning).
Emergency management has always had a major role to play in the management of the large scale incidents in the world today. Without these emergency management schemes many of these incidents would have turned into major and persistent disasters in the world. For instance in United States where major incidents have been happening, the FEMA has had a great role to play. This ranges’ from , the reduction of the loss after the disaster occurring, mitigation of the effects of the disaster, safeguarding of future events of such kind/, ensuring that the aftermath of the disaster well taken care of especially for the victims of the disaster and always being in the forefront of taking proactive measures to deal with disasters[ CITATION Dav02 \l 1033 ].
Disaster management is indispensable in the mitigation, preparation, the response and the recovery during disasters. Emergency management in mitigating the risk focuses on the long term measures that will help in eliminating and even reducing the risk. These mitigating strategies may be structural or even non structural. The structural strategies can involve the use of technological solutions while the non structural involves the use of planning and legislations. In so doing the cost of the hazard will be reduced to the most manageable level.
The preparation for a disaster that is likely to occur is a proactive approach to it an is encouraged .The preparation will include among others the planning, training, exercising, equipping , organizing, and even evaluation activities so as to ensure that coordination in the prevention, protection, response, recovery and the mitigation of the effects of disasters. In preparing for these disasters, emergency managers usually communicate these plans, training of emergency response teams, development of the population warning, stocking for the disaster among others.
Emergency management platys also a major role in major disasters in mobilizing the needed emergency services and also in finding a way of responding quickly in the crisis area. This will include services like firefighting, ambulance services and the policemen among others. The organizational response to a disaster is fully depended on the emergency management systems that exist. In the response to any disaster discipline and agility are vital[ CITATION Geo08 \l 1033 ].
The disaster management provides for the recovery or restoration of the affected area to its original state. It provides for the re-employment, reconstruction of the destroyed property, repairing of the damaged facilities and reinstatement of the previous state of events. It also entails the mitigation of the loss suffered.
In the present world, amidst many natural and man driven catastrophes, emergency management has been given a first priority by many governments, individuals, groups, and even societies. This is in an effect to remain proactive and plan for the future uncertain out comes. Many governments have given this a major priority and in return they have mitigated the effects of major world disasters. For instance, in the case of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) of the US department of homeland security. It was created to coordinate disaster response in the United States of America. This organization has been of paramount importance to the Americans especially during the Hurricane Andrew of 1992, The Southern Florida Hurricanes of 2004, 2005 during the Hurricane Katrina, 2006 buffalo snow storm, the 2007 Dumas, Arkansas tornadoes, 2007 California wild fires, the recent American Samoa Tsunami of the year 2009 and even in the most recent Oil spill disaster ion the Gulf of Mexico. Many other World governments have created such organization like in India which is called National disaster management under the ministry of Home affairs. Therefore the adoption of the emergency management has been taken well by most state governments and as a result it has received the statutory authority needed[ CITATION Luc07 \l 1033 ].
Works Cited
David, E. (2002). Principles of emergency planning and management. London: Oxford University press.
George, D. (2008). Introduction to emergency management. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Lucien, G. (2007). Emergency management. New Jersey: Wiley- Interscience.
