Introduction
The hurricane-three disaster in the city was a deadly reminder that the city can be and must be well prepared to handle future disasters. The main lesson from the destructive natural disaster is that no matter how well the city seems prepared, the disaster management systems must be improved every day. The natural occurrence took place in one week, and it was severe early in the morning as well as in the evening. It was highly destructive to the environment bringing down massive investments in the city in the form of buildings and businesses. In specific five buildings were brought down. Around 100 people went missing with 70 recovered dead after the disaster. Although it is hard to correct the destructions that occurred as a result of the natural disaster, it is possible to employ measures that will prevent the reoccurrence of the disaster. As the Director of Emergency Management of the city, I would ensure a proper plan to deal with such disasters before, during, and after the occurrence. As such, the ongoing cycle of mitigation and prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery activities would be highly significant.
At this stage, the city needs to have a proper preparation plan to handle the destruction that would be incurred in case disaster strikes. The first step to mitigation and preparedness is to ensure the safety of the buildings and other infrastructure. The houses and infrastructures need to be reviewed and necessary examination on the stability of the buildings and infrastructure in case of a hurricane. Taking note of the status of the buildings would be highly significant in determining their resistance for hurricanes in future (Vesely, 2010).
Product certification would be mandatory for all the buildings and infrastructures. The emergency management department will work in hand with the construction department to ensure proper construction and maintenance of quality buildings. The emergency department will also focus on educating the people on the need on inhabiting safe houses.
The city will set up plans, which will help the prevention of the occurrence of the hurricane. At the point where the hazard is likely to occur, the city will offer the necessary measures to prevent the occurrence. If the disaster has to occur, excellent measures will be developed to ensure the damage is controlled to prevent maximum destruction (Bennett, 2010).
Preparedness
The emergency management team will work towards the training of the disaster response team. The team will be trained on the new techniques of dealing with hurricane disaster based on previous occurrences. Speed and reliability of services will be a major requirement in the disaster management process (Vesely, 2010).
Also, the residents will be taught on how to identify signs of the disaster. There are instances where the disasters will be identified through the existence of certain signs of the disaster that is about to strike. They will be trained accordingly on the response to the hazards when they strike (Vesely, 2010).
Information on the contact individuals in case of an emergency would also be a major consideration. Plans are underway to ensure the security department of the city is well connected to the members of the public (Holdeman, 2012). The strategy will be helpful for the residents having contacts to the emergency department in the city. The strategy will help in easy and speedy response when the hurricanes hit.
Response
This stage is practical since it is employed when the disaster has already occurred. It involves the action that will be taken when the disaster has already occurred. The process involves a set of priorities, which make the solution to the problem possible and highly reliable (Vesely, 2010).
The priority during the response is life safety. The rescue team should focus on savings the lives of the humans involved in the disaster (Holdeman, 2012). All efforts should be put in place to ensure the human beings are in a safe place where the disaster cannot hit them.
The second priority should be incident stabilization. All measures should be employed to ensure the incident does not cause further destruction (Holdeman, 2012). The necessary systems that would be employed to stop the disaster should be put in place. The destructions by the disaster should be reduced to the lowest levels possible.
The third priority should be property conservation. The emergency department should focus on saving the existing property to avoid further destruction (Bennett, 2010). The department should focus on ensuring affected buildings have been assessed for continuous occupation.
Recovery
The emergency department will maintain the capability to deal with both short and long terms impacts of hurricanes in the future. After the life and safety concerns have been handled the main goal will be to ensure restoration of normal activities for the city. To assist in the recovery, the emergency department has come up with the comprehensive Continuity of Operations Plans (COOPs) for the emergency response department (Holdeman, 2012). The staff to undertake the COOPs will have to undergo exclusive training and take part in periodic exercises aimed at developing as well as testing the integrity as well as the reliability of the set plans.
Conclusion
Disaster management in the city is not well defined following the existence of improper preparations. The department has reluctant officers who take a lot of time to define and implement disaster management processes. Sometimes, the process of dealing with disasters is slow and unsatisfactory. However, improvements are underway to ensure proper handling of emergencies such as the hurricane three.
References
Bennett, D. (2010). State emergency plans: assessing the inclusiveness of vulnerable populations. IJEM,7(1), 100.
Holdeman, E. (2012). Hurricane Katrina and the Lessons Learned from Mississippi’s Recovery.Emergencymgmt.com. Retrieved 8 May 2016, from http://www.emergencymgmt.com/disaster/Hurricane-Katrina-Lessons-Learned-Mississippis-Recovery.html?page=2
Vesely, JD, M. (2010). No matter what: Ensuring the performance of essential functions through devolution plans. JEM, 8(1), 13-23.
