Post Disaster Project: Prepare a Project Plan
Project description
A disaster is natural or man-made occurrence, that causes immense damage to human life, animal life or properties, on a large scale. It creates the need for external human assistance to alleviate the sufferings of the victims, minimize their loss and return them back to a state where they can manage the situation independently. Sometimes, the damage associated with a disaster is irreversible and assistance can only help victims to adapt. A proper disaster management project can help foresee disasters and minimize loss. Preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation are the different stages involved in the management of disasters. In this project, management of disasters caused by hurricanes, is considered for the risk management plan.
Hurricanes are tropical storm winds that come in different forms (National Geographic, 2016). Some come as surging storms, strong wind, tornadoes and flood. The hurricane intensity is decided, based on the wind speed, duration, level of flooding or downpour. Though it may be difficult to avoid natural disasters like hurricane, it is possible to develop ways to deal with disaster. In the U.S, June to November is called the hurricane season. In this project we look into the management of hurricanes in the Florida region. It is a U.S state that is highly prone to hurricanes. The North -East Pacific Ocean, the South-East Pacific Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, are prone to hurricanes.
Impact of disaster:
Disaster causes large scale displacement of people, animal and belongings. In worst cases, there is also loss of lives. Disaster can cause several direct and indirect damages. It makes the region dependent and economically unstable. It can also reduce the population and assets in the region. Disaster makes the people vulnerable. The impact is severe, if urbanisation has destroyed the environmental determinants that offer protection from disasters. Hurricane is a very powerful natural force and when it occurs, it causes severe damage to critical public infrastructures like water, electricity, communication, transportation and food. Wind and water are the two main forces of a hurricane and they can be extremely destructive. (Hurricanescience.org, 2016)
The strength of the hurricane wind can topple down trees, buildings, blow off roads, causes land falls, blow off pipelines, roofs and any item that is left unattended outside. Hurricanes can blow away cars, furniture in the lawn, animals and humans as well! The objects carried by the wind can cause serious injuries to humans and animals. The hurricane has a suction force, due to the low pressure that is seen in the centre, and this helps it to pick up objects from the surrounding. (Natural disasters and public health: hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, 2010)
When the hurricane wind hits the doors and windows of the house, the impact can break the glass and the broken pieces can prove harmful. It can also blow off roofs and walls. When the hurricane is accompanied by a downpour, the impact is more severe. Usually rain associated with hurricanes last longer and cause floods. Flood causes drowning. The dirty water can enter houses and cause sanitation and health problems. (Hurricanescience.org, 2016)
The debris carried by the wind can travel long distances and affect all buildings in the neighborhood. The force of the wind is capable of uprooting and lifting an entire house as well.! Hurricanes are classified as weak, moderate, strong and very strong, based on the wind speed. Weak hurricanes have a wind speed of 74-95 mph and are less damaging. Devastating hurricanes have a wind speed greater than 155mph. Moderate and strong hurricane have a wind speed in-between these two, and does a considerable amount of damage. The destructive power of the wind, increases and its speed increase. (Hurricanescience.org, 2016)
Hurricane originates in the ocean and are blown towards land in spiral circles. The centre of the hurricane is called the eye and it is relatively calmer. As the hurricane approaches the land, it causes landslides and torrential rainfall that causes flooding. The hurricane takes origin as a tropical disturbance in the sea/ocean. Gradually, it builds up to cause a tropical depression. The wind moves in circles during a tropical depression, and thunderstorms arise from the centre. Very gradually, the thunderstorm develops into a tropical storm, and finally into a full-fledged hurricane.
Problems caused by the impact of disaster: The loses caused by a hurricane can be broadly classified into tangible and intangible losses. Tangible loses are those that have economic value. On the other hand, intangible loses does not have economic value, but has social and cultural value. The damage caused to buildings, vehicles, sheds and other infrastructures required for productive activities, destroyed by hurricane, are listed under tangible loses. It will take time to clean up the debris and rebuild these structures. This requires time and resources. The public face difficulties from lack of availability of resources during the restoration period. Millions of dollars are required to restore infrastructure and these economic demand can severely affect the budget. Wages come down and the cost of living increases. Job opportunities and revenue decreases, while expenditure increases, following the damages caused. Disasters can slow down growth and development. It hinders business, trade and commerce. The gains achieved by economic development over the years, is washed away by a hurricane, forcing the people to begin from the start. The damages are sometimes incalculable. Intrusion of sea water into land and public water supply, can cause contamination of water sources, and decreases the availability the potable water supply.
Intangible losses occur from loss of people, homes, social and cultural icons. The change in environment and the prevalence of health problems increases. The flood waters, facilitate the spread of diseases like bubonic plague, common cold, military fever, break bone fever, etc. The stress level of people and the prevalence of other mental disease also increases. Disasters can severely affect the minds of the people, especially children who incur loss of family members. Social life, school and other educational activities are also affected by the disaster. It takes time for the people to lose their inhibitions and return back to normalcy.
Though natural disasters like hurricane cannot be prevented, the advancement in technology and science, enables their earlier prediction. The progress of hurricane can also be tracked with the use of technology. Hurricane warning, and preparedness to face a hurricane, can help reduce the damage caused by it.
What is your project? How does it provide a solution to a part of the problem?
The aim of this project is to proactively prepare the stakeholders in a hurricane prone area, so that they can be effectively engaged and implemented in the management of disaster, after the hurricane strikes the land. The coordinated action of public agencies, civil societies, private sectors, people at national, state and local levels, can benefit the disaster management. The absence of coordination can lead to chaotic activity, where people are not sure about what to do and act. Chaos is very common when a disaster strikes and an integrated action, right from the level of each household in the locality, is required for effective risk identification and management. This will enable sharing of resources and also in risk reduction. Certain key aspects of the post disaster project are discussed below:
Rapid environmental assessment post disaster: is required to make planned reaction to the disaster. The first priority is to assess the safety of people in the locality. Many damaged structures and walkways are not safe for immediate use. To begin with, the safety of emergency facilities will be assessed. It is always ideal to have the minimum possible people in the emergency facilities and minimum displacement of people from their locality. With planned efforts, people can be made safe at their own homes and evacuation can be aimed at places that have the greatest impact of the hurricane. Assessment helps save properties from unwanted demolishing activities. The commercial centres are accessed for their capacity to return back to work. The extent of damage in term of lives and properties is evaluated during the assessment. Assessment helps to determine the resources required for recovery. (Smith, 2013)
Disaster mitigation efforts are made on the basis of the data obtained from the engineering, medical, insurance and scientific teams, who independently assess the situation from their perspective. A rapid evaluation is done to decide on the short term relief based on the overall scope of damage. A much detailed assessment is made for planning long term mitigation efforts. Rapid assessment requires minimum manpower, while a detailed assessment will require more manpower and time. It is necessary to ensure safety precautions during assessment, as there is risk of properties collapsing during inspection. (Smith, 2013)
As Florida is a risk prone area, the people in this locality are prepared and proactive in disaster management. This helps to reduce the disaster to manageable levels. The loss of lives and major destruction in social and economic structures are estimated during rapid assessment. Most of the damages are concentrated along the coast, while in the inland, the effect of a hurricane is less intense. The national hurricane centre can foresee a hurricane right at the time of formation, and alert the public through mass media. This helps to alert the public and the civic authorities to initiate appropriate disaster management efforts that will help to reduce the loss of lives and properties. People located along the coastline, are relocated to a much safer place in the inland. Majority of the important social and environmental structure are constructed in areas that is safely located away from disaster prone areas. Though geographically Florida is more prone to hurricane, the intensity of hurricanes rarely reaches devastating intensity. Florida is among the most populous state in U.S. (Dep.state.fl.us, 2016; Flhurricane.com, 2016)
Hurricanes being common in Florida, the people living in these areas respond by taking adequate action to safeguard their life, property and environment. Post disaster assessment is done to decide restoration activity. Data on the environment and health, are collected during post disaster management. These data are required to build better health and environment for the people. The physical, biochemical, and social components of the environment, are altered by a disaster.
Ecosystem is a component of the environment, and man is an inseparable part of the ecosystem. Ecosystem is made by the complex interaction between people, plants, animals and materials, in such a way that there is stability in the ecosystem. This stability is required for the survival of the components in the ecosystem. Disasters like hurricanes can destabilize the ecosystem, and efforts are needed to restore the situation back to normalcy. Natural ecosystems like forest and agriculture, provide the necessary fuel required to run the cities. The spatial plan of the city will help known the area of the land that is allotted to agriculture, forests, transportation, residential area, industrial area, public facilities, etc. Each area is identified as a zone. During an assessment of the environment, the extent of damage done to each zone is reported. The quality of the environment can affect the quality of health. For example, insects breed in stagnant water caused by floods and these insects act as vectors of potential diseases. The damage to the environment will depend on the level of exposure to damage. (Smith, 2013)
During the assessment, the environment is divided into different sectors that will enable easy and wholesome assessment. While assessing the environment after a disaster, factors like: area covered by the impact, the type of ecosystem that is damaged, the level of damage to each zone, damage to economic assets, cultural assets, the quality of air, water and land are inspected and evaluated. While assessing health, components like: mortality rate, morbidity rate, number of victims, distribution of the disease, spread of disease, high risk group, availability of food, water, sanitation and health facilities are evaluated. (Noji, 1997; Smith, 2004; Smith, 2013)
Rapid assessment following a disaster, requires the prompt action of the government. The government will hold the overall responsibility of the assessment. Scientific and private communities can support government efforts. A large scale assessment may not be possible without the help of the government. Prior to the striking of disaster, assessment is done to identify high risk areas. Regular surveillance and pre-emptive signals, will help to guide proactive activities like relocating people to safe areas, stockpiling of resources that will benefit people during disasters, etc. Post disaster assessment is done to evaluate the damages and to decide on reconstruction/ development efforts.
Scope of the project: will be to employ problem solving skills, determine solutions and plan actions. People need to be empowered with the right knowledge, resources, relations and decision making skills, so that they can solve and manage most of their problems themselves. Imparting confidence in the people is a very important part of the post disaster management. (Moe and Pathranarakul, 2006 ; Brighthub Project Management, 2016)
Stakeholder assessment, engagement and communication plan: The stakeholders in this project are householders, the community, public authorities and private bodies who are affected by the disaster. The stakeholders will have engaged through a planned process, so as to bring about the desired effect. This will also help to build a functional relationship between different communities in the state. The partnership between stakeholders and their co-ordinated action, is required for planning action and taking shared responsibility. The public and householders will act at ground level, while private and public authorities will direct the management activities. All the people involved in the execution of task and the management of tasks, will be provided facilities to communicate with each other. Communication would be bidirectional. Opinion from the ground team will be considered while making decisions. (Maak, 2007; Stakeholdermap.com, 2016)
Risk management plan: is made after studying the risk, brainstorming on the consequences associated with each risk. The risk management plans are usually flexible and subject to adaptation, based on the risk identified during the execution of the project. Resourcing and budgeting are done for various objectives of the plan. Each risk and consequence identified through research, will be given an ID. The probability, impact, priority and mitigation response associated with each risk and consequence will be identified. (Alexander, Chan‐Halbrendt and Salim, 2006; Brighthub Project Management, 2016)
Example of a risk management plan is given below:
The project plan is made considering the 6 survival steps of the project manager as addressed by Paul Steinfort. Goal setting is the first step of the plan. As a second step, the stakeholders will be identified. The objectives and the outcome of the project are communicated to the stakeholders. The feasibility of the plan will be considered and problems relating to it will be resolved. Following this, resources are committed to the project, and the manpower is entrusted with execution of different goals. Managers and staff will oversee the overall progress, and solve any disputes that may arise in the process. Steps will be taken to ensure that communication is unhindered and happens in an organised and beneficial way. (Steinfort and Derek, 2007)
References
Alexander, B., Chan‐Halbrendt, C. and Salim, W. (2006). Sustainable livelihood considerations for disaster risk management: Implications for implementation of the Government of Indonesia tsunami recovery plan. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, 15(1), pp.31-50.
Brighthub Project Management. (2016). An Example of a Risk Management Plan for Use on Any Project. [online] Available at: http://www.brighthubpm.com/risk-management/5141-risk- management-plan-examples/ [Accessed 29 Apr. 2016].
Flhurricane.com. (2016). Central Florida Hurricane Center 2016 - Since 1995. [online] Available at: http://flhurricane.com/ [Accessed 29 Apr. 2016].
Chisolm, E. and Matthews, J. (2012). Impact of Hurricanes and Flooding on Buried Infrastructure. Leadership Manage. Eng., 12(3), pp.151-156.
Stakeholdermap.com. (2016). Engaging Stakeholders - A strategy for Stakeholder Engagement. [online] Available at: http://stakeholdermap.com/stakeholder-engagement.html [Accessed 29 Apr. 2016].
National Geographic. (2016). Hurricane Facts, Hurricane Information, Hurricane Videos, Hurricane Photos - National Geographic. [online] Available at: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/hurricane- profile/ [Accessed 29 Apr. 2016].
Dep.state.fl.us. (2016). Hurricane Information | Emergency Management | Florida DEP. [online] Available at: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/mainpage/em/info.htm [Accessed 29 Apr. 2016].
Hurricanescience.org. (2016). Hurricanes: Science and Society: Hurricane Winds at Landfall. [online] Available at: http://hurricanescience.org/society/impacts/windsatlandfall/ [Accessed 29 Apr. 2016].
Maak, T. (2007). Responsible Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement, and the Emergence of Social Capital. J Bus Ethics, 74(4), pp.329-343.
Moe, T. and Pathranarakul, P. (2006). An integrated approach to natural disaster management: Public project management and its critical success factors. Disaster Prevention and Management, 15(3), pp.396-413.
Natural disasters and public health: hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. (2010). Choice Reviews Online, 47(06), pp.47-3199-47-3199.
Noji, E. (1997). The public health consequences of disasters. New York: Oxford University Press.
Smith, K. (2004). Environmental hazards. London: Routledge.
Smith, K. (2004). Environmental hazards. London: Routledge.
Smith, K. (2013). Environmental hazards. 6th ed. London: Routledge, pp.16-30.
Steinfort, P. and Derek, W. (2007). Critical Success Factors in Project Management Globally and How They May Be Applied to Aid Projects. In: 4th Annual Project Management Australia Conference. Brisbane, p.10.
