Crisis Management

Types of Crisis

The occurrence and intensity of crisis occurring worldwide has steadily increased since the early 1900s. Within the context of emergency management, crises are often considered either natural or human-made. A natural event describes the occurrence of a hazard such as an earthquake, hurricane, or flood that impacts the environment. A natural crisis is often referred to as an act of God. The occurrence of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami is an example of a naturally occurring crisis.

A human-made event describes the occurrence of hazard caused by human error, intent, or negligence. Human-made events are often categorized by technological hazards such as transportation incidents or sociological hazards such as terrorism and/or civil disobedience. An example of a technological incident is the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, whereas an example of a sociological hazard is the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City. The difference between a technological and sociological crisis rests in the intent. In a technological event, the occurrence is accidental; in a sociological event, there is intent to cause harm. To that end, it is possible for a technological event to be caused by a naturally occurring incident.

Crisis Management Systems

The current crisis management process used to prepare for and respond to disasters is characteristic of an open, complex system, in that relationships are nonlinear. Crisis management systems are often composed of numerous components and interconnections, or interdependencies, that are difficult to describe, understand, predict, manage, design, or change. Interconnections and interactions not only pertain to the behavior of the crisis, but also to the vertical and horizontal relationships within the crisis management structure.

The dynamic changes within the management of a crisis often yield unpredictable results and emergent properties. Unfortunately, small changes in the crisis management system will have amplifying impacts on the entire system. How the crisis management system evolves from the initial state at which it began supports the claim that crisis management systems are dynamic, complex systems. Specifically, crisis management systems are characteristic of chaotic systems in that they are sensitive to initial environmental conditions. Each change within the system creates a subsequent cascading impact, which is unpredictable and not replicable regardless of identical environmental factors.

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