Public Policy

Public Policy is Implemented in Disaster Relief

Often, policy changes follow disasters, in order to prevent similar occurrences. There is considerable evidence that disasters, natural and otherwise, lead in their aftermath to an open-mindedness toward policy change, such as the major shifts in international politics after World War II, or the wide-ranging policy discussions following the 2007–10 financial crisis. The response to a disaster may bring to light weaknesses or lack of resources of a state or national government's emergency management agencies. For instance, the scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was sufficient to make clear some infrastructural weaknesses in international disaster relief organizations, which retooled their procedures as a result. Other times, the problems and their solutions may be at the policy level. After the 2010 British Petroleum (BP) Gulf Coast oil leak, the White House put a freeze on offshore drilling licenses while evaluating the logistics of offshore drilling—and also pressed hard to change the Oil Pollution Act, which capped the liability of non-negligent companies at $75 million in the case of such disasters. Though White House statements made it clear that BP was considered negligent, and not protected by the cap, the disaster provided an opportunity to point out that $75 million was an insignificant amount compared to the economic and ecological cost of a major oil pollution disaster.

[Page 529]At other times, policy can change in response to ongoing problems rather than a focusing event. In 2010, the government of Uganda was pressured into finally adopting a disaster management policy after international agencies convinced it that the lack thereof had inhibited the country's development. The subsequent policy emphasizes disaster risk reduction, especially at the local level, where emergency supplies and food can be stockpiled, crop production can be increased, and construction standards can be adjusted to account for flooding risks and other natural disaster damage.

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