Disasters and Emergency Preparedness

The Disaster Management Cycle

The disaster management cycle describes a continuum of interlinked activities aimed at the reduction of risk before disaster onset and the pursuit of postdisaster recovery efforts. It is a cycle because what is learned during the recovery phase can be used to produce more effective risk-reduction activities for similar disasters that may occur in the future. The disaster management cycle consists of five parts. The recovery phase consists of 1.) response, 2.) rehabilitation, and 3.) reconstruction activities, while the reduction phase involves 4.) mitigation and 5.) emergency preparedness. Mitigation and emergency preparedness are complementary. The former involves those measures intended to reduce the vulnerability of places to disaster and to reduce the disaster impacts. Mitigation includes such things as the enforcement of building and land use regulations, the control of hazardous substances, and the implementation of safeguards to protect critical infrastructure elements such as power supplies and communications networks. The overall objective of emergency preparedness is to ensure that appropriate systems, procedures, and resources are in place to provide prompt and effective assistance to disaster victims. In essence, it involves those measures that enable organizations, communities, and individuals to rapidly and effectively respond to disasters. The emergency preparedness component includes the formulation of disaster plans; the special provision for emergency action (i.e., evacuation plans, temporary safety shelters, the mobilization of relief agencies, emergency warning, and communication systems); and public education/awareness programs and training programs (i.e., practice exercises and drills). Although related to other stages of the disaster management cycle, preparedness measures tend to be more strongly oriented toward action by organizations such as police and fire departments, utility companies, hospitals, social service agencies, military, mass media, and nongovernmental agencies.

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