Session 23 1

Comparative Emergency Management

Session 23 Slide Deck

Session 23 2

Session Objective

1. Explain the Most Common Categories of Recovery Assistance Provided in the Aftermath of Major Disasters

Session 23 3

Shelter and Housing

Differences in damage and destruction due to:• Construction materials• Construction type and adherence to safety codes• Structure age and maintenance• Soil makeup• Physical and geographic location• Elevation• Proximity to the hazard source• Geological processes (e.g., liquifaction)

Session 23 4

Shelter and Housing

Three Categories of Damage:– Damaged, but requiring only simple repairs– Damaged, but requiring major repairs– Damaged beyond repair or destroyed

Housing ‘Triage’

Session 23 5

Shelter and Housing

Interim Shelter Options– Congregate shelters– Travel trailers / Manufactured homes– Rental Markets– Hotels– Tents

Session 23 6

Shelter and Housing

• Congregate Shelter Problems– Displacement– Loss of the structure’s ‘normal use’ (e.g., school

used as a shelter)– Environmental impacts of dense unplanned

settlement– Permanence of ‘slums’– Example – Italy / Turkey

Session 23 7

Shelter and Housing

Planning Considerations– Site Selection– Wraparound Services– Building Materials and Design Selection– Owner-Driven vs. Outside Construction– Property Rights and Other Legal Matters

Session 23 8

Site Selection

• Rebuilding on the Same Site– Community integrity maintained– Livelihoods maintained– Motivation to recover– Infrastructure exists

• Relocate– No need to remove rubble before rebuilding– Proximity to hazard can be increased

Session 23 9

Wraparound Services• “Those facets of society that allow an individual,

and likewise, the society as a whole, to survive and to function effectively”

• Examples– Food and commodity markets– Educational facilities– Healthcare facilities– Transportation systems and access– Utilities– Employment– Religious and social communities

Session 23 10

Building Materials / Design

• What kinds of structures built• What materials used• Decisions must be more than cost-based• Styles and materials must:

– Be culturally acceptable– Accommodate new risk information

• Sources of materials:– Debris (recycled)– Local– Outside

Session 23 11

Owner-Driven vs. Outside Construction

• Five primary options:– Owner Driven Construction– Government Driven Construction– Donor Driven Construction– Contractor Driven Construction– A combination of the above players

Session 23 12

Property Rights and Other Legal Matters

• Property ownership– Access to title/deed– Destruction of government records– Can be established through community memory– Informal settlements present problems

• Holistic recovery planning is possible through legal control of recovery– Moratorium– Easing of laws or policies

Session 23 13

Infrastructure

“the basic facilities and services needed for the functioning of a community or society, such as transportation and communications systems and water and power lines”

Session 23 14

Infrastructure Components• Transportation• Energy• Communication• Health• Government• Flood control• Education• Water (treatment, delivery, and waste)• Commerce and banking

Session 23 15

Infrastructure Improvement

• Modernization• Expansion• Increase efficiency• Reduction in risk

Session 23 16

Infrastructure Issues for Consideration

• Component prioritization and rate of recovery

• Ownership• Sources of infrastructure reconstruction

expertise• Reconstruction labor and materials• Access to infrastructure• Hazard risk reduction

Session 23 17

Physical Recovery

• Illnesses and injuries• Physical trauma to victims• Health infrastructure sees increased demand• Coincides with reduced capacity / deficit of

technical skills and expertise• Shortage of equipment, supplies,

prosthetics, medicineand equipment

Session 23 18

Illness and Disease

• Pre-existing diseases become poorly maintained, because of:– Vectors– Reduced physical resilience– Increased transmission– Vaccination gaps

• Epidemiological surveillance is required

Session 23 19

Most Vulnerable Groups (Health)• Children and adolescents• The elderly• Pregnant women or mothers of infants• Single parent households• People with pre-existing diseases

– HIV/AIDS– Kidney disease– Cancer

• People with disabilities• Displaced people• Poor people

Session 23 20

Nutrition

• Reasons for a poor diet:– Financial problems– Severed supply chains– Psychological trauma– Lack of time

• Diet linked to disease

Session 23 21

Psychosocial Care• Trauma experienced by:

– Adults / Parents– Children– Responders

• As a result of:– Experiencing fear of injury/death– Hopelessness– Loss– Lack of control– Victimization of secondary intentional hazard – Witnessing pain or death– Displacement– Cultural losses– Loss of routine– Unemployment

Session 23 22

Psychosocial Options

• Mental health counseling• Strengthening and support of traditional and social

networks • Resumption of religious services and the repair or

reconstruction of religious facilities and institutions

• Resumption of normal routines • Reunification of families • Remembrance (museums, memorials)

Session 23 23

Cultural Recovery

• Disasters can devastate/destroy culture– Historic buildings– Art– Clothing– Landmarks

• Loss of culture is a loss of identity

Session 23 24

Economic Recovery / Livelihoods

• Lost resources, production, jobs, business opportunities, heavy government expenditures

• Economic recovery tied to the resumption of jobs – Local businesses must be quickly returned– Injected cash can help the local economy– Opportunity for increase in capacity post-disaster– Pre-existing problems may be addressed

Session 23 25

Environment

• Two factors:– Damage as a direct result of the hazard– Damage as a result of the destruction of man-

made technologies and systems • Debris• Environmental protections (e.g.,

mangroves, wetlands)• Pollution