scholarly journals Humanitarian Disaster Response

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Rosario
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Political Risk ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Capacity Level ◽  
Response Capacity ◽  
External Assistance ◽  
Manageable Level ◽  
External Intervention

Communities the world over continue to be alarmingly vulnerable to natural hazards, leading to no shortage of devastating consequences. Whether or not climate change brings forth an increasingly ferocious variety of hazards, actors involved in disaster response will still face a multiplicity of challenges to delivering lifesaving aid. For instance, humanitarian organizations sometimes face the challenge of overcoming the reluctance of disaster affected states to accept their assistance. When disasters extensively overwhelm state capacity the refusal of external assistance can have serious ramifications for those affected. Despite the stakes, research surrounding aid rejection in these contexts is limited. This analysis sheds more light on why aid rejection occurs and highlights to humanitarian organizations and other researchers the fundamental considerations to develop an understanding on this subject. A synthesis of existing research on disaster response reveals the very tangible political risk that disaster affected states face when engaging with international offers of assistance. It is in the effort to mitigate this political risk to their legitimacy that states may ultimately decide to reject aid. A few key state characteristics such as response capacity, level of external intervention and domestic politics may also amplify this risk, resulting in a higher likelihood that external aid is rejected. This analysis engages with these factors to determine their validity and relevancy to humanitarian practitioners seeking to develop the appropriateorganizational strategies. In an effort to better understand aid rejection a disaster dataset was developed based on the concept that disasters with higher visibility on the international scene present a higher level of political risk for an affected state, and therefore have the highest likelihood of resulting in cases of aid rejection. However, in analysing disasters that met this criterion over a 10 year period the research found no instances whereexternal aid was universally and indiscriminately rejected. This is not to say that there were no cases where an affected state rejected assistance from a particular party but that even in these instances those states did accept aid from some other source. The implication of these findings is that states affected by natural borne disasters are likely to accept external offers of assistance so long as those offers carry a manageable level of political risk. Humanitarian organizations should therefore consider how they can mitigate the political risk they might present to an affected state as part of their disaster response strategy.

Harnessing Information and Technology for Disaster Response Decision-Making Units

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manisha Shekhar
Keyword(s):  
Information Management ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Good Communication ◽  
Useful Knowledge ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
Major Disaster ◽  
Management Roles ◽  
Field Workers ◽  
Modern Era

After each major disaster of the modern era, humanitarian organizations have reaffirmed a critical lesson: good communication is essential to effective coordination. Field workers now rely on tools like portable satellite antennae that enable them to have Internet communications from many places on the globe. Rather, the problem is now shifting from basic connectivity to information management. Without information sharing there can be no coordination. If we are not talking to each other and sharing information then we go back 30 years. In this paper, we adopt a theory-driven approach to develop a set of information management roles and dynamic capabilities for disaster management. Although the networks that connect humanitarians have expanded quickly in recent years, the volume of data flowing through these pathways, and the number of information sources, have increased at an even faster rate. Responders are increasingly struggling to handle a growing amount of data, arriving more quickly than ever before. This is a problem from the non-emergency world that is amplified at times of crisis. Due to poorly adapted tools, training and strategies, responders are increasingly ill-prepared to produce useful knowledge from the flow of information and data.   Keywords - Information architecture, information management, adaptivity roles, preparedness

The School Education to Improve the Disaster Response Capacity : A Case of “Kamaishi Miracle”

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 845-856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshitaka Katada ◽  
◽  
Masanobu Kanai ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
School Education ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Disaster Prevention ◽  
Prevention Education ◽  
The World ◽  
Response Capacity ◽  
Future Education

Many people died in the Great East Japan Earthquake. However, children in Kamaishi City survived by taking advantage of what they learned from disaster prevention education. It was called the “Kamaishi Miracle,” and the story spread around the world. In this study, the disaster prevention education that made possible the appropriate evacuation of the children is examined and future education possibilities are discussed. First, it should be pointed out that most disaster prevention education conducted before the earthquake took the form of “threatening disaster prevention education” or “knowledge-oriented disaster prevention education.” To solve the deficiencies in these programs, “attitude-oriented disaster prevention education” with a focus on children’s independence is proposed. In addition, three educational guidelines regarding evacuation from tsunamis are discussed. We also study the current status of disaster prevention education in Japan after the earthquake and show that when it puts an emphasis on life and community it have far-reaching effect.

Toward the Way Forward: The National Children's Disaster Mental Health Concept of Operations

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merritt Schreiber ◽  
Betty Pfefferbaum ◽  
Lisa Sayegh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Disaster Mental Health ◽  
Incident Response ◽  
Health Concept ◽  
Response And Recovery ◽  
Concept Of Operations

ABSTRACTAlthough increasing evidence suggests that children are at particular risk from disasters and evidence-based practices have been developed to triage and treat them effectively, no strategy or concept of operations linking best practices for disaster response is currently in place. To our knowledge, this report describes the first effort to address this critical gap and outlines a triage-driven children's disaster mental health incident response strategy for seamless preparedness, response, and recovery elements that can be used now. The national children's disaster mental health concept of operations (NCDMH CONOPS) details the essential elements needed for an interoperable, coordinated response for the mental health needs of children by local communities, counties, regions, and states to better meet the needs of children affected by disasters and terrorism incidents. This CONOPS for children proposes the use of an evidence-based, rapid triage system to provide a common data metric to incident response and recovery action and to rationally align limited resources to those at greater need in a population-based approach.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2012;6:174–181)

scholarly journals A Study on Assessing Disaster Response Capacity for Coastal Residents

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 979-990
Author(s):  
Tae-Soon Kang ◽  
Seung-Rok Lee ◽  
Jong-Sup Lee ◽  
Jongkyu Kim
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
Response Capacity ◽  
Coastal Residents

Developing warning and disaster response capacity in the tourism sector in coastal Washington, USA

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Johnston ◽  
Julia Becker ◽  
Chris Gregg ◽  
Bruce Houghton ◽  
Douglas Paton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
Response Capacity

Response-Capacity Analysis of Urban Systems to Support Emergency and Disaster Response in a Developing City: The Case of Yangon, Myanmar

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-151
Author(s):  
Yasmin Bhattacharya ◽  
Takaaki Kato ◽  
Tomoko Matsushita ◽  
Ei Ei Tun ◽  
Tin Tin Aye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
Current System ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Urban System ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
Capacity Analysis ◽  
Risk Map ◽  
Response Capacity ◽  
Process Of Urbanization ◽  
Fire Stations

The process of urbanization often results in the accumulation of risks within the urban fabric. These later develop into major vulnerabilities that can cause immense devastation in the event of a disaster. Therefore, as a city develops, it is essential to monitor its growth in order to 1) guide its development to avoid accumulating further risks and 2) enable the urban system to cope with the risks that already exist. This paper focuses on dealing with existing risks and the potential to address disaster-risk response within the existing firefighting framework. It identifies GIS-based spatial-analysis methods that can assist in determining the urban system’s capacity to accommodate the necessary service functions during both regular emergencies and disaster situations. As an example, response-capacity analysis for firefighting services in Yangon City is carried out to identify the inadequacies of the current system. These are then matched with the potential-fire-risk map to consider the demand increase for fire stations in disaster situations due to the likelihood of multiple ignitions. Areas where infrastructural and logistical improvements should be prioritized are discussed, and urban planning measures to help develop a safe and resilient city are considered within the developing-country context.

scholarly journals Evaluation of an Australian nursing partnership to improve disaster response capacity

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 524-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Mitchell ◽  
Benjamin Mackie ◽  
Leanne M. Aitken ◽  
Loretta C. McKinnon
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
Princess Alexandra Hospital ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Response Capacity ◽  
Trauma Response ◽  
Nurses Perceptions ◽  
National Disaster ◽  
Effective Integration

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a partnership with specialized nurses from geographically disparate hospitals to provide critical support in national disasters. Design/methodology/approach – The Australian Government established the National Critical Care Trauma Response Centre (NCCTRC) within Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH). A partnership with the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) occurred to support RDH during national disasters. PAH nurses undertook two-week rotations to RDH in readiness for deployment. PAH, NCCTRC and RDH nurses’ perceptions of the efficacy of the nurse rotations were explored in surveys and focus groups. Findings – PAH nurses felt they were well equipped for practice in RDH and the partnership developed professional reciprocity with the PAH nurses feeling respected, valued and part of the RDH team. This finding of adequate preparation and effective integration was consistent with the perceptions of senior staff from the participating organizations. Originality/value – This unique partnership created a well-prepared team to provide support in a national disaster.

Evaluating relief center designs for disaster relief distribution

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merve Ozen ◽  
Ananth Krishnamurthy
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
Analytic Solutions ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
State Dependent ◽  
Relief Distribution ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Relief item distribution to victims is a key activity during disaster response. Currently many humanitarian organizations follow simple guidelines based on experience to assess need and distribute relief supplies. However, the interviews with practitioners suggest a problem in efficiency in relief distribution efforts. The purpose of this paper is to develop a model and solution methodology that can estimate relief center (RC) performance, measured by waiting time for victims and throughput, for any RC design and analyze the impact of key design decisions on these performance measures. Design/methodology/approach Interviews with practitioners and current practice guidelines are used to understand relief distribution and a queuing network model is used to represent the relief distribution. Finally, the model is applied to data from the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Findings The findings identify that dissipating congestion created by crowds, varying item assignment decisions to points of distribution, limiting the physical RC capacity to control congestion and using triage queue to balance distribution times, are effective strategies that can improve RC performance. Research limitations/implications This research bases the RC designs on Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines and assumes a certain area and volunteer availability. Originality/value This paper contributes to humanitarian logistics by discussing useful insights that can impact how relief agencies set up and operate RCs. It also contributes to the queuing literature by deriving analytic solutions for the steady state probabilities of finite capacity, state dependent queues with blocking.

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