Participatory Mapping Approaches to Coordinate the Emergency Response of Spontaneous Volunteers After Hurricane Sandy

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Wridt ◽  
John E. Seley ◽  
Scott Fisher ◽  
Bryce DuBois

This article demonstrates the potential of participatory mapping approaches to coordinate spontaneous volunteers and assist government agencies and humanitarian organizations in emergency contexts. The research focuses on one case study of a volunteer mapping project in the Rockaways in New York City to help communicate the needs reported by community members to outsiders after Hurricane Sandy. The map proved to be helpful in the coordination of relief efforts by volunteers and in understanding the variety of groups involved in emergency response. However, the map could not be sustained for long-term community recovery. The research offers new evidence of the potential contributions of spontaneous volunteers that can be leveraged, replicated and improved upon for future disaster planning and response. It also highlights the importance of volunteered geographic information in ensuring that emergency response is guided by the needs reported by citizens themselves, even if they do not have access to technology.

2016 ◽  
pp. 1361-1378
Author(s):  
Pamela Wridt ◽  
John E. Seley ◽  
Scott Fisher ◽  
Bryce DuBois

This article demonstrates the potential of participatory mapping approaches to coordinate spontaneous volunteers and assist government agencies and humanitarian organizations in emergency contexts. The research focuses on one case study of a volunteer mapping project in the Rockaways in New York City to help communicate the needs reported by community members to outsiders after Hurricane Sandy. The map proved to be helpful in the coordination of relief efforts by volunteers and in understanding the variety of groups involved in emergency response. However, the map could not be sustained for long-term community recovery. The research offers new evidence of the potential contributions of spontaneous volunteers that can be leveraged, replicated and improved upon for future disaster planning and response. It also highlights the importance of volunteered geographic information in ensuring that emergency response is guided by the needs reported by citizens themselves, even if they do not have access to technology.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 536-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Reid Griffin ◽  
Claudia Der-Martirosian ◽  
Alicia Gable ◽  
Tamar Wyte-Lake ◽  
Aram Dobalian

Disruptions in opioid treatment programs (OTPs) are common after major disasters. Highly regulated OTPs confront challenges when responding to extended closures following disaster. Following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, an OTP located at the Manhattan Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) closed for 5 months. Semistructured interviews were conducted with clinicians and administrators who participated in the evacuation of the Manhattan VAMC, including the co-located OTP program. The Manhattan OTP preemptively dispensed emergency take-home methadone doses. Following closure, emergency guest-dosing arrangements were made for approximately 100 Veterans with Veterans Affairs (VA) and non-VA OTPs throughout New York City. Fortuitously, a retired VA OTP at another facility was reopened and accredited expeditiously. OTPs must improve contingencies for emergency response. However, disruptions in methadone delivery and threats to patient safety are likely to continue until agencies with oversight authority of OTPs describe specifications for emergency alternate care sites during long-term disaster recovery.


Author(s):  
Mélissa Généreux ◽  
Mathieu Roy ◽  
Tracey O’Sullivan ◽  
Danielle Maltais

In July 2013, a train carrying crude oil derailed in Lac-Mégantic (Canada). This disaster provoked a major fire, 47 deaths, the destruction of 44 buildings, a massive evacuation, and an unparalleled oil spill. Since 2013, Public Health has undertaken several actions to address this challenging situation, using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Community-based surveys were conducted in Lac-Mégantic in 2014, 2015 and 2018. The first two surveys showed persistent and widespread health needs. Inspired by a salutogenic approach, Public Health has shifted its focus from health protection to health promotion. In 2016, a Day of Reflection was organized during which a map of community assets and an action plan for the community recovery were co-constructed with local stakeholders. The creation of an Outreach Team is an important outcome of this collective reflection. This team aims to enhance resilience and adaptive capacity. Several promising initiatives arose from the action plan—all of which greatly contributed to mobilize the community. Interestingly, the 2018 survey suggests that the situation is now evolving positively. This case study stresses the importance of recognizing community members as assets, rather than victims, and seeking a better balance between health protection and health promotion approaches.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 139-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Solecki ◽  
Robin Leichenko ◽  
David Eisenhauer

AbstractIt is five years since Hurricane Sandy heavily damaged the New York- New Jersey Metropolitan region, and the fuller character of the long-term response can be better understood. The long-term response to Hurricane Sandy and the flooding risks it illustrated are set in myriad of individual and collective decisions taken during the time following the event. While the physical vulnerability of this region to storm surge flooding and climate change risks including sea level rise has been well-documented within the scholarly literature, Sandy’s impact placed decision-makingpost extreme events into the forefront of public and private discussions about the appropriate response. Some of the most fundamental choices were made by individual homeowners who houses were damaged and in some cases made uninhabitable following the storm. These individuals were forced to make decisions regarding where they would live and whether Sandy’s impact would result in their moving. In the disaster recovery and rebuilding context, these early household struggles about whether to leave or stay are often lost in the wider and longer narrative of recovery. To examine this early phase, this paper presents results of a research study that documented the ephemeral evidence of the initial phase of recovery in coastal communities that were heavily impacted by Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge and flooding. Hurricane Sandy and the immediate response to the storm created conditions for a potential large-scale transformation with respect to settlement of the coastal zone. In the paper, we examine and analyze survey and interview results of sixty-one residents and two dozen local stakeholders and practitioners to understand the stresses and transitions experienced by flooded households and the implications for the longer term resiliency of the communities in which they are located.


ILR Review ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Aldrich

Contrary to the widely held belief that women's earnings rose relative to men's during World War II because of women's unprecedented movement into heavy manufacturing industries, the author of this study finds that the national all-industry earnings of women during the war fell compared to those of men. In Pennsylvania, Illinois, and New York, the relative weekly and annual earnings of female manufacturing workers rose, but at a rate below that of the long-term trend. Overall, the decline in women's weekly and annual earnings compared to men's probably resulted from the relative increase in men's hours worked—a result of state protective legislation that limited women's hours of work.


Author(s):  
Ernest Dube ◽  
Gayan Wedawatta ◽  
Kanchana Ginige

AbstractThis study evaluated the build-back-better considerations in post-disaster recovery, following the devastation of Chipinge and Chimanimani communities by Cyclone Idai-induced floods in 2019. Conducted in 2020, the study assessed the impact of Cyclone Idai-induced floods on communities in Chipinge and Chimanimani Districts of Zimbabwe; evaluated the build-back-better considerations; and analyzed the lessons learned. Based on a qualitative approach and case study design, the study depended on focus group discussions, interviews, and researcher observations to gather data from 85 participants. The findings indicate that Cyclone Idai-induced floods seriously impacted human lives, infrastructure, and livelihoods of communities that had been living with flood risk and vulnerability. Build-back-better considerations were absent in much of the post-disaster recovery effort to address the cyclone disaster impact. There are important early lessons for both practitioners and community members to learn from the Cyclone Idai event. These lessons still can inform policy and disaster risk reduction practice in the medium and long term. Build-back-better should be a mandatory objective in the recovery from any disaster impact. Continuous training is also recommended to improve the disaster knowledge of stakeholders and increase local ability to cope with future disaster events.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-200
Author(s):  
Lynn Jiang ◽  
Christopher Tedeschi ◽  
Saleena Subaiya

AbstractBackgroundFew studies have described the challenges experienced by long-term care facilities (LTCFs) following Hurricane Sandy. This study examined LTCF preparedness and experiences during and after the storm.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted 2 years after Hurricane Sandy to assess LTCF demographics, preparation, and post-storm resources. Surveys were conducted at LTCFs located on the Rockaway Peninsula of New York City. All LTCFs located in a heavily affected area were approached.ResultsOf 29 facilities, 1 had closed, 5 did not respond, 9 declined to participate, and 14 participated, yielding a response rate of 50% for open facilities. Twenty-one percent of the facilities had preparations specifically for hurricanes. More than 70% of the facilities had lost electricity, heat, and telephone service, and one-half had evacuated. Twenty-one percent of the facilities reported not receiving any assistance and over one-half reported that relief resources did not meet their needs.ConclusionsMany LTCFs lacked plans specific to such a large-scale event. Since nearly all of the LTCFs in the region were affected, preexisting transportation and housing plans may have been inadequate. Future preparation could include hazard-specific planning and reliance on resources from a wider geographic area. Access to electricity emerged as a top priority. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:194–200)


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