Disaster Response, Recovery & Reconstruction in Disaster Management

The objective of disaster response is to provide immediate assistance to maintain life, improve health, and to support the morale of the victim population. Such assistance may range from providing specific but limited aid, such as assisting refugees with transportation, temporary shelter, and food, to establishing semi-permanent settlement in camps and other locations.

Disaster response may also involve initial repairs to damaged infrastructure. During a disaster, humanitarian agencies are often called upon to deal with immediate response and recovery.

The overall aims of disaster response are:

• To ensure the survival of the maximum possible number of victims
• To re-establish self-sufficiency and essential services as quickly as possible
• To repair or replace damaged infrastructure and regenerate viable economic activities.
• In situations of civil or international conflict, the aim is to protect and assist the civilian population.
• In cases involving population displacements (due to any type of disaster) the aim is to find durable solutions as quickly as possible, while ensuring protection and assistance as necessary in the meantime.

Disaster Response Activities

The following are typical activities of emergency response:

Warning

• Warning refers to information concerning the nature of the danger and imminent disaster threats.

Evacuation and migration

• Relocation of a population from zones at risk of an imminent disaster to a safer location. The primary concern is the protection of life of the community and immediate treatment of those who may be injured.

Search and rescue (SAR)

• Search and rescue (SAR) is the process of identifying the location of disaster victims that may be trapped or isolated and bringing them to safety and medical attention.

Post-disaster assessment

• The primary objective of assessment is to provide a clear, concise picture of the post-disaster situation, to identify relief needs and to develop strategies for recovery. It determines options for humanitarian assistance, how best to utilize existing resources, or to develop requests for further assistance.

Response and relief

• When a disaster has occurred response and relief have to take place immediately; there can be no delays. It is therefore important to have contingency plans in place.

Logistics and supply

• The delivery of emergency relief will require logistical facilities and capacity. A well-organized supply service is crucial for handling the procurement or receipt, storage, and dispatch of relief supplies for distribution to disaster victims.

Communication and information management

• All of the above activities are dependent on communication. There are two aspects to communications in disasters. One is the equipment that is essential for information flow, such as radios, telephones and their supporting systems of repeaters, satellites, and transmission lines. The other is information management: the protocol of knowing who communicates what information to whom, what priority is given to it, and how it is disseminated and interpreted.

Survivor response and coping

• In the rush to plan and execute a relief operation it is easy to overlook the real needs and resources of the survivors. The assessment must take into account existing social coping mechanisms that negate the need to bring in outside assistance. On the other hand, disaster survivors may have new and special needs for social services to help adjust to the trauma and disruption caused by the disaster.

Security

• Security is not always a priority issue after a sudden onset of disasters. It is typically handled by civil defence or police departments. However, the protection of the human rights and safety of displaced populations and refugees can be of paramount importance requiring international monitoring.

Emergency operations management

• None of the above activities can be implemented without some degree of emergency operations management. Policies and procedures for management requirements need to be established well in advance of the disaster.

Rehabilitation

• Rehabilitation consists of actions taken in the aftermath of a disaster to enable basic services to resume functioning, assist victims’ self-help efforts to repair dwellings and community facilities, and to facilitate the revival of economic activities (including agriculture). Rehabilitation focuses on enabling the affected populations (families and local communities) to resume more-or-less normal (pre-disaster) patterns of life.

Reconstruction

• Reconstruction is the permanent construction or replacement of severely damaged physical structures, the full restoration of all services and local infrastructure, and the revitalization of the economy (including agriculture). Reconstruction must be fully integrated into ongoing long-term development plans, taking account of future disaster risks. It must also consider the possibilities of reducing those risks by the incorporation of appropriate mitigation measures.