Nature and type of immediate response, disaster management plans, key response functions logistic, recovery rehabilitation reconstruction

Disaster response is the second phase of the disaster management cycle. It consists of a number of elements, for example; warning/evacuation, search and rescue, providing immediate assistance, assessing damage, continuing assistance and the immediate restoration or construction of infrastructure (i.e. provisional storm drains or diversion dams). The aim of emergency response is to provide immediate assistance to maintain life, improve health and support the morale of the affected population. Such assistance may range from providing specific but limited aid, such as assisting refugees with transport, temporary shelter, and food, to establishing semi-permanent settlement in camps and other locations. It also may involve initial repairs to damaged or diversion to infrastructure.

The focus in the response phase is on putting people safe, prevent need disasters and meeting the basic needs of the people until more permanent and sustainable solutions can be found. The main responsibility to address these needs and respond to a disaster lies with the government or governments in whose territory the disaster has occurred. In addition, Humanitarian organizations are often strongly present in this phase of the disaster management cycle, particularly in countries where the government lacks the resources to respond adequately to the needs.

Definition

A "disaster", noun, is defined as a calamitous event, especially one occurring suddenly and causing great loss of life, damage or hardship such as a flood, aircraft crash or an angry person. "Response" is defined (in this context) as: Noun: An answer or reply, as in words or in some action.

The Business Dictionary provide a more comprehensive definition for "disaster response"; Aggregate of decisions and measures to (1) contain or mitigate the effects of a disastrous event to prevent any further loss of life and/or property, (2) restore order in its immediate aftermath, and (3) re-establish normality through reconstruction and re-rehabilitation shortly thereafter. The first and immediate response is called emergency response.

The Johns Hopkins and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) state: "The word disaster implies a sudden overwhelming and unforeseen event. At the household level, a disaster could result in a major illness, death, a substantial economic or social misfortune. At the community level, it could be a flood, a fire, a collapse of buildings in an earthquake, the destruction of livelihoods, an epidemic or displacement through conflict. When occurring at district or provincial level, a large number of people can be affected."

A recent case study of a disaster response undertaken by the IFRC can be viewed here.

The level of disaster response depends on a number of factors and particular situation awareness. Studies undertaken by Son, Aziz and Peña-Mora (2007) shows that "initial work demand gradually spreads and increases based on a wide range of variables including scale of disaster, vulnerability of affected area which in turn is affected by population density, site-specific conditions (e.g. exposure to hazardous conditions) and effects of cascading disasters resulting from inter-dependence between elements of critical infrastructure".

In the British Government's Emergency Response and Recovery guidance, disaster response refers to decisions and actions taken in accordance with the strategic, tactical and operational objectives defined by emergency responders. At a high level these will be to protect life, contain and mitigate the impacts of the emergency and create the conditions for a return to normality. Response encompasses the decisions and actions taken to deal with the immediate effects of an emergency. In many scenarios it is likely to be relatively short and to last for a matter of hours or days—rapid implementation of arrangements for collaboration, co-ordination and communication are, therefore, vital. Response encompasses the effort to deal not only with the direct effects of the emergency itself (e.g. fighting fires, rescuing individuals) but also the indirect effects (e.g. disruption, media interest).

Common objectives for responders are:

·         saving and protecting human life;

·         relieving suffering;

·         containing the emergency – limiting its escalation or spread and mitigating its impacts;

·         providing the public and businesses with warnings, advice and information;

·         protecting the health and safety of responding personnel;

·         safeguarding the environment;

·         as far as reasonably practicable, protecting property;

·         maintaining or restoring critical activities;

·         maintaining normal services at an appropriate level;

·         promoting and facilitating self-help in affected communities;

·         facilitating investigations and inquiries (e.g. by preserving the scene and effective records management);

·         facilitating the recovery of the community (including the humanitarian assistance, economic, infrastructure and environmental impacts);

·         evaluating the response and recovery effort; and

·         identifying and taking action to implement lessons identified.

Disaster response planning

The United States National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1600 Standard (NFPA, 2010) specify elements of an emergency response, as: defined responsibilities; specific actions to be taken (which must include protective actions for life safety); and communication directives. Within the standard, NFPA recognize that disasters and day-to-day emergencies are characteristically different. Nevertheless, the prescribed response elements are the same.

In support of the NFPA standard, Statoil's (2013) practical application of emergency response is across three distinct "lines" that incorporate NFPA's elements. Line 1 is responsible for the operational management of an incident; line 2, typically housed off-site, is responsible for tactical guidance and additional resource management. Finally, in the case of major incidents, line 3 provides strategic guidance, group resource management, and government and media relations.

While it is impossible to plan for every disaster, crisis or emergency, the Statoil investigation into the terrorist attacks on In Amenas place emphasis on the importance of having a disaster response. The report concludes that a disaster response framework may be utilized in an array of disaster situations, such as that at In Amenas.

Organizations

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); is responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies that require an international response. OCHA plays a key role in operational coordination in crisis situations. This includes assessing situations and needs; agreeing common priorities; developing common strategies to address issues such as negotiating access, mobilizing funding and other resources; clarifying consistent public messaging; and monitoring progress.

The organisation in the United Kingdom for the provision of communications disaster response is RAYNET. The UK organisation for the provision of disaster response by off-road vehicles is 4x4 Response.

In Canada, GlobalMedic was established in 1998 as a non-sectarian humanitarian-aid NGO to provide disaster relief services to large scale catastrophes around the world. Time magazinerecognized the work of GlobalMedic in its 2010 Time 100 issue. It has a roster of over 1,000 volunteers from across Canada that includes professional rescuers, police officers, firefighters and paramedics who donate their time to respond to international disasters. Their personnel are divided into Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) that operate rescue units, Water Purification Units (WPUs) designed to provide safe drinking water; and Emergency Medical Units (EMUs) that use inflatable field hospitals to provide emergency medical treatment. Since 2004, GlobalMedic teams have deployed to over 60 humanitarian disastersaround the world.

In India, the National Disaster Management Authority is responsible for planning for mitigating effects of natural disasters and anticipating and avoiding man-made disasters. It also coordinates the capacity-building and response of government agencies to crises and emergencies. The National Disaster Response Force is an inter-government disaster response agency that specializes in search, rescue and rehabilitation.

In the US, the Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinates federal operational and logistical disaster response capability needed to save and sustain lives, minimize suffering, and protect property in a timely and effective manner in communities that become overwhelmed by disasters. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer information for specific types of emergencies, such as disease outbreaks, natural disasters and severe weather, as well as chemical and radiation accidents. Also, the Emergency Preparedness and Response Program of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health develops resources to address responder safety and health during responder and recovery operations.

Among volunteers, the American Red Cross is chartered by Congress in 1900 to lead and coordinate non-profit efforts. They are supported by disaster relief organizations from many religious denominations and community service agencies. Licensed amateur radiooperators support most volunteer organizations, and are often affiliated with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).

Disaster response organizations

In addition to the response by the government, a great deal of assistance in the wake of any disaster comes from charities, disaster response and non-governmental organizations. The biggest international umbrella organizations are the Inter-Agency Standing Committee and the International Council of Voluntary Agencies.

Humanitarian OSM Team works to update and provide map in areas struck by disaster.

Disaster response technologies

Smart Emergency Response System (SERS) prototype was built in the Smart America Challenge 2013-2014,  a United States government initiative. SERS has been created by a team of nine organizations led by MathWorks. The project was featured at the White House in June 2014 and described by Todd Park (U.S. Chief Technology Officer) as an exemplary achievement.

The Smart America initiative challenges the participants to build cyber-physical systems as a glimpse of the future to save lives, create jobs, foster businesses, and improve the economy. SERS primarily saves lives. The system provides the survivors and the emergency personnel with information to locate and assist each other during a disaster. SERS allows to submit help requests to a MATLAB-based mission center connecting first responders, apps, search-and-rescue dogs, a 6-feet-tall humanoid, robots, drones, and autonomous aircraft and ground vehicles. The command and control center optimizes the available resources to serve every incoming requests and generates an action plan for the mission. The Wi-Fi network is created on the fly by the drones equipped with antennas. In addition, the autonomous rotorcrafts, planes, and ground vehicles are simulated with Simulink and visualized in a 3D environment (Google Earth) to unlock the ability to observe the operations on a mass scale.

The International Charter Space and Major Disasters provides for the charitable retasking of satellite assets, providing coverage from 15 space agencies, etc. which is wide albeit contingent. It focuses on the beginning of the disaster cycle, when timely data is of the essence.

Digital technologies are increasingly being used in humanitarian action, they have shown to improve the health and recovery of populations affected by both natural and man-made disasters. They are used in humanitarian response to facilitate and coordinate aid in various stages including preparedness, response, and recovery from emergencies.More specifically, mobile health (mHealth), which is defined as the use of communication devices such as mobile phones for the purpose of health services information. Nowadays, millions of people use mobile phones as a means of daily communication and data transference, out of which 64% live in developing countries. One of the most important characteristics of disasters are the harms caused to infrastructures, accessibility issues, and an exponential  need of medical and emergency services. In such situations, the use of mobile phones for mHealth can be vital, especially when other communication infrastructures are hindered. In such conditions, the abundance of mobile technology in developing countries provide the opportunity to be harnessed for helping victims and vulnerable people.

Mobile health information technology platforms, in the acute phase of disaster response, create a common operational framework that improves disaster response by standardizing data acquisition, organizing information storage, and facilitating communication among medical staff. One of the challenges in disaster response is the need of pertinent, effective and continuous analysis of the situation and information in order to evaluate needs and resources. Health has been shown to provide effective disaster preparedness with real time collection of medical data as well as helping identify and create needs assessments during disasters. Using mobile technology in heath has set the stage for the dynamic organization of medical resources and promotion of patient care done through quick triage, patient tracking, and documentation storage and maintenance.

Managing an effective and influential response requires cooperation, which is also facilitated through mHealth. A retrospective study demonstrated that applying mHealth can lead to up to  15% decrease of unnecessary hospital transfers during disasters. In addition, they provide field hospital administrators with real-time census information essential for planning, resource allocation, inter-facility patient transfers, and inter-agency collaboration. mHealth technology systems can improve post-operative care and patient handoffs between volunteer providers. Data entry with mobile devices is now widely used to facilitate the registration of displaced individuals, to conduct surveys, identify those in need of assistance, and to capture data on issues such as food security, vaccination rates, and mortality.

Above all, mHealth can harness the power of information to improve patient outcomes. Efforts lead by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Operational Medicine Institute during the Haiti earthquake resulted in the creation of a web-based mHealth system that created a patient log of 617 unique entries used by on-the-ground medical providers and field hospital administrators. This helped facilitate provider triage, improve provider handoffs, and track vulnerable populations such as unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, traumatic orthopedic injuries and specified infectious diseases. Also, during the Haiti earthquake, the International Red Crescent sent more than 45 million SMSs to Viole mobile phone users.  This resulted in  95% of the receiver reporting they had gained useful information, and out of these 90% reported the SMS helped in their preparedness.

                    Particular responsibility like, warning dissemination, rescue, relief and so on. Each group will have distinct activities to carry out before during and after a disaster. The different DMT’s can be as follows:

1. Warning Team

2. Evacuation and Response

3. First aid

4. Sanitation

5. Shelter management

6. Relief Management

7. Carcass disposal

8. Counseling

9. Damage Assessment

10. Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Team

The DMT’s have certain Standard Operating procedures in the three phases of disasters. Let us discuss their roles and responsibilities one by one. 1. Warning Team Young groups of the village will be trained to understand radio meteorological warnings and act fast to spread the warning throughout the village in an effective manner. During Disaster

● Cross checking of the warnings received on the radio with the nearest control room.

● Dissemination of warning throughout the village, especially to those households that have been identified as the most vulnerable by red flag.

● Contact with different shelters and safe houses when the disaster like cyclone/flood is expected to strike. Post Disaster

● Monitoring the path of disaster on radio and confirm from the tahsildar /BDO’s office that the disaster has passed.

● Dissemination of precautionary information on post disaster health hazards and remedies.

● Coordination with other groups like the shelter team and the evacuation team.

2. Shelter Team The members of this team can include both men and women. The team will be at the shelters and safe houses looking after the evacuee’s food, water, sanitation and medical needs. The team can also coordinate with the government authorities to ensure that health and nutrition facilities are available for the more vulnerable group like women, children, aged and those dependent on critical facilities. During Disaster

● Stocks of food, drinking water, utensil and medicines are to be transferred to the affected place.

● Arrangement of sufficient space to house the evacuee family.

● Strict hygiene conditions should be maintained in the shelter camps.

● Special care provisions should be given to the more vulnerable group.

● Every evacuee’s name should be registered and identification slips should be produced.

● The team should ensure that the evacuees remain indoors and also that no one leaves the shelter during the disaster.

Post Disaster

● Replenish stocks of food, clothing and fuel wood from the government stores or the “Gramin Bank” of the village or any other source.

● Register the names of new evacuees and provide identification slips when they arrive at the shelter.

● Shelters can act as centers for relief distribution so that supplies are not looted or hoarded by unscrupulous people and the materials can be given against identification slips.

Environment of the shelter should be kept clean and disinfected throughout the stay and before leaving.

● Ensure that no one cooks individually but eat at the community kitchen and assist in food distribution.

● Team should help other teams in chlorinating wells, spraying bleaching powder, treating injuries and wounds of the injured people in the camp. 3. Evacuation and Response Team The members of this team should include physically strong men and women in the age group of 18-35 years. Gram Rakhi/Chowkidaar should be included in this team. Inclusion of civil defense personnel would be useful if available in the village. The Rescue and Evacuation team can coordinate with the government to avail various services.

During Disaster

● Picking up the vulnerable community from the sea and riverbanks in case of flood or a cyclone.

● Directing the rescue community to the shelters.

● Securing rescue boats and rescue kits.

● Evacuating cattle and livestock. Post Disaster

● Village inspection and rescuing stranded and injured people.

● Maintaining a “missing persons” register and updating it after each rescue trip and assisting government in enumeration of damaged property. ● Transporting doctors, volunteers and other relief materials. 4. First Aid Team Training Aid: Distribute Hand out No 2 under this topic The team should include both men and women members of the community. The members with some knowledge of nursing and other government functionaries in the village like Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) and Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) should be included in this team. During Disaster

● Moving medicine stocks and first aid kits to the shelters or safe places. ● Looking after the medical needs of the evacuees

The team must be indoors when the disaster strikes and also ensure that no one leaves the shelter during the disaster like cyclone/flood on nay pretext. Post Disaster

● Attending to injuries of the rescued people.

● Informing the relief group about medical supplies which are running low. ● Helping doctors and paramedics shift the sick and the injured to hospitals. ● Isolating cases with infectious diseases and prevent them from spreading after giving due primary care.

● Providing preventive medication if there is a danger of epidemic outbreak like cholera, dysentery, malaria etc. 5. Sanitation Team Both men and women may look after the sanitation responsibilities at the shelters as well as outdoors. During Disaster

● Ensuring evacuees maintain sanitary habits in the shelters. ● The sanitation needs of women are taken acre of in the shelter especially pregnant, lactating and menstruating women.

Post Disaster

● Spray bleaching powder and other disinfectants in the village to prevent the spread of infectious disease.

● Ensuring trenches and lavatories are cleaned and disinfected. ● Ensuring that the evacuees use the sanitation facilities properly.

● Checking the quality of water with the water testing kit.

● Informing the affected community about purifying water before drinking ,to prevent stomach infections.

● Carry out the task of purifying water by chlorinating it. ● Carry out the task of water congestion /water clogging. 6. Relief Team The members of the team include both men and women. They collect relief materials such as food supply, utensils, clothes, kerosene, diesel etc and coordinate all relief requirements of other teams. The women members should be asked to inquire about the specific needs of the affected women. Certain gender sensitive clothes and material should be distributed to the other women only through women. The members should also keep a track of all government provisions related to gratuitous relief works to prevent starvation, deteoriation, migration, health and sanitation measures for both people and livestock so that people do not lose out on their entitlements.

During Disaster

● Moving relief supplies to the respective shelters.

● Monitoring the stocks and make a list of things to be replenished. ● Coordinate between relief supplies from the government sector and the NGO’s. ● Conduct a needs assessment and ask the NGO sector to pitch in with the requirements of the affected community. Post Disaster

● Receiving and distributing stocks of relief material.

● Replenishing the stock which is running low.

● Monitoring and distributing relief from all sources.

● Ensuring that the officials start the enumeration procedure immediately, so that the building material can be arranged through revenue authorities. The general responsibilities of some of the other teams are as follows: 7. Carcass Disposal Team Carcasses can create unhygienic conditions and have to be disposed of as soon as possible. The members of this group have to physically and mentally strong to carry out this task. If possible, civil defence volunteers, members of NSS/NCC/Scouts can be included in this team. The responsibilities of this team are as follows:

● Collecting dead bodies and record their descriptions for families to identify them.

● Cremating carcasses and bodies and disinfecting the area with bleaching powder.

8. Psychosocial Counseling Team Training Aid: Distribute Hand out No 3 under this topic Emotional problems following disasters often tend to be neglected. This happens because they are relatively invisible when compared to the damage caused to life, physical health and property. It is important to remember that emotional problems occur very commonly. Distress is intense and leads to helplessness, isolation and apathy. Everyone who witnesses/experiences disaster is affected by it. Hence, early identification of this problem followed by intervention help the survivor to recover. The responsibilities of this team are as follows:

● Allow the people to express their grief.

● Whenever a person is sharing his/her feelings and experiences member should listen to him/her patiently and try to realize what the survivor went through by keeping him/herself in the survivor’s position.

● Good listening is an important skill to provide emotional support to the survivor.

● Help the survivors in contacting their relatives so that they can get social support.

● Emphasis on engaging the disaster survivors in some kind of activities that interest them in order to give them a sense of being productive.

● Engaging the disaster survivors in relaxation/breathing exercises help in the healing process. Encourage the survivors to undertake these exercises at least twice a day regularly. This helps to gain control over their anxiety.

● It is necessary to encourage the disaster survivors to practice their religious beliefs and rituals. Practicing religious beliefs help in the recovery process. 9. Damage and Loss Assessment Team

The members of this team have to be literate preferably matriculates and above. The responsibilities of this team are as follows:

● Help in assessing damages to infrastructure like roads, water supply, electricity, markets and distribution networks.

● Hastening the government enumeration process to assess the damage and loss incurred by the affected community.

● Helping families with paperwork to follow compensation proceedings especially relating to death certificates, insurance etc.

● Ensuring that the assessment and concerned papers reach the government department which is responsible for compensation to ensure timely assistance. 10. Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Team This team would supervise activities for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the property and life after a disaster. The members of the community who have the experience of planning might become the members of this team. The main aim of the team would be to get government support to carry on reconstruction and rehabilitation. The responsibilities of this team are as follows:

● To make arrangements for Ex- Gratia payments for lives lost compensation and. for wholly and partially damaged houses from the government

● To ensure access of reconstruction materials to the community. ● Accessing government services for rebuilding damaged public infrastructure and following it up till rebuilding is completed.

● To help families in reconstruction of their houses.

● Helping families to initiate livelihood through loans and other financial services.

● Seeking the assistance of government and NGO’s in restoration of support facilities. Some of the common activities which all DMTs should be carrying out in a post disaster scenario are as follows:

● Liasoning between the affected community and government as well as non government organizations

● Generating awareness amongst the affected community about the initiatives being undertaken by the government machinery for responding to the disaster.