65,285 research outputs found

    Mississippi Business Environment Before and After Katrina: Challenges and Opportunities

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    Valid, reliable, and, most importantly, timely information is the most critical aspect for the design and implementation of successful emergency management strategies. This goal, however, is rarely achieved during the aftermath of a disaster. In this paper, we showcase how we used administrative records to assist Mississippi in evaluating the overall impact of Katrina on the state’s economy. Specifically, we assisted the state in developing a methodology to generate valid, reliable, and timely information on (1) the business environment and labor market and (2) rehiring and hiring practices. This information was used by the state to design recovery strategies and justify the necessary funds from federal agencies to assist local communities in their economic recovery. The experience of Mississippi clearly shows that valid, reliable, and timely information is critical for developing effective policy

    The Role of Telehealth in Disaster Management: Lessons for the Philippines

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    According to the WorldRiskIndex 2016, the Philippines is the third country most at risk of disasters in the world. Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest on local record, caused widespread destruction to life and property. Current disaster management strategies in the country do not include telehealth as a formal tool in disaster mitigation, response, or recovery. This study reviewed research incorporating telehealth in disaster management from multiple low and lower middle income countries like the Philippines to address this gap by identifying lessons the country might be able to adopt. Studies show that most initiatives centre on evaluating telehealth’s effectiveness during the response phase. Unsurprisingly, mobile technology and satellite communications predominated, and most projects were launched using donor funding. Use of telehealth in disaster management in the Philippines could begin by recognising and including telehealth in formal government protocols. The government could leverage the National Telehealth Service Program of the University of the Philippines National Telehealth Center. Documentation and systematic research on telehealth’s expected positive contributions to disaster preparedness and response should also be initiated

    Design and implementation of a voluntary collective earthquake insurance policy to cover low-income homeowners in a developing country

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    Understanding and evaluating disaster risk due to natural hazard events such as earthquakes creates powerful incentives for countries to develop planning options and tools to reduce potential damages. The use of models for earthquake risk evaluation allows obtaining outputs such as the loss exceedance curve, the expected annual loss and the probable maximum loss, which are probabilistic metrics useful for risk analyses, for designing strategies for risk reduction and mitigation, for emergency response strategies and for risk financing. This article presents, based on probabilistic risk models, the design and implementation of a risk transfer instrument to cover the private buildings of the city of Manizales, Colombia. This voluntary collective instrument provides financial protection to both, the estate tax payers and the low-income homeowners through a cross-subsidy strategy; besides, it promotes not only the insurance culture but also the solidarity of the community. The city administration and the insurance industry are promoting this program using the mechanism of the property tax payment. This collective insurance helps the government to access key resources for low-income householders recovery and improve disaster risk management at local level

    A framework for evaluating the effectiveness of flood emergency management systems in Europe

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    Calls for enhancing societal resilience to flooding are echoed across Europe alongside mounting evidence that flood risk will increase in response to climate change amongst other risk-enhancing factors. At a time where it is now widely accepted that flooding cannot be fully prevented, resilience discourse in public policy stresses the importance of improving societal capacities to absorb and recover from flood events. Flood emergency management has thus emerged as a crucial strategy in flood risk management. However, the extent to which emergency management supports societal resilience is dependent on the effectiveness of governance and performance in practice. Drawing from the extensive body of literature documenting the success conditions of so-called effective emergency management more broadly, this study formulates an evaluation framework specifically tailored to the study of Flood Emergency Management Systems (FEMS) in Europe. Applying this framework, this research performs a cross-country comparison of FEMS in the Netherlands, England, Poland, France, and Sweden. Important differences are observed in how FEMS have evolved in relation to differing contextual backgrounds (political, cultural, administrative and socio-economic) and exposures to flood hazard. Whereas the organization and coordination of actors are functioning effectively, other aspects of effective FEMS are relatively under-developed in several countries, such as provisions for institutional learning, recovery-based activities and community preparedness. Drawing from examples of good practice, this paper provides a critical reflection on the opportunities and constraints to enhancing the effectiveness of FEMS in Europe

    FEMA's Integration of Preparedness and Development of Robust Regional Offices

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    In October 2006, Congress enacted major legislation to reform the function and organization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in response to the recognized failures in preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina. The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (PKEMRA) focused national preparedness responsibilities within FEMA and directed additional resources and responsibilities to FEMA's ten regional offices. Directed by Congress, in October 2008 a National Academy Panel began an independent assessment of FEMA's integration of preparedness functions and progress in development of robust regional offices.Main FindingsOver the past three years, FEMA has taken significant steps in an effort to integrate preparedness and develop more robust regional offices. These efforts, undertaken by both the previous and current Administrations, are documented throughout this report and should be recognized and applauded. However, FEMA has yet to define specific goals and outcomes that would permit it, Congress or the public to determine when preparedness has been fully integrated into all aspects of FEMA's work and whether the development and ongoing operation of robust regional offices has been achieved. In the absence of well-defined, measurable outcome indicators, the National Academy Panel relied upon the assessments of FEMA leaders and staff, documentation provided by FEMA, and a review of secondary sources material to inform its findings and recommendations. Based upon this evidence, the Panel has concluded that, while progress has been made: (1) preparedness is not fully integrated across FEMA, (2) FEMA's regional offices do not yet have the capacity required to ensure the nation is fully prepared, (3) stakeholders are not yet full partners with FEMA in national preparedness, and (4) FEMA has ineffective internal business practices, particularly with regard to human resource management. The Panel made seven recommendations for FEMA:Establish a cross-organizational process, with participation from internal and external stakeholders, to develop a shared understanding of preparedness integrationEstablish a robust set of outcome metrics and standards for preparedness integration, as well as a system to monitor and evaluate progress on an ongoing basisWork to eliminate organizational barriers that are adversely impacting the full integration of preparedness across the agencyContinue to build regional office capacity and monitor implementation consistent with the Administrator's recent policy guidanceUndertake steps to improve the ongoing working relationship between headquarters and the regions in accord with Panel-identified principlesTake steps to improve stakeholder engagement and relationships at all levels in accord with Panel-identified principles; andStrengthen internal business practices, especially in the area of human capital planning

    Resource capability for local government in mainstreaming gender into disaster risk reduction: evidence from Indonesia

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    Understanding how local government responds to gender vulnerability and gender capacity is important to make cities safer both for women and for men. However, little is known on how local government is empowered in terms of provision of capacity, resources and abilities to mainstreaming gender into disaster risk reduction and community resilience. The case of Indonesia pinpoints district government capability is vital to promote gender equality within local disaster risk reduction and resilience. The district government capability means the ability of local government to organise resources, competence and knowledge to meet the needs and concerns of women and men within disaster risk reduction process. This capability has been transformed into their ability in institutional and human resources policy and for providing financial, technical and leadership capabilities to promote gender equality into local disaster risk reduction and resilience. Experience of Bantul earthquake reconstruction shows a significant achievement has been made by this district in terms of local capability in mainstreaming gender. Among the most important factors related to district capability are women leadership, support from non-government organisations, women participation, financial resources and capacity of local gender institutions

    Iowa Disaster Recovery Framework

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    This Iowa Disaster Recovery Framework (IDRF) is meant to detail a lasting, flexible structure and system to coordinate and manage disaster recovery in the long-term. The IDRF provides a structure to engage stakeholders such as individual Iowans, local and tribal governments, businesses, voluntary, faith-based and community organizations as well as state and federal agencies to identify and resolve recovery challenges both before and after disaster events. It applies to all disasters, recovery partners, and recovery activities

    Impact of culture towards disaster risk reduction

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    Number of natural disasters has risen sharply worldwide making the risk of disasters a global concern. These disasters have created significant losses and damages to humans, economy and society. Despite the losses and damages created by disasters, some individuals and communities do not attached much significance to natural disasters. Risk perception towards a disaster not only depends on the danger it could create but also the behaviour of the communities and individuals that is governed by their culture. Within this context, this study examines the relationship between culture and disaster risk reduction (DRR). A comprehensive literature review is used for the study to evaluate culture, its components and to analyse a series of case studies related to disaster risk. It was evident from the study that in some situations, culture has become a factor for the survival of the communities from disasters where as in some situations culture has acted as a barrier for effective DRR activities. The study suggests community based DRR activities as a mechanism to integrate with culture to effectively manage disaster risk

    Framework for capacity building for post disaster construction & demolition waste management at national level

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    The entire world is facing frequent and severe disasters In a disaster, generation of waste is unavoidable and critical as it differs from a normal situation in terms of quantity and composition Thus, improper waste management is a major environmental issue in any postdisaster scenario, specifically when it is contaminated with toxic substances leading to environmental degradation and health problems Therefore, measures to control waste generation and management of waste are needed for proper disaster waste management, being an important aspect of the entire process of disaster management Literature revealed capacity gaps in disaster waste management emphasizing the importance of capacity building for post disaster waste management in Sri Lanka Thus this paper presents framework for capacity building for post disaster waste management with special emphasis on C&D waste at national level entities in Sri Lanka Data were gathered through semi structured interviews conducted with experts representing Government, Non government and other sector organizations involved in post disaster waste management Capacity gaps such as fewer opportunities for career development, unawareness, lack of incentives are identified at individual level while unavailability of formal procedures for preparation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes/ projects, policy issues such as unenforceability, inadequate government support and unavailability of institutional arrangement are identified at entity level Framework for capability building in disaster C&D waste management was presented, with suggested approaches to overcome identified capacity gaps Framework can assist national entities involved in disaster waste management to focus on specific capacity building processes based on their institutional priorities It contains evaluated approaches to enhance capacities, providing flexibility to initiate capacity building at different levels such as individual, team, programmes, projects, entity or network of entities and in different contexts than disaster waste management It guides national entities involved in post disaster waste management to enhance their capacities for effective and efficient processes of post disaster waste management with special emphasis to C&D wast
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