Natural hazards and disaster management in Pakistan

The present study explains the various concepts used in disaster management. The concepts explained include: Disaster, Hazard, Vulnerability, Capacity, Risk and Disaster Management Cycle. In addition to the terminologies, the study also seeks to explain various types of disasters. It also gives a detail of various disasters occurred in Pakistan as well their management and mitigation strategies. The paper also discusses disaster management policy at national level as well as disaster management and national plans in Pakistan

Natural hazards and disaster management in Pakistan

The present study explains the various concepts used in disaster management. The concepts explained include: Disaster, Hazard, Vulnerability, Capacity, Risk and Disaster Management Cycle. In addition to the terminologies, the study also seeks to explain various types of disasters. It also gives a detail of various disasters occurred in Pakistan as well their management and mitigation strategies. The paper also discusses disaster management policy at national level as well as disaster management and national plans in Pakistan.Natural Hazards, Disaster Management, Pakistan

Post-disaster housing and management in Malaysia: a literature review

Purpose – Malaysia is still in the process of reorganising and restructuring disaster management policy, learning from the national and international experiences. Argument about current situation of emergency management and housing in Malaysia can be used by the decision makers, authorities and NGOs to develop strategies and actions that include awareness raising and capacity building for enhancing enforcement of current legislation. Design/methodology/approach - The work concentrated mostly on academic reports of original investigations rather than reviews. The conclusions in this paper are generalizations based on the author's interpretation of those original reports. Findings - Malaysia is not a developed country and also not a developing country but more in the middle, follows any direction from the international arena to national situation. Malaysia has a developed country approach in disaster management policy but with the implementation of developing country. This paper argues that providing post disaster housing must accommodate requirement in the national disaster management policy and parallel with the needs from international concern to the rights of disaster victims. Originality/value - The outcomes from this discussion might give insights into designing and planning the national policy and disaster management framework by restructuring and reorganising the present National Disaster Management Mechanism in terms of enhancing the coordination of responsibility between and within government bodies in the National Disaster Management Mechanism

Disaster Management CYCLE – a theoretical approach

The present study explains the various concepts used in disaster management. The concepts explained include: Disaster, Hazard, Vulnerability, Capacity, Risk and Disaster Management Cycle. In addition to the terminologies, the study also seeks to explain various types of disasters.natural hazards, disaster management, risk management

Perceived Ability to Practice in Disaster Management Among Public Health Nurses in Aceh, Indonesia

Background: The increasing number of disaster events around the world has challenged every country to develop better disaster-management strategies. As a part of healthcare system, public health nurses (PHNs) should be involved in caring for people in disasters. Currently, there is no known study whether PHNs of Aceh, Indonesia, working with community people who are at high risk of confronting natural disasters, are able to perform their roles and functions regarding disaster management. Methods: 252 PHNs from twenty-seven public health centers in Aceh were studied during November to December 2010 to evaluate their perceived ability to practice regarding disaster management at each disaster phase: preparedness, response, and recovery phase. The perceived ability to practice was assessed by using the 30-statement, five-point Likert-scale (0-4) of Public Health Nurses' Perceived Ability to Practice Regarding Disaster Management Questionnaire (PHNPP-DMQ). The composite scores of each phase and the total score were calculated and transformed to percentage for ease of presentation across disaster phases.Results: Overall, the PHNs' perceived ability to practice regarding disaster management in Aceh was at a moderate level (M=74.57%, SD=13.27). The highest mean score was for the recovery phase (M=78%), and the lowest mean score was in the preparedness phase (66.15%).Conclusion: The finding of this study evokes challenges to the local government of Aceh province to further prepare PHNs to increase their ability in disaster management

Lessons learned from Asian tsunami disaster: Sharing knowledge

Creating an organised common platform to capture, organise and share the knowledge on disaster management strategies is considered vital to enhance the effectiveness of future disaster management efforts. Hence, ensuring the availability and accessibility of accurate and reliable disaster risk information when required entails an efficient system for knowledge sharing. This paper highlights the importance of knowledge and good practice sharing in disaster management strategies, and discusses key lessons learned from 2004 Asian tsunami, particularly relating to the Sri Lankan context. Good practices and lessons learned are discussed on five different themes: social, technical, legal, operational and environmental. Further, the ISLAND website is introduced and developed as part of a research aimed at increasing the effectiveness of disaster management by facilitating the sharing of appropriate knowledge and good practices