3. Managing Hazards

Question 1

What is community resilience?

Answer 1

Sustained ability of a community to utilise available resources to respond to, withstand and recover from the effects of natural hazards.

Question 2

What is integrated risk management?

Answer 2

Incorporates identification of hazard, analysis of risks, establishing priorities, treating the risk and implementing a risk reduction plan, developing awareness and a communication strategy, and monitoring and reviewing the whole process.

Question 3

Community preparedness (aim to reduce loss of life + property damage through):

Answer 3

• public education and awareness programmes
• evacuation procedures
• provision of emergency medical and food supplies
• provision of shelters

Question 4

What is hazard management?

Answer 4

A process where governments and other organisations work together to protect people.

Question 5

What are the aims of hazard management?

Answer 5

• to avoid or reduce loss of life and property
• provide help
• ensure a rapid recovery

Question 6

What does the Park model show?

Answer 6

The model shows how a country or region might respond after a hazard event. It can be used to directly compare how areas of different levels of development might recover from an event.

Question 7

What are the differences in the Park model?

Answer 7

• Magnitude of the hazard event
• Timing of the event e.g. rapid onset compared to slow onset
• Level of development of the country
• Amount of aid received

Question 8

What are the strengths of the Park Model?

Answer 8

+ can be used to analyse different types of response and the sequence in which they happen

+ useful to compare the impacts and responses between hazards, countries etc

+ helps to deepen understanding of responses and why some countries are better able to respond

+Park’s model can help authorities to plan responses needed at each stage

Question 9

What are the criticisms of the Park Model?

Answer 9

• Doesn’t take into account levels of development in a country and the capacity to cope with hazards
• It’s too generalised to take into account factors such as the magnitude and frequency of hazards and how they affect the ability of people to respond to and manage hazards
• Further hazards may disrupt the recovery phase
• Doesn’t account for secondary effects
• Doesn’t take into account spatial variations

Question 10

How can losses be modified?

Answer 10

• Insurance
• International aid

Question 11

Outside circle of hazard management cycle

Answer 11

• Before event
• During event
• After event

Question 12

Middle of hazard management cycle

Answer 12

• MITIGATION before and after
• PREPARATION before
• RESPONSE during
• RECOVERY after

Question 13

Strategies in the centre of the hazard management cycle

Answer 13

1. Risk assessment and planning
2. Pre event activities
3. Emergency management and operations
4. Restoration of infrastructure and services
5. Reconstruction

Question 14

Mitigation focus and actions

Answer 14

Taking steps to reduce the impact

• Zones and land use planning
• Building codes

Question 15

Preparedness focus and actions

Answer 15

Minimising loss of life and property and facilitating response and recovery.

• Developing preparedness plans
• Early warning systems
• Evacuation routes

Question 16

Response focus and actions

Answer 16

Coping with disaster to save lives, protect property

• Search and rescue
• Evacuation
• Restoring infrastructure and services

Question 17

Recovery focus and actions

Answer 17

Short term - immediate needs
Long term - steps to reduce future vulnerability

• Providing food and temp shelter
• Organising financial assistance
• Rebuilding

Question 18

Strengths of hazard management cycle

Answer 18

• Proactive disaster management: more proactive than reactive
• Reduction in vulnerability: regular identification of potential risks leads to planned mitigation strategies, reducing vulnerability to hazards
• Coordinated response: cycle facilitates coordination between multiple stakeholders, ensuring a prompt, effective response
• Saves resources: prevention and mitigation strategies often require less resources than recovery and rehabilitation efforts post disaster
• Community empowerment: The Hazard Management Cycle encourages community participation and fosters a culture of safety awareness, therefore enhancing community resilience.
• Reflective tool: cycle can be compared to hazard management in the past to determine actions for improvement

Question 19

Limitations of the Hazard Management Cycle

Answer 19

• Generic model and doesn’t account for individual circumstances
• Model focuses solely on the management of the hazard rather than impacts
• Doesn’t account for complexity of secondary hazards
• No indication of timescales involved