1.8B - The Hazard Management Cycle
The important of the different stages of the hazard management cycle (response, recovery, mitigation, preparedness) (P: role of emergency planners)
Prediction, when possible, is a vital part of attempts to manage the impacts of natural disasters. However, it is not the only approach. The hazard management cycle illustrates the different stages of managing hazards in an attempt to reduce the scale of a disaster. It is a cycle, with one disaster event informing preparation for the next.
NATURAL HAZARD!
- Response
- Immediate help in the form of rescue to save lives and aid to keep people alive, emergency shelter, food and water.
- Recovery
- Rebuilding infrastructure and services, rehabilitating injured (physically and mentally) people and their lives
- Rebuilding infrastructure and services, rehabilitating injured (physically and mentally) people and their lives
- Mitigation
- Acting to reduce the scale of the next disaster: land-use zoning, hazard-resistant buildings and infrastructure.
- Preparedness
- Community education and resilience building including how to act before, during and after a disaster, prediction, warning and evacuation technology and systems
- (Repeat)
The 'Recovery' Stage of the Hazard Management Cycle might be though of as the 'returning to normal' state. This can happen after a few months, but in some cases it takes years. The recovery stage depends upon:
- the magnitude of the disaster - bigger means longer
- development level - lower means longer, as poorer people are more severely affected
- governance, because well governed places will divert resources more effectively to recovery efforts.
- external help, i.e. aid and financing to help the recovery effort