What is disaster management in one page?

Disasters are serious disruptions to the functioning of a community that exceed its capacity to cope using its own resources. Disasters can be caused by natural, man-made and technological hazards, as well as various factors that influence the exposure and vulnerability of a community.

What are hazards?

Natural hazards are naturally occurring physical phenomena. They can be:

  • Geophysical: a hazard originating from solid earth (such as earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity)
  • Hydrological: caused by the occurrence, movement and distribution of water on earth (such as floods and avalanches)
  • Climatological: relating to the climate (such as droughts and wildfires)
  • Meteorological: relating to weather conditions (such as cyclones and storms)
  • Biological: caused by exposure to living organisms and their toxic substances or diseases they may carry (such as disease epidemics and insect/animal plagues)

Man-made and technological hazards are events that are caused by humans and occur in or close to human settlements. They include complex emergencies, conflicts, industrial accidents, transport accidents, environmental degradation and pollution.

While hazards may be natural and inevitable, disasters are not

What is disaster management in one page?

A family in Ba District, Fiji who received support from an IFRC cyclone appeal smile and play as the children prepare to return to school

Photo: IFRC/Holly Griffin

Disasters happen when a community is “not appropriately resourced or organized to withstand the impact, and whose population is vulnerable because of poverty, exclusion or socially disadvantaged in some way” (Mizutori, 2020).

Disasters therefore can and should be prevented. We can prevent hazards from leading to disasters by helping communities to be prepared, reduce their risks and become more resilient.

These efforts are becoming more and more urgent in the context of the climate crisis. The impacts of global warming are already killing people and devastating lives and livelihoods every year, and they will only get worse without immediate and determined action. Read more in our latest World Disasters Report.

When disaster strikes, businesses that close down run the risk of never reopening — especially with no plan of action in place. While there’s no way to lower the risk of a natural disaster or a widespread health crisis like a pandemic, there are critical measures that an organization can take to protect its people, assets and bottom line in the wake of a disaster.

While creating a business continuity management plan for your organization, consider the four phases of disaster management and how each phase will affect your business before, during and after a crisis.

The 4 Phases of Disaster Management

When it comes to business continuity, think of disasters as recurring events that take place in four key phases:

1.

2.

3.

4.

What is disaster management in one page?

Phase 3: Response

Meaning: To protect people and property in the wake of an emergency, disaster or crisis

The “response” phase occurs in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Organizations must focus their attention on addressing immediate threats to people, property and business. Occupant safety and wellbeing largely depends on its preparedness levels before disaster strikes.

The most notable example of the “response” phase is to ensure that people are out of harm’s way. The organization will then move on to assess damage, implement disaster response plans, triage cleanup efforts and start resource distribution as necessary. Businesses will also need to navigate building closures, preliminary damage assessments and hampered communication with stakeholders (like staff, vendors and suppliers) due to shutdowns.

As the response period progresses, focus will typically shift from immediate emergency issues to conducting repairs, restoring utilities, re-establishing operations and cleaning up. The organization will also need to begin planning the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure.

Phase 4: Recovery

Meaning: To rebuild after a disaster in an effort to return operations back to normal

The “recovery” phase takes place after a disaster. This phase is the restoration of an organization following any impacts from a disaster. By this time, the organization has achieved at least some degree of physical, environmental, economic and social stability.

The recovery phase of a disaster can last anywhere from six months to a year (or even longer depending on the severity of the incident).

An example of “recovery” is creating strategic protocols and action plans to address the most serious impacts of a disaster. An organization will work to obtain new resources, rebuild or create partnerships, and implement effective recovery strategies. The organization will also want to take steps to reduce financial burdens, rebuild damaged structures and reduce vulnerability to future disasters.

Business Continuity Made Easy: Your Free eBook

A disaster management plan is only one part of a successful business continuity plan. Whether your organization is looking to revamp its current business continuity plan or wanting to start fresh with a new one, AkitaBox makes it easy.

What is disaster management in one line?

Disaster Management can be defined as the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular, preparedness, response and recovery in order to lessen the impact of disasters.

What is disaster one page answer?

Disasters are serious disruptions to the functioning of a community that exceed its capacity to cope using its own resources. Disasters can be caused by natural, man-made and technological hazards, as well as various factors that influence the exposure and vulnerability of a community.

What is disaster management few lines?

Disaster management in India refers to conservation of lives and property during a natural or man-made disaster. Disaster management plans are multi-layered and are planned to address issues such as floods, hurricanes, fires, mass failure of utilities and the rapid spread of disease.

What is disaster management PDF?

Disaster Management as a subject essentially deals with management of resources and information as far as a disastrous event is concerned and also how effectively and seamlessly one coordinates these resources.