PAHS 055

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Session 4: Disaster Management

MRS. RUBY V. KODOM

Contact Info: rkodom@ug.edu.gh

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
College of Education
SCHOOL OF CONTINUING AND DISTANCE
EDUCATION
 Session Overview
This session will introduce you to the concept of
Disaster Management. Students will understand what
constitutes a disaster and should be able to define
disaster management highlighting the key steps in the
cycle being mitigation, preparedness, response and
recovery.

Slide 2
 Session Outline
• This session covers five main topics, which are outlined as
follows:

• The definition of Disaster Management and the types of

disasters
• Disaster Risks & Vulnerability & Factors contributing to
Disaster Risks
• The impacts of disasters
• The cycle and steps involved in Disaster Management
• Challenges of Disaster Management in developing
countries
Slide 3
 Learning Objectives
At the end of the session, students will be able to;

• Define Disaster Management and identify the types

of disasters
• Describe Disaster Risks and Vulnerability
• Explain the impact of Disasters
• Explain the cycle of Disaster Management,
highlighting key steps and points to consider
• Identify the challenges associated with Disaster
Management in developing countries
Slide 4
 Introduction
• What is a disaster?

Slide 5
 Introduction
• A disaster is a “serious disruption of the functioning
of society which poses a significant, widespread
threat to human life, health, property or the
environment, whether arising from accident, nature
or human activity, whether developing suddenly or
as the result of long term processes, but excluding
armed conflict” (IFRC, 2007).

Slide 6
 Introduction
• Disasters fall into three broad categories;
– Geological and Earth movements e.g. earth quakes,
tremors, volcanic eruptions, landslides
– Weather Related Disasters such as floods, droughts,
hurricanes/typhoons/cyclones and tsunamis
– Man-Made Disasters e.g. fire, nuclear leaks, chemical
leaks,

Slide 7
 What is Disaster Management?
• The United Nations defines a disaster as a serious
disruption of the functioning of a community or a
society. Disasters involve widespread human, material,
economic or environmental impacts, which exceed the
ability of the affected community or society to cope
using its own resources.
• The IFRC defines disaster management 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.
Slide 5
 Disaster Risks & Vulnerability
• Disaster risks is the probability that loss will occur as
the result of an adverse event, given the hazard and
the vulnerability.

• Vulnerability: Is the extent to which a community’s

structure or environment (people, property, economic
activity, environment) is likely to be damaged or
disrupted by the impact of a hazard.

Slide 6
 Factors Contributing to Disaster Risks
• Geographical location. Some geographical areas are
prone to certain types of disasters.
• Population explosion and urbanization
• Increase of property in disaster prone areas
• Vulnerability of modern society to disasters (type of
buildings)
• Absence of enabling disaster management approaches

Slide 7
Impacts of Disasters

Slide 8
 Impacts of Disasters
• Loss of human lives
• Diseases
• Loss of property
• Human suffering
• Poverty
• Food insecurity
• Famine

Slide 12
Disaster Management

Slide 13
 Disaster Management
Phase I: Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
• Disaster prevention refers to the actions we take to
prevent disasters from happening. Mitigation refers
to all actions taken before a disaster to reduce its
impacts, including preparedness and long-term risk
reduction measures.

Slide 14
 Disaster Management-Prevention &
Mitigation
• Mitigation activities fall broadly into two categories:
• Structural mitigation – (e.g. building reinforcement, building
designs, windbreaks, terracing and hazard resistant buildings.
• Non-structural activities – policies and practices which raise
awareness of hazards or encourage developments to reduce
the impact of disasters.
• Non-structural-policies and practices including:
– land-use policies
– Zoning
– building codes
– procedures for forecasting and warning.

Slide 15
 Disaster Management-Prevention &
Mitigation
• Four sets of tools that could be used to prevent or
mitigate disasters include:
– Hazard management and vulnerability reduction
– Economic diversification
– Political intervention and commitment
– Public awareness

Slide 16
 Disaster Management- Preparedness
• Phase II: Disaster Preparedness
• Disaster preparedness involves the preparation of people and essential
service providers for the actions that they will take in case of disasters.
The aim of disaster preparedness is to achieve a satisfactory level of
readiness to respond to any emergency situation through programmes
that strengthen the technical and managerial capacity of:
– governments
– organizations
– communities
• These measures can be described as logistical readiness to deal with
disasters and can be enhanced by having response mechanisms and
procedures, rehearsals, developing long-term and short-term
strategies, public education and building early warning systems.

Slide 17
 Disaster Management- Preparedness
• Preparedness measures include:
– Preparedness plans
– Emergency exercises/training
– Warning systems
– Emergency communications systems
– Evacuations plans and training
– Emergency personnel/contact lists
– Public information/education
• The following are of particular importance:
– Develop and test warning systems regularly and plan measures to be taken during a disaster
alert period to minimize potential loss of life and physical damage.
– Educate and train officials and the population at risk to respond to the disaster. Train first-aid
and emergency response teams.
– Establish emergency response policies, standards, organizational arrangements and
operational plans to be followed by emergency workers and other response entities after a
disaster.
• 8
Slide 18
 Disaster Management-Response
• Phase III: Response
• Disaster response is the sum total of actions taken by
people and institutions during disaster.
• The focus in the response and recovery phases of the
disaster management cycle is on meeting the basic
needs of the people until more permanent and
sustainable solutions can be found. The aim of
emergency response is to provide immediate
assistance to maintain life, improve health, and to
support the morale of the affected population.
Slide 19
 Disaster Management-Response
The overall aims of disaster response are:
• To ensure the survival of the maximum possible
number of victims, keeping them in the best possible
health in the circumstances.
• To re-establish self-sufficiency and essential services
as quickly as possible for all population groups, with
special attention to those whose needs are greatest:
the most vulnerable and underprivileged.
• To repair or replace damaged infrastructure and
regenerate viable economic activities.
Slide 20
 Disaster Management-Response
Disaster response activities
• Rescue and evacuation of casualties and property
• Fulfillment of basic needs
• Protection
• Management of refugee
• Humanitarian (aid to relieve pain and suffering),
• Remittance (Cash sent to victims),
• Relief assistance (food, medication, tents),
• Networking (contacting organizations),
Slide 21
 Disaster Management-Response
• Typical activities of emergency response;
– Warning
– Evacuation and Migration
– Search and Rescue
– Post disaster assessment
– Response and Relief
– Logistics and supply
– Communication and Information management

Slide 22
 Disaster Management-Recovery
Phase IV: Recovery
• Once emergency needs have been met and the initial crisis is
over, the people affected and the communities that support
them are still vulnerable.
• Recovery activities include rebuilding infrastructure, health
care and rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation
• Rehabilitation consists of actions taken in the aftermath of a
disaster to enable basic services to resume functioning, assist
victims’ self-help efforts to repair dwellings and community
facilities, and to facilitate the revival of economic activities.
Slide 23
 Disaster Management-Recovery
Reconstruction
• Reconstruction is the permanent construction or
replacement of severely damaged physical
structures, the full restoration of all services and local
infrastructure, and the revitalization of the economy.

Slide 24
 Disaster Management Challenges in Developing Countries

• Lack of early warning systems. Disaster warning is a basic

prerequisite for ensuring disaster preparedness and in some cases
to help in the prevention of disaster itself
• Inadequate resources to effectively manage post disaster events
• Unsafe building practices in rapidly growing urban settlements
constitute one of the greatest challenges for disaster management
• Lack of effective information flow: the exchange of correct
information following the event is important, in order to ensure
the resources necessary to support response and recovery
activities.
• Poor coordination among relief organizations.
• Lack of public awareness of natural hazard risk.
Slide 25
 Reading Material
• Michael Beach (2010). Disaster Preparedness and
Management, 1st Edition, F. A. Davis Company

Slide 26
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