Answers all the questions and write one essay for every question that asked to
After Action Reports
Keep it simple
Do not overcomplicate…
Your project
Your paper structure
Your sentences
After Action Reports
Passive voice
Active voice
After Action Reports
After Action Reports
After Action Reports
In text citations:
At the end of the sentence, attribute the author(s) that you used to find that work
Examples
(Nelan & Grineski, 2012)
(WHO, 2016)
(NPR, 2012)
After Action Reports
In text citations:
If you are using a quotation, put in the page number for that quotation
Example:
(Nelan & Grineski, 2012, p. 150)
If you are not sure how to cite it use Purdue Owl or see me
APA style
Questions…
Any questions on the paper?
Informational Convergence
Convergence on communication centers, in the form of inquiries, offers of assistance
“Jamming”, “Swamping”, “Overloading” of existing communication facilities
If communication systems are down then the problem becomes more acute
Competition emerges between public and relief agencies for access to the channels which are still functioning
Can be detrimental to organizations and agencies, informal inquiries may overwhelm the channels
Informational Convergence
Is the answer to deny the general public access to these channels?
Informational Convergence
Is the answer to deny the general public access to these channels?
Evidence shows that this forces public to improvise informal, unofficial channels of communication
Resulting in officials having little understanding of the significant needs of the population
Informational Convergence
Challenges in measuring impact (1957):
1. Difficult to establish a “normal” capacity for systems which have been partially destroyed or which have lost some of their operating personnel
2. Personnel located at telephone switchboards, radio stations, etc. normally keep some form of tally or record of incoming messages – under stress of disaster those records might be neglected
3. While there might be a record of total number of messages or calls, there is no way of knowing the number of attempted communications that were rejected due to disruptions in channels
4. When tallies are kept of incoming and outgoing messages, they might not describe if those messages were disaster related or not
5. Large volume exists outside official or formally established channels (word of mouth communications)
Informational Convergence
Can we control it?
Not limited to the persons located in the zones near the disaster zone
External informational convergence originates simultaneously in many parts of the nation and world
In comparison – Initial external personal convergence originates from contiguous and proximate zones
When the event is reported, persons in remote zones attempt communication with persons or agencies in disaster area – compounding the problem with limited channels
Beyond Immediate Needs
Damage Assessment
Debris Removal
Damage Assessment
Identifying the extent of destruction including individual impact as well as overall economic losses in the community
Direct response activities
Helps identify immediate needs of disaster victims
Influences what material and financial resources will be sent to the disaster area
Damage Assessment
Necessary before federal relief is to be given to disaster-stricken communities
Determines if structure is sound
May assist in designation of hazardous area
Types of Damage Assessment
Rapid (or initial) Assessment
During Response
Initial survey of the disaster damages
Immediate
Quick comprehension of deaths, injuries, victim needs, general scope of disaster
What is the importance?
Secure mutual aid agreements
Request additional damage evaluators
Can lead to evacuations and sheltering
Types of Damage Assessment
Preliminary
During Recovery
Within weeks or months
Detailed assessment that is required if seeking federal disaster assistance
Determine extent of disaster and needs for outside assistance
Requirement before disaster declaration
Is possible before declaration, but still must be carried out to comply with laws
Types of Damage Assessment
Technical
Days, weeks, or months after event
Used to determine the cost of damages and method for rebuilding structures or the infrastructure
Conducted by engineers, insurance agents, FEMA employees and contractors
Conducting Damage Assessment
Windshield or drive-through assessments
Immediate after the event
Stay in vehicle
Assess damage on the ground from a distance
Assess initial stages of disaster
Assess priorities and needs
Conducting Damage Assessment
Aerial Assessments
From helicopters or planes
Useful when roads are impassable
Media uses this type of footage
Popular among politicians and key decision makers
Conducting Damage Assessment
Walkthrough/site visits
Tour damaged areas by foot
Determines amount and type of disaster assistance needed
May require knowledge of demolition and construction
Debris Management
Collection, sorting, storage, transportation, and disposal or recycling of rubble, destroyed materials, and other wastes associate with a disaster
Debris can be approx. 8x as much trash as is usual to be picked up
Examples:
Hurricane Floyd
18,000 mobile homes destroyed in North Carolina
1,500 tons of animal carcasses
500,000 cubic yards of debris after tornadoes in Oklahoma
Northridge Earthquake – 95,100 tons of debris
Types of Debris
Broken tree limbs
Mud and sediment
Hazardous waste
Broken plywood
Twisted metal
Shattered glass
Dead animal carcasses
Etc.
Challenges
Driving into the area
Mental well-being
Safety
Public health
Environment
Cost
Hurricane Georges in 1995
Exceeded $310,000,000 in 4 states combined
FEMA covers 100% of debris removal for first 72 hours after the event
After that, they cover 75% of costs borne by local government (when there is a disaster declaration)
Debris
What types of debris are there?
What challenges are caused by these types of debris?
Questions…
How does informational convergence differ today from how it did in 1957? Specifically, is it possible to overload channels?
Do you think it is easier to cause confusion in informational convergence today than it used to be? Why or why not?
Defining Recovery
Basic definition: Returning a community to pre-disaster levels or better
Recovery is more than just reconstruction
Defining Recovery
Definition has evolved
First academic paper on recovery was Haas, Kates, Bowden – 1977
They focused on the predictability of recovery
Recovery Defined - Haas, Kates, Bowden – 1977
Haas, Kates, Bowden (1977) – Reconstruction Following Disaster
Key Insights
Reconstruction process is ordered, knowable, and predictable
Generally, cities are rebuilt on the same site
The time needed for reconstruction can be approximated by the time required for earlier tasks in recovery
The existence of prior plans, detailed planning material, community consensus, and wide dissemination of information increase speed
Haas, Kates, Bowden (1977) – Reconstruction Following Disaster
Key Insights
Reconstruction process is ordered, knowable, and predictable
Ordered sequence of return (in both time and space) that mirrors the hierarchy of function, person, and power
Best locations and places with highest rents return fastest
Haas, Kates, Bowden (1977) – Reconstruction Following Disaster
Key Insights
Leveling of inequalities during the emergency period – does not continue into recovery
Research tells us that events can impact both rich and poor, there is an increase in prosocial behavior, people look beyond differences to help everyone
Restoration and reconstruction do not follow this path
People who had more access to resources prior to the event continue to do so
Haas, Kates, Bowden (1977) – Reconstruction Following Disaster
Key Insights
Reconstruction issues and decisions are value choices
Common goals in reconstruction: familiar, safer, efficient, attractive, equity
Each of these goals adds to:
Speed of recovery
Required resources (material, financial, technical, administrative)
Uncertainty and social disruption
Haas, Kates, Bowden (1977) – Reconstruction Following Disaster
Key Insights:
Ambitious planning is counterproductive – “The Impossible Seems Possible”
Disaster provide opportunities to improve communities
Funding is available, old plans for the community are resurrected
The cost becomes too high and it takes too much time
Haas, Kates, Bowden (1977) – Reconstruction Following Disaster
Three Phases:
1. Restoration – attempt to “patch up” the damaged physical and social systems
Temporary measures taken in the first days or weeks after the disaster event
Trying to make the community as functional as possible
Haas, Kates, Bowden (1977) – Reconstruction Following Disaster
Three Phases:
2. Reconstruction I - Replacement Reconstruction – returning the appearance of the community back to normal
Last from several months to several years after the event
3. Reconstruction II - Commemorative, Betterment, and Developmental Reconstruction – promoting future economic growth within the community
Now referred to as mitigation
Expected to continue until the next disaster event
Questions
Their definition is based on predictability in the recovery stage. Is it accurate to believe that most disasters follow a predictable trajectory in recovery?
What could happen that could impact that?
Is recovery based solely on the reconstruction of the build structure? If no, what other aspects play into recovery?
Defining Recovery
Issues with Haas, Kates, and Bowden definition
Assumes that all members of society recover uniformly
Is too simple
Recovery does not always follow a clear and predictable path
Defining Recovery
“Recovery is messy and uncertain. Factors such as power, race, class, gender, past disaster experience, and access to resources, including information, can all play a role in shaping the process for social units ranging from households to societies.” (Smith and Wenger, 2007)
Defining Recovery
Is recovery simply the reconstruction of the built environment?
Recovery is not the same as reconstruction – it is a social process
“Recovery is not merely an outcome, but a social process that begins prior to disaster impact and encompasses decision-making concerning restoration and reconstruction activities.”
Defining Recovery
Rooted in the Social Structure and Fabric of Society
“... how recovery proceeds is rooted in the social structure and fabric of the impacted society. Put another way, reconstruction is less a technical issue than it is a social matter. Reconstruction only partly involves bricks and land use codes, it mostly concerns social values and group interests. “ – Dynes and Quarantelli 1989
Defining Recovery
Less a technical issue than a social matter
“... how recovery proceeds is rooted in the social structure and fabric of the impacted society. Put another way, reconstruction is less a technical issue than it is a social matter. Reconstruction only partly involves bricks and land use codes, it mostly concerns social values and group interests. “ – Dynes and Quarantelli 1989
Defining Recovery
Concerns social values and group interests
“... how recovery proceeds is rooted in the social structure and fabric of the impacted society. Put another way, reconstruction is less a technical issue than it is a social matter. Reconstruction only partly involves bricks and land use codes, it mostly concerns social values and group interests. “ – Dynes and Quarantelli 1989
Recovery as a social process
Importance of Family recovery
Effects of low socioeconomic status
Effects of race and ethnicity
Urban-Rural Differences
Family Recovery
Relationships with family networks become stronger
Increase in strength following the disaster event, continue into the recovery stage]
Kinship networks provide assistance
Emergency and temporary housing for socially vulnerable populations
Family Recovery – Trainer & Bolin 1976
Five general constraints:
1. Physical Constraint
Destruction of community facilities and other amenities available to pre-disaster community
Loss of these physical and structural resources constraint the functions that the family used to fulfill
Daily routines are altered
Visiting with friends/family
Leisure activities
Shopping
Family Recovery – Trainer & Bolin 1976
Three general constraints:
2. Economic Constraint
Dependent on community/government aid available
Impact their housing situation
May have lost their job as a result of the event
Family Recovery – Trainer & Bolin 1976
Five general constraints:
3. Temporal Constraint
Carrying out daily routines take much more time and effort
Time is taken up by the rebuilding, increased travel time if roads and public transportation are impacted
Family Recovery – Trainer & Bolin 1976
Three general constraints:
4. Social Constraints
Not being able to adhere to social norms could cause people to avoid their social networks
Social norms such as appropriate clothing, home, reciprocity in entertaining)
5. Subjective Constraints
“How a family defines their current situation and how it is constrained by that.”
Perceive their situation as the reason that they are not happy
Effects of Low Socioeconomic Status
Low-income families are both more vulnerable to disaster impacted losses, but also have a harder time recovering
Generally:
Housed in hazard-prone areas/substandard structures
Have greatest need following an event but have most difficulty accessing resources
Recovery is not uniform across the area
Effects of Race and Ethnicity
Least likely to have insurance to cover losses (Bolin and Bolton, 1986)
Extended kin networks have fewer resources to provide
Rely more extensively on government aid for relief and recovery
Defining Recovery
Based on Smith and Wenger:
“The differential process of restoring, rebuilding, and reshaping the physical, social, economic, and natural environment through pre-event planning and post-event actions.”
Explains the outcomes expected in recovery
“restoring, rebuilding, and reshaping the physical”
Recognizes the social aspects with people, groups, and institutions involved
“social, economic”
The recovery process is not necessarily linear, not only driven by technical but also social parameters
Defining Recovery
How are decisions made?
Who is involved in the decision-making?
What are the consequences that those decisions have on social groups in the affected communities?
Who benefits from these decisions? Who does not?
Defining Recovery
Short-term
Extension of the response phase in which basic services and functions are restored
Immediate and overlaps with response
It includes:
providing essential public health and safety services
restoring interrupted utility and other essential services
reestablishing transportation routes
providing food and shelter for those displaced by the incident.
May last for weeks
Defining Recovery
Long-term recovery
A restoration of both the personal lives of individuals and the livelihood of the community
May involve some of the same actions but may continue for a number of months or years depending on the severity and extent of the damage sustained
Long-term recovery may include the complete redevelopment of damaged areas.
Impacts on Recovery
Pre-disaster Intergroup dynamics and relationship (political influence)
Relative size in the community
Political linkages to those in decision-making positions
Cultural history
These relationships existed before the disaster, they will exist after
Recovery takes a long time…
Recovery happens at different speeds…
Successful Local Recovery Plans (Mileti 1999)
1. Community Involvement
2. Information
3. Organization
4. Procedures
5. Damage Evaluation
6. Finances
Community Involvement
Involve stakeholders who are affected by the decision made for recovery
Stakeholders should be able to provide input
Policymakers need to get those stakeholders to buy into the their plans
Helps to make sure that their needs are met
Also avoids conflict
Information
Should include:
Hazard characteristics and areas likely to be impacted
Population size, composition, distribution
Local economic factors
Resources available post-disaster
Information
Powers, programs, and responsibilities of local, state, and federal governments
Also nonprofits, businesses, and other relevant stakeholder organizations
Current and projected land use patterns
Type and location of existing and projected building stock and infrastructure
How does it interconnect with existing and projecting development?
Organization
Identify relevant groups and organizations to provide specific or assigned types of assistance
Include governmental agencies, nonprofits, emergent organizations
By using various types of groups, can account for people who might otherwise be hard to reach
Procedures
Policymaking procedures need to be modified so that changes can be made quickly
Streamline building code review procedures, permits, or stop building until a recovery plan is made
Damage Evaluation
Recovery plan must account for operational tasks (mobilization, deployment, coordination) during damage assessment
Information must be rapidly assimilated
Information is necessary to understand local needs
Implemented in construction strategies
Finances
An understanding of where the money is coming from
Local municipal budgets
State/federal funds
What parts of the plan are feasible based on those funds?
Federal Recovery Assistance
Two types of programs:
Individual Assistance
Relief to citizens, businesses, and others affected by disaster
Public Assistance
Recovery aid for government entities
Individual Assistance
Loan Programs
Lending money
Individuals, families, businesses (who have sustained losses)
Interest rates generally lower than market average
Loan rates and repayment schedule determined by ability of recepient to repay
Grants
Gift funds that do not need to be repaod
Individual Assistance
National Processing Service Center
Online and over the phone
National Emergency Management Information System (NEMIS)
FEMA representatives can record personal information, damage, losses, needs, etc.
Along with fieldwork, determines what type of assistance they are eligible for
Disaster Recovery Centers
Physical location where individuals can access services
Public Assistance
Categories
Local governments
State government agencies
Indian tribes and related organizations
Private nonprofit organizations
Hospitals
Schools
Utility companies
Zoos
Museums
Community centers
Homeless shelters, etc.
Public Assistance
Emergency Assistance
Financial or other types of assistance to help local and state governments deal with the immediate impacts of disasters
Permanent Assistance
Financial payments or reimbursements to local and state governments for long-term rebuilding activities
Emergency Assistance
Debris removal assistance
Funding to clear disaster-related debris
Protective measures
Reimbursement that has purpose of reducing losses or eliminating threats to life, public health, and safety
Examples:
Sandbagging before a flood
Shoring up buildings after earthquake
Permanent Assistance
Road Systems assistance
Repays expenses associate with the rebuilding or repairing of bridges, lights, and culverts
Damages must be directly related to the disaster
Water control assistance
Repairs to rives, dikes, levees, dams
Must fall under U.S. Army Cops of Engineers or Natural Resource Conservation System specifications
Permanent Assistance
Public Buildings/Equipment assistance
Repair or replace buildings, supplies, and vehicles
Private or self insurances must cover all applicable payments before federal reimbursements are made
Conform to preexisting capacity and standards
Buildings/equipment must have been in use before disaster
Public Utility
Water, gas, sewage system repairs