Tectonics Topic 3.4 (Effectiveness of disaster managment strategies after an earthquake

disaster management

refers to how communities can adopt strategies to

1. respond to disaster

2. recover from disaster

strategies to respond to disaster

1. search and rescue

2. timely evacuation

3. provision of basic social and psychological services to affected communities

respond : search and rescue efforts

• Important and immediate life-savings response to disaster

• Involve finding and saving survivors trapped in buildings or disaster zones

• Aims to rescue the largest number of people in the shortest time with minimal risk to rescuers. Having skilled rescuers and specialised equipment such as heat sensors and listening devices can reduce time taken to locate and evacuate survivors

• Without search and rescue, survivors would otherwise die from injuries or other conditions

• Example : In the 2020 Aegean Sea, Turkey earthquake (Mw 7.0), more than 8k search, rescue and first aid teams were deployed and over 106 people were rescued

respond : timely evacuation

Involves moving people away from areas at risk of hazards as quickly as possible to safer locations to reduce loss of lives due to

• Earthquakes → buildings and infrastructure may collapse, powerful aftershocks can our soon after an earthquake, basic services may be disrupted

• Volcanic eruptions → lahars, pyroclastic flows, lava flows and tephra are dangerous and people need to be evacuated from the danger zone around the volcano 

  • In 2010, after a warning of Mount Merapi’s immigrant eruption was issued by  scientists, Indonesia’s authorities organised massive evacuation efforts that compromised more than 700 evacuation centres. The quick and massive evacuation efforts were credited for saving more than 10k lives

• Tsunami waves → people need to be evacuated to higher ground and away from the coast 

  • during the 2011 Tohoku, japan earthquake, nearly all 3k students in Kamaishi city survived as the students were evacuated to higher grounds immediately after the earthquake struck, saving them from the tsunami caused by the earthquake

respond : provision of basic social and psychosocial services to affected communities

Water : after disasters, may be water shortage due to rupture of water pipes, contamination of drinking water etc 

• Example : During the 2010 Haiti earthquake, water supply was disrupted in the capital city. The international committee of the red cross provided water supply for 12k people by trucking water into Port-au-Prince daily 

food : after disasters, may be food shortages as people may not have access to food due to shop closures and damage to crops / available food not safe for consumption etc

• Example : After the 2017 mount Agung eruption in indonesia, stakeholders such as the government and international NGOs provided food for more than 75k evacuees 

Healthcare : disrupted due to damaged hospitals etc

• Example : After the 2018 Fuego eruption in Guatemala, World Vision, an international charity, provided 30k boxes of medical supplies and 1k hygiene kits to affected communities

Psychological services : survivors may need counseling due to great emotional stress, loss of families and friends etc

• Example : After the 2018 Palu, Indonesia earthquake, volunteer groups focusing on mental health worked with children to help them deal with trauma of losing their families and homes

strategies to recover from disaster

Restoring and improving facilities and living conditions of affected communities 

Can be achieved by : 

• Constructing hazard-resistant buildings and infrastructure

• Retrofitting surviving buildings and infrastructure with hazard resistant features

• Allowing residents to eventually return to their original homes, keeping communities intact even after disaster

• Providing housing assistance, which are hazard resistant and are of better quality to those who lost their homes or were displaced

Strategies enable the affected communities to rebuild their lives after the disaster, as well as minimising their vulnerability and exposure to tectonic hazards

• Example : The 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan displaced about 500k people. By 2016, a majority was rehoused in settlements with enhanced tsunami-resistant features. In a port town, the ground level of sites for new houses was raised by ten metres and two more sea walls were built

disaster management challenges

1. lack of domestic resources, including technological and financial resources

2. challenges in engaging relevant stakeholders to collaborate and integrate disaster management strategies into their practices

challenges : lack of domestic resources, including technological and financial resources

• Country may not have the financial and technological resources to effectively respond to and recover from the disasters 

• May hamper the disaster response efforts → delays that can result in more lives lost

• Example : During the 2010 Haiti earthquake, their lack of resources hampered the disaster management efforts. There was a critical shortage of ambulances to transport the injured and heavy machinery to remove the rubble from collapsed buildings → rescue team spent many hours removing tons of rubble manually with hammers or rods to pull trapped people under collapsed buildings

challenges : challenges in engaging relevant stakeholders to collaborate and integrate disaster management strategies into their practices

Authorities may face difficulties such as : 

• Disagreements from other stakeholders on disaster management strategies

• Stakeholders underestimate or lack awareness of the disaster risks and the need for certain disaster management strategies

• High cost of integrating disaster management strategies into their practices 

  • local communities might be reluctant to purchase insurance due to high costs

  • private insurance companies might not be willing to offer such insurance policies because of high financial commitment required

  • individuals might be reluctant to retrofit their buildings to ensure they are hazard-resistant due to the high cost involved 

• example : immediately after the 2015 Nepal earthquake (Mw 7.8), the gov and opposition parties created a new public body, the national reconstruction authority (nra) to oversee rebuilding. However, due to political disagreements, it took nine months to appoint  a leader for NRA, hindering recovery works 

• example : In the Philippines, only 10% - 20% of buildings are insured against earthquakes. One reason cited for this is the high insurance costs for building owners