How can we manage disasters?

by Indeewara Thilakarathne and Ranga Chandrarathne
 

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Last year one of us (Indeewara) wrote a feature about sociological study on the success and failures of the massive recovery effect launched by the Government, the INGO and International Community and end-use of the unprecedented amount of foreign exchange poured into the country since the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.

Now reflecting on our report and the after effects of the 2004 tsunami, we have come across some literature on this growing subject which suggest the need to look beyond sociological aspect of tsunami which in fact only one aspect of tsunami response and recovery process.

Dr. S. Govinnage, who worked as a foundation member of the Bangkok based Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, supplied us with material on key literature on this subject.

Although the information and literature provide are not Sri Lankan specific, some of the information is relevant to not only to understand issue concerning this complex subject but to understand how a better response could be developed to any type of disaster. The first issue is about defining or understanding a disaster.

Macquarie Dictionary defines a disaster as any '..unfortunate event', 'a sudden or great misfortune.' The words such as 'unfortunate' and 'great misfortune' can be tricky as they may be perceived or understood by different people in different way.

The Webster Dictionary provides similar but a different slant to the definitions of a disaster as 'an adverse or unfortunate event, a sudden and extraordinary misfortune; a calamity; a serious mishap.' The words such as 'sudden and extraordinary' are important as in the case of 2004 tsunami any crucial disaster has a sudden onset.

Fred Cuny who is a pioneer in disaster literature provided more meaningful and working definition on disaster: Natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and droughts, spring to mind when the word disaster is mentioned.

Yet these events are in fact natural agents that transform a vulnerable human condition into a disaster. The hazards themselves are not disasters but rather a factor in causing disaster.

Two other factors are essential: the event's effect on people and their environment, and human activities that increase its impact. (Cuny, 1983)Cuny's definition is useful and has a universal application because he speaks of the 'effect on people and their environment, and human activities.' In this connection, Cuny has developed a simple but practical concept call Disaster Cycle which we never heard as an academic response to the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka.

According to Fred Cuny's definition the so called disaster cycle consist of four major phases. These are the Emergency Phase in which the main focus is search and rescue efforts focusing on the primary victims.

In the case of the primary victims whether it is after a tsunami or flood or landslide the key issues include recognisance, search and rescue, first aid, emergency medical assistance, communication, re-establishing transport networks are of paramount importance. During this Emergency Phase provision of food, water, sanitation, shelter, security and other needs are also important issues to be addressed.

After the initial phase comes the Second Phase of the Disaster Cycle which is called The Transition Phase or Rehabilitation Phase. This is after all issues of search and rescue phase is over where those responsible of helping communities will try and sketching plans and implementing them into rehabilitating prior to the Reconstruction Phase which is the Third Phase of Cuny's Disaster Cycle.

Reconstruction phase is the stage where the economic impact, consider lessons that can be learnt or develop guidelines on gender sensitive or other socio-cultural issues. Reconstruction is not just a NGO or overseas expatriate coming to build houses.

This is a phase where all efforts both formal and informal such as NGO and voluntary sector's work need to be coordinated through a central agency at all level. i.e. National, Regional and local or the grass-root level.

On reflection, we now feel we would have done a bit more in the Reconstruction Phase in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. There were cases NGOs and expert group forming, developing position papers even conducting so called civil society activities (of course with lucrative donor contributions) by developing over night websites and conducting consultative meetings without any coordination with formal agencies and Government agents.

Another pioneering contributor to disaster studies in the US, namely Professor E. L. Quarantelli. In a paper entitled Major Criteria for Judging Disaster Planning and Managing and their Applicability in Developing Countries, (1998) Quarantelli attempt to answer the question of key planning principle based on 40 empirical researches undertaken by social and behavioral scientists. This research cuts across natural and technological disasters'.

Based on the solid research Quarantelli identifies the following ten principles.

1. Good community disaster planning must focus on the planning process rather than the production of a written document.

2. Recognize that disasters are both quantitatively and qualitatively different from minor emergencies and everyday crises.

3. Be generic rather than agent specific in current disaster planning

4. Be based upon an emergent resource coordination and not a command and control model.

5. Focus on general principles and not specific details.

6. Be based on what is likely to happen.

7. Be vertically and horizontally integrated. (By this Quarantelli means that good disaster 'preparedness planning requires an overall and integrated effort by all organizations. All relevant sectors of the community, public and private...' etc).

8. Strive to evoke appropriate actions by anticipating likely problems and possible solutions or options.

9. Use the best social science knowledge possible and not myths and misconceptions.

10. Recognize that crisis time disaster planning and disaster managing are separate processes.

These principles as identified by Professor Quarantelli bring us to the final Phase called Development Phase of Fred Cuny's Disaster Cycle.

This is where all key issues to be looked at and addressed if possible unlike jumping into using SMS to communicate tsunami warnings and or developing warning systems before understanding and gathering all key information and the lessons learnt from each disaster. The question is whether we have adopted a similar and rational approach in managing disasters in Sri Lanka?