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Disaster Relief
The term “disaster” is typically applied to a breakdown within the traditional functioning of a community that features an important adverse impact on individuals, their works, and
their atmosphere, overwhelming native response capability. this example is also the result of a happening like a cyclone or an earthquake, or it's going to be the results of human activities (PAHO 2001).
Some organizations create a distinction between “disasters” the results of natural phenomena and “complex emergencies” that square measure the merchandise of armed conflicts or large-scale violence and infrequently result in large displacements of individuals, famine, and outflows of refugees. A disaster, as outlined by the planet Health Organization (WHO), is any incidence that causes harm, destruction, ecological disruption, loss of human life, human suffering, deterioration of health and health services on a scale adequate to warrant a unprecedented response from outside the affected community or space (Haghani,2009).
The Yankee NGO defines a disaster as a happening or state of affairs that causes human suffering or creates human desires that the victims cannot alleviate while not help. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, eruptions, wildfires, floods, blizzard, drought, terrorism, chemical spills, and nuclear accidents square measure enclosed among the causes of disasters, and everyone have important devastating effects in terms of human injuries and property harm.
Alexander (1999) defines natural disasters as some speedy, instant or profound impact of the natural atmosphere upon the socio-economic system. He additionally recommends Turner’s (1976) definition of natural disaster as “an event, focused in time and house, that threatens a society or subdivision of society with major unwanted consequences as a result of the collapse of precautions that had antecedently been culturally accepted as adequate”.
Center for analysis on the medical specialty of Disasters (CRED), collaborating center with WHO and global organization, defines disaster as “A state of affairs or event, that overwhelms native capability, necessitating asking to national or international level for external assistance; associate unforeseen and infrequently fulminant event
that causes nice harm, destruction and human suffering”. (CRED 2007) The official definition of disasters within u. s. is bestowed within the Stafford Act. The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency help Act is the primary legislation within u. s. authorizing the national to supply disaster help to states, native governments, families, and people (Haghani,2009).
Stafford's Law defines a disaster as “any natural disaster (including hurricanes, hurricanes, storms, rising water, wind-driven water, tsunamis, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, mudslides, and snowstorms or drought), or, in spite of cause, any fire, flood or explosion, in any a part of the u. s., that within the determination of the President causes harm of adequate severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster help beneath this Act to supplement the efforts and out there resources of States, native governments, and disaster relief organizations, in assuaging the harm, loss, hardship, or suffering caused thereby.” As these definitions indicate, a disaster may be a “catastrophe” of such magnitude and severity that the capacities of states and native governments square measure overpowered.
that the threshold for crucial what constitutes a disaster depends upon the provision of resources and capabilities of responding communities. Consequently, a disaster will be prevented by increasing the capability of responding organizations.
From a worldwide perspective, the amount of natural disasters is increasing once a year. as an example in 2005, there are 489 country-level disasters poignant 127 countries around the globe leading to 104,698 individuals killed and one hundred sixty million affected. For the identical year of 2005, the economic harm estimate varies from 159 billion to 210 billion in U.S.A. bucks. due to the growth and new developments in risk-prone regions, the exposure of the humankind to natural disasters is increasing even a lot of
A least-square statistical regression trend-line is drawn to higher illustrate the pattern. In the 1990s, the typical variety of disasters will increase to around three hundred each year. And within the 2000-2007 amount, these numbers square measure around 460 disasters each year that indicates a dramatic increase. a rise of this magnitude will be explained partly by the worldwide warming theory, and part by the eye of the media that has raised the numbers of according disasters everywhere the planet.
because the variety of disasters will increase once a year, a lot of individuals square measure laid low with these disasters. the amount of victims includes the individuals killed, injured, lost their homes or exhausted as a right away results of the disaster.
An exceptionally high number in 2002 is due to a drought solely affecting 360 million in India and China and a major wind storm and flood affecting 160 million people in China (Haghani,2009).
Person Affected (Million) Total Number of people affected 5 average costs per year is $45 billion from 1980 to 1999. However, for the 2000 to 2007 period, the average cost is more than $80 billion per year. The linear trend-line shows this increase in the economic damage of natural disasters over time. Two major disasters affecting the trend are the Kobe earthquake in 1995 and hurricane Katrina in 2005. Emergency Management Emergency management (or disaster management) is the discipline of avoiding risks and addressing risks (Haddow et al. 2007).
Method
The method employed in the present study is theoretical where library method has been used to collect information. Here the crisis and its management have been initially studied in a supply chain and the main focus has been on the management approach. On the opposite hand, principle problems with natural disasters management are mentioned.
Findings
Before investigating the crisis management approach in the case of natural disasters, the first crisis and crisis logistics have been studied and the main focus has been on its characteristics. Besides, the principles of the logistic management of natural disasters have been studied and, due to the nature of disasters and the approach to managing them promptly, the main cycle of this type of management and its applicable methodology have been scrutinized as well.
Definition of Crisis
a) The crisis is a sudden or accident together with wide financial losses or casualties and inducing trouble and suffering to a group or a human society whose way of overcoming would be urgent, immediate and extraordinary actions.
b) The crisis is the force or a set of opposing and unpredictable forces taking place and destructively affecting the foundation and focus of a targeted move and, in the case of not passing through it, would cause unrecoverable damages (Yi & Özdamar, 2007).
Crisis Management
a) The systematic, genuine and comprehensive process of detection, prioritization, prediction, and prevention from a crisis, intervention in the crisis and purification after the crisis to overcome it or limit the consequences caused by it.
b) The process of planning, organizing, guiding, leading and controlling the required activities for preventing any intervention in the crisis to prevent the crisis from happening, overcoming it and purifying after it is being taken place (Yi & Özdamar, 2007).
Crisis management is categorized into four phases of prevention, preparation, respond and reconstruction (Bozorgi-Amiri, Jabalameli, & Al-E-Hashem, 2013).
1- Prevention: Set of actions executed before the crisis to prevent the sufferings or reduce the damaging effects of it.
2- Preparation: Set of actions (including gathering information, teaching, researching, planning, providing managerial structures and supplying resources) conducted to increase the capability of society, government and people in acting in different steps of crisis management.
3- Respond: Includes offering urgent services carried out after the crisis has taken place with the purpose of preserving different sources of the organization to prevent widening the damages.
4- Reconstruction: Includes activities to return the conditions of a suffered organization to normal conditions considering the features of a successful organization as well as all safety regulations.
Definition of the Crisis Logistic
It has been predicted that until 2125, above 5 billion people will live in urban areas around the world from which 81% will reside in less developed cities and this could induce challenges for urban planners and managers (Chang, Tseng, & Chen, 2007). Undoubtedly, the major influence of the accelerated growth of urbanization and uncontrolled growth of urban spaces would be impairing of the service distribution system and malfunctioning of the service system. Therefore, the optimal pattern of living in urban communities would require suitable planning in the cities. One of the important goals of urban designers is creating an urban space where all citizens could easily have access to city services because accessibility represents the quality of urban space (Chang, Tseng, & Chen, 2007). The crisis logistic includes all processes of providing, supplying, transporting, storing and distributing articles, equipment, services and all necessities of sufferers and relief groups which should be achieved in minimum time and in suitable places and in essential amounts.
Characteristics of the Crisis Logistic System
In recent decades, the logistic system for organizations has been inevitable and has found a role in the organization's costs basket; so that activities of the logistic system could significantly influence on effectiveness and efficiency of the organization.
Expectations and demands of sufferers and relief and rescue groups as consumers and final users of articles, equipment, and support services could be included in the various subject. Providing equipment and essential quality and quantity support in the required time and place are among the most important expectations from the logistic system.
Preparing and planning appropriately, the logistic system provides a suitable bed for association and application of maximum power and potential of providers, the way that it could not only attract their confidence but also provides the sufferers and relief groups with equipment and articles with appropriate speed and quality and in demanded time and place.
This goal would not be realized unless by the formation of a logistic system with features compatible with crisis conditions and integrated management using modern and efficient information technologies. The effectiveness of the logistical system can be determined via its preparation, speed, and reactivity.
Similarities and Differences between Commercial and Relief Supply Chains
Conceptually, there are some similarities between the commercial and humanitarian relief supply chain; the way that, similar to the logistic concept in the commercial supply chain, the crisis logistic includes activities, such as planning, prediction, supplying, transportation, storage, delivery and also supplementary actions like offering help request and displacement.
The humanitarian relief chain connects all beneficiaries in the relief process. These beneficiaries include donors, relief organizations, army, governments, and sufferers.
Similarities between commercial and relief supply chains in crisis conditions provide the possibility of using some tools and methods of the commercial supply chain in the relief ones; however, there are fundamental differences between them causing, even more, complexities and unique challenges in managing relief chains. One of the main differences between commercial and humanitarian relief supply chains is in their goals.
In the commercial supply chain, making the profit is considered as one of the main targets; whereas, in humanitarian relief chains, this goal replaces with on time and suitable relief actions (on-time delivery of relief articles in a suitable place) to sufferers.
According to conditions and different aspects of natural disasters, most important features of relief chain that distinct it with commercial supply chains and make the solution of relief logistic problem much more complicated, are as following (Beamon, 2004):
- Lack of information most of which are due to uncertainties and malfunction of connection lines.
- Sudden nature of incidents and time limits in responding to the needs
- Limitations in resources concerning the accident dimensions, such as limitations of articles, human resources, technologies, fuel, transportation fleet and budget available that could cancel rescue and help all sufferers.
- The complexity of coordination due to the presence of different relief groups, people, and government.
- Existence of conflicting target functions
- Unpredictability and uncertainty of demand from time and incident place point of view as well as its type and wideness
- Uncertainties and various dynamic factors in environmental conditions after the accident
The above points have turned the logistic of relief chain into a very challenging topic; such that increasing efficiency and improving the performance of relief actions would require special attention and precise logistics plans and management and complete coordination between related relief staff would seem necessary more than ever before.
Paying attention to the time in responding to the generated demand and delivering help and services required to suffer points in minimum time is of great importance in relief logistic.
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