Idea Transcript
Disaster Preparedness “Fighting the unpredictable”
Name:
D.M. de Kruif
ANR:
631969
Supervisor:
Drs. M.A. Overboom
Study Program:
Pre-Master Logistics and Operations Management
Assignment:
Bachelor Thesis Organization & Strategy, 2010
Number of words: 9062 (Core: 7424)
Disaster Preparedness 2010 Contents Management Summary ................................................................................................................................ 2 Chapter 1: Introduction. ............................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Problem indication. ............................................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Problem statement. ............................................................................................................................ 4 1.3 Research questions. ............................................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Relevance. ........................................................................................................................................... 4 1.5 Research design and data collection................................................................................................... 5 1.6 Overview of the chapters. ................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2: What are the major problems in disaster management? ........................................................... 6 2.1 Location ............................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Resources ............................................................................................................................................ 6 2.3 Knowledge........................................................................................................................................... 8 2.4 Processes............................................................................................................................................. 8 2.5 Cooperation ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 3: What preparations can be done in disaster preparedness and how do these influence the problems? ................................................................................................................................................... 12 3.1 Location............................................................................................................................................. 12 3.2 Resources .......................................................................................................................................... 14 3.3 Knowledge......................................................................................................................................... 15 3.4 Processes........................................................................................................................................... 16 3.5 Cooperation ...................................................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 4: Conclusions, Discussion and Recommendations ...................................................................... 21 4.1 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................... 21 4.2 Discussion.......................................................................................................................................... 24 4.3 Recommendations ............................................................................................................................ 24 References. ................................................................................................................................................. 25 Appendix A: Increasing number of Disasters. ............................................................................................. 30 Appendix B: Coordination gone wrong, the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami............................................. 31 Appendix C: Allocation of received funds for International Federation of Red Cross. ............................... 32
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Management Summary This paper is a literature study on the preparedness phase of disaster management. Disaster management is carried out by humanitarian organizations. The preparedness phase is a pre-disaster phase in which damage is tried to be decreased by ways of preparation. A good preparation makes response to disasters more efficient. The major challenges in disaster management are found and preparedness actions are analyzed that can influence these challenges. The uncertainties of location, severity, disaster type and time are big challenges for humanitarian organizations. Success factors are response speed and customer satisfaction, the strategic goal is to minimize loss of life and alleviate suffering. With risk assessment it can be pointed out what risky areas are and decrease the uncertainty of location. By prepositioning basic goods at these locations we can increase the response time. A big challenge for humanitarian organizations is to find enough of the right resources. It is difficult to find funds for preparedness because the disaster has not happened yet and funds are often disaster specific. A steady income of funds makes preparedness possible. Technology can increase storage life of goods, decreasing the uncertainty of time. By learning and training humanitarian personnel, knowledge will be gained which increases the quality of aid given. Public education and training increases the quality of aid as well because the local population will be the first at a disaster location to give first aid. There are many differences between the humanitarian sector and private business but they can still learn from each other. Knowledge of logistics should be important for humanitarian organizations. And good planning increases preparedness. When many actors are involved in a disaster, cooperation is vital for an efficient response. Coordination between the different humanitarian organizations and governments is important. Also mutual benefits can be achieved by partnerships with private businesses.
Keywords: disaster management, disaster preparedness.
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Chapter 1: Introduction. 1.1 Problem indication. Big disasters occur more frequently and touch increasing amounts of human lives (EM-DAT; UNISDR, 1994)(see appendix A). Population growth and density on the planet will only increase and disasters will continue to happen (Whybark, 2007). The current year (2010) was only two months old and already two major earthquakes hurt vast amounts of inhabitants in Haiti and Chile. In the face of such destruction many countries all over the world answer the call for aid. Financing of a huge humanitarian operation seems instantly possible. The world is united and shows its best face. The logistic challenges in instantly building up a humanitarian supply-chain won‟t diminish even if you have a strong financial backup (Oloruntoba & Grey, 2006). Disaster management will always be faced with its unpredictable nature and will always be judged on its speed (Davidson 2006). At some point the biggest speed gains won‟t be established anymore by money but by organization. And the biggest organizational gains might be made in being prepared (Van Wassenhove, 2005). Disasters are unpredictable only in their details, like location, source, type and severance. Because, unpredictable as they are, another disaster will happen in the future. Big international humanitarian organizations understand this and look into what can be done before a disaster happens (Helmer & Van Aalst, 2003). This paper will try to find the major problems in disaster management and will try to see if they can be reduced by preparation. Dynes (1982) divides disaster management in four phases (see Figure 1). Mitigation focuses on prevention of disasters, preparedness focuses on minimizing the damage, response focuses on providing assistance when a disaster has happened, and in the rehabilitation phase the damage will be restored. This paper will focus on the preparedness phase of disaster management.
Figure 1: The four phases of disaster management.
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 1.2 Problem statement. “How can preparedness influence the biggest challenges in disaster management?”
1.3 Research questions. “What are the major challenges in disaster management?” “What preparedness actions can be done in disaster management and how do these influence the challenges?”
1.4 Relevance. Disaster management is, as pointed out in the problem indication, a complex study riddled with challenges. The unpredictability factor makes it an ever-changing and hence very interesting topic. The speed factor makes it relentless for mistakes, definitely if we consider the strategic goal is not profit but human aid. For a long time humanitarian organizations have focused on the response phase of disaster management (Altay & Green, 2005). It is a hectic time in which everything has to happen at the same time and every delay comes at great and clear costs. Though for further improvement they are more and more realizing the importance of logistics and preparedness to make the response phase more efficient (Van Wassenhove 2005). In 1994 the United Nations, alongside humanitarian organizations, media, business and research sectors, agreed in Yokohama to put special attention in the prevention and preparedness of disasters (UNISDR, 1994). A quote from the official strategy: “Disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness are better than disaster response in achieving the objectives of the decade [Decade for natural disaster reduction]. Disaster response alone is not sufficient as it yields only temporary results at a very high cost.” The strategy puts focus on cooperation and the sharing of knowledge. In 2005 they came together again at the World Conference of Disaster Reduction (UNISDR, 2005) to evaluate the agreements of the previous decade. This happened just after the devastating tsunami of 2004. The UN realized there was still a lot of work to do and made new agreements and contingency plans for 2015 to try and increase the resilience of countries to disasters. One of the gaps and challenges remaining from the 1994 strategy was: “Preparedness for effective response and recovery.” (UNISDR, 2005, p8).
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 1.5 Research design and data collection. This research paper is a literature study. A plethora of research has been done on the topic of disaster management (Altay & Green, 2005). Many focused on different disasters and what could be learned from them (Farmer & Dara, 2009). More recent studies implement the economic supply-chain knowledge to humanitarian logistics for improvement (Oloruntoba & Grey, 2006). The first research question focuses on the challenges in disaster management. In the second question these challenges are linked with preparedness tactics and shown how these influence the challenges. Both chapters are divided into five problem areas of disaster management; location (uncertainty), resources, knowledge, processes (operations) and cooperation. Data collection is done via online databases from the University of Tilburg, Sciencedirect, Google Scholar and others. This will give access to a multitude of academic journals and research articles. Though not all important databases can be accessed or can only be partly accessed.
1.6 Overview of the chapters. The first chapter is an introduction into the research paper. It includes topics like problem indication, problem statement, research questions, research design, relevance and structure. In chapter two and three there is an answer on the major research questions. In the previous paragraph, research design, it is explained how the two questions are connected. Because of this the paragraphs complement each other and answer the problem statement. The fourth and last chapter finalizes the paper with a paragraph of conclusions, space for discussion and recommendations.
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Chapter 2: What are the major problems in disaster management? In this chapter the major problems of disaster management will be analyzed. The chapter is divided into five problem areas; location, resources, knowledge, processes and cooperation.
2.1 Location The first factor that probably comes to mind when attempting to find the major problems in disaster management is the uncertainty. What type of disaster is going to happen? Where will it happen? And how severe will it be? These are the questions that form disaster management. In multiple places in this paper they will turn up as the unknown variables that humanitarian organizations are trying to fight. These characteristics of disasters influence almost every activity in disaster preparedness. Location might have the biggest influence on disaster response, and preparedness should facilitate a good response. Big international humanitarian organizations are ready to deliver aid all over the planet. But how should they organize themselves if they want to reach any place on the planet as soon as possible. Time is the most important variable on which humanitarian organizations are judged (Davidson, 2006; Fiedrich et al., 2000). Demand for aid is immediate and the lead time should be zero (Beamon, 2004). Therefore it is imminent for them to be on location right after the disaster has struck to achieve their goal of minimizing loss of life and alleviating suffering (Beamon, 2004). After first aid a supply chain needs to be developed to deliver goods to the location (Oloruntoba & Grey, 2006). Good infrastructure on location might not be the case and any available infrastructure can be expected to be damaged (McMahon, 2007). Different resources will also be necessary for different locations. Sending warm clothing to tropical areas will be useless (Lai et al., 2009). Sometimes the wrong resources are send to disaster areas. This can be explained by a „better safe than sorry‟ attitude from humanitarian organizations. With an unknown demand and a short time limit on decision making this „push‟ organized supply chain will be paid in efficiency (Long & Wood, 1995; Whybark, 2007).
2.2 Resources To make humanitarian aid possible it is dependent on financial support. Governments, companies and individuals donate to the hundreds of humanitarian organizations (Van Wassenhove & Samii, 2002a; Whybark, 2007). Without financial aid these organizations have no right of existence. Besides putting money aside for national disasters the wealthier governments donate to the big international aid organizations like the International
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Federation of Red Cross (IFRC), World Food Program (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), and many others. The even more numerous smaller organizations rely strongly on the media to spread their name and go door-to-door for any donation. The importance of the media for humanitarian organizations should not be underestimated (Van Wassenhove, 2005). The more media attention for a disaster the more funds to give aid to that disaster (Auf der Heide, 1989). A quote from IFRC‟s former head of logistics Bernard Chomilier: “The funding capabilities of our national societies depend very much on the press coverage and reviews we manage to obtain in the immediate aftermath of a disaster” (Van Wassenhove & Samii, 2002a, p.3). This means that the rate of income fluctuates (Oloruntoba & Grey, 2006). The possible size of operations differs over time. A lot of income is linked to a specific disaster, this means that it cannot be spend on another emergency where the funds might be needed more (Thomas, 2006). Hence the most „popular‟ disasters get the most aid (Auf der Heide, 1989; Long & Wood, 1995). In time, media attention for a disaster will decrease and organizations will leave the country due to decreasing income. Because of this, post-disaster contingency aid suffers (Lai et al., 2009; Oloruntoba & Gray, 2006). For the same reasons it is difficult to find the funds to pay for training and preparedness before a disaster has happened (Auf der Heide, 1989). Another quote from Bernard Chomilier: “It is easy to find resources to respond, it is hard to find resources to be more ready to respond.” (Van Wassenhove, 2005, p.482). The employees of humanitarian aid organizations sometimes lack the expertise to conduct relief operations (Lai et al., 2009). Due to the high emotional and physical demands asked from them, burn-outs result in a high turnover of employees (Van Wassenhove, 2005). A different challenge for humanitarian aid is the supply of unsolicited goods to disaster areas (Auf der Heide, 2005; Van Wassenhove, 2005). Unsolicited goods are supplies or funds that are not based on demand. In the urge to give aid sometimes goods are send that are not needed and could even have an average effect on the disaster (Rawas, 2008). Unsolicited goods are hard to track and can waste precious capacity of the supply chain (Van Wassenhove, 2005; Logistics Cluster, 2010). The most visible resources that aid organizations supply are the goods for the disaster victims. Food, water, medicine, tents, blankets, tools and equipment, all need to be acquired and distributed. From the logistics point of view the uncertainty of demand, location, the supply availability and transportation capacity all make this a huge challenge (Lodree Jr. & Taskin, 2007; Sheu, 2007b; Whybark, 2007). The exact demand of goods is
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 unknown when a disaster strikes. And where will these goods come from? With uncertain demand inventory management and transport capacity form a big challenge (Beamon, 2004). When inventories of aid supplies are kept, expiry dates, technological obsolescence, corruption and security will complex matters (Whybark, 2007). What are the correct goods to send? In the south African food crises of 2002 genetically modified food was send, just to be stopped by African customs; if they would have accepted these goods they could have contaminated the local food economy and start an even more serious problem (Van Wassenhove, 2005).
2.3 Knowledge To plan there is a need for accurate knowledge, for example; it is often assumed that many emergency problems are formed by uncontrollable behavior of people and panic, research points out this is incorrect (Dynes, 1982; Auf der Heide, 1989). In his research Auf der Heide (2005) states: “Many of the problems experienced in planning and responding to disasters seem to be learned over and over again in disaster after disaster”. Learning from experience is one thing, but applying this knowledge the next time it is necessary seems a challenge for humanitarian organizations (Van Wassenhove & Samii, 2002a). Competition between organizations and high staff turnover may be the cause of this (Van Wassenhove, 2005; Weeks, 2007). Van Wassenhove also thinks that there is a high cross learning potential between humanitarian and private sectors. And Altay and Green (2005) note that humanitarians can learn from academic research. Education and training is a major pillar of disaster preparedness (Keeney, 2004; Lai et al., 2009; McMahon, 2007; Phillips et al., 2006; Tekeli-Yeşil, 2006; Van Wassenhove, 2005). This is because the local community at the scene of the disaster will be the first to carry out help and search and rescue (Auf der Heide, 2005; Lai et al., 2009; Thomas, 2006). “It is always better to use a local instead of a foreigner who only speaks basic English, let alone the local language” (Van Wassenhove, 2005, p. 482), Long and Wood (1995) agree. If they are well trained and educated, lives can be saved (Lai et al., 2009; Thomas, 2006). And in a survey of humanitarian aid workers the majority found that logistics training was vital for their work but only a small group had access to this kind of training (Thomas & Mizushima, 2005).
2.4 Processes There is no single form of humanitarian supply chain and they are often prone to instability (Oloruntoba & Grey, 2006). To quote them: “there is evidence of a frequent lack of
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 planning, resulting in inefficiencies, e.g. overuse of expensive and unsafe air charter, failure to pre-plan stocks, congestion caused by unplanned deliveries and a lack of interorganizational collaboration for information systems.” (p.116). Factors that influence the international humanitarian supply chain are its unpredictable, turbulent nature and its need for flexibility (Oloruntoba & Grey, 2006). Improper supply chain management can increase costs unnecessary. It is odd that, since disaster relief is about 80% logistics, this has long been a back-office function in humanitarian organizations and was not given proper attention until recently (Thomas, 2006; Van Wassenhove, 2005). Van Wassenhove explains this was kept into being by a vicious circle; the lack of logistic knowledge caused it not to be implemented in planning, because of this logistics struggled and requirements were not met, when management saw this they were tempted not to include logistics which did not help the level of logistic knowledge. Some of the differences between business and humanitarian supply chains, and how these make humanitarian chains more complicated, can be seen in table 1.
Table 1: Commercial supply chain versus Humanitarian relief chain (Beamon, 2004).
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 In a private sector supply chain performance is measured by the customers. Because of this companies feel the constant need to monitor and improve their supply chain. This is not the case in a humanitarian supply chain. Here the paying customer is in fact the donor at the start of the supply chain (Oloruntoba & Gray, 2006). This gives humanitarian organizations little incentive to use lessons learned from disasters to improve performance (Van Wassenhove, 2005). Sometimes disaster planning is based on the wrong assumptions of how people will act when faced with an emergency situation, often planning is based on what people have to do in such situations instead of what people naturally do (Auf der Heide, 2006; Dynes, 1982). For example; plans that make people find the proper medium to get information instead of figuring out how to reach most people. And if a written emergency plan is made people should not rest assured, an out-of-date emergency plan for example can create big problems and give a false sense of security (Dynes, 1982).
2.5 Cooperation The bigger the disaster the bigger the chaos. In the 2004 tsunami disaster several hundred humanitarian aid organizations came to the scene all willing to help. But how good their intentions were, often bad cooperation decreases the effectiveness of aid (Auf der Heide, 1989; Long & Wood, 1995; Van Wassenhove, 2005). Every organization differs by ideology, political agenda, religious beliefs, size, knowledge and specialization. And they all fight for the same media attention (Long & Wood, 1995; Van Wassenhove, 2005). All these differences make cooperation between organizations a very complex process (Long & Wood, 1995). In the end organizations fish in the same pool of donators and want to present themselves as positive as possible in the media (Lai et al., 2009; Van Wassenhove & Samii, 2002a). This can end up in a clash of priorities decreasing efficiency. It might be difficult to cooperate with your own competitors (Oloruntoba & Grey, 2006). Without cooperation people can receive too much aid and others none at all, search and rescue tasks will become unstructured, synergies will not be realized and information will not flow (Van Wassenhove, 2005; Lai et al., 2009; Keeney, 2004). Auf der Heide (1989) explains the necessity for coordination to make cooperation possible: “Disasters create the need for coordination among fire departments, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, ambulances, military units, utility crews and other organizations. This requires inter-agency communication networks utilizing compatible radio frequencies.”
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 It is always the local population that does the first search and rescue and first aid activities (Auf der Heide, 2005; Lai et al., 2009; Thomas, 2006). They are on location as the disaster happens while emergency aid organizations are still organizing. These people are therefore vital in achieving the goal of minimizing loss of life and alleviating suffering. International organizations sometimes have no idea about the local culture, customs or language which might cause problems (Lai et al., 2009). Cooperation with the local population is important but leaves a lot to be desired. The sharing of information with the local population is sometimes restricted and narrowed to „official messages‟ (Dynes, 1982). Cooperation with local governments is known to be complicated at times as well (Lai et al., 2009). Governments have the most power and authority in any emergency situation in their country (Thomas, 2006; UNISDR, 2009). If they have the resources and knowledge to bring enough aid there should not be a problem, but sometimes this is not the case. At times external help is necessary in the shape of humanitarian organizations. Governments opinion however is formed by politics. When, for example, the cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar in 2008, international aid organizations saw that the government was totally unable to bring enough aid to their citizens and offered help. The military junta in Myanmar disagreed however and did not allow access to their country. Only because of severe international pressure humanitarian organizations finally were permitted, but they had to work without government transparency or coordination (Lai et al., 2009). Some governments of underdeveloped countries lack in capacity to coordinate a big disaster. Natural leadership will lie with the national government while these might not be able to carry the task (Lai et al., 2009). Bureaucracy, corruption, lack of knowledge or capacity, or crippled by the disaster themselves governments can leave a coordination vacuum. (See Appendix B for a disaster which has many facets of cooperation problems).
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Chapter 3: What preparations can be done in disaster preparedness and how do these influence the problems? In this chapter, preparedness solutions will be analyzed to mitigate the problems from chapter two. The same problem areas will be used for the five paragraphs.
3.1 Location In the previous chapter it is established that the unpredictability factor has a vast impact on humanitarian logistics. Especially the location variable has a big impact on the organization of humanitarian aid. Disasters will never get totally predictable. It is the core characteristic of disaster management and it will stay to be so. What can be done is to decrease the unpredictability factor by simple facts. And it can be further decreased by using risk assessment. Consider the following three rules: 1. Disasters will happen. 2. The severity of a disaster is measured by the amount of people hurt. 3. Underdeveloped areas are less resilient to disasters. Disasters will continue to happen and aid will continue to be necessary (Altay & Green, 2005; UNISDR, 1994; Van Wassenhove, 2005). Statistics over the last hundred years even show a strong increase in both technological and natural disasters (EM-DAT, 2010)(see Appendix A). Climate changes increase the chance of extreme weather. The ever increasing human population asks an increasing toll on our planet and technology. And partly due to this increase more people are starting to live in higher risk areas on the planet (Whybark, 2007). These last two trends increase the chance on a more severe disaster because these are usually measured by the amount of people that get hurt (EM-DAT, 2010; CRED, 2010). But this also means that densely populated countries or areas have a bigger risk then low populated ones (Lai et al., 2009). Humanitarian organizations can benefit from this knowledge when for example pre-positioning resources. The third rule states that underdeveloped areas get hurt more than rich areas (Lai et al., 2009; McMahon, 2007; Phillips et al., 2006; UNISDR, 1994/2005). Wealthy countries generally have more resilience when it comes to disasters than poor countries. Strong infrastructure makes distribution easier and developed emergency services can help in coordination. The amount of resources available in underdeveloped countries are more scarce. In the case of a big disaster they rely on international aid. International humanitarian organizations should be prepared for this. The chance that the Red Cross or
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 the World Food Program has to start a big operation in Europe or the United States is not very likely. They can limit themselves by focusing on the lesser resilient continents like Africa and parts of Asia. This previous discussion is mainly important for internationally operating organizations. Location is a variable with a big impact due to the planet wide reach of these organizations. Besides this, a lot of disaster aid is done on a national level. Governments should be the first to try and help their citizens in case of an emergency. The previous three rules still stand, but have less impact on a national level. Governments should do a risk assessment of their own country (Keeney, 2004; Lodree Jr. & Taskin, 2007). What are the types of disasters that can happen, what are likely locations and what will be the impact. Take for instance the United States. Their west coast has experience with earthquakes and forest fires and the heartland knows that tornado‟s will continue to happen. With this knowledge action can be taken by building earthquake resilient houses at the west coast and tornado bunkers in the heartland. Besides natural disasters also manmade disasters should be monitored. Nuclear power plants are generally under strong supervision and for example the Chinese coalmining industry has a high level of risk. Risk assessment is vital according to most governments and organizations (UNISDR, 2009). The use of technology to try and predict disasters has increased in the last decade. Early warning systems are a way to reduce casualties (Keeney, 2004). The 2004 tsunami in Asia could have been predicted and lives could have been saved if a decent international early warning system was in place. With international help a network of sensors have now been spread over the Indian ocean linked to an early warning command center in Indonesia to make sure this will never happen again (GITEWS, 2010; Koltermann, 2009). Older has been the technology to measure seismic activity to predict earthquakes or weather patterns to predict tornados and hurricanes (Lodree Jr. & Taskin, 2007). The time between detection and impact is still very small which leaves short time for warning. But when disasters keep getting more severe it will increase the demand for early warning technology.
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 3.2 Resources Procuring financial resources will always be a challenge for humanitarian organizations. Organizations and governments will continue to be dependent from them when giving aid. And poor countries will have less resources to give aid (McMahon, 2007). As seen in chapter 2.2 the fluctuation of donations is a problem. It is hard to find funds for preparedness and training. This is easier for bigger organizations, even though no disaster has happened the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) will have incoming funds. These big organizations get a high percentage of their income from steady governmental donations and only a small part from private and corporate donors (see Appendix C). Even less limited are the United Nations established humanitarian aid organizations. These are funded mostly by the UN member states which reduces the fluctuation of cash flow. When organizations rely less on public donations they will rely less on media attention which will reduce complexities mentioned in chapter 2.2. To enable quick funding of disasters the UN established the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). This fund is sponsored by UN member states and makes sure that there are immediate funds when they are most necessary. Steady funds will facilitate improvements on preparedness because such funds are not linked to a specific disaster. A way to get aid goods faster to the scene of a disaster is to pre-position them (Oloruntoba & Grey, 2006; Rawls & Turnquist, 2009; Van Wassenhove 2005). With risk assessment disaster-prone areas can be found and goods and equipment can be pre-position at these locations. Research also gives models to increase efficiency on pre-positioning goods (Rawls & Turnquist, 2009). By making frame agreements with international and local suppliers the acquisition of goods can undergo more fluidly, always have alternative suppliers (Van Wassenhove & Samii, 2002a; Van Wassenhove, 2005). This has proven to shorten lead time (Thomas, 2004). The technological advancement of information systems made it possible for the UN to form an office to centralize disaster relief resource information, including data on inventories available for emergencies (Whybark, 2007; OCHA). Technology can also increase the efficiency of tracking expiry dates, time dependent goods and technological obsolescence. Products close to their expiry date should be used first. And to extend storage life the development of improved preservatives and packaging is used on food and medical supplies (Long & Wood, 1995). For example dried milk and dehydrated foods (Whybark, 2007). Academic research also tries to improve inventory management. Lodree Jr. and Taskin
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 (2007) for example made a mathematical model for companies to withstand a demand surge (on for example flashlights) formed by an incoming disaster.
3.3 Knowledge Besides some big differences there are also similarities between humanitarian and private sectors. There is a lot that these sectors can learn from one another (Altay & Green, 2005; Oloruntoba & Grey, 2006; Van Wassenhove, 2005). Due to the vast amount of research done on business logistics this is now a full grown healthy source of knowledge. Many tools and concepts have been designed to improve business logistics. This vast amount of knowledge can on certain areas be applied to humanitarian logistics. Oloruntoba and Gray (2006) apply private sector supply chain management knowledge to the humanitarian supply chain (see for example the next paragraph: “Processes”). Whybark (2007) introduces inventory management and Özdamar et al. (2004) transport management. There is a gap between humanitarian organizations technology and the private sectors technology, a room for improvement (Altay & Green, 2005). Besides this, humanitarian organizations should learn from experience. Disaster situations are hard to practice and the best lessons are learned from experience. This knowledge should be documented and taught to others (Dynes, 1982; Weeks, 2007). In 1997 the sphere project was started by humanitarian organizations alongside academics to try and improve the quality of aid given. They centralized their knowledge and wrote a handbook for humanitarian employees in a disaster area. The handbook is still being revised and is translated in multiple languages. The sphere project now also gives training to humanitarian employees (Sphere project; Lai et al., 2009). Paragraph 2.3 explained the importance of public education and training. The responsibility for public education largely lies with governments (Lai et al., 2009; Tekeli-Yeşil, 2006). Increasing public education will make communities more resilient to disasters and training of relief personnel will improve the quality of aid given (Lai et al., 2009; Thomas, 2006). Due to the lower resilience of poorer communities knowledge will be even more valuable to them (McMahon, 2007; Phillips et al., 2006; UNISDR, 1994/2005). Knowledge of a possible tsunami after an undersea earthquake can save lives. Basic skills as CPR will improve the first aid given on location and disaster education of health care workers will improve medical care (Keeney, 2004; Tekeli-Yeşil, 2006). Schools in Indonesia have started to give disaster preparedness lessons to avoid an emergency like the 2004 tsunami (Koltermann, 2009).
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 3.4 Processes Only recently international humanitarian organizations started to realize the importance of logistics to their processes. According to Van Wassenhove (2005) they are figuring out what the private sector realized some decades ago that logistics;
is crucial to the performance, effectiveness and speed of current and future operations and programs.
serves as a bridge between disaster preparedness and response, procurement and distribution, between headquarters and the field.
provides a rich source of data, since it is this department that handles the tracking of goods which could be used to analyze post-event effectiveness.
is the most expensive part of any relief operation and the part that can mean the difference between a successful or failed operation.
The IFRC started a big reorganization in the year 2000 to be able to react better on disasters and to facilitate preparedness planning (Van Wassenhove & Samii, 2002a). An important part of logistics is looking at the supply chain. To quote the research of Oloruntoba and Gray (2006): “International humanitarian supply chains are clearly unpredictable, turbulent, and requiring flexibility, and therefore insights are to be gained from assessing their potential as agile supply chains.” (p.117). Agile supply chains are all about flexibility and consumer responsiveness based on a highly technological process (Christopher, 2000). In their research, Oloruntoba and Grey (2006) visualize a hybrid lean and agile supply chain for humanitarian organizations (see Figure 2).
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Disaster Preparedness 2010
Figure 2: An agile supply chain for humanitarian aid. The shaded areas are where academic supply chain research can play an important role in concept development (Oloruntoba & Grey, 2006). They say a lean supply chain, up until the decoupling point, will form a continued flow and make sure that donor finances will be used in a efficient way, working cost-efficiently is very important in disaster preparedness (Auf der Heide, 1989). The decoupling point is the point upon which the market demand „pull‟ meets the upstream „push‟, the point upon which the real demand penetrates the chain (Christopher, 2000). An important aspect of an agile supply chain is to try and position the decoupling point as far downstream as possible as to reduce the effects of the unknown demand. One way of doing this is postponement, this means to postpone the commitment of inventory to a customer (Christopher, 2000). For humanitarian organizations this could mean to keep inventory of strategic goods (for example tents, blankets, medicine) that could be needed for any kind of disaster at strategic locations for quick distribution. Due to the shorter lead time, more accurate data and reliability of information about demand is received, and quicker response is possible. Good
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 cooperation with suppliers is important. With technology a better overview and control of the supply chain is possible which will make agility possible (Christopher, 2000). Trying to get resources near the disaster area is important to shorten lead times (Long & Wood, 1995). Ongoing demand assessment is a prerequisite for good resource management (Auf der Heide, 1989; Long & Wood, 1995). Distribution will continue in an agile way and form to real demand (Long & Wood, 1995). Goods should be linked to recipients and demand details will be formed by local input (Oloruntoba & Gray, 2006). The WFP, for example, may be responsible for all food aid logistics up to a warehouse point near an effected area and other humanitarian agencies or government can be responsible for final delivery (Oloruntoba & Gray, 2006). Good planning makes it possible to increase organization, efficiency and effectiveness of an aid operation (Keeney, 2004; Tekeli-Yeşil, 2006). There are however some challenges (Dynes, 1982). An important point is the segmentation of planning. Every disaster has its own emergency plan, be it tornado or flood. Dynes states that it is important to look at the attributes of disasters, instead of the nature, and similarities can be seen. For example hurricanes and tornadoes can both produce floods and earthquakes produce tsunamis and fires. The similarities make planning unnecessarily complex or even irrelevant. In his research Dynes suggests a couple of principles to remember when planning for disasters:
Planning is a process, rather than a product. A plan should be continuously reviewed and adapted with new knowledge.
Planning attempts to reduce the unknown in a problematic situation. This is the main purpose of planning. Plans will not prevent emergencies from happening.
Planning aims at evoking appropriate actions. Appropriateness of response is more important than the speed of response.
Planning should be based on what is likely to happen, not on the worst scenario. This will increase efficiency and give more clarity instead of complicated plans.
Planning must be based on knowledge. Don‟t base plans on what you assume will happen. Ample research proves this is unwise.
Planning should be based on what people will do in an emergency, rather than on trying to get people to behave according to plan. Remember who the plan is for.
Planning should focus on principles, not details. It is impossible to anticipate everything, plan the framework. Details can be ignored.
Planning is partly an educational activity. Spread the word, people should know of the plan. Don‟t keep it filed.
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Planning of emergencies should be based on the patterns of everyday routines. In emergencies habits will remain, redirect them instead of trying to change them. For example traditional social structures will maintain and can be utilized.
Planning should be predicated on sharing information widely to those involved, rather than by restricting information based on the fear it might be misused. Emergencies increase the need and demand for information, provide mechanisms for spreading information to the public. Use existing channels of communication.
Auf der Heide (1989) agrees with a lot of points when he states: “Disaster planning is an illusion unless: It is based on valid assumptions about human behavior, incorporates an inter-organizational perspective, is tied to resources and is known and accepted by the participants.” Many of these points can be found again in the outcomes of the 2009 forum on disaster risk management formed by people from humanitarian organizations, governments, private sector and academics (UNISDR, 2009). Ongoing academical research is designing different ways of making planning easier. Özdamar et al. (2004) formed a planning model for aid goods delivery, supply tracking and transportation mobilization. By entering data into this program it will give the most efficient vehicle routing. Rawls and Turnquist (2009) made a model on effectively pre-positioning humanitarian aid goods, location, capacity and distribution planning. Fiedrich et al. (2000) made a model to improve search and rescue decision making. And Sheu (2007a) made a model on aid distribution.
3.5 Cooperation In paragraph 2.5 it was established that cooperation is vital in a disaster with many actors. Humanitarian organizations, the government, military and locals all have to work together. In his research Van Wassenhove (2005) distinguishes three phases of coordination. In the first phase of a disaster time is critical and things have to happen fast. Coordination by command is then the most effective way according to Van Wassenhove. “There is no point in every NGO negotiating with the Uzbek Government to obtain visa and customs clearance to be able to bring people and goods into Afghanistan. In this case one organization should take the lead and clear things for all involved.” (Van Wassenhove, 2005, p. 483). An example for such an organization is the in 2002 formed United Nations Joint Logistics Centre (UNJLC; Van Wassenhove, 2005). This centre has taken on training and coordination tasks and is a central point of information. They, for example, consolidate cargo making transport
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 more efficient and map logistical problems like transport and fuel capacities in problem areas like Sudan. When all humanitarian organizations are up and running on the disaster location, Van Wassenhove states that they feel stronger and won‟t accept coordination by command anymore. A new form of coordination is necessary: coordination by consensus. Organizations should collectively solve problems that they all face. The UNJLC can still be of assistance with its superior knowledge. When the organizations are starting to leave the disaster location coordination will naturally happen by default. Ideas are swapped, help and advice is given out between organizations (Van Wassenhove, 2005). In their research Lai et al. (2009) show a critical look on recent disasters in Asia, how the governments in Asia reacted to them. 78,8% of the people killed by natural disasters between 2000 and 2006 lost their lives in Asia (EM-DAT; Lai et al., 2009). Asian governments are reluctant to let humanitarian organizations enter their countries and invoke sovereignty to keep them out (Lai et al., 2009). Lai et al. show the necessity for an organization that acts as an umbrella over the Asian humanitarian organizations to make coordination more efficient with the local governments. Such an organization should be carried by all Asian governments. Next to coordination between humanitarian organizations and with the government, partnerships between NGO‟s and businesses can form a fruitful cooperation (Van Wassenhove, 2005; Van Wassenhove et al., 2008). Businesses are known for donating in the response phase of a disaster, but even more useful would their help be in the preparedness phase (Thomas & Fritz, 2006). In his research Van Wassenhove has analyzed the partnership between TNT (a private logistic business) and the WFP (a big humanitarian organization). These two organizations managed to help each other and both reap benefits of the partnership. TNT got free publicity and raised its corporate social responsibility which raised its reputation and employee morale and motivation. And the WFP employees got free training by TNT which has much experience in logistics. Many more successful partnerships have formed and Van Wassenhove keeps trying to encourage companies to make this step (Van Wassenhove et al., 2008).
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Chapter 4: Conclusions, Discussion and Recommendations 4.1 Conclusions This paper is about the preparedness phase of disaster management. The phase in which preparations are made to decrease the damage done of any upcoming disaster. Actions taken in the preparedness phase can increase the efficiency of the response phase. Humanitarian organizations are increasingly aware of this and thus form a demand for knowledge on the subject. An inherent feature of disaster management is its unpredictable location. This forms a big challenge for humanitarian organizations because it threatens the success factor of timely response. This is an important factor that humanitarian organizations are judged on because a quick response is necessary to achieve their strategic goal; to minimize loss of life and alleviate suffering. To decrease the impact of the unpredictability of location a risk assessment can be done. With this, risky areas can be found. Densely populated areas have an increased risk because the severity of disasters is measured by the amount of people that are hurt and the focus of humanitarian organizations are people. Underdeveloped areas have an increased risk as well. These areas are less resilient to disasters due to underdeveloped infrastructure, emergency services and a lack of resources. With this knowledge of risky areas basic goods can be pre-positioned. With this the speed of response can be increased and the first immediate demand can be met. Technology as well is increasingly used in the form of early warning systems to decrease the impact of unpredictable location. Another big challenge for humanitarian organizations is to find the resources to respond to a disaster. The nature of funding gives big fluctuations of income and the uncertainty of time makes it uncertain when funds are needed. Donations increase when a disaster has happened due to media exposure and many funds are therefore connected to a specific disaster. This makes collecting funds for the preparedness phase difficult because a disaster has not happened yet. A stable income makes it easier to invest in the preparedness phase. Big humanitarian organizations like the IFRC or WFP have a bigger and more stable income (from for example UN governments) and have therefore more funds to invest in the preparedness phase.
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Technology can help in making resources more time resilient. By using the right packaging or preservatives, storage life can be increased. And computer systems make modern inventory management possible which increases efficiency and respond time. Increased knowledge will improve the efficiency of disaster response. There is a lot humanitarian organizations can learn from private businesses and academic research. On the level of logistics and organization private businesses are still well ahead of humanitarian organizations. There are big differences between the two sectors but after adjustments knowledge on inventory management and supply chain management can be implemented in humanitarian organizations. Knowledge attained by experience should not be lost but should be taught to others. A good example for this is the sphere project which publishes a handbook and gives training for humanitarian employees. Public education and training can directly influence the strategic goal of minimizing loss of life and alleviating suffering. Local people will always be the first on the scene of a disaster and are the ones that carry out first aid. Training will make their response more effective and knowledge can make communities more resilient to disasters. There are many logistical opportunities for humanitarian relief chains. But these face some challenges. The uncertainties of severity and type of disaster make demand hard to predict. And the success factors; timely response and customer satisfaction should be linked to the organizations income. The supply chain management of humanitarian relief chains is challenging because they should be lean to reduce costs and be efficient, but should also be agile because of the uncertainties in demand and need for flexibility. A way of realizing this is to postpone the decoupling point closer to the „customer‟ by ways of pre-positioning. Organize the first part of the chain in a lean way to cut costs and the part after the decoupling point in an agile way to add flexibility and counter uncertain demand. Planning is a vital part of the preparedness phase, good planning will increase efficiency in the response phase. In disasters usually many actors are involved which makes cooperation essential for an efficient response. When many humanitarian organizations are at work at a disaster area coordination between them can improve efficiency. There are different types of coordination necessary at different times of the disaster. At the start of a disaster coordination will go by command to increase speed. When organizations are settled coordination will go by consensus and at the build-down of activities coordination will go naturally by default. New
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 organizations have formed that unite the humanitarian organizations and which facilitate common tasks like coordination with governments and spreading information. Good coordination with the local government has proven to result in better disaster response. Mutual benefits can be gained from partnerships between humanitarian organizations and private businesses, even in the preparedness phase. Besides funding private businesses can be used as a source of knowledge. Private businesses on the other hand can improve their corporate social responsibility by working with humanitarian organizations.
Problem factors of disasters
Preparedness actions
Location
Risk assessment
Resources
Economies of Scale Technology
Knowledge
Learning Training Logistics Planning Coordination
Processes Cooperation
Table 2: An overview of preparedness actions for disaster management challenges.
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 4.2 Discussion This literature study has been written based on research papers. Research on the preparedness phase has been mostly done the previous decade, there is little research found before this time and the humanitarian sector is only slowly implementing current research. This may decrease the depth of the paper. The nature of this study also includes a bias on chosen challenges and solutions, others might apply different values to them or might find different conclusions. Some topics, like for example the humanitarian supply chain in chapter 3.4, are only based on one research paper, no research on the same topic has been found.
4.3 Recommendations The preparedness phase of disaster management is an up and coming subject that will become increasingly interesting over the coming years. More research will give more needed depth to the topic. This study has also tried to show in places, what the humanitarian sector has done with the academic research. While the sector is still behind, it is slowly following the academic research and it will be interesting to see what they will do with the current and upcoming research. The other three phases should not be forgotten in academic research, especially the rehabilitation phase is under represented in current research. The topic of disaster management is an interesting and diverse one, every disaster will have a different story and who knows what will happen in time.
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 References. Altay, N. and Green, W.G. (2005). OR/MS research in disaster operations management. European Journal of Operational Research, 175-1, p. 475-493. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2005.05.016 Auf der Heide, E. (1989). Disaster response, principles of preparation and coordination. St. Louis, MO: CV Mosby. Retreived (13 May 2010) from: http://www.sheltercentre.org/sites/default/files/CVMosby_DisasterResponsePrinciples.pdf Auf der Heide, E. (2006). The Importance of Evidence-based Disaster Planning. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 47-1, p. 34-49. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2005.05.009 Beamon, B.M. (2004). Humanitarian relief chains: Issues and Challenges. The 34th International Conference on Computers and Industrial Engineering. Retreived (13 May 2010) from: http://www0.umoncton.ca/cie/Conferences/34thconf/CIE34Proceedings/Checked%20Papers %20%5bruhi%2012th%20sept%5d/word%20format%20papers/REGISTRATION%20PAID% 20PAPERS%20FOR%20PROCEEDINGS/pdf/15%20BENITA%20BEAMON%20paper_Benita.pd f CERF, Central Emergency Response Fund. Retrieved from: http://ochaonline.un.org/cerf/CERFHome/tabid/1705/language/en-US/Default.aspx Christopher, M. (2000). The Agile Supply Chain, competing in volatile markets. Industrial Marketing Management, 29-1, p. 37-44. doi:10.1016/S0019-8501(99)00110-8 Davidson, A.L. (2006). Key performance indicators in humanitarian logistics. Thesis at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Boston. Dynes, R.R. (1982). Problems in emergency planning. International Journal of Energy, 8-9, p. 653-660. doi:10.1016/0360-5442(83)90035-X EM-DAT. The International Disaster Database. By Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters – CRED. Retrieved from: http://www.emdat.be/ Farmer, J.C. and Dara, S.I. (2009). Preparedness lessons from modern disasters and war. Critical Care Clinics, 25-1, p 47-65. doi:10.1016/j.ccc.2008.10.005
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Fiedrich, F., Gehbauer, F. and Rickers, U. (2000). Optimized resource allocation for emergency response after earthquake disasters. Safety Science, 1-3, p. 41-57. doi:10.1016/S0925-7535(00)00021-7 Helmer, M. and Van Aalst, M. (2003). Preparedness for Climate Change. Retrieved from: http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/5xrfzb?opendocument Keeney, G.B. (2004). Disaster preparedness: What do we do now? Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health, 49-4, p. 2-6. doi:10.1016/j.jmwh.2004.05.003 Koltermann, P. (2009). Five years after the Indian Ocean Tsunami – are we better prepared and more resilient to disasters? United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, 24 December 2009. Retreived (17 May 2010) from: http://www.preventionweb.net/files/12158_UNISDRPR242009.pdf Lai, A.Y., He, J.A., Tan, T.B. and Phua, K.H. (2009). A proposed ASEAN disaster response, training and logistics centre enhancing regional governance in disaster management. Journal of Transition studies review, 16-2, p. 299-315. doi:10.1007/s11300-009-0068-z Lodree Jr., E.J. and Taskin, S. (2007). Supply chain planning for hurricane response with wind speed information updates. Journal of Computers & Operations Research, 36-1, p.215. doi:10.1016/j.cor.2007.09.003 Logistics Cluster. Briefing paper – Unsolicited donations Haiti. Retrieved from: http://www.logcluster.org/ops/hti10a/briefing-unsolicited-donations Long, D.C. and Wood, D.F. (1995). The logistics of famine relief. Journal of Business Logistics, 16-1, p. 213-230. Leanning, J. (2008). Disaster and emergency planning. International Encyclopedia of Public Health, p204-215. doi:10.1016/B978-012373960-5.00075-7 McMahon, M.M. (2007). Disasters and Poverty. Journal for Disaster Management & Response, 5-4, p.95-97. doi:10.1016/j.dmr.2007.09.001 OCHA, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Retrieved (6 May 2010) from: http://ocha.unog.ch/cr/default.asp and http://ochaonline.un.org/ Oloruntoba, R. and Grey, R. (2006). Humanitarian aid: an agile supply chain? Journal of Supply Chain Management, 11-2, p. 115-120. doi:10.1108/13598540610652492
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Özdamar, L., Ekinci, E. and Küçükyazici, B. (2004). Emergency logistics planning in natural disasters. Annals of Operations Research, 129, p. 217-245. doi:10.1023/B:ANOR.0000030690.27939.39 Phillips, B.D., Metz, W.C. and Nieves, L.A. (2006). Disaster threat: Preparedness and potential response of the lowest income quartile. Global Environmental Change Part B: Environmental Hazards, 6-3, p. 123-133. doi:10.1016/j.hazards.2006.05.001 Rawas, S. (2008). Challenges of dealing with unsolicited donations during emergencies. Field Exchange, 34, p. 42. Retrieved from http://fex.ennonline.net/34/challenges.aspx Rawls, C.G. and Turnquist, M.A. (2009). Pre-positioning of emergency supplies for disaster response. Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 44-4, p. 521-534. doi:10.1016/j.trb.2009.08.003 Sheu, J.B. (2007a). An emergency logistics distribution approach for quick response to urgent relief demand in disasters. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 43-6, p. 687-709. doi:10.1016/j.tre.2006.04.004 Sheu, J.B. (2007b). Challenges of emergency logistics management. Transport Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 43-6, p. 655-659. doi:10.1016/j.tre.2007.01.001 Sphere project. Humanitarian charter and minimum standards in disaster response. Retreived from: http://www.sphereproject.org/ Tekeli-Yeşil, S. (2006). Public health and natural disasters: Disaster preparedness and response in health systems. Journal of Public Health, 14-5, p. 317-324. doi:10.1007/s10389-006-0043-7 Thomas, A. (2004). Leveraging private expertise for humanitarian supply chains. Migration Review, September 2004. Retreived (7 June 2010) from: http://www.fritzinstitute.org/PDFs/FMR18/FMR21fritz.pdf Thomas, A. and Mizushima, M. (2005). Logistics Training: necessity or luxury? Forced Migration Review, July 2005. Retrieved (7 June 2010) from: http://www.fritzinstitute.org/PDFs/FMR18/FMR22fritz.pdf
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Thomas, A (2006). The changing tide of aid provision. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. Retrieved (7 June 2010) from: http://www.fritzinstitute.org/PDFs/InTheNews/2006/GeorgetownJournal_0906.pdf Thomas, A. and Fritz, L. (2006). Disaster Relief, Inc. Harvard Business Review, November 2006. Retrieved (7 June 2010) from: http://www.fritzinstitute.org/PDFs/InTheNews/2006/HarvardBusinessRev_1106.pdf?type=F UNISDR (1994), United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. “Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World. Guidelines for natural disaster prevention, preparedness and mitigation.” World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction, Yokohama, Japan, 23-27 May 1994. Retrieved from: http://www.unisdr.org/eng/about_isdr/bdyokohama-strat-eng.htm UNISDR (2005), United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. “Report of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction.” World Conference on Disaster Reduction, Hyogo, Japan, 18-22 January 2005. Retrieved from: http://www.unisdr.org/wcdr/intergover/official-doc/L-docs/Final-report-conference.pdf UNISDR (2009), United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. “Stockholm Policy Forum on Climate Smart Disaster Risk Management, summary report.” 26 October, 2009, Stockholm. Retrieved (17 May 2010) from: http://www.unisdr.org/preventionweb/files/12010_StockholmPolicyForumsummaryfinal.pdf UNJLC, United Nations Joint Logistics Centre. Retreived ( 7 June 2010) from:
http://www.logcluster.org/ops/sudan/about-unjlcs-logistics-coordination-and-common-services Van Wassenhove, L.N., and Samii, R. (2002a). IFRC, Choreographer of Disaster Management, Preparing for tomorrow’s disasters. Fritz Institute, INSEAD. Retreived (17 May 2010) from: http://www.fritzinstitute.org/PDFs/Case-Studies/Hurricane%20Mitch.pdf Van Wassenhove, L.N., and Samii, R. (2002b). IFRC, Choreographer of Disaster Management, The Gujarat Earthquake. Fritz Institute, INSEAD. Retreived (17 May 2010) from: http://www.fritzinstitute.org/PDFs/Case-Studies/Gujarat%20Earthquake.pdf Van Wassenhove, L.N. (2005). Humanitarian aid logistics: supply chain management in high gear. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 57, p. 475-489. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602125
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Van Wassenhove, L.N., Tomasini, R.M. and Stapleton, O. (2008). Corporate Response to Humanitarian Disasters, The Mutual Benefits of Private-Humanitarian Cooperation. The Conference Board, INSEAD, Research report R-1415-08-WG. Retreived (17 May 2010) from: http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/centres/isic/humanitarian/documents/R-1415-08-WG.pdf Weeks, M.R. (2007). Organizing for disaster: Lessons from the military. Business Horizons, 50-6, p.479-489. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2007.07.003 Whybark, D.C. (2007). Issues in managing disaster relief inventories. International Journal of Production Economics, 108-2, p. 228-235. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2006.12.012
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Appendix A: Increasing number of Disasters.
Graph 1: Amount of technological disasters reported between 1900 – 2008 (EM-DAT).
Graph 2: Amount of natural disasters reported between 1900 – 2008 (EM-DAT).
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Appendix B: Coordination gone wrong, the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami.
Figure 3: Coordination gone wrong, the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami (Van Wassenhove, 2005). This disaster was unusual due to the sheer magnitude of it. Due to western tourists present and it happening during the Christmas time a lot of media attention followed. Because of this a lot of public awareness was raised which followed in mass-donations. Due to all the attention the Indonesian government felt compelled to open her borders so that many organizations could enter. Though there was still a strong military presence that controlled the operation and restricted movement. It is interesting to note that five months after the disaster about a third of the containers with relief items were still blocked at customs. (Van Wassenhove, 2005)
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Disaster Preparedness 2010 Appendix C: Allocation of received funds for International Federation of Red Cross. Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) Contributions and donors to the DREF 2005–2009
Total contributions: CHF 35,210,361 Figure 4: Allocation of received funds for International Federation of Red Cross. Retrieved (6 May 2010) from: http://www.ifrc.org/what/disasters/responding/drs/tools/dref/donors.asp
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