Overview of the Main Four Phases of Disaster Management

Disaster management is a process of effectively preparing for and responding to disasters. It involves strategically organizing resources to lessen the harm that disasters cause. The National Governors Association designed a phase of disaster model to help emergency managers prepare for and respond to a disaster, also known as the life cycle of comprehensive emergency management. The four phases of disaster include mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. The model helps frame issues related to disaster preparedness as well as economic and business recovery after a disaster. Each phase has particular needs, requires distinct tools, strategies, and resources and faces different challenges. However, the United Nations is involved in these phases as its aim is to help through the humanitarian aid.

The first phase is mitigation which are pre-disaster mitigation efforts. Mitigation involves steps to minimize vulnerability to disaster impacts such as injuries and loss of life and property. This might contain changes in local building codes to fortify buildings, strengthening of public infrastructure and other efforts to make the community more resilient to a catastrophic event. During the pre-disaster phase there is strong cooperation between international locations and UN agencies in the framework of the International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (ISDR).

The second phase is preparedness which focuses on understanding how a disaster might impact the community and how education, outreach and training can build capacity to respond to and recover from a disaster. The catastrophe preparedness activities to do guide provide more information on how to better prepare an organization and the enterprise community for a disaster. Within this framework, preparedness activities would usually encompass contingency planning, hazard analysis, capability and vulnerability assessment, mapping of hazards &threats, the development of early warning systems, contingency stockpiling and logistics facilitations arrangements with host governments in disaster-prone countries. For example, The Resident andor Humanitarian Coordinator has the role of leading and coordinating preparedness activities aimed at improving the capacity of the UN inter-agency country teams to be able to respond better to emergencies. This is done with the overall support of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as well as the sectoral expertise of specific agencies and partners, in particular the Red Cross Movement and NGOs.

The third phase response which addresses immediate threats presented by the disaster, including saving lives, meeting humanitarian needs, damage assessment and to start of resource distribution. The immediate disaster response is characterized through the use of a preliminary emergency alleviation part generally all via the first ten days following the incidence of a stunning catastrophe and reply to their most important wishes for refuge water, food and scientific care. Disaster response will take place at field, regional and headquarter levels and will be based on the capacities and requirements of the government, local authorities and civil society in the disaster-affected country or region. In the case of a need for disaster response, the Resident andor Humanitarian Coordinator will set up or convene the Humanitarian Country Team, composed of UN agencies, NGOs, the Red CrossRed Crescent Movement, and other relevant humanitarian actors. This team functions as the strategic body leading the international humanitarian response. At headquarter level, Emergency Relief Coordinator, is responsible for coordinating the frequent response of the global humanitarian community. As response size progresses core of interest, shifts from dealing with immediate emergency problems to conducting repairs, finishing the cleanup process and so forth.

Lastly, the recovery is the fourth phase of disaster and the restoration of all aspects of the disaster’s impact on a community and the return of the return of the local economy to some sense of normalcy. The recovery stage can be divided into 2 intervals; the rapid time period and the prolonged period. The rapid time phase lasts from six months to one year and entails delivering on spot choices to agencies. The prolonged phase fluctuate up to decades, requires thoughtful strategic planning and action to address more serious or permanent impacts of a disaster. Within the UN system, the Resident andor Humanitarian Coordinator has the lead responsibility for coordination the early recovery efforts of international organizations in cooperation with national actors in strategic planning and in forging inter-cluster linkages on early recovery-related issues.