One of the first things disasters disrupt are the information channels, while “information is
critical to any response effort. […] The need for objective and reliable information is
underscored because disasters disrupt physical and social environments, may trigger
threats to health, often cause ecologic changes and population displacement leading to
overcrowding and situations in which sanitation and hygiene are compromised, and
disrupt normal public health programs.” (Novick, L. F., Morrow, C.B., & Mays, G. P.,
2008). There are several different types of information collected after the disaster. What
types of information are these? What are they used for and how are they collected?
References:
Novick, L. F., Morrow, C.B., & Mays, G. P. (2008). Public health administration:
Principles for population-based management (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Effective Disaster Response
Hello Wright,
I liked your post since it was concise and straight to the point. You manage to point out the first
critical step that the response team should take during times of disasters; the collection of
relevant information. The collection of information about the population affected by the disaster
is an essential yet primarily ignored step. The information is crucial since it forms the basis of
the response plan and reveals the plan’s scope. By having the relevant information, first
responders can develop an effective strategy to intervene in the situation and help the victims
(Ahmad et al., 2017). Without taking this step, the team will be inadequately prepared for the
task at hand, and it is likely the response will be botched. Emergency workers should follow the
best practices when collecting information to enable a suitable response. I believe that this
information expands the knowledge in your post.
EFFECTIVE DISASTER RESPONSE 2
References
Ahmad, K., Riegler, M., Pogorelov, K., Conci, N., Halvorsen, P., & De Natale, F. (2017, June).
Jord: a system for collecting information and monitoring natural disasters by linking
social media with satellite imagery. In Proceedings of the 15th International Workshop
on Content-Based Multimedia Indexing (pp. 1-6).