From PAR model to complex disasters

Whilst the trend in death tolls has decreased over time, the more complex disasters can have a bigger impact over a longer period of time.

Disasters and emergencies now affect millions of people every year, triggered by environmental hazards and dynamic changes in complex political, social and economic contexts (DfID 2017). Humanitarian agencies operate in increasingly intense settings, where the magnitude and duration of the threats may be greater, the vulnerabilities of those affected extreme and the capacities of government agencies relatively low (Ashdown 2011).

Over recent decades humanitarian agencies have intervened in more situations and helped more people in need; there has been an expansion in the number, type and size of humanitarian organisations. An example of a humanitarian organisation is the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) according to there website they are:

‘part of the United Nations Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure a coherent response to emergencies. OCHA also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response effort.’

‘involving the complex interaction of interdependent infrastructures resulting in the unanticipated failure of multiple infrastructure systems. Key characteristics of infrastructure interdependencies are explored in relation to the case of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Understanding the nature of normal disasters and the tight coupling of infrastructure systems provides infrastructure managers with important lessons. These lessons involve the need for risk and vulnerability assessment; coordination, cooperation, and communication; and the need for flexible response to disasters.’

Your task

Think about any natural disasters that have happened recently or search online for a news article on a recent natural disaster.

Save the link to the online news article and share the link with your thinking about how the humanitarian organisations and governments responded to the disaster in the comments area.

Were there any further issues on the ground that would affect the local people?

Do remember to ‘like’ and respond to other learner comments in the discussion area.

References

_{Bennett, C., Foley, M. and Pantuliano, S., (2016) Time to let go: Remaking humanitarian action for the modern era. ODI, London.}

_{Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davies, I., Wisner, B. (1994) At Risk: Natural Hazards, People‘s Vulnerability & Disasters. London: Routledge}

_{The Department for International Development (2017) Annual Report and Accounts 2016 to 2017 [online] available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/625548/DFID-Annual-Report-and-Accounts-2016-17.pdf [3 May 2019]}

_{Government Office for Science (2012) The Use of Science in Humanitarian Emergencies and Disasters [green paper] London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills URN 12/848.[online] available from https://www.ukcdr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/12-848-use-of-science-in-humanitarian-emergencies-disasters-1.pdf [3 May 2019]}

_{Leavitt, W.M., Kiefer, J.J., (2006) ‘Infrastructure Interdependency and the Creation of a Normal Disaster: The Case of Hurricane Katrina and the City of New Orleans’. Public works management & policy, 10 [online] available from https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1087724X06289055 (4), pp.306-314 [3 May 2019]}

Further reading

_{Ashdown (2011) Humanitarian Emergency Response Review, Chaired by Lord Ashdown [online] available from http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Documents/publications1/HERR.pdf [3 May 2019]}

_{Thomas F. Patterson George R. Thompson, III David W. Denning Jay A. Fishman Susan Hadley Raoul Herbrecht Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis Kieren A. Marr Vicki A. Morrison M. Hong Nguyen Brahm H. Segal William J. Steinbach David A. Stevens Thomas J. Walsh John R. Wingard Jo-Anne H. Young John E. Bennett, (2016) Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Aspergillosis: 2016 Update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 63, Issue 4, 15 August 2016, Pages e1–e60, Published: 29 June 2016 [online] Available from https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciw326 Accessed on [3 May 2019]}