The Disaster Cycle

Oregon Natural Hazards Workgroup

the pro!ision of search and rescue( medical ser!ices( and access control as +ell as repairing and restoring communi cation and data systems during a crisis' coordinat ed response plan can help reduce casualties ( damage( and decrease reco!ery time' E,amples include emergenc y operation s plans and &usiness continuity plans and esta&lishe d net+orks of first responder s'

The Disaster Cycle

The emergency management profession and FEM ha!e used the concept of the disaster cycle "Figure #$#% to descri&e the phases of a disaster' lthough descri&ed as separate phases( each phase is tied to the others' )t is helpful to think of the disaster cycle as a simple e*uation' E!ery risk or !ulnera&ility +e mitigate today reduces our o!erall e,posure +here&y decreasing the pressure on the response side of the disaster cycle and lo+ering our reco!ery costs from future e!ents' This section defines the four phases and descri&es plans and acti!ities associated +ith them' The four phases( -esponse( -eco!ery( .reparedness( and Mitigation can &e descri&ed as follo+s/

Figure 1-1: The Disaster Cycle

Re sp on se
-esp onse &egi ns as soon as a disas ter Recovery e!en t -eco!ery operations pro!ide for &asic needs and occu restore the community' There are t+o components rs' in the reco!ery phase' During the first phase( -esp infrastructure is e,amined( and repairs are onse conducted to restore +ater( po+er( communication is and other utilities' The second phase includes

returning to normal functions and addressing future least 01 hours post$disaster' disasters' The process of reco!ery can take months or possi&ility years to accomplish depending upon the Mitigation or Risk Reduction e!ent' n e,ample +ould &e the de!elopment of a post$ Mitigation is the act of reducing or eliminating disaster reco!ery plan' future loss of life and2or property( and2or in3uries resulting from hazards through short and long$term Preparedness acti!ities' Mitigation strategies may range in scope and size4 ho+e!er( no matter the size( effecti!e .reparedness refers to acti!ities( programs( and mitigation acti!ities ha!e the potential to reduce systems de!eloped in ad!ance of a disaster designed to the !ulnera&ility and2or e,posure to risk and &uild and enhance capa&ilities at an indi!idual( impact of disasters' E,ample mitigation acti!ities &usiness( community( state and federal le!el to support for flooding include ac*uiring( ele!ating( or the response to and reco!ery from disasters' E,ample relocating structures4 for seismic include &uilding strategies might include de!eloping a+areness and code( retrofitting &uildings or infrastructure and outreach campaigns and training targeted to non$structurally retrofitting la&s and offices4 and indi!iduals and &usinesses on personal and for +ind or +inter storms include under grounding professional responsi&ility to &e self sufficient for at po+er lines and tree replacement programs' Andre LeDuc January 20, 2006

The Disaster Cycle

Oregon Natural Hazards Workgroup

p l a n i s d e s i g n e d t o a s s i s t a c o m m u n i t y i n r e d u c i n g i t s r i s k t

Emergency Management Plans

To effecti!ely reduce risk( all phases of the disaster cycle need to &e carefully e!aluated( and plans need to &e de!eloped to pro!ide guidance for each of the phases' Crucial plans include/ "#% pre$disaster mitigation plan4 "1% emergency operations plan4 "5% comprehensi!e &usiness continuity plan4 and "6% post$disaster reco!ery plan' s the 7ni!ersity of Oregon enhances its emergency management system( it +ill need to de!elop this entire compilation of plans and a management strategy to make sure they stay current and integrated o!er time'

Figure 1-2: The Disaster Cycle with Corresponding Plans

Pr eDi sas ter Mi tig ati on Pl an

Thi s type of

o natu ral haz ards &y iden tifyi ng reso urce s( info rma tion ( and strat egie s for risk red ucti on' Thi s plan pro !ide sa fou ndat ion to red uce risk &y outl inin g met hod s to miti gate risk thro ugh out the com mu nity '

n c y O p e r a t i o n s P l a n ( E O P )
T h e E O . i s d e s i g n e d t o p r o ! i d

E m er ge

ea ma na ge me nt too l to fac ilit ate ti me ly( eff ect i!e ( eff ici ent ( an d co or din ate d em erg en cy res po ns e to dis ast er sit uat ion s' Th e E O. is cri tic al for the fir st fe + ho urs an

d d a y s a f t e r a d i s a s t e r e ! e n t ' 8 i n e s o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n ( c r i t i c a l

inf ras tru ctu re( an d me an s of ide nti fyi ng em erg en cy pr oc ed ure s are all out lin ed in thi s pla n'

a frame+ork for prioritizing and restoring these functions after a disaster' The &usiness continuity plan outlines ho+ the go!ernment or &usiness +ill maintain critical operation during and e!ent and restore &usiness functions after the disaster e!ent'

Post Disaster Recovery Plan

post disaster reco!ery plan paired +ith a mitigation plan can help to &reak the cycle of increasing disaster costs &y planning for stronger( smarter rede!elopment process &efore the disaster occurs' This plan pro!ides guidance for post$ disaster rede!elopment policies and procedures &efore the e!ent so that sustaina&le rede!elopment actions can &e taken *uickly'

Comprehensive Business Continuity Plan

&usiness continuity plan is designed to identify !ital &usiness functions and systems( and present

)n a perfect +orld the four phases +ould &e gi!en e*ual attention( integrated( and updated as the community or the risks change' The reality is that +ith limited funding and competing issues most communities ha!e de!eloped different components "e'g' emergency operations plan and procedures and a mitigation plan% rather than a complete suite of plans( strategies( or a system' systems approach to risk reduction could offer communities a coordinated support net+ork aimed at &uilding local capacity to address risk reduction in a holistic and sustaina&le fashion' This type of colla&orati!e structure +ould generate mitigation acti!ity that could not &e as effecti!ely accomplished &y any single group or entity +orking independently' The systems approach to risk reduction is &ased upon &uilding local capacity &y pro!iding communities +ith deli!ery systems for resources( training( and technical support'

Andre LeDuc

January 20, 2006