Disaster Response and Recovery. David A. McEntire

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СКАЧАТЬ such as risk managers, try to limit legal liabilities and file insurance claims. The goal is to minimize any potential for loss or lawsuits, or to help the business rebound as soon as possible. In this sense, business continuity planners, disaster recovery specialists and risk managers perform various emergency management roles for the private sector. Although the goals are slightly different than public sector emergency managers, these individuals desire to maintain operations or resume business functions as soon as possible.

      2.2.2 Transportation

Another role of business is transportation and this sector has a unique relation to disasters (see Chapter 10). As mentioned in Chapter 1, emergencies could result from a variety of causes and impact different modes of transportation. When transportation accidents occur, employees from the affected company may be sent to the area to assist passengers and provide information to victims’ families. Employees of transportation companies will also have to answer questions from the media, clean up wreckage and prevent or settle lawsuits. At times, transportation accidents may be accompanied with the emission of hazardous materials (e.g., semi‐trucks and trains). If a road or rail accident involves hazardous materials, this will require remediation efforts to clean up the environment according to DOT or EPA regulations. Specialized employees from the private sector are needed to follow such guidelines to prevent the company from being fined. Firms like Cura Emergency Services and Hulcher Services Inc. may be contracted to clean up accidents, remove contaminated soil, complete required state and federal paperwork, or repair railways. Companies will also assist in emergency management functions in other ways. For instance, they may evacuate individuals before or after disasters. The private sector operates or contracts out taxis, shuttle vans, busses, trains, boats, and airplanes. Businesses in the transportation sector can all be used to move people to safer areas. Transportation companies also perform vital services related to moving goods and personnel to the scene of a disaster.

      2.2.3 Sheltering and Housing

      Businesses also shelter individuals who evacuate from hazards such as hurricanes (see Chapter 5). For example, hotels provide shelter for those who leave the coast when hurricanes approach. These accommodations could host hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people moving inland to higher and safer ground. But, sheltering and housing is used in smaller events also. After the March 2020 earthquake that affected the Salt Lake Valley in Utah, local governments and the American Red Cross contracted with hotels so disaster victims would have a place to stay. This approach helped to isolate individuals and families, and thereby minimize the spread of Covid‐19 in communal shelters. Hotels may also house emergency workers when they arrive from outside jurisdictions to assist the affected community. This is important since disasters require external help from first responders, mutual aid partners and hundreds of people who perform recovery functions. The private sector also provides accommodations for people who lose public housing or residences in disasters and require sheltering for the intermediate or long term. This is especially important when disasters create serious housing shortages and when recovery is expected to be protracted. Manufacturers may produce and supply tents or mobile homes for temporary or semi‐permanent accommodations. Extended stay motels and apartment complexes may also help fill the gap before tenants or owners may move back into their repaired homes or reconstructed facilities.

      2.2.4 Emergency and Long‐Term Medical Care

      Businesses will also fulfill other roles during response and recovery operations. For instance, providing emergency medical care is one of the first things the private sector will do after a disaster (see Chapter 6). As mentioned earlier, emergency medical technicians from both the public and private sectors will be dispatched to the scene. These EMTs and paramedics will assist those injured in the accident or disaster by providing basic first aid and other necessary medical procedures. This may include applying bandages to stop bleeding, treating shock and stabilizing broken bones. Their post‐disaster activities could also include giving intravenous fluids and medicines. After or while immediate needs are being met, these first responders will transport the individual to the hospital by ambulance or helicopter. When several victims are involved in an event, many paramedics and transportation units will arrive. Field hospitals may be set up to care for anticipated mass casualties. At the hospital, the injured will receive more advanced assessments and treatments. This may include X‐rays, surgery and care for burns. The hospital will continue to provide medical services and rehabilitation until the victim has recovered. If a patient passes away, the private sector will become involved in mortuary services such as body cremation or preparation of the deceased for burial and memorial services.

      2.2.5 Media Reporting

      The private sector informs the public about hazards and disasters and shares urgent information with the pubic as required (see Chapter 5 and Chapter 7). For example, it is the meteorologists and news anchors from radio and television stations that convey weather warnings from the NWS and relay information from the Emergency Alert System. When a disaster occurs, radio, TV, or other media outlets also report damages, deaths and injuries. The media shares information about government response and recovery efforts and tells the public where to go for shelter and other types of assistance. The media can be an important asset to you as an emergency manager (see Chapters 5 and 7). However, you will have to work closely with media personnel to ensure your message is understood and relayed correctly.

      2.2.6 Volunteers and Donations

      Companies support disaster response and recovery activities in a number of other ways (Bin and Edwards 2009; Fernando 2007). Businesses send volunteers and donations to those in need. This may include cooks and waiters from restaurants to distribute food. It may include construction personnel to tarp damaged roofs and make temporary repairs. Heavy equipment operators may likewise be dispatched to assist with debris removal. Companies also give supplies to communities and individuals in need. For example, some beverage businesses deliver bottled water to hard hit areas. The private sector may also give or loan cell phones, flashlights, work boots, hard hats, gloves, generators, computers, vehicles, or anything else that is needed to help first responders and emergency management officials fulfill their responsibilities. For these reasons, the private sector is often a useful partner in disasters. They have impressive resources and unique logistical capabilities. As an example, Walmart was a major participant in the response to Hurricane Katrina. It could mobilize resources that the federal government did not possess or, in some cases, do so in a more time‐sensitive manner. Emergency managers should keep the private sector in mind if they require volunteers and donations in the aftermath of disasters (see Chapter 7).

      2.2.7 Insurance Provision and Claim Settlement

Because disasters result in the loss of life and property, insurance companies will ensure teams of adjusters are present in the affected areas to settle claims (Kunreuther and Roth 1998) (Figure 2‐6). Local insurance personnel will begin the claims process immediately. And, in the days and weeks that follow, other personnel will work remotely or arrive to support the particular disaster operation in question. The services of insurance agencies are needed for several СКАЧАТЬ