Question

. Identify remaining policy issues and challenges by reflecting the role of disaster policy? Use references

Answer 1

Ans. Natural events or hazards cannot be prevented, so we should have a disaster management plan. Policies should be viable and should not be long term at the very beginning. Short term policies consisting of executable strategies should be adopted. There should be policies at both local and national levels. Usually it is the national and state level management teams who work, in most of the countries, the local teams do not work efficiently. The policies should give attention for reinstating and conserving human life and the environment. The policies should undertake objectives to bring about reduction of risks of the events. The policy should take into account present and future preparedness in case of a disaster. It is crucial part of the existing policies to reach the affected site timely, hence it should also be incorporated in the management plan. In some cases, the food and aids that are given to the victims are not distributed evenly, stringent measures should be adopted in the policies to avoid such events. In some countries, amendment in strategies are not even incorporated in the policies to reduce the risk of a disaster. This should be looked upon and should be ensured that periodic monitoring of the proposed plans are carried out and also the amendments are implemented. The pre-existing technologies are usually used year after year and are not replaced with advanced technologies.

A disaster management plan is usually generic, with respect to the preparedness and recovery and rehabilitation. However, there are some part of the population which are special needs. They require additional attention and care. This leads to often miscommunication as most them fail to interact properly. The during rehabilitation, the special need population also need extra attention since these people require someone to take care of them. Their jobs are also restricted, and it is very difficult for the disaster management team to find the special needs population with the required job as they are unable to do any type of work. In case of an early warning prior to a hazard, often people are evacuated to safe places. It is quite a difficult task to convince people to leave their belongings and settle somewhere else. Proper guidelines for specific disaster management exists but is not extensive in nature. They mostly have separate to do list in case of specific disasters. However, most of the plans do not have provisions of development of the affected community after a hazard strikes.