Disaster Preparednessby Bwalya Bwalya | 26-09-2019 19:15 |
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The number of disasters over the world is increasing year by year. These disasters include natural calamities as well as manmade conflicts like war, terrorist attack, chemical abuse etc. As per the Red Cross report over the last decade an average of 242 million people per year were killed and affected by disasters and conflicts. Natural catastrophes reportedly cost an estimated US$ 78.7 billion per annum (2000 prices). The costs of disasters are also increasing year by year. Hence it has become essential that the disaster /risk management skills are imparted to public in general and to the younger generation all over the world. Main Body. Disaster preparedness refers to measures taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of disasters. That is, to predict and where possible prevent them, mitigate their impact on vulnerable populations, and respond to and effectively cope with their consequences. Disaster preparedness is best viewed from a broad perspective and is more appropriately conceived of as a goal, rather than as a specialised programme or stage that immediately precedes disaster response. Disaster preparedness is a continuous and integrated process resulting from a wide range of activities and resources rather than from a distinct sectoral activity by itself. It requires the contributions of many different areas ranging from training and logistics, to health care to institutional development. (Russell et al. 1995) The key to reducing loss of life, personal injuries, and damage from natural disasters is widespread public awareness and education. People must be made aware of what natural hazards they are likely to face in their own communities. They should know in advance what specific preparations to make before an event, what to do during a hurricane, earthquake, flood, fire, or other likely event, and what actions to take in its aftermath. (Heller et al. 2005). Preparedness actions are influenced by a broad range of factors. Risk perception is strongly associated with disaster preparedness because individuals must perceive a risk to be motivated to initiate preparedness actions (Sattler et al. 2000). An individual¡¯s previous experience with a hazardous event can heighten perception of risk and promote preparedness actions. Other factors that influence preparedness behaviours vary considerably with socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Individuals of different social groups receive and evaluate risk information differently and have unequal resources to carry out preparedness measures. For instance, there is evidence that women and men differ in the types of preparedness activities they take. Although women are more likely to prepare their families for disaster than men, they are less represented in formal emergency planning organizations (Fothergill,1996). Preparedness increases with age, but the very old are less likely to engage in preparation. In addition to education, socioeconomic factors including income, home ownership, and length of residence in the same location are also positively associated with disaster preparedness (Lindell and Perry 2000). Although many of the factors associated with disaster preparedness, such as age, sex, and race are ascribed characteristics that are determined by nature, characteristics such as income and education or skills and knowledge are qualities that are dependent on individual initiative and can be achieved over the life course. Because income and education are positively associated with disaster preparedness improving a person¡¯s socioeconomic level could directly or indirectly increase preparedness activities. We argue that education, skills and knowledge in particular is a key tool to promote disaster preparedness because highly educated and skilled individuals have better economic resources to undertake preparedness actions, and because education may influence cognitive elements and shape how individuals perceive and assess risks, and how they process risk-minimizing information (Menard et al. 2011). Because preparedness action is closely related to how individuals perceive and act on risk information, educated individuals or people with skills and knowledge might have more awareness of risks because they are likely to have greater access to information sources and be better able to evaluate the risk information. There is also evidence that education or individuals with skills and knowledge increases the acquisition of general knowledge that could influence values, priorities, capacity to plan for the future, and ability to appropriately allocate available resources. The knowledge and competence gained through education thus could be useful when a disaster strikes. (Burchi 2010). Empirical evidence on the relationship between personnel with training to acquire skills and knowledge and preparedness behaviours, however, has not been adequately established. Although some studies find that with training to acquire skills and knowledge enhances disaster preparedness (Edwards, 1993). Generally, education is treated as a control variable and emphasis is not put on understanding how education may influence preparedness behaviours. An exception is the recent study by Menard et al. (2011) that explicitly focuses on establishing the relationship between having a skills and knowledge and disaster preparedness. The study reported that individuals with skills and knowledge are more likely to have an emergency plan and know where to get additional information. Going to college in the U.S. not only increases overall education, but exposes individuals to university emergency systems. Overall higher education and direct experience with an existing emergency system may influence how individuals process risk-minimizing information. Although Menard¡¯s study provides evidence on the influence of skills and knowledge on disaster preparedness, in the absence of multivariate analysis, it fails to consider confounding factors that can influence both education and preparedness. Apart from formal schooling, there is evidence that disaster education interventions can be influential in raising awareness and knowledge of disasters, which in turn can enhance disaster preparedness actions. The link between formal schooling and disaster education interventions has been recognized and disaster-related education has been promoted by some international agencies as a key approach to build disaster resilient societies. Nevertheless, there are few empirical studies that consider the interplay between formal education and disaster education in shaping preparedness behaviours. (UNISDR, 2007). Disaster education is essential in the training of the government and private sector professionals, emergency management personnel, and emergency service providers who have the major responsibility for mitigation and emergency response. Professional continuing education programs on mitigating the effects of natural disasters should be made widely available through colleges, universities, and professional associations. Development of advanced materials for use in curricula, workshops, conferences, and similar activities should be encouraged. Continuing education requirements should be built into the certification, licensing, and evaluation of professionals in the field. Courses in hazard-resistant land-use, design, and structural techniques should be included in engineering, architecture, and construction curricula. Special attention should be given to planning for reconstruction and other elements of community recovery. Schools of medicine, nursing, and public health should offer courses on disaster preparedness and response as they relate to individual and community health. (Burchi 2010). CONCLUSION Education, skills and knowledge, measured at the individual, household, and village levels, has a significant relationship with disaster preparedness. Formal education may enhance cognitive ability, information processing, and learning skills so individuals with higher education respond better in hard times, such as when the disaster strikes. Indeed, in the absence of past disaster experience, we find that households with highly educated members or members with skills and knowledge are better prepared for the disasters. We show that disaster-related education can enhance personal preparedness, which is crucial in mitigating the disaster risks. However, the effectiveness of such education might be limited only to a subgroup of the population, such as highly educated individuals. Thus, policies that ensure universal access to formal education at least at the secondary level can be beneficial in reducing vulnerability and mitigating disaster impacts. |
