Essay On Disaster, Emergency And Recovery

Difference between an emergency and a disaster

There is a fairly significant difference between emergency and disaster, although an emergency can feel like a disaster to the people involved. Disaster can be referred to as a calamitous event that occurs suddenly resulting in great loss, damage, or destruction. On the other hand, an emergency can be defined as unforeseen circumstances or the resulting state calling for an immediate action thus entails the urgent need for relief or assistance. A disaster has a likely effect on more people with more devastating effects compared to an emergency. An emergency have a possibility of turning into a disaster whereas a disaster is an emergency, noticed ahead of time. In addition, not all adverse effects of an emergency reach the level such as that of a disaster. Further, disaster is regional, widespread, or wider (Waugh, 2000).

How short term recovery differs from long term recovery

Recovery refers to the activities that continue beyond an emergency period for restoring lifelines. For instance, they include the provision of temporary shelter, stress debriefing for responders as well as victims, restoring power, small business loans, job assistance, and the debris clearance. The process is short of a community reconstructing, although it has a growing interest in developing resilient, disaster resistant, as well as sustainable communities (Waugh, 2000).
Short-term recovery refers to immediate action and mainly overlaps with a response. Further, it includes actions such as the provision of essential safety and public health services, restoration of interrupted utility as well as other essential services. It also entails reestablishing the transportation routes, as well as providing shelter and food and those displaced by the incident.
Long-term recovery is beyond the scope of the short-term recovery framework but may involve some of the actions although continuing for months or years, dependent on the severity, as well as the extent of the caused damage. For instance, it may entail a complete redevelopment of the damaged areas (DHS, 2008).

Factors important to consider when planning for short term and long term recovery

Planning for short-term, as well as long term, requires consideration of various factors. Short-term recovery planning requires considering factors such as the pre-disaster conditions that the recovery needs to pursue as well as the hazard vulnerability. On the other hand, long-term recovery entails considering factors such as availability of the local resources for sustaining the actions. It also requires considering the existing community goals and objectives as well as the relevant stakeholders who can be involved in the long run (Waugh, 2000).

Works Cited

DHS. National Response Framework. Washington. 2008. Web. 14 April 2015. http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-core.pdf
Waugh, W. Living with Hazards, Dealing with Disaster: An Introduction to Emergency Management. New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc, 2000.