KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF A DISASTER RESILIENT COMMUNITY There are many definitions related to community resilience in disaster. Chandra et al. (2014) define community resilience as : “Community resilience entails the ongoing and developing capacity of the community to account for its vulnerabilities and develop capabilities that aid that community in (1) preventing, withstanding, and mitigating the stress of a health incident; (2) recovering in a way that restores the community to a state of self-sufficiency and at least the same level of health and social functioning after a health incident; and (3) using knowledge from a past response to strengthen the community’s ability to withstand the next health incident.” While Cooke et al. (2011) and Kobau et al. (2011) define community resilience as “the process of communities adapting positively to adversity or risk”. Others are also trying to define community resilience by defining it as just resilience (Thornley, Ball, Signal, Aho, & Rawson, 2015). Twigg (2009) defines community resilience as a resilience in a “community-focused scale”. He defines community resilience as well as resilience as …show more content…
High manegement of the government, availability of fund and resource, and good condition of community connectedness without the availability of a critical and strong infrastructure, could make the effort all ineffective. Since infrastructured is become main factor that can reduce the impact of a disaster, especially in the response and recovery phase. In the incidence of Victorian bush fire 2009, the problem of mobilization of the patient is also related with the condition of the infrastructure (Spencer, 2012). The disaster affected in Iran in 2003 that cause more than 30.000 people were killed and another 30.000 people injured and destroy 85% of the city building is also caused by inadequate infrastructure (ISDR,
When a disaster occurs the federal, state, and local governments contact the military for help and support due to the their advantages attached to military operations and response which could benefit in them in manpower with specific qualifications, skills and expertise, strategic and rapid mobilization, updated technology and a variety of equipment (helicopters, aircraft, earth-moving machinery, respirators, medical supplies, power and lighting equipment, under-water capability, etc.) that most emergency organizations are unable to acquire on a moment notice (Kapucu, 2011). Besides, the military’s bureaucratic structure with hierarchical rules in place are effective in command, coordination, and control of manpower, authority, and regulations, is beneficial in providing effective response actions during the time of emergency (Anderson 1970; Schrader 1993; Sylves 2008; US House of Representatives 2006) (Kapucu, 2011). This advantage cut time in half because the structure is already set up without questioning who is doing what or who is in charge. Additionally, the military supports in sheltering the homeless, the construction of temporary housing and restoration of minimal critical infrastructure (water, electric, sanitation, communication infrastructure, etc.), (Miskel 2006; Schrader 1993), (Kapucu, 2011).
To strengthen resilience, we need to exercise it like a muscle. But to what extent should we exercise resilience and what happens to human emotional wellbeing when the fatigued muscle is overworked? In Anne Petry’s novel, The Street, and Joan Didian’s essay, “Los Angeles Notebook”, the authors both use literary devices to show how adversity can affect people; however, Petry uses imagery of debris, diction that evokes a sense of frustration, and personification that shows the resilience of humans in times of intense, short-term adversity, while Didian uses Imagery that incites an ominous mood, Pathetic fallacy, and syntax that shows how drastically repeated, prolonged adversity can affect people. Petry shows, through the use of imagery, that garbage and debris can symbolize the hardship that each person encounters.
Garnett, Jeffrey D., and Melinda Moore. 2010. "Enhancing Disaster Recovery: Lessons from Exemplary International Disaster Management Practices." Journal Of Homeland Security & Emergency Management 7, no. 1: 1-20. International Security & Counter Terrorism Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed October 23, 2015). American Red Cross.
Natural disasters like earthquakes or hurricanes sometimes cause extreme environments to change, in spite of the fact that most extreme environments have always been this way. In addition to the aforementioned extreme environments, poverty and natural disturbances, can also qualify as extreme environments. Extreme conditions are especially deadly and leave residents vulnerable to the derogatory effects of residing in them. These ideas are very prevalent in the article “In their Own Words: Resilience among Haitian Survivors of the 2010 Earthquake” as they experienced trauma from the earthquake that occurred in 2010. In the article “In their own words: Resilience among Haitian Survivors of the 2010 Earthquake '' by Guitele J. Rahill et al.
Natural disasters are unfortunate events that cause damage to the surrounding environment and its inhabitants. These events can be disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes. In the article, “In Their Own Words: Resilience among Haitian Survivors of the 2010 Earthquake”, it was stated that resilience after these natural disasters is “...‘acceptance of conditions,’ as solidarity demonstrated by ‘Haitians helping Haitians’” (581). To overcome the disasters, the inhabitants of the affected area must connect as a community. It is imperative for the survival of the affected people that this is done because the connections help the people to push through the aftermath of the disaster.
Many people have different adjectives and phrases to answer the question “what is resilience” but each answer is the same. People know what it means to be resilient, but there are not many resilient people in the world. Not many people could get beaten, verbally abused, and come back against all the odds. To be resilient people need to keep their dignity and their pride and that is exactly what Louis Zamperini, Ed Roberts, Jason Zimmerman, and Frederick Douglass did. These four men had all the odds against them with so much suffering, but they rolled up their sleeves and fought through that pain because they are the true definition of resilience.
Social determinants have become an influential component of innovation within traditional areas of research, from overall health of communities to disaster management. Starting in the 1980’s, researchers began to understand that social contexts, both micro and macro, have a significant impact on both individuals and the community as a whole when discussing response and resilience to disasters. After the chaos of Hurricane Katrina, after the sheer difference of separate populations ability to cope during the disaster area came to light, researchers began to elucidate the social factors which affect disaster response and ways to assess those for future disasters. The three largest areas of concerns that should be considered are social stratification and class, race and
Whereas, during a natural disaster it may be difficult to gain access to such resources and therefore, some people can be facing this issue for the first time in their lives. Which can result in conflict and lawlessness taking place. For instance, if a natural disaster was to occur in a less developed country such as Afghanistan, the citizens would not be in a sudden shock if they no longer has access to electricity or any other issues since poverty is issue in the country and they have already adapted into living and surviving in such living conditions that may occur during a natural disaster. However, if such was to occur in Ottawa then it would be a completely different situation since many people might be feeling helplessness and panic due to living
There were many reasons for children to enter into the boarding schools. In some cases children were rounded up and transported to the schools without permission from their parents, some parents chose to send their children because of the lack of resources they had to care for the children, and still others thought that the education would be beneficial in the ever changing society. The reasons for sending the children were diverse. Towards the end of what is now called “The Indian Boarding school era” it was estimated that by 1931, two-thirds of Native Americans have attended a boarding school (Warne, & Lajimodiere, 2015).
Loss of life, property damage, economic disruption and environmental degradation all play a part in these devastating events, leaving an aftereffect with devastating challenges for these affected communities in their wake. This essay will examine some underlying social and economic factors which contribute to increased vulnerability while simultaneously challenging adaptive capacity among regional communities when facing bushfires. There are various social and economic factors that make regional communities more prone to bushfire impacts, such as population density. Many regional communities with relatively few residents distributed over an extensive geographical area make emergency response harder as emergency personnel must cover large areas with limited resources; additionally, their spread-out nature makes it more challenging for individuals seeking information or support during bushfire
I like reading Anna Harrington’s readings about resilience and how it defines a person in how they strive and overcome challenges and obstacles that come their way in this world. People with resilience as I would see would be looked as “survivors” unlike those people without resilience tend not to make it in this ever-changing world we live in. I can relate this article to my life being born and raised in Chicago, Illinois to going off into the U.S. Army with multiple of combat deployments during the Iraq war, my time spent in law enforcement agency/legal government sector and to where I am at now. Much of my life’s experience had been trial-and-error as nothing where I had to learn quick while still making some errors, but able to strive
Families learn to deal with a crisis by how their parents, and environment have taught them. Some of the things that will encourage a family to foster resilience is issues such as death, divorce, and abuse. For example, in the family belief systems. family resilience is fostered by shared beliefs that
Though the community only has a small effect on the overall picture, they are the most vulnerable to all disasters and threats. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the community to prepare one another and assess the potential risks and hazards within their community in addition to what steps are needed to address the issues. It is this preemptive response and planning, especially in locations with historically reoccurring hazards that reduce the disaster effects and overall cost. This community-based effort conducted by community groups has the, “potential to make a significant and long-lasting contributions to reducing local vulnerability and strengthening adaptive capacities” (Allen, 2006, p. 97). One example of a community-organized group is Community Emergency Response Teams or CERT.
However, resilience may also be described as the innate human quality that has not necessarily developed only after big disasters but processed through positive adaptation. A person can be resilient if he/she experience positive life events such as a job promotion, wedding, birth of a new child or having a new pet. These incidents would require the person to perform new roles and responsibilities and he/she can develop resilience to these changes overtime. This is resilience acquired through positive adaption (Fletcher & Sarkar,
In 1991 Norman Garmezy developed a theoretical framework for resiliency. Garmezy (1991) proposed three types of protective factors that make up his theoretical framework, which includes individual characteristics of the individual, a close-knit relationship with the family and lastly, social support and structure outside their immediate family. The primary factor in developing resiliency relates to the person's intelligence and character, and Garmezy (1991) states that resilient youth have above average intelligence. Garmezy (1991) defines the second factor in developing resiliency as one that includes the support of family to help with difficult conditions. The third common factor of resilient youth is external support from institutions (Garmezy, 1991).