The earthquake
in Nepal is showing how most large scale disasters happen. Here are a few
posts/rants about disaster rescue and recovery.
What
happens after a disaster is not as easy as many thinks. Many people reaction it
so send stuff or go there to help. Well it’s really not that easy. Many often
are critical about the local authorities not helping enough at the beginning,
but that is just unrealistic expectations.
Emergency personnel
are not in surplus supply. Just look at a everyday mayor structural fire. One
district generally can’t field enough equipment and men power to fight the fire
and have to request assistant from bordering districts. Their bordering
districts might fill in the coverage gap. Other things might happen, so you
still need to make sure there is some reserve. Not a major problem, these large
fire happen, but generally they don’t occur at the same place and certainly not
nearby of each other.
But what if
we add some new challenges in the mix. Emergency personal are just citizens and
often even volunteers. In a mayor disaster they are effected to. Some might be
killed or injured, others have to take care of their direct love ones. Would
you leave your trapped and injured child so you can help others? People often
forget that emergency service personnel are just people. You can’t expect them
to drop everything to save you.
Then there
are logical issues. Communications are generally disrupted, roads are blocked,
the fire stations and emergency equipment storage might be affected. First
priority is generally not rescue, but getting things setup so you can start
with rescue; clear the roads, set up communications and inventory what capacity
the emergency services have left and figuring out what happened and what needs
to be done. With these challenge, don’t expect emergency personal to be everywhere
at the same time, or same day, or days…
In an disaster
you can get help from even further away. One option is to request help from the
army. Most armies have fairly large numbers of personnel and large amount of
equipment. They suffer from the same logical issues. Needing unaffected personnel
and equipment, communications and cleared roads. And more importantly soldiers
are not trained as rescue personnel. Lots of comments from people why the army
isn’t pulling people from collapsed buildings. But last time I checked, most
soldiers are trained to use weapons, not with working with rescue equipment.
Saws to cut rebar and jacks to lift concrete slaps are completely different
tools than a rifle. So the army is generally more suitable for the logics;
clearing roads, building bridges, settings up tents and easy rescue and
recovery work which require numbers and muscles, but not specialist training.
Can we
blame authorities for not able to respond to a disaster to everybody immediately?
Well even the rich western counties won’t be able to field enough equipment and
personal immediately. Many area’s effected by disasters are often very poor.
What do expect them from spending in preparing there emergency services? People
are even saying that you shouldn’t donate money, because the authorities didn’t
respond quickly enough. People are expecting things to be done more quicker than
ever. Unless you spend outrages amounts
of money and resources preparing for a disaster, this will never happen. Not in
poor countries, not in rich countries. Don’t complain if it takes time, it’s just
reality. People are expecting instant gratifications, that might work with some
parts in your life, but certainly not in disaster response and recovery.
