Mitigation Responsibilities
The implementation of a mitigation strategy must go hand in hand with a clear stipulation of the responsibilities of different stakeholders. This will limit issues of scapegoating and the blame game when a disaster occurs.
Southwestern parts of United States is prone to wild fire disasters each year, the high risk associated with the fires makes it possible for the home owners to have a responsibility to carry out in collaboration with the community’s emergency manager. Recent research indicates the need of various stakeholders concern to share responsibility in order to mitigate the effects and losses associated with the fire breakout. Responsibilities of homeowners Homeowners should take necessary steps to ensure that there properties are under good protection. This stem from them designing premises that is equipped with facilities that can assist in case of a fire outbreak. The materials used in their constructions should be less inflammable to reduce the extent of the damage.
They should also take control of any likely cause that may lead to the start of the fire. This calls for the homeowners being extra careful. They should watch out for any indication that may result in fire. Though the homeowners found it prudent for the government to carry the burden of managing risks because the government has enough resources and professional to carry out the risk mitigation, they are suppose to modify their behavior. This will ensure that their behavior is compatible with the environment they live stay.
The behavior should be in relation to how they use their lands especially the building codes. They have to ensure that their houses construction follow the stipulated restrictions and regulations as per the government building codes. This implies that homeowners are responsible for a required set of behaviors. In addition, homeowners need to shoulder responsibility of acquiring the necessary education in ways that are applicable in mitigation of risks. This education should be disseminated to the entire members of the community.
Education should include acquisition of technical assistance and fire response strategy. This is because homeowners’ exclusion from mitigation is impossible and non-desirable. This will ensure that the community is self-sufficient on matters that deal with fire mitigation. Moreover, defensible space must be sought by homeowners so as to ensure that their role in disaster mitigation is well settled. This means that homeowners should be willing to take actions, hence the need to mitigate the effects of fire will take precedence in their decision making aspect (Marsh, 2006). Responsibilities of community emergency manager Community’s emergency manager, on the other hand, has responsibilities that include; ensuring that preventive measures on fire mitigation are put in place.
This will ensure that the losses resulting from such risks are contained. The measures should be in place at all times and not when a disaster happens. In addition, the manager will coordinate all public education on disaster mitigation. In assistance with the personnel, the manager will oversee community education on ways and measures as well as precautions to be taken incase of a fire outbreak. Moreover, the manager should coordinate local and state government activities that relates to mitigation of fire hazard. This will ensure a proper response in case of a disaster and also ensure disaster preparedness.
The responsibility of the manager includes preparation and submission of a community mitigation plan. The manager should also update the plan regularly; this will act as an indication of disaster assistance. The community manager will update the county on the situation and probability of the occurrence of the hazard. The responsibility of the manager wills extent to requesting funds and making them available for mitigation assistance at the local levels. The funds are available for use in hazard mitigation projects and planning.
Moreover, the other responsibility is to ensure that enough resource bases are available to carry out specialist obligations incase of a disaster. This will ensure implementation of the mitigation plan is explicit and covers all aspects of disaster. The personnel will predict or forecast the disaster and the objective is to provide disaster manager with enough information so that given people at risk prepare for the hazard and if possible evacuate. The manager is also responsible for any information that can lead to earlier identification of the disaster. However, in reality, until a decision is made on systematic ways to compile and access information about disaster vulnerability, the manager is and will be working in a void. Concepts available to homeowners Warning; this implies that the homeowner should make arrangements to rapidly disseminate information concerning imminent disaster threats to the community mitigation manager and other relevant authorities.
The information should reach the population at large in the areas of immediate risk. Evaluation and migration involves the moving of a population from regions at risk of an about to happen disaster to a safer site. This is most commonly associated with wildfire and floods. These involve clear identification of an escape route and order given together with public education program so as to make the community aware of the plans (Caffi, 2007). Seearch and rescue is the process of recognizing the locality of disaster fatalities that may be fascinated or isolated and taking them to safest and medical attention.
Post-disaster assessment seeks to make available a clear concise depiction of the post disaster state of affairs, to make out relief requirements and to build up strategies for recuperation. It determines for humanitarian assistance, how best to utilize resources or to respond. Planning implies that throughout all the activities designed to promote disaster mitigation, the ultimate objective is to have plans in place that are agreed upon, that are implementable and for which commitment and resources are relatively assured. The state, federal government and homeowners may interact in regard to emergency response and post disaster assistance. There interactions emanate from reasons such as; to ensure the survival of maximum possible number of victims and keeping them in the best possible health facilities in the conditions. To reinstate self sufficiency and indispensable services as promptly as needs are the greatest to the most vulnerable and the under privileged.
In addition, they interact in order to revamp or replace spoiled infrastructure and restore viable economic actions. They carry out this in a way that throw in to long-term improvement goals and diminish vulnerability to any possible recurrence of potentially detrimental hazard (Haque, 2005).Conclusion In conclusion, disaster mitigation is the summation total of events taken by people and organizations in the case of disaster. These events inaugurate with the warning of an approaching threatening occurrence or with the occurrence itself if it occurs devoid of warning. Disaster mitigation includes the implementation of disaster preparedness plans and procedures. The closing stages of disaster reaction come with the conclusion of disaster rehabilitation plans.
Focus of a disaster mitigation plan should be anticipate, to the extent possible and enumerate the requirements necessary for actions and responses. The plan should also specify the most effective way of ensuring that such requirements are met. For this reason, an essential part of a disaster mitigation plan is education of those who may be threatened by disaster. The clear cut roles and responsibilities and well executed distribution are all vital, however, too frequently disaster circumstances generate conditions of chaos. The most excellent laid programs can mitigate but not get rid of chaos. To the extent possible, preparedness plans should look for to predict the starting place of chaos and uniformly as important ought to try to foresee what to do when programs go wrong.
