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Fourty Four Misconceptions About Disasters
Just found this blog which I thought was an interesting read and thought provoking-
http://emergency-planning.blogspot.com/2008/12/forty-four-common-misconceptions-about.html
Here's a few examples:
Myth 2: Disasters cause a great deal of chaos and cannot possibly be managed systematically.
Reality: There are excellent theoretical models of how disasters function and how to manage them. After more than 75 years of research in the field the general elements of disaster are extremely well known, and they tend to repeat themselves from one disaster to the next.
Myth 6: When disaster strikes panic is a common reaction.
Reality: Most people behave rationally in disaster. While panic is not to be ruled out entirely, it is of such limited importance that some leading disaster sociologists regard it as insignificant or unlikely.
Myth 33: We are well organised to face a pandemic or CBRN attack.
Reality: In most countries, including the richer and larger ones, preparedness is at best patchy and at worst seriously lacking.
http://emergency-planning.blogspot.com/2008/12/forty-four-common-misconceptions-about.html
Here's a few examples:
Myth 2: Disasters cause a great deal of chaos and cannot possibly be managed systematically.
Reality: There are excellent theoretical models of how disasters function and how to manage them. After more than 75 years of research in the field the general elements of disaster are extremely well known, and they tend to repeat themselves from one disaster to the next.
Myth 6: When disaster strikes panic is a common reaction.
Reality: Most people behave rationally in disaster. While panic is not to be ruled out entirely, it is of such limited importance that some leading disaster sociologists regard it as insignificant or unlikely.
Myth 33: We are well organised to face a pandemic or CBRN attack.
Reality: In most countries, including the richer and larger ones, preparedness is at best patchy and at worst seriously lacking.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Ward on
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Great find!
David C. Alexander is professor of disaster management at the University of Florence in Italy. He is the author of Natural Disasters (1993), Confronting Catastrophe (2000) and Principles of Emergency Planning and Management (2002).
Professor Alexander is one of the first that applied geo-mapping to disaster planning. I used his principles book for a an emergency management course at the community college.
Mike
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Permalink Reply by Mick Mayers on
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Actually, if you go to the blog itself and look, this blogger has written some pretty good posts on disaster response in Italy.
If you want some more deep reading on disaster response (and the problems in planning), check out this link to an article by Eric Auf der Heide.
Auf der Heide has actually written a series of presentations on the misconceptions of disasters and this has some really good information in it.
Thanks for the head-up on the blog; I have linked on it so I can look it over better.
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