A Community Approach to Disaster Preparedness and Response

The dramatic and tragic events of Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Sandy (2012), various hurricanes in the 2017 season, and the impact of COVID-19 have highlighted the need for coordinated community-based volunteer efforts to prepare for, and respond to natural, and any, disaster. When natural disasters occur, they underscore the problems and shortcomings associated with coordinating outside logistics and show a clear need for local volunteers to be ready to act as the first line of response to such catastrophes. When reflecting on Hurricane Katrina, for example, t his was most obvious in the first weeks after the hurricane hit land. Volunteers and active community residents were the rescuers, caretakers, and in many cases, the final comforting companions to the dying. They were the first, and often the only, line of response that would exist for weeks. Preparing for natural disasters in advance helps a community immediately address physical-health problems, lowers the risk of mental stressors on residents, and helps the community recover faster (Johnston et al., 2022).

Government officials have immediately called on local citizens to volunteer their time, money, and sweat equity to address these massive natural disasters. The routine threats from hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, and other natural disasters to communities in the United States and elsewhere are well documented and predicted. Given the trends of climate change increasing the probability of large natural disaster events, careful crisis and emergency planning strategies are required in every community. These principles can also be applied to non-natural disaster situations, such as terrorism. When disasters do occur, citizen groups and coordinated efforts of local volunteers can respond to lessen the impacts and "build back better." Local residents will be the first responders. Many communities are caught off-guard due to a variety of preparedness levels when a disaster hits (Johnston et al., 2022). The process of organizing local residents to act as first responders in a community must take place before, during, and after such catastrophic events occur for it to have maximum effectiveness (Ryan et al., 2020).

Importance and Role of Community in Disaster Preparation and Recovery

In recent years, emphasis has been placed on the role of the community in disaster recovery, particularly on the importance of local knowledge, action, participation, and control in determining the nature of disaster response (Brennan, et al, 2022). It is logical that the local community should be the first line of defense in preparing and responding in the event of disaster (Gamboa-Maldonado, et al., 2012). Local residents and groups can best identify their immediate needs, coordinate preparations, supplement official response efforts, implement emergency response programs, and contribute to local decision making for future events. Similarly, local communities can provide a sense of connection, and decrease the isolation and abandonment that is often felt among residents in times of disaster. Such capacity for providing these community services does not always exist but can be cultivated and should be encouraged.

In all communities, a variety of groups exist with diverse skills and abilities combined with personal and professional experiences that are essential to successful preparation and response to disasters (Brennan, et al, 2022; Gamboa-Maldonado et al., 2012). Included are resident groups with needed professional and trade skills for damage control and assessment (engineers, environmental scientists, architects, contractors, and skilled laborers); disaster preparedness and response training (VFW, retired military/national guard/police); medical, psychological, and social service delivery experience (health practitioners, counselors, religious/civic groups); and longtime residents who have witnessed previous responses to natural disasters. Effective community responses connect these diverse groups and develop action plans to meet common needs. Successfully linking local organizations, citizens, and leaders provides a strong network for local citizens and groups to become actively involved in local preparedness and response efforts. To be most effective, this process of capacity building must take place before disasters occur and continue during and after such catastrophic events.

The Role of Extension in Community Responses to Disaster

Extension and other community developers can be the facilitators of community preparedness and response to a disaster. Such community developers can provide training at a variety of levels to facilitate such citizen involvement. For example, community development/civic engagement training should be the cornerstone of all community-based disaster response programs. Such training provided by Extension and other community development educators would provide an understanding and framework for including broad based local representation into long-term emergency response and other local efforts. These trainings should include skill development such as asset mapping, assessing local power structures, needs assessments, conflict resolution skills, management methods, and community profile development. Such training would also inform active citizens that their involvement is essential to local development well beyond times of disaster.

Similarly, more general grassroots mobilizations can plan for, respond to, and rebuild in the aftermath of disaster. Included would be active efforts to bring together diverse local groups, the formation of local groups for planning, establishment of formal long-term visioning and goal setting for disaster preparation/recovery, and recruitment of experienced local citizens to take direct action. Similarly, the establishment of alliances between local groups could set the stage for a more effective sharing of resources and responsibilities during times of crisis. Such alliances can include the identification of organizations or individuals to serve as liaisons between local grassroots efforts and more formal structures (state and federal response organizations, military/national guard, emergency response agencies). Extension programming and training can be a valuable resource in facilitating all these activities and skills.

Ways Community Volunteers Can Help

An organized community and volunteer response can help in several ways before, during, and immediately after the occurrence of disasters. They can:

• coordinate a more successful evacuation and transportation effort;
• provide some structure and order instead of chaos;
• aid in organizing resources for distribution before and after disasters;
• decrease the isolation and sense of abandonment that quickly engulfs disaster victims in the affected areas; and
• contribute to local connections and interaction that signals the development of community.

Conclusion

Local volunteers and community level action is essential to effective natural disaster preparation and response. They are particularly important because citizens are in many cases the first responders and have the greatest chance to save lives and provide support in the hours and days immediately after disaster occurrences. An effective community response diminishes some of the suffering and loss that occur during and after a disaster. Community and volunteer coordinators have an obligation to help facilitate community organization and preparation to aid fellow citizens in times of such great need. The only thing that is certain in these times is that local residents will be the first people capable of responding.

In these disaster settings, local volunteers and community organizations are presented with an opportunity to make a measurable impact on local well-being. The quality and extent of this response may hold the key to minimizing disaster effects, maintaining order, increasing hope, and maximizing recovery efforts. And much of the effectiveness of the response depends on the preparedness and organization of the communities in advance of disasters.

In the end, facilitating local involvement in disaster preparedness and response is about far more than the provision of basic and logistical needs. It ensures that local voices are heard, local struggles are recognized, and the dignity of local people is respected. With this capacity established, local citizens can respond and recover in a manner that improves local life. The response and rebuilding process will belong to the front line of disaster responders - community volunteers - who will reinvest in their communities.

References and Suggested Reading

Brennan, M., Phillips, R., Hales, B., & Walzer, N. (eds). (2022). Community Development in Times of Crisis: Creating Caring Communities. Routledge: New York.

Brennan, M.A., Flint, C., & Barnett, R. (2005). Community Volunteers: The Front Line of Disaster Response. Journal of Volunteer Administration. 23(4): 52-56.

Flint, C., & Brennan, M.A. (2006). The Rural Context of Disaster: Exploring the Role of Community Emergency Response Teams. Rural Realities.

Gamboa-Maldonado, T., Marshak, H. H., Sinclair, R., Montgomery, S., & Dyjack, D. T. (2012). Building capacity for community disaster preparedness: a call for collaboration between public environmental health and emergency preparedness and response programs. Journal of environmental health, 75(2), 24-29.

Johnston, K.A., Taylor, M. & Ryan, B. (2022) Engaging communities to prepare for natural hazards: a conceptual model. Nat Hazards 112, 2831-2851.

Ryan, B., Johnston, K. A., Taylor, M., & McAndrew, R. (2020). Community engagement for disaster preparedness: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 49, 101655.