Differences Between Mitigation and Preparedness
Part I
What are the primary differences between Mitigation and Preparedness? Research and describe three examples of each.
The United States experiences a variety of natural disasters throughout the year. Because of hurricanes on the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico coasts, earthquakes near the San Andreas and other fault lines, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes in the plains, and floods throughout the Midwest, the United States suffers approximately $1 billion in losses each week. From 1990-93, losses surpassed those during the previous decade, mainly due to Hurricane Andrew, the Midwest and Northwest floods, and the Northridge Earthquake. Regardless of the location of a natural disaster in the United States, a program of disaster preparedness, mitigation, management, and prevention must be followed. (McMillan, 1998)
Disasters can be described as a cycle with three phases, BEFORE, DURING and AFTER. The “BEFORE” phase is that period of time before a disaster hits, including the time when a warning and/or alert is announced, during which preparation and mitigation activities may take place, with the objective of decreasing people’s vulnerability and reducing the negative impacts of disasters. The “DURING” phase is that period of time during which lives and livelihoods are at risk and lasts until the danger is over. The “AFTER” phase is the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase, after the immediate danger has past, when people and communities put their lives, livelihoods, and homes back together. This paper will concentrate on the BEFORE phase with mitigation and preparedness in this section.
According to Bullock, mitigation refers to the continued action taken to reduce or eliminate risk to people and property from hazards and their effects. Mitigation activities address either the probability and consequence or both components of risk. By mitigating either of these components, the risk becomes much less of a threat to the affected
What are the primary differences between Mitigation and Preparedness? Research and describe three examples of each.
The United States experiences a variety of natural disasters throughout the year. Because of hurricanes on the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico coasts, earthquakes near the San Andreas and other fault lines, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes in the plains, and floods throughout the Midwest, the United States suffers approximately $1 billion in losses each week. From 1990-93, losses surpassed those during the previous decade, mainly due to Hurricane Andrew, the Midwest and Northwest floods, and the Northridge Earthquake. Regardless of the location of a natural disaster in the United States, a program of disaster preparedness, mitigation, management, and prevention must be followed. (McMillan, 1998)
Disasters can be described as a cycle with three phases, BEFORE, DURING and AFTER. The “BEFORE” phase is that period of time before a disaster hits, including the time when a warning and/or alert is announced, during which preparation and mitigation activities may take place, with the objective of decreasing people’s vulnerability and reducing the negative impacts of disasters. The “DURING” phase is that period of time during which lives and livelihoods are at risk and lasts until the danger is over. The “AFTER” phase is the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase, after the immediate danger has past, when people and communities put their lives, livelihoods, and homes back together. This paper will concentrate on the BEFORE phase with mitigation and preparedness in this section.
According to Bullock, mitigation refers to the continued action taken to reduce or eliminate risk to people and property from hazards and their effects. Mitigation activities address either the probability and consequence or both components of risk. By mitigating either of these components, the risk becomes much less of a threat to the affected
References: Bullock, J. A., Haddow, G. D., & Coppla, D. P. (2013). Introduction to homeland security Department of Homeland Security. (Nov 2004). National Response Plan, Washington D.C., DHS Department of Homeland Security (November 9, 2012) November 9, 2012 from http://www.ready.gov/america/index.html McMillian, C from http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/archives/ndht.php Peace Corps (Sep 2001) From http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/library/T0124_dpm_ist.pdf National Terror Alert Response Center (2012), Emergency preparedness