Disaster Damage Assessment For Better Recovery

By Eric Baker


The thing about emergencies is that they take advantage of surprise. There is also virtually no information that could aid a recovery plan. The loss of control experienced by parties could lead to panic and confusion. It also makes people focus on the short term, they lose sight of the bigger picture. The best and smartest thing to do is to take a deep breath and conduct disaster damage assessment.

One should take a step back and try to understand the situation. How did it come about? What is the essence of it? A proper, accurate, and three-dimensional description of the situation will give a clear picture of what needs to be done. It is akin to learning about the background of an opponent before going to battle. It gives a competitive edge. This situation is the opponent. Learn all there is.

Casualty does not only encompass injuries and loss of human life. It could also mean the loss of business interests or assets. In their individual contexts, they are fatal blows. While taking the stairs and one falls. They do not just continue immediately. They bend and inspect the knee. The level of injury determines whether it makes sense to continue the rest of the way or if one should stop and attend to the knee first. Taking stock of the loss in an emergency ensures one knows exactly how much work the recovery plan will have t do.

Then comes the categorization stage. At this point, one seeks to know what level of emergency this is. Is there potential for the situation to escalate? What are the chances of escalation? What measures should be put in place so that one is prepared once it does?

After a careful consideration of the risk of escalation, one can start to think about a possible band-aid solution before the surgery begins. Which point of the situation warrants immediate and first priority? By attending to that aspect, the field should open a little more for more action to be taken. It is akin to punching the genitals to incapacitate the opponent so that one can have more time to deal with the rest of him.

The recovery plan is developed with two stages in mind. The first is an emergency response. It involves restoring the critical functions. It is akin to restoring the heart rate of a patient before moving them to surgery for the full work up. The second is getting back to pre-emergency condition. This is the surgery. This last part is about ensuring wellness. The situation has been survived. It is time to put it behind and move on.

After the plan is in place, it is time to gather the equipment required. The first step of the recovery plan is usually done with whatever equipment is available. Whatever one can get their hands on is fashioned into some sort of weapon. The second part is where one needs to go in search of equipment.

This is a critical step to recovery from an emergency. If it is skimped on or compromised, the situation could get very dire very fast. It might end up being irrevocable. Accurate assessment is therefore paramount to full recovery.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment