Assessing Disaster Preparedness of Officials and Residents in Two North Carolina Counties

Elizabeth Shay

doi:10.4172/2167-0587.1000125

Abstract

Emergency management professionals devote significant expertise and resources to preparing for emergencies through planning and exercises. Despite this preparation by professionals, residents are often unprepared for emergencies and unfamiliar with recommended practices. This is a concern particularly for those who are socially vulnerable, such as the elderly, those without transportation, or those who speak English less than well. To improve understanding of this gap in disaster preparedness, we interviewed emergency managers and others with professional knowledge about emergency preparedness and management at the Country level. Findings were validated by surveying households to gather information about services and information received from officials before, during, and after emergencies. Results suggest emergency managers are aware that improved communication with residents could improve preparedness. Residents cite clear priorities in the types of information they want from emergency managers, including where and when to evacuate, how to maintain safe water and sanitation during a disaster, and how to prepare their property for a disaster. Attention should be given to identifying vulnerable groups and providing them with information about preparing disaster plans and related topics.

Highlights

Communities face a variety of serious threats, both natural and technological (Eg explosions or spills)
This lack of planning and limitations in understanding may be most critical for socially vulnerable populations and physically vulnerable residents
Interviews were conducted with 13 experts in the two counties, with knowledge and experience relating to emergency planning and response, providing a useful body of information about emergency management standards and practices against which results from the household survey were compared

Summary

Introduction

Communities face a variety of serious threats, both natural (such as hurricanes, floods, fires and earthquakes) and technological (Eg explosions or spills). Previous research has suggested that residents may not be fully aware of how their County’s emergency management office plans for and responds to emergencies, and may have done little, if any, household planning [1,2,3] This lack of planning and limitations in understanding may be most critical for socially vulnerable populations (e.g., low-income, mobility-limited, very old or very young, or those with low English proficiency) and physically vulnerable residents (e.g., those who live in floodplains or near environmental and industrial hazards). Gares and Montz [6] examined the relationship between hazard risk and the spatial distribution of migrant and seasonal laborers in North Carolina, where prior research has identified overlap, and in Texas, which hosts a large farm labor force They identified several concerns relating to emergency preparedness among this population, including language and financial difficulties, lack of knowledge, complex logistics, and apathy or lack of sense of vulnerability. Another study of Latino farmworkers in North Carolina [7] found low-income and socially isolated seasonal laborers to be vulnerable to disasters, with limited knowledge about how to prepare their households for emergencies, and constrained by language and transportation

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion