Development of government disaster response strategies for multi-disasters – A case study of Taiwan's flood disaster responses during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to develop disaster response strategies that can be used when more than one disaster happens at the same time. When different types of disasters occur at the same time, disaster response operations will become extremely complex. It is difficult for responders to directly perform response operations based on a single standard operation procedure. This research used flooding events that occurred in Taiwan during the COVID pandemic as an example case to develop the response strategies. The standard operating procedures before and after the pandemic were first reviewed. The authors also joined the response operations to have close observations on how responders execute response operations under restrictions of the pandemic. User interviews were then conducted to collect feedback from four responders. Finally, the multi-disaster response strategies, coined as OPERATE, was developed based on results of procedure review, field observations, and user interviews. OPERATE was developed for disaster response teams to smoothly execute response operations when multiple disasters occur simultaneously. It includes seven perspectives: simplified operation, flexible procedures, adjustable environment, personalized reminder, positive attitude, well-developed decision support tool, and preparatory education. OPERATE is developed to reduce the impact of multi-disasters on response teams, including the impact of the disaster itself and orders issued by other government departments in response to other disasters. Following the developed strategies, disaster response teams are expected to conduct stable and efficient operations in the context of multiple disasters.