Disaster Management System in Azerbaijan: The Case of 2010 Kura River Flood

Abstract

This chapter examines the emergency management system of Republic of Azerbaijan in light of the 2010 Kura river flood. The flood inundated residential and agricultural areas impacting some 30,000 families and devastating around 1,10,000 ha of plantation areas. While the country’s emergency management system is relatively new, it was generally effective in eliminating immediate results of the disaster, thus, focusing on short-run structural response and recovery measures. Long-run policies and non-structural measures that link mitigation with community planning, on the other hand, were limited in scope and nature. This chapter contributes to the literature on emergency management systems in post-Soviet countries, specifically focusing on the newly created emergency management system in Azerbaijan. Further research on different types of disasters or a different post-Soviet country might give additional insight about the nature and effectiveness of emergency management systems in the region.