The military's role in disaster management and response during the 2015 Myanmar floods: A social network approach

Abstract

Disaster Management involves cooperative work among multiple organizations from multiple sectors. The organizations involved in disaster management achieve their objectives through the creation of a network. This study examines the effectiveness of state/province level disaster management and the role of actors in the network during Myanmar's 2015 floods using the social network analysis method. Myanmar's 2015 floods were a nationwide flood event and a large-scale disaster, and the disaster management network involved government agencies, international organizations, and non-governmental/non-profit organizations across various sectors. In this study, the military's role in state/province level disaster risk management and response is analyzed based on the following four activities: information sharing, resource sharing, searching for the missing and rescuing victims, and providing humanitarian assistance to the victims. The effectiveness of disaster management is examined by comparing each actor's centrality in the disaster network structure and its perceived efficacy from participating in the collaborative disaster network. This study also suggests requirements for disaster management at Myanmar's state/province level and has policy implications for effective disaster management in the future.