Emergency Management Planning Research Articles

A comparative case study of multistakeholder responses following oil spills in Pointe d’Esny, Mauritius, and Huntington Beach, California

Oil spills generate negative ecological, societal, economic, and public health impacts, and require rapid response to contain and mitigate damages. Prompt and effective emergency management of acute events like oil spills is highly dependent on the social, institutional, and ecological context. In August 2020, the wreckage of the MV Wakashio spilled 1000 tonnes of fuel oil along an ecologically sensitive coastline in Pointe d’Esny, Mauritius. In October 2021, an offshore pipeline split and released 78 tonnes of crude oil off the coast of Huntington Beach in California. We compare responses among three sets of stakeholders (government, non-governmental organizations, and local residents) during the first 10 days of both oil spills, which also occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Mauritius, unfavorable weather conditions and COVID-19-related border closures that delayed international support impeded government action, creating a leadership and trust vacuum among residents regarding the immediate cleanup response. This perceived gap was subsequently complemented by NGOs coordinating improvised artisanal boom production and local volunteer cleanup efforts, with limited protection or public health training. By contrast, prompt state and local government intervention in Huntington Beach created a clear chain of command with NGOs and residents deferring to official guidance. In both cases, the oil spills created new policy opportunities to improve emergency management plans and reduce future risks. Our results demonstrate the influence of prior local expertise in managing earlier disasters and resources on governmental and organizational capacity. Incorporating and ensuring on-the-ground disaster expertise in response activities improves government-led crisis response, subsequently protecting ecosystems and residents. Effective multi-level crisis response helps address a range of environmental and social justice concerns related to negative impacts of spills on local communities. Our study discusses how learnings from disaster management can reinforce social-ecological resilience in coastal communities dealing with increasing anthropogenic stressors.

Augmentation of a Hospital Incident Command System to Support Continued Waves of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Stamford Hospital (SH) is a 305 bed Level II Trauma center located in Fairfield County, the epicenter of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Connecticut. The COVID-19 pandemic was a fast paced, rapidly evolving crisis, presenting our leadership team with unique challenges related to resource availability, patient care, and staff safety. The existing Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) was activated in March 2020 to coordinate our operational emergency management planning, response, and recovery capability for this unplanned event. Although HICS lays the groundwork for hospital preparations and protocol implementation, it is not designed to withstand prolonged crisis circumstances. Given the conditions that the COVID-19 pandemic presented, the possibility for future waves became an impending reality, prompting the need for a long-term solution. To establish guidelines that promoted balance between necessary preparations in the case of additional surges of the pandemic and concurrent resumption then maintenance of routine hospital operations, the SH COVID-19 Playbook was created. The Playbook, presented here, is arranged in accordance with the evidence-based 4 S's (Space, Staff, Systems, and Stuff) strategic critical care planning framework, to address surge capacity management within our hospital's four main patient care areas and additional supportive services. Through feedback from frontline caregivers and leaders within SH, the Playbook captures our experience, best practices, and insight acquired during the first wave of the pandemic. Established with the intentions of equipping leadership and staff globally, guidelines are presented to aid in the navigation of future pandemic surges and successfully care for COVID-19 patients, ensure staff safety, allow for normal services to operate, and provide optimal communication and support for the community, patients, and staff.

Assessing Emergency Animal Safe Sites for Evacuation

Providing shelters for animals during disasters such as floods, bushfires and storms requires adequate planning and preparedness. Planning for animals during the disaster response and recovery phases is critical to mitigating the negative effects that animal loss or separation can have. The human-animal bond has the potential to influence people’s decisions during emergencies, such as how they will respond and when or if they will evacuate. Evacuation with animals during a disaster event can be difficult and complicated. It is critical, however, that animals are rescued and kept safe during and after disasters. Any compromise can result in the death of such animals. Similarly, even in disaster-related situations, animal handling should be consistent with the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines. This project aims to better understand disaster preparedness and resilience, as well as the recovery of animals during a disaster event. Twenty-five potential animal evacuation sites, including saleyards, showgrounds, animal shelters, and racecourses, were identified and accessed in nine local government areas (LGAs) across the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. On-site survey using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire was used to collect data. While none of the facilities are of high standard, 16% would require cosmetic work, 76% would require minor work, and the remaining facilities would require significant work. The project’s implication is that the assessment guideline can be included in the local council’s emergency management plan to improve adequate planning for safe animal evacuation.

Factors affecting worriedness: A study of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan

The global effect of COVID-19 is no longer simply a public health issue; it is causing an economic crisis that has a significant impact on the job market and people's lives. The disease has led to 43% of businesses temporarily closing, and almost all these closures are due to COVID-19. Organizations that have temporarily suspended their activities have pointed mainly to a decline in demand and employee health issues as the reasons for closure. In emergency and disaster management, perception often helps shape personality and how people act in certain situations. This study aims to examine personal risk perception of COVID-19 from many viewpoints and whether it affects motivation with regard to improving personal preparedness. We collected data from three major Japanese cities through a questionnaire survey and analyzed the results of the survey through factor analysis and multiple regression analysis by using the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The three study areas include (1) the most damaged regions from the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami, (2) the capital city and surrounding areas of Tokyo, and (3) Kumamoto, which has recently experienced an earthquake. The findings show a correlation between the nature of the information received during COVID-19 and worriedness and the necessity for adequate information. The expected benefit of this study is to provide guidelines for the government or organizations to make a suitable emergency management plan based on pertinent factors for future pandemics.

TRANSPORTATION OF COAL BY SEA AND RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH ITS TRANSPORTATION

Maritime and maritime transport is a vital component of the global economy and transport network. The number of people, firms and organizations using shipping is growing worldwide. As with other transport systems, safety is critical in maritime transport. Because ship emergency processes are very different from emergency evacuation processes from buildings and other vehicles and are more complex, many researchers have published a wide range of documents relevant to this specific area of research.
 In recent decades, marine accidents have attracted a lot of attention due to huge material damage, accidents and serious environmental pollution. Maritime transport can include unforeseen events resulting in catastrophic casualties as well as fatal injuries at sea. About 63% of shipping accidents in the world are recurring. In other words, they arise with courts that have already survived at least one previous accident. In this case, emergency management plans are recognized as a priority for prompt consideration, taking into account the potential consequences of natural disasters in the marine industry.
 The article discusses the issues of coal transportation by sea and requirements regarding the safe laying and transportation of coal. Unsafe transportation can lead to appropriate risks on board, such as structural damage iz-za improper distribution of coal, chemical reaction leading to spontaneous combustion, release of explosive gases and liquefaction.
 Since coal is subject to liquefaction, a number of precautions and procedures without precautions and follow procedures for safe loading and transportation.
 Purpose. The goal is to analyze coal as a dangerous cargo, and the risks associated with its transportation.
 Methodology the article used statistical methods of analysis and factor method of coal liquefaction.
 Results: parameters of comparison of coal particles, for its safe transportation.
 Practical implications it is advisable to apply the obtained results when transporting general goods by sea.

Development of Emergency Information System to Support Nuclear Power Plant Management in Severe Accident

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. has developed a computer-aided decision-making supporting panel system called DMP to support decision making of management staff in nuclear power plants by presenting associated information (e.g., plant situation and on-site/off-site conditions) in an organized and timely manner during emergency conditions. DMP will be located on-site as well as at an office off-site and will present associated information for staff and managers to share information and promote communications. DMP has been developed considering lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi accident including situation awareness distraction and workload issues under severe accidents. It was recognized that it is difficult to collect, organize, and analyze plant data and associated information under high-stress conditions and a severely degraded work environment. DMP will collect plant status information using plant chronological data logs and associated information, such as site situations (e.g., various kinds of information showing damaged equipment and hazard area, etc.), verbal/written status reports, and communication logs among staffs who perform corresponding actions at the site. DMP has been developed using a human-centered design approach based on International and Japanese human factors engineering design guidance (i.e., IEC 60964, “Nuclear Power Plants – Control Rooms – Design,” and JEAG 4617, “Guideline for Development and Design of Computerized Human-Machine Interface in the Central Control Room”) and verified with human factors verification (task support verification) to ensure the DMP support decision-making process. DMP will be workable to organize and present the current situations and recommendations to staff with collected data and policies/rules in emergency management plans.

Objective and Perceived Risk in Seismic Vulnerability Assessment at an Urban Scale

The assessment of seismic risk in urban areas with high seismicity is certainly one of the most important problems that territorial managers have to face. A reliable evaluation of this risk is the basis for the design of both specific seismic improvement interventions and emergency management plans. Inappropriate seismic risk assessments may provide misleading results and induce bad decisions with relevant economic and social impacts. The seismic risk in urban areas is mainly linked to three factors, namely, “hazard”, “exposure” and “vulnerability”. Hazard measures the potential of an earthquake to produce harm; exposure evaluates the size of the population exposed to harm; and vulnerability represents the proneness of considered buildings to suffer damages in case of an earthquake. Estimates of such factors may not always coincide with the perceived risk of the resident population. The propensity to implement structural seismic improvement interventions aimed at reducing the vulnerability of buildings depends significantly on the perceived risk. This paper investigates the difference between objective and perceived risk and highlights some critical issues. The aim of the study is to calibrate opportune policies, which allow addressing the most appropriate seismic risk mitigation options with reference to current levels of perceived risk. We propose the introduction of a Seismic Policy Prevention index (SPPi). This methodology is applied to a case-study focused on a densely populated district of the city of Catania (Italy).

Emergency management plan for paediatric patients with tracheostomies during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Paediatric patients with tracheostomies are a vulnerable group. During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, healthcare workers can be anxious about viral transmission from secretions and aerosols emerging from the open airway. This paper aims to share a systematic approach to decrease staff exposure and optimise care of these patients. Three documents were developed: a generic tracheostomy management plan detailing troubleshooting; a personalised management plan with customised recommendations; and a guide for tracheostomy tube change to minimise aerosol production. The plan was distributed to 31 patients (age range, 11 months to 17 years) including 23 (74.2 per cent) with uncuffed tubes and 9 (29 per cent) on long-term ventilation. There have been 10 occasions in which the plan was utilised and influenced management. A structured approach to emergency presentations during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic may safeguard paediatric patients from unnecessary manipulation of their tracheostomy tube, minimise viral exposure and allow provision of expeditious care.

Statistical analysis of crowd behaviour in catastrophic situation

Machine learning (ML) is one of the emerging domains in classification and prediction. It is important to understand the responses of individuals in crowd during an earthquake emergency for making appropriate earthquake emergency management plan. Our research is focused on predicting the behaviour of individuals in a crowd during Catastrophic Situation. For this purpose, intended and actual behavioural response of crowd is collected by conducting a series of surveys. The attributes that are selected for result prediction are gender, age, affiliation, health status, training level, nearby exit, earthquake intensity, earthquake location, environmental status, and individual’s response. The dataset thus collected is divided into two crowds, Crowd 1 shows the intended behaviour whereas Crowd 2 shows actual. The decision tree, k-nearest neighbour, Naïve Bayes and neural network machine learning algorithms are used for predicting results. The results are analysed by using Rapid Miner as data mining tool. The dataset is split into two partitions. By applying randomization techniques like simple random sampling, shuffle random sampling, etc. we have trained and tested the machine learning algorithms. The results of this research will be a source of help in understanding critical details about crowd behaviour in earthquake emergency.

Case analysis: New York City emergency planning falls short for disabled

Introduction: Historically, emergency management planners have neglected to include critical stakeholders in the actual planning process, which has left thousands of vulnerable individuals who are sensory or mobility impaired open to injury and illness, during and after emergencies. Ultimately, this left gaps in both the planning and recovery phases of an emergency response for the most vulnerable. Having a clear and comprehensive understanding of the entire city, including the political landscape encompassing the citizens, the complex infrastructure, and available resources, will help inform the who, what, where, when and how to effectively develop an all-inclusive emergency plan. Over time, and as a result of many different types of disasters occurring (e.g., hurricanes, terrorist attacks, explosions), emergency managers remain challenged to continually improve upon their planning process, engaging agencies and organizations at all levels (i.e., local, state, national) to better prepare for future emergencies. One such challenge, a successful class action lawsuit brought by the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled (BCID), mandated that New York City address significant gaps in emergency planning specific to transportation, evacuation, sheltering, and unique communication needs that affect over 900,000 New Yorkers with functional disabilities.1 Methods: Extensive online search for documents, resources, court settlements, press releases all having to do with lack of emergency planning and services for disabled populations across the United States. Discussion: The DOHMH has now implemented a Post Emergency Canvassing Operation (PECO) and could be a model for other cities and states, on how to rapidly canvass, determine needs and provide referral following an emergency for the unique needs of the vulnerable population to mitigate the risk of injury or disease. This adds yet another layer of resources and support to a population that has historically been left behind.

Hospital Disaster Management – Evacuation of Perinatal Intensive Care Units Based on Emergency Management Plan

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the special cases of a fire in a hospital especially in a perinatal intensive department, that may be encountered by the firefighters. Due to these special circumstances, the evacuation time of the facility can be significantly increased. There are unusual evacuation and rescue methods, which require special devices and more intense human resources. The evacuation requirement of a hospital is more than a usual evacuation plan, the goal is to maintain the health care services during and after the evacuation, so it is necessary to apply the Evacuation Plan of the Hospital Disaster Plan during a fire evacuation. This requires much more accurate and complex training from both the firefighters and the medical staff. Also, its effectiveness depends to a large extent on the architectural and fire protection design of the building, its modernity, the available medical and rescue equipment and the number of medical staff. The study examines the approximation and joint applicability of the plans above, based on the experience of a hospital evacuation exercise.

Differential Impacts of COVID-19 on College Student Tourism Jobs: Insights from Vacationland-Maine, USA

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected all sectors including educational institutions transitioning from face-to-face to hybrid and virtual classes. Partial or full closure of tourism businesses has impacted college students’ jobs within the college and/or outside in the business sector. For a tourism dependent economy such as Maine’s, the impacts of COVID-19 have been severe, including lost job opportunities for students. Several studies have researched the impacts of COVID-19 on the physical, psychological, social, and mental health status of college students; however, few have addressed the impacts on college students’ jobs. Thus, the purpose of this study is to understand how students at the University of Southern Maine (USM) have been impacted in their jobs by COVID-19 and to consider what stakeholders can do to support and rebuild the workforce. A quantitative survey was distributed to all USM undergraduate students (completed by 160) between 26 April through 6 May 2021. The study found that pre-COVID, 44% of student employment was in non-tourism, 25% in tourism, and 16% in USM work study, while 15% were unemployed. At the time of the survey, those proportions had shifted to 42% in non-tourism, 22% in tourism, 14% in USM work study, and 22% not employed with a significant increase in the non-employed student category. The study found that, initially, COVID-19 had impacted student employment in terms of changed responsibilities, reduced hours, job layoffs/losses, increased hours, and voluntary job loss. Students’ current jobs (during the survey) were impacted in the form of changed responsibilities/jobs/locations and industries, including decreased hours. During the pandemic, students valued industry support such as enhanced cleaning/safety, flexible hours/time off, work from home, as well as academic support in terms of flexibility, emotional support, industry updates, and networking opportunities. The study recommends that stakeholders develop collaborative comprehensive emergency management plans (CEMPs) to mitigate disruptions such as COVID-19 and be prepared for future disasters of this nature.

Examining the Performance Measurement Factors Impacting on the Effectiveness of Disaster Management System

Body The purpose of this study is to examine the direction of disaster management by administration change in Korea and identify factors that could accommodate the public's demand for an effective disaster management system. Keyword network analysis is conducted for the 3rd and 4th National Emergency Management Plan to explore the changes in the direction of disaster management policies. Through the analysis, topic words, their frequency, and matrixes for co-occurrence between keywords are extracted. Based on the extracted matrix, the degree centrality (connectivity of keywords) is identified and cluster analysis has been conducted afterward. The findings show that education training, on-site disaster response, improvement of legal system, professional training, and cooperation among related agencies are detected as key topic words. The direction of the plan is also changing to cope with the unexpected disaster situation due to the climate change.

Transformation of libraries during Covid-19 pandemic: A systematic review

PurposeThis study analyze academic library services during Covid-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021), as well as the challenges they face, emerging library roles, and the most effective communication tools. MethodA systematic review of the relevant literature was undertaken following PRISMA guidelines. The relevant literature was retrieved from four major scholarly databases (Scopus, Web of Science, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA), and Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA)). The relevant 23 studies were included fulfilling inclusion criteria. A quality assessment of the included studies was also performed. FindingsThe findings revealed that Covid-19 pandemic is certainly effecting and transforming libraries, their services and management. The library services during Covid-19 pandemic, their fundamental challenges, emerging roles, and available preferable communications tools are the categories in this study to better understand the pandemic-transformation. ImplicationsThe practical and policy implications are that libraries must establish infrastructure and improve accessibility in order to provide the best possible support to modern library users who access resources remotely in this rapidly evolving digital environment. Organizational policymakers and library directors should prepare emergency and disaster management plans. The libraries should ensure their presence on social media and make use of their library websites.

Management and health risk assessment of chemical contamination events in water distribution systems using PSO.

An accidental or intentional contamination event can raise health and sociopolitical concerns, erode public trust, and affect the operation of water distribution systems. In this regard, emergency management plans are required to describe the necessary measures in order to deal with a threat. This study was carried out to investigate the best ways to manage intrusion in a water distribution network. In this research, the optimal management approach to deal with chemical contamination in a water distribution network was examined under three scenarios using the particle swarm optimization method. In each scenario, three management solutions were used to manage the contamination, including closing the pipe, opening the fire hydrant, and using a combination of pipe closure and fire hydrant opening. Contamination risk impact on consumers' health was assessed in the network's emergency status and after implementation of the best pollution management scenarios. The results showed that in the benchmark network, pipe closure was slightly more successful than opening of the fire hydrant valve. In pollution management of a real network, pipe closure was less effective than the hydrant opening in all scenarios. Generally, all applied scenarios were successful in reducing the contamination risk among the exposed people, so that carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks reduced by 100% in all scenarios compared to the non-management state.

Hospital Disaster and Emergency Plan in Biological Disasters (HDEP): Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) COVID-19 Pandemic System Model Example

Introduction and Objectives: Man-made disasters can be grouped as technology and violence origin such disasters occur as a result of conscious or unconscious mistakes where chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats are used. It has become significant for hospitals to prepare a plan, which includes information and practical actions, including all situations that require urgency and actions to be taken in emergencies that may occur in workplaces. Coronaviruses are a diverse group of viruses that infect many different animals and can cause mild to severe respiratory infections in humans. Two highly pathogenic coronaviruses of zoonotic origin, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), emerged in humans in 2002 and 2012, respectively. At the end of 2019, the emergence of a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, in the Chinese city of Wuhan caused an unusual viral pneumonia epidemic. In this study, hospital emergency management plan is examined to the currently effective pandemic element of COVID-19 disease. Methods: It reviews the current situation and recommended actions to improve the preparedness of hospitals in five critical hospital roles during disasters: executing planning and coordination, maintaining disaster capacity, training and disaster drills with the broader health and public safety communities, protection hospital and staff, and surveillance as showing. In this context, coranavirus (SARS-CoV-2) COVID-19 hospital disaster emergency plan system model has been tried to be created. While creating the system method, it proposes a model of how the primary diagnosis and intermediate treatments will be handled in the risk method for the emergency room cases and the clinic, by handling confirmed and suspected cases through both the healthcare personnel and the medical supply system. Results and Conclusions: As a result, the hospital emergency management plan can ease the emergency department workload, protect healthcare personnel, and control cross infection during the COVID-19 outbreak. Each hospital needs to create an emergency plan suitable for its own conditions. Hospitals can take interim measures, including online consultation, zoning, and epidemic priority to relieve pressure on clinical trials, reduce cross-infection, and strengthen protection of high-risk personnel.

Identifying the priorities in nursing research on disaster management: A Delphi study and international survey

The aim in this study was to explore and determine the priorities in nursing research for disaster management. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify and compile a list of statements on research priorities in disaster nursing. Next, a Delphi survey was conducted among experts identified from international disaster nursing professional societies and disaster nursing education programs to obtain their insights on the priorities in nursing research for disaster management. Lastly, an international web-based survey was conducted to collect data from frontline nursing practitioners, researchers, educators, and leaders. Through the systematic literature review, 327 research statements on disaster-related issues were derived from 28 publications. The Delphi survey generated a final list of 90 nursing research statements on disaster management. There were 133 responses to the web-based survey from 26 different countries/areas. The top three research priorities were “education and preparedness in the nursing profession” (mean = 4.45, SD = 0.79), “nurses’ competency to respond to disasters” (mean = 4.44, SD = 0.82), and “emergency management planning in healthcare, community and aged care facilities” (mean = 4.40, SD = 0.84). Significant differences were observed among those of different age groups, lengths of experience in disaster management, primary work settings, affiliated nursing society memberships, and WHO regions. The findings of this research provide a general picture of the priorities in nursing research for disaster management, and led to the identification of the overarching research priorities in this area and of areas in need of further research. Furthermore, it provided valuable suggestions for funding organizations and policymakers to decide on those areas of disaster nursing that warrant further research.

The soft skills emergency management that matters at the hardest time: A phenomenology study of healthcare worker's experiences during Kelantan flood 2014

The monsoon flood was inevitable for Malaysia. Nevertheless, no one expected that it would be as severe as the Kelantan Flood 2014. Total collapse of communication disruption had made it difficult for centric top-down emergency management to reach out to the healthcare workers. Not only the public were severely affected yet even healthcare workers and their families felt the impact of that disaster. This study aims to explore the challenges faced by the healthcare workers and look into the management that really helped them survive this crisis. Nine (9) healthcare workers under the ministry of health working at hospitals and affected clinics narrated their experience and their transcriptions were coded by a panel of experts. It was found that the common challenge occurred when they had to deal with patients and emergency circumstances with total cut down of necessities like electric supply, food and most of these healthcare workers were burned out when there were limited human resources during that critical phase. They also had to deal with their own inner turmoil and psychological concerns while mending the needs of their patient and the other staff. Breakdowns of communication and handling emergency cases really put them to the test. In handling most of these challenges, all agreed on the importance of having a leader to coordinate and motivate them, to form a crisis management centre as the core place for communication to be synchronized and the importance of soft skills in getting help from locals and the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). This study has affirmed the importance for emergency management to focus on creating proactive response in empowering the bottom-up kind of management as a complement to the existing preparedness system. Hence there is no better way to do that than to pay heed on the soft skills aspect of an emergency management plan in the future.

Exploration of Network Theory to Evaluate Organizational Resilience

Recent disasters and rapid changes in the environment have shown various open issues in organizational resilience, in particular the use of communications. We explore the use of Network Theory to study the robustness of communications in organizations regardless their structure and the communication mechanisms used. We focus on how a collapse in the communication mechanisms affects the communication structure in an organization. We use a case study based on an emergency management plan from a Nuclear Power Plant in Spain. We show that Network Theory along with the number of connected components in a network provides a cost-effective way to analyze the communication infrastructure and organizational relations. Network Theory also allows us to build awareness about the communication and information structure inside an organization, and to design a more robust communication network.

Gendered aspects of long-term disaster resilience in Victoria, Australia

Research conducted in 2018 documented the disaster experiences of 56 women and men in Australia aged between 18 and 93 years. This paper draws out the gendered factors that affected their resilience, and in so doing, begins to address the dearth of research related to gendered aspects of long-term disaster resilience. It is unique in capturing the voices of survivors who spoke of events 9 years after the 2009 Black Saturday fires and of earlier fires and floods in Victoria more than 50 years ago, including the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires. Over decades, gendered expectations of men and women significantly hindered resilience. Men spoke of the long-term cost to them of demands to ‘be strong’ in the worst of disasters and reasons they were reluctant to seek help afterwards. Women spoke of their contributions holding a lesser value and of discrimination. Discussions of violence against women and children after disaster, and suicide ideation in anticipation of future disasters offered critical insights. Protective factors identified by informants were not wholly intrinsic to their character but were also physical, such as essential resources provided in the immediate aftermath, and psychological and community support offered in the long-term. Factors that helped resilience departed from the ‘masculine’ model of coping post-disaster by moving away from a refusal to admit trauma and suffering, to community-wide resilience bolstered by widespread emotional, social and psychological support. Genuine community planning for disasters before they strike builds trust and offers insights for emergency management planners.