Michael Newland
Reference:
Reference:
Varvas, S., & Mckenna, B. (2013). Learning the Communication Lessons of the Port-au-Prince Earthquake Relief Effort. Journal of Technical Writing & Communication, Vol. 43 Issue 1, Pg 43-61.
Theme:
Natural disasters are often unpredictable events. Supplying relief and aid to affected individuals is difficult especially in third world countries. Without adequate communication relief efforts become nearly impossible to coordinate.
Summary:
· In January of 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 300,000 people lost their lives with hundreds of thousands more injured and homeless.
The emergency response for this disaster was severely hampered by the destruction of the United Nations communication headquarters. Poverty and miscommunication resulted in riots when food and supplies were being distributed. Several people did not receive any food or supplies for several days. Haiti’s political situation and structure at the time made relief communication and efforts even more difficult. We learned about a lot of things from this disaster that were done poorly.
· The Three Stages of Disaster Relief outline what goes on before, during, and after a disaster in order to mitigate as much damage as possible. It also covers relief difficulties such as communication problems.
· The first stage is Pre-Disaster Preparation and Communication. “This stage is essential for it outlines the necessary actions that must be followed to communicate effectively to the public, aid organizations, agencies, and governments to recover from a disaster (Varvas, 2013).”
· The second stage or Response Stage is, “The implementation of strategic disaster planning and media communication responses to create awareness (Varvas, 2013).” In this stage regional, national, and international actors start to generate aid and support to those affected by the disaster. This stage can be difficult due to lack of short term and long term funding. In third world countries there are concerns that their governments are spending their money elsewhere due to corruption. Developing incident command systems is vital to relief efforts.
· The last stage is Post-Disaster Communication and Management. After the disaster is over and relief efforts are in full swing there needs to be a post-disaster evaluation and analysis. “There are two steps where lessons and adaptive systems can be taught: 1. Lessons learned from the response stage; and 2. Long-term lessons derived from restoration (Varvas, 2013).”
· From learning from past disasters like the Haiti earthquake four suggestions were created from several organizations. “To reduce distress from disasters, clear communication channels, political collaboration, proper education, and training are essential (Varvas, 2013).”
Application to the lesson topic:
Communication is incredibly important during disaster relief efforts. Without it you cannot hope to effectively give aid in a timely manner. You also would not be able to get vital information out to the public. Communication is a cornerstone to disaster response and relief.
Application to emergency services:
Responders trying to provide medical treatment and rescue to disaster victims must communicate with each other their organizations and with the government in order to coordinate efforts. Paramedics, EMT’s, and Police officers must remain in contact in order to send and receive information.
