AY Honors/Disaster Response/Answer Key

1. Explain the type of damage most likely to occur to homes and individuals for each of the following major types of disaster, and indicate for each in which parts of the world does it occur most frequently:

a. Hurricane/Typhoon

Damage: These storms bring with them Tidal Surges that cause flooding, devastating winds, rain, hail, lighting and damage they cause often spark fires, toxic leaks, and electrical hazards. Occasionally they spin off Tornados, and massive inland thunderstorms. As a result people are killed in large numbers when not evacuated, homes are destroyed, water contaminated and responses delayed as a result of the ongoing storm. These storms have destroyed economies in history and have the record for most costly to recover from for nations effected.

Effects: Have been known to effect the coastal regions of every inhabited continent and virtually every island on Earth. Primarily effecting the Easter Coasts of the Eastern Hemisphere, The West Coast of Central America and Mexico, and the Carribean and South and East Coasts of the USA.

b. Tornado

These events are most frequently related to large storm systems although small tornados have been formed on clear days often, the smallest such funnels called "Dust Devils" often form during the dry summer months in the Sonoran Desert. Large tornados are subject to higher wind speeds than many hurricanes but contained often in tighter funnels, they obliterate structures that they meet head on and often cause roof seperations, siding seperations and other damage to structures outside their central path. Massive deaths often occur when these storms reach poulated areas as they are unpredicable at this time so warnings are short timed and few people can reach safety. These storms have been known to rip the pavement from roads and massive trees from the ground with their roots often shower debris at the outer most points of their reach sometimes miles away causing even more damage.

Effects: Largely inland plains areas such as the Great Plains of the United States. This is believed to be as a reslult of the low friction for storm systems that move through the areas and their violent collision with systems of varient tempurature or pressure.

c. Floods

All floods have this in common, if they are big enough and fast they will move abosolutly every thing in their path. No force seems to be more able to move even the surface of the Earth itself as dramatically as flooding. Small floods may ruin walls and flooring in houses and contaminate water supplies while large fast floods will simply erase the earth they cover. As in any large disaster in people are not or can not be evacutated deaths are large in number. Forthose who survive they will become refugees needing all assistance from neighboring communities or even nations jsut to survive.

No part of the Earth has been uneffected by floods. Even those who argue that the Biblical account of the Genesis flood did not happen must acknowledge evidence of flooding at even the highest points of Earth that geologist have studied. Most flooding occurs near rivers and costal regions or along mountains, the reasons are apparent. Rivers and Mountain sides (as well as deserts) are subject to flash floods, these sudden and violent events often occur as a result of storms that are massive and may be miles from the flooding. Lakes, seas, and oceans are most commonly subject to tidal surges caused by storms moving across the surface and their force pushing the water level under them down (therefore out) causing costal flooding. These same large bodies of water can be subject to Tsunami as well, this most commonly caused by earthquakes will be briefly preluded by tidal retraction. This retraction may be drastic and measuralable in Kilometers or even miles, but when the tide returns it will be FAST, sudden, and high. Tsunamis do not look like breaking waves but rather tidal surges, and they may rise dozens of feet beyond the normal tide.

2. Describe briefly the types of services provided to survivors of disasters in your nation by ADRA or Adventist Community Services (ACS).

ADRA provides services outside of North America in 120 nations around the globe. ACS provides services inside North America and Bermuda. Their missions are often parallel in Disaster Response.

In the area of Disaster Response the Adventist organizations provide an important basic need of disaster relief, warehousing and distribution. Adventists are responsible for recieving most of the donated goods sent to an incident, then sorting, warehousing, and distributing them. Large scale distribution is done to fill the needs of the Red Cross, Southern Baptists, Salvation Army, and Second Harvest as well as local food banks and shelters during a response. Small scale distributions are done to individuals and families at satalite distribution centers where families report to obtain those essential items they need such as clothing, hygiene products, and food.

Before this type of system was organized or when it does not function, donated items often went to waste. Because of the slow action of the state of Louisiana and its political subdivisions truck loads of goods were dropped in fields and streets within hurricane ravaged areas and went to waste. The central collection of goods and their managed distribution is essential to good Disaster Management.

3. View a video report from ADRA or ACS concerning a recent disaster response project and discuss with your instructor, Pathfinder Club counselor, teacher or group the key roles that would be necessary in the disaster response team in order to accomplish the work described in the video.

The ADRA Presents series of videos includes very good introductions to ACS and disaster resoponse in short video segments. These videos are available through AdventSource .

4. Complete the official ADRA introductory training unit provided by your national ADRA office or ACS organization.

Contact ADRA at http://www.adra.org

Contact ACS at http://www.communityservices.org

For the Pacific Union Conference contact Charlene Sargent, Director ADR PUC at the Pacific Union Conference 6005 Amber Oaks Avenue, Bakersfield California, 93306

OR check with your local conference for the contact of your conference or union disaster coordinator.

Currently ACS has 5 general training modules and specific courses on Warehouse Management, Public Information, and interagency liason. The 5 general modules are currently being revised.

6. Explain the role of government officials when a disaster occurs, identify the key government agency in your nation that manages emergency response, and describe the nature of the relationship that your ADRA or ACS country office has with this government agency.

In the United States each state has the responsibility to manage major emergencies and disasters. They do so by establishing a state level agency to oversee planning and response while advising local juridictions such as counties and cities on their planning and response. Part of this planning is the development of contracts for response to ermergencies with non-government agencies within and outside of their state, this will include ADRA and the Red Cross and may include local contractors who will provide equipment on demand and local charaties they may help with refugee shelter or goods management.

If the governor of a state declares an emergency these plans and contracts go into effect, in addition if that governor makes a formal request of the United States Federal Government for assistance the President may after reviewing the request dispatch the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and provide federal funding to help off set the cost of the disaster for the state. The U.S. Federal Government has no jurisdiction to respond to an emergency or to fund its recovery when it occurs off of federally controlled lands, therefore the system requires as a constitutional matter of seperation of powers that the state request aid before it can be given. In recent years in the United States a gross failure of a state to act resulted in the deaths and suffering of many of its residents and in blame placed on FEMA where it was not due; for this reason it is deeply important that we understand the emergency management system of our nation and how we can best be of service to it.

References

Disaster Response Guide from the ADRA or ACS national office

Ministries of Compassion, second edition by Monte Sahlin, AdventSource, Lincoln, Nebraska(1998)