3.1 Disaster Management
Disaster management refers to the processes applied before, during, and after the occurrence of a disaster event (i.e. throughout the DMC) to prevent or mitigate its impacts (Nikbakhsh & Farahani, 2011).
Catastrophes such as 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami (Telford & Cosgrave, 2007), 2005 Hurricane Katrina (Brunkard, Namulanda, & Ratard, 2008), and 2010 Haiti earthquake (Bilham, 2010) have led to a renewed interest in disaster management and its recognition as a distinct discipline. Many countries have given priority to the policy agenda in this field (Khan, Vasilescu, & Khan, 2008), and several international organisations also have taken the lead in this regard. The United Nations has introduced ‘Hyogo’ (United Nations, 2007) and ‘Sendai’ (United Nations, 2015) frameworks for a more proactive approach to disaster management and reducing disaster risks, losses and damages to communities, respectively. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also asked all countries in the world to set up hospitals with facilities for disaster relief (WHO, 2010).
In practice, the primary purposes of disaster management are logistical, e.g. dealing with damaged infrastructure, restoring services, setting up supply chains, moving victims to safety and seeing to their basic needs. Dispensing clinical treatment to those who need it is not the main role of disaster managers as has been noted after major disasters and terrorist attacks such as 9/11 (Kirsch & Hsu, 2008; Trzeciak & Rivers, 2003).