1 Types of Crises/Disasters Types of Crises/Disasters Rachel H. Munroe School of Counseling, Walden University COUN 6145: Crisis Management Dr. Randy Heinrich September 04, 2022 2 Types of Crises/Disasters The concept of a crisis may at times be interchanged with disaster or with emergency (Al-Dahash et al., 2016; James & Gilliland, 2017). These words often relate but differ depending upon the individual or group involved in the experience. As such, there are numerous organizations and agencies around the world that provide expertise in educating communities prior to emergent situations, helping people to get through them, then supporting recovery efforts. Comparisons Natural disasters are an experience for which, in many cases, no amount of preparation is enough to avoid a state of crisis (Cornia et al., 2016; James & Gilliland, 2017). Countless people live in flood zones, along fault lines, in areas frequented by tornados, hurricanes, or other ecosystem crises occur. Yet, individuals and communities are still devastated when numerous homes are destroyed, bridges collapse, or entire cities are ravaged. When a community is already adversely affected by one form of crisis, it may be more vulnerable to the devastating effects of another. Such as a war-torn country’s resilience being tested by climate-related natural disasters (Schleussner et al., 2016), Many may consider communities devastated by terrorism, war, or violence or the vast numbers of people suffering from homelessness, serious mental illnesses, and substance use disorders man-made disasters (James & Gilliland, 2017). These crises have become systemic in numerous countries around the globe, including our own. The most obvious difference between natural and man-made disasters is that “man” can prevent or end the recurrence of such things (James & Gilliland, 2017; Spinney et al., 2020; Steinberg, 2019). In nature-based tragedies, people from differing neighborhoods, often even different cultures come together to support Types of Crises/Disasters 3 recovery. In the case of violence or homelessness, people often avoid stepping in to help due to personal biases or fear (Betancourt et al., 2015; Caine, 2019). Both natural and man-made disasters or emergencies can result in situational crises that, with necessary supports, people can recover from in a reasonable amount of time (Crandall et al., 2014; James & Gilliland, 2017). However, two different people may respond very differently to the same emergent situation. One may develop complex PTSD while the other shows great resilience by rebounding and helping others to heal. Whether destroyed by nature or man, repairing homes, businesses, and schools do have a healing effect on the psyches of those who survived the experience, although human beings often require further support to heal psychologically. Be it war or hurricanes, all essential aspects of a community, city, or state can be adversely affected. Regardless of the source of tragedy and desolation, recovery requires a multi-system, well-coordinated approach for authentic healing to occur. National and International Crisis Responders There are numerous national and international organizations whose focus is on helping communities recover from natural disasters. The purpose of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is to support individuals and communities prepare for, surviving, and rebuilding after disasters (FEMA, 2019). They offer strategic planning, training, and education in risk awareness, coordinate local, state, and federal organizations, and provide resources to rebuild homes, businesses, schools, and more. The National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) advocates for survivors of violence and crises throughout the United States (NOVA, 2022). They also connect people with services and train advocates and crisis responders. Team Rubicon Disaster Response is a humanitarian organization of veterans who have found a new sense of purpose after serving in the armed forces (TRDR, 2022). They pride themselves on their 4 Types of Crises/Disasters prompt to large-scale crises, serving global communities in preparing for, enduring, and rehabilitating after natural disasters. Staff and volunteers at Relief International offer stability, structure, education, and more to people who have been affected by violence, conflict, or disasters (RI, 2022). Insights into Crisis Management A primary insight that I gained in preparing for and carrying out this assignment is the reinforcement of a belief that I carry around treatment for trauma and related disorders. Put simply; it takes a village. Be those local villages or global villages, education on crisis awareness, living through, then recuperating afterward all require the cooperation of multiple organizations to be most effective for survivors to thrive. It was a heartening experience to learn that there are so very many individuals and groups dedicated not only to dealing with the aftermath of horrific experiences but also to educate those at risk to be prepared before something terrifying happens. In Conclusion Our world is full of metastasizing, large-scale, and even mega crises (James & Gilliland, 2017). Homelessness, flooding, gang violence, tornados, war, and earthquakes all devastate individuals and communities. Thankfully, countless people are willing and able to dedicate their lives to helping survivors recover from devastating experiences. 5 Types of Crises/Disasters References Al-Dahash, H., Thayaparan, M., & Kulatunga, U. (2016, August). Understanding the terminologies: Disaster, crisis and emergency. In Proceedings of the 32nd annual ARCOM conference, ARCOM 2016 (pp. 1191-1200). Betancourt, T. S., Abdi, S., Ito, B. S., Lilienthal, G. M., Agalab, N., & Ellis, H. (2015). We left one war and came to another: Resource loss, acculturative stress, and caregiver–child relationships in Somali refugee families. Cultural diversity and ethnic minority psychology, 21(1), 114. Caine, E. (2019, October 16). Homeless: Why people don’t help. The Valley Citizen. https://thevalleycitizen.com/homeless-why-people-dont-help/ Cornia, A., Dressel, K., & Pfeil, P. (2016). Risk cultures and dominant approaches towards disasters in seven European countries. Journal of Risk Research, 19(3), 288-304. Crandall, W., Parnell, J. A., & Spillan, J. E. (2014). Crisis management in the new strategy landscape. (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (2019). Publication 1. https://www.fema.gov/about/action/pub-1 James, R. K. & Gilliland, B.E. (2017). Crisis intervention strategies (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA). (2022). Mission and reach. https://www.trynova.org/who-we-are/mission-and-reach/ Schleussner, C. F., Donges, J. F., Donner, R. V., & Schellnhuber, H. J. (2016). Armed-conflict risks enhanced by climate-related disasters in ethnically fractionalized countries. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(33), 9216-9221. Types of Crises/Disasters Spinney, A., Beer, A., MacKenzie, D., McNelis, S., Meltzer, A., Muir, K., & Peters, A. (2020). Ending homelessness in Australia: A redesigned homelessness service system. Steinberg, J. B. (2019). The Good Friday Agreement: Ending War and Ending Conflict in Northern Ireland (May 2019). Texas National Security Review. Team Rubicon Disaster Response (TRDR). (2022). Relief. https://teamrubiconusa.org/relief/ 6
