In this brief, Sarah Ortega reviews three varying perspectives on disaster management preparedness at the government, business, and community levels. Narratives from individuals with backgrounds working at each level were used to illustrate how disaster preparedness is achieved through planning, communication, and collaboration.
Sarah discusses how rather than “first responders”, the government’s role in disaster management has a broader focus, as it is responsible for building communication and infrastructural systems to mitigate the impact of disasters. Businesses’ role in disaster response differs from that of the government’s, because their primary goal is not to ensure the safety of individual citizens, but to maintain a steady supply of resources. Finally, Sarah points out that at the community level, individuals can have drastically different responses to an emergency. This is the reason why it is crucial for governments provide individuals with relevant trainings on how to act to keep themselves and each other safe when facing a disaster.