Xinyi Zhang’s Three Perspectives on Disaster Preparedness

In this brief, Xinyi Zhang 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.

Zhang discusses the differences between each level of emergency response and notes that considering every angle is essential to comprehensive disaster preparedness. Government officials focus on overall response, while businesses pay close attention to supply chain damage. Finally, at the community level, it is important to address a disaster’s negative impacts on the individuals affected (such as mental health issues caused by the traumatic event).