Category: Disaster

Introduction

On May 12, 2008, at 14.28 (local time), an earthquake occurred in Sichuan province. The epicenter with a magnitude of 7.8 was located 90 kilometers from the provincial administrative center of the city of Chengdu, China. Subterranean tremors were felt in Beijing. This disaster made a moderate impact on the countrys economy, yet affected several industries located in the devastated areas.

Economic Impact: GDP

The restoration of the economy of China has thrown various challenges, primarily because the area of the disaster was rather huge. The damage from the most powerful earthquake in China within the last 30 years has exceeded a trillion yuan (almost $ 150 billion). As a result of the impact of the underground elements, more than ten million people were left homeless. The construction of temporary housing for such a large number of people took about 2.5 years, while all of them were settled in temporary homes by the end of 2010. In particular, 69,227 people were killed, 17,923 were missing, and over 370,000 were injured (Wei et al. 302). This was the most devastating earthquake since the formation of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC).

As noted by the National Bureau of Statistics, Sichuans Gross Domestic Product (GDP) accounted for solely 4.2 percent of the national total in 2008. The total GDP of China was more than $ 24,600 billion in that period that made the country the fourth in the list of the global economy (Trading Economics). This means that the impact of the Wenchuan earthquake on Chinas overall economy could not be significant. It should be emphasized that such a strong economy was able to help the devastated areas in recovering. In general, the mentioned disaster did not affect significantly the growth of the countrys GDP.

Economic Impact: Inflation

As for the inflationary pressure, 2008 was marked by the increase in inflation that exceeded the expected rates. Namely, as noted by Trading Economics the estimated 4,5 percent turned out to be six percent, but the role of the Wenchuan earthquake in this increase is evident yet not great (see fig. 2). Food and drinking water are two products that led to inflation in the devastated areas.

Industries Affected

• Constriction;
• Insurance;
• Hydro power generation;
• Transportation;
• Tourism;
• Manufacturing;
• Mining;
• Agriculture.

Products

Among the key products, there were construction materials, road supplies, drinking water and food, and a dire need for temporary shelters.

Indirect economic damage from the Wenchuan earthquake included the following components: change in the volume and structure of output of industry, performance indicators, and development of the production of interchangeable types of products for the needs of the emergency area (Wu et al. 169).

Construction

• Construction of new houses  3.7 million tons of metal structures and 370 million tons of cement;
• 20,000 buildings have been built initially, and another 175,000 temporary houses have been laid (Zhong et al. 8).

The key aim of recovering was the reconstruction of houses. In particular, iron, steel, and cement were the most demanded construction products.

Since the latter cannot be transported over long distances due to its specifics, both demand and price for cement raised.

At the same time, certain results have been achieved in the restoration work. As of August 12, work resumed 93 percent of the enterprises of the earthquake-hit Sichuan province (Zhong et al. 8). According to the disaster management analysis based on the mentioned earthquake, for houses without shelter, they were built at an accelerated pace.

Insurance and Hydro Power

• Insurance sector:
  • the most critical losses;
  • raised peoples awareness of the need to insure their lives and property;
  • Improved revenues.
• Hydro Power:
  • reduced water and power supply in a short-term aspect;
  • damaged roads limited hydro power transition.

Insurance sector incurred the most critical losses as insurers had to pay compensations to plenty of organizations and individuals. At the same time, the Wenchuan earthquake raised peoples awareness of the need to insure their lives and property, thus making more requests for insuring companies in the next years and increasing their revenue (Zhong et al. 8). Hydro power generation was another strong point of the given area. Its damage significantly reduced water and power supply in a short-term point. Accordingly, communication and transportation were also hilted.

Transportation: Demand and Supply

The whole extent of fractured roads surpassed 17 thousand km, and the economic damage from this was estimated at 16.2 billion yuan (International Energy Agency). Both demand and supply for transportation fuels grew.

Tourism

This industry was almost destroyed by the tremors that cannot be overestimated in terms of the provinces GDP, where eight percent was composed of touristic services.

After the disaster, only extreme tourists visited the province of Sichuan.

More than 16 thousand enterprises suffered from the earthquake, as a result of which 372 thousand townspeople lost their jobs, as it is noted in their recent research study by Xu and Lu (218). In addition, 1.5 million peasants remained without means of production. Even though the manufacturing and production sectors of Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality composed only one percent of the countrys total export, some enterprises were relocated. It is crucial to emphasize that plenty of people were unable to find a new job due to the shortage of supply. In terms of the quake-hit regions, many companies were unable to operate further and employ people. This also affected the provinces economy, yet did not make a great impact on those of the country. The review of the related literature indicates that the policy of outward investment was preserved in spite of the quake, and foreign investment remained unchanged. Such industries as engineering, iron and steel, pharmaceuticals, and machinery grew due to increased demand and supply (Xu and Lu 215). The key aim of recovering was the reconstruction of houses. In particular, iron, steel, and cement were the most demanded construction products.

Chinas Response

• The General Plan for the recovery;
• Proposal for low-carbon economy;
• Reconstruction;
• China Banking Regulatory Commission and loans written off;
• The United Nations (UN) assistance;
• Day of Disaster Management celebration.

In response to the given disaster, China introduced a low-carbon economy. Based on greenhouse gases and the adaptation of the energy sector required a long time, yet the start was given since the Wenchuan earthquake (Andrews-Speed 5). It was stated that the transition to a low-carbon economy would allow being less dependent from natural disasters and recovering from them more rapidly. According to the General Plan for the recovery after the earthquake in Wenchuan, Chinas central government has allocated a total of 100 million yuan for earthquake relief and financing projects for the restoration of severely affected areas in the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, and Shaanxi (Zhong et al. 7). By the end of 2010, the paramount living conditions and level of socio-economic development in the affected areas reached or even exceeded the level of the period before the earthquake. Two years later, the reconstruction tasks were basically completed (Guan and Barker 251). The United Nations (UN) provided urgent humanitarian assistance estimated of $ eight million as assistance for the victims of the earthquake in Sichuan areas.

Conclusion

Wenchuan earthquake had a limited impact on Chinas overall economy.

Considering that the devastated areas composed insignificant part of the countrys GDP, no critical harm or risk may be mentioned.

Nevertheless, construction materials, transportation, energy, and drinking water were among the most demand products.

Due to strong economy as well as UN assistance and foreign investment, Chinas Sichuan province recovered in a few years.

Works Cited

Andrews-Speed, Philip. Chinas Long Road to a Low-Carbon Economy: An Institutional Analysis. Transatlantic Academy, 2012. Web.

Guan, Dabo, and Terry Barker. Low-carbon Development in the Least Developed Region: A Case Study of Guangyuan, Sichuan Province, Southwest China. NaturalHazards, vol. 62, no. 2, 2012, pp. 243-254.

International Energy Agency. International Energy Agency, 2012. Web.

Trading Economics. Trading Economics, 2017. Web.

Wei, Yi-Ming et al. Impacts of Natural Disasters and Disaster Risk Management in China: The Case of Chinas Experience in the Wenchuan Earthquake. ResilienceandRecoveryinAsianDisasters. Springer Japan, 2015. pp. 287-307.

Wu, Jidong, et al. Regional Indirect Economic Impact Evaluation of the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. EnvironmentalEarthSciences, vol, 65, no. 1, 2012, pp. 161-172.

Xu, Jiuping, and Yi Lu. Meta-Synthesis Pattern of Post-Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction: Based on Actual Investigation on 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. NaturalHazards, vol. 60, no. 2, 2012, pp. 199-222.

Zhong, Shuang, et al. Progress and Challenges of Disaster Health Management in China: A Scoping Review. GlobalHealthAction, vol. 7, no.1, 2014, pp. 1-9.

Although Sri Lanka holds a thirty-year record of the words least safe place with the greatest number of natural disasters per year, it still remains a place beloved and inhabited by an entire nation. Therefore, it is necessary to take a look at the disaster statistics, especially their frequency and impact on peoples lives in Sri Lanka. Below is the key information concerning natural disasters in Sri Lanka in 19802010:

Judging by the information provided above, floods are the major problem in Sri Lanka. The given phenomenon is quite predictable, given the specifics of the Sri Lanka geographical location and river structure. If considering the Sri Lanka river map, one will see distinctly that the surface of Sri Lanka is mostly flat.

Hence, it will be reasonable to choose here specific disasters to analyze them and compare them with the rest of the catastrophes that have taken place in the state so far since the 1980s. To make the analysis more objective, it will be necessary to consider different disasters, e.g., a flood, an earthquake, and a drought.

Considering the table above, one will find out easily that over the past three decades, floods have been the major problem in Sri Lanka. Reaching the number of 33, they have become more numerous than any other disaster that occurred in Sri Lanka over the past thirty years. Oddly enough, drought comes as a close second in this list, peaking to nine accidents over around thirty years.

While the floods can be explained by a large river system and the relatively low above-sea-level of the island, the drought might seem rather a rare occurrence in the place where floods are frequent. However, drought can be explained by the fact that the island has a warm climate, and, therefore, does not have enough precipitation.

While the floods come as a result of river floods during the rain seasons, droughts are caused by the very dry and very warm climate. The last, but not the least, earthquakes, or, to be more exact, the earthquake that was registered only once over the course of 30 years, can be considered the result of the tectonic movement (Wijetunge 207).

According to the recent researches, the tectonic scenario around Sri Lanka shows that the isle is predisposed to suffering from earthquakes (Mulligan and Nadarajah 353), which means that the only possible way to save the local population is to instruct people on the actions that must be undertaken in case of an earthquake.

As one can observe in the analysis above, there are considerable differences in the disaster statistics arranged by the year when they occurred, the type of disaster and its intensity. According to the existing researches, these discrepancies in the disaster statistics can be explained scientifically. As it has been mentioned above, the floods frequency owes much to the specific river system of the isle, while droughts are the result of little precipitation.

Landslides can be explained by both active tectonic processes and the specifics of the rock. Cyclones and storms, which are actually results of the difference in pressure, seem to occur only when the Sri-Lankan tropic climate takes its roll over the island and the storm is formed around the low-pressure center. Finally, the mass movement wet seems to share its nature with Sri-Lankan earthquakes.

Works Cited

Mulligan, M. & Nadarajah, Y. (2012). Rebuilding the community in the wake of disaster: Lessons from the recovery from the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka and India. Community Development Journal, 47(3), 353368.

Ruddock, L. (2012) Post-tsunami reconstruction in Sri Lanka: Assessing the economic impact. International Journal of Strategic Property Management, 14(3): 217230.

Wickramaratne, S. et al. (2012). Ranking of natural disasters in Sri Lanka for migration planning. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment 3(2), 115132.

Wijetunge, J. (2010). Assessment of potential tsunamigenic seismic hazard to Sri Lanka. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment 1(2), 207220. Print.

Zubair, L. (2004). May 2003 disaster in Sri Lanka and cyclone 01-B in the Bay of Bengal. Natural Hazards, 33, 303318.

Recovering from a disaster is never easy, and it is especially challenging for a whole country to stabilise its economy and have soon positive effects. As noticed by Wouter Botzen, Deschenes and Sanders (2019, p. 179), effects of natural disasters significantly reduce economic growth, especially in low-income countries. Therefore, it is vital for the government of South Africa to address the issues caused by the earthquake and reconstruct the region, focusing on several public interventions to stimulate the regions growth in the shortest time possible.

Before offering some strategies, it is essential to describe the current state of the region. As known, although the area is densely populated, there were no victims, which is why it is possible to suggest that there is no shortage of human capital. Further, this is a region with a high concentration of manufacturing firms. Since a good part of the industrial infrastructure is ruined, it is evident that, without proper production rates, it will be challenging for this area to become stabilised. From the report, it is also known that schools and universities are severely damaged. Consequently, the scope of work is extended, but it is still possible for the government of South Africa to gather their efforts and promote the quick recovery and development of this region. Some recommended steps are mentioned in the following paragraphs.

First of all, people are the most valuable resource of the region because they are interested in and capable of restoring it. Consequently, it is recommended that the government address the citizens well-being, including their moral state and levels of encouragement and commitment. If the community is persuaded in the following reconstruction of schools, universities, hospitals and industrial infrastructure, they will be more relaxed and can help stabilise the regions economy. Otherwise, they may slow down the recovery and development of the region due to an unaddressed stressful state. For example, the adaptive behaviour of some persons may even result in additional economic loss: many people may refuse to continue their work because of the fear of another earthquake.

Further, it is vital to set up industrial infrastructure, and this is one of the most costly but significant areas for the government to address. It should be possible to manage water supply, fix roads and bridges, have stabilised electricity and transportation systems and remove hazardous waste like sharp metal objects or glass. What is more, with recovered infrastructure, it also becomes possible to continue the work of the most valuable manufacturing firms. Investments in their recovery should bring profit later, but if at least some of the regions firms, plants and fabrics do not continue their work, it will be impossible to foster economic development.

Other policies also refer to the citizens and their well-being. According to Wouter Botzen, Deschenes and Sanders (2019), the low-income part of the society is affected the most, and if they have their homes destroyed, the mortality rate can increase significantly in the nearest future. Thus, a major part of the governments budget should be spent on the recovery of low-income people. They need to receive shelter, have food and healthcare security, and take an active part in rebuilding the region. The final step to consider is that such a disaster is a chance for the community to build better  new infrastructure needs to be safer, and higher standards will reduce the risk of the buildings being destroyed when another earthquake happens. These steps and policies are likely to have both short- and long-term positive effects on the economic development of the region. If great amounts of government money are invested in the damaged area now, it will bring good profit and cover the expenses over the next thirty years.

Reference List

Wouter Botzen, W. J., Deschenes, O. and Sanders, M. (2019) The economic impacts of natural disasters: a review of models and empirical studies, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 13(2), pp. 167-188.

Introduction

The effects of fire on the environment and the ecosystem resources may be physical effects, biological, or even chemical. Its abiotic effects comprise the role it plays in altering the quality of air, the quality of water, the properties of soil as well as the cycling of nutrients. The biotic ones comprise the changes in vegetation and the associated impacts on flora and fauna. Fire effects come about as an outcome of an association between the heating system brought about by fire and the properties of the ecosystem. The specific fire effect on whatever components is flexible but will have to change depending on the characteristics of the site and the behavior of the fire. For instance, the effects of the burning fire in similar conditions may not be the same on soils that do not have similar textures.

It is quite important for the managers of forests to know and understand the fire effects. Fire is the basic ecosystems process in which the forest managers encounter challenges to deal with so as to achieve the objectives of the management of the ecosystem. These managers utilize fire to acquire effects that are of advantage and evade the outcomes that are not needed.

Effects of Forest Fires on Eco System

According to Gupta and Yunus (4), fire is among the greatest causes of deforestation all over the world. In the initial cultural era, the fire was the only available tool to be employed in clearing the land and making it most appropriate to facilitate easier grazing. In the current era, forest fires bring about forest deprivation by exerting prospective impact on forest crop, renewal, output, defensive power, soil, flora, and fauna. The general fires destruction on the forest crop is reliant on such factors as; the species that make up a portion of the crop or the forest components, the condition in which the crop is, the season and the crops age, and the status of the nutrients found in the soil. The breaking down of nitrogen compounds by the high temperatures brings about an additional reduction in nutrients. The forest fires bring about the great loss of flora and fauna by destroying the eggs and the young wildlife and destroying the areas in which they inhabit which is an essential component of the ecosystem of the forest.

However, according to Anon. (Wildfires 1), there has been a gathering of data by the researchers on the effects of fire on forest ecosystems. These researchers have come up with the knowledge that fires have their own positive effects and should not be completely excluded from the forests. This has resulted in coming up with a new technique referred to as prescribed fire.

In the last several years, the teams of management in forestry have realized that fire restraint has brought about quite a number of problems in the forests ecosystem. In the current times, it is known that fire exclusion brings about great amounts of materials that fall as well as vegetation that are thick. These materials together with the thick vegetation bring up the level of fuel on the forests floor and this enhances the ignition of fires. Whenever a fire is set up on the floor that is covered with large amounts of dead materials, it burns more intensely bringing about more destruction to the forest ecosystem (Rogers 7). More so, the thick vegetation has smaller trees that are found near the ground and whenever a fire is ignited, these smaller trees direct the fire to the larger older trees bringing about a crown fire.

More so, forests that have not experienced a fire for a long time may turn out to be a habitat for plant species that may not be able to adapt to fire. This is known as vegetation modification. Those plants that are able to adapt to fire possess thick barks and these barks offer protection to living tissues found inside for the heat originating from the fire. In addition, there are several species of plants that rely on heat originating from the fire that helps in the opening up of the seed cones in order to germinate. Vegetation modification affects the flora and fauna populations, diseases, the structure of the soil, and the recycling of the nutrients as well.

These issues of vegetation modification, accumulation of dead material, and the thick vegetation that are all brought about by fire suppression have triggered the turning to a technique referred to as prescribed fire by the managers of the forests. A prescribed fire refers to a fire that is set up by a human being or occurs naturally and is keenly controlled. The forest managers put into consideration several factors before setting up a prescribed fire. Such factors include the weather conditions, the quantity of moisture found in the dead accumulated material, the current season, the conditions of wind, humidity, and the amount of vegetation found on the floor of the forest. If all these conditions are in favor of setting up a fire, then these managers will have to plan about which area to burn.

Most of the effects of the prescribed burn are quite clear. One of these effects is that the materials found on the forest floor and the undergrowth vegetation are burned down and an open floor forest is obtained. This open forest floor does away with the likelihood of the forest experiencing an intense fire in time to come due to the absence of fuel on the floor of the forest.

After burning taking place, the ash is left and this is quite rich in nutrients. At the time when rain falls, there is the dissolving of the nutrients found in the ash in the soil which is utilized by the new plants. This is a process that is referred to as nutrient recycling. These nutrients are of great benefit to the young plants that would have to come up.

In addition, after the prescribed burn, there is a coming up of new growth just after the fires being put off. There are those that give out cones and these cones are given out at the time they are exposed to heat. This brings about the growth of new vegetation which takes advantage of the newly formed nutrients and this facilitates the thriving of the new vegetation. At this point, there is quite minimal competition for food as well as sunlight and this enables the new plants to grow at a higher rate (Anon. Role of fire in the forest ecosystems 1).

However, there have been concerns about the effects the prescribed fires can have on animals. People have raised issues that these fires might have negative effects on the animals. But on the other hand, most of the prescribed fires move quite slowly and this gives enough time for the animals to relocate to other places including those that live in the ground to dig deep in to the ground. More so, the prescribed fires are mostly set up during the seasons when the animals are taking care of the young ones or nesting. This season normally occurs in the course of the months between February to April and from September to early November. The only main threat associated with prescribed burns comes about after the burning has been carried out and the fire put off. The animals encounter hardships in the finding of food and shelter. However, majority of the animals move to the areas where burning has not occurred and later come back to inhabit their original place of stay when the vegetation has grown up.

Other concerns about the prescribed fires are in regard to air pollution. It is argued that the smoke produced during the burning brings about air pollution. This view is supported by Sandberg, Ottmar and Peterson (623) and they stress that, whereas fire is vital in bringing about the maintenance in most of the ecosystems, the emissions from the fire that pollutes air can turn out to be injurious on the health of human beings as well as their welfare. According to the aforementioned authors, the solution to this can be offered by putting in place effective programs in the management of smoke and the policies regarding the quality of the air and this has to be supported thorough research and land management agency. This solution is offered in part by the prescribed fire plan since in this plan, even if smoke is let into the atmosphere, this can not measure up to the level of smoke that is released in the conditions that are not controlled.

Conclusion

To this end, it has been realized that forest fires have both negative and positive effects on the ecosystem. However, there should be a distinction between wild fires and prescribed fires. The wildfires can be quite destructive to the ecosystem but on the other hand, the prescribed fires have several benefits as it has been seen. Therefore, this calls for the need to take control of the burning of fires in our forests, putting them at a particular limit. The forest managers should go on letting the prescribed fires to burn in order to ensure the sustainability of the forest ecosystem.

In conclusion, even if the long term effects of the prescribed fires are not well identified, the available evidence indicates that the benefits that come from a plan for prescribed fires are more than the benefits that could be derived in a case where such a plan is not put in place. There should be carrying out of more improvements in order to maintain fire prescription as an important practice. More research should be carried out in regard to the long term effects of the prescribed fires. More so, there should be rising of the public awareness about prescribed fires. This is a point where human beings should come to a realization that fire gave shape to the forests that are seen nowadays and there should be no letting the forest ecosystems to gradually diminish away.

Works Cited

Anon. Role of fire in the forest ecosystems, Slideshare Inc. 2009. Web.

Anon. Wildfires. Ajwaters. 2010. Web.

Gupta Anil K. and Yunus, M., Forest fire and ecosystem-health, Environews. 1998. Web.

Rogers, Chris. How does fire affect the ecosystem? eHow Inc. 2010. Web.

Sandberg D, Ottmar R, and Peterson J. Fire Effects on Air quality. Forest Encyclopedia Network. 2008. Web.

A number of states in the United States are vulnerable to hurricanes of varying magnitudes. Therefore, the local, state, and federal agencies concerned with natural disasters have to ensure that the communities are well-prepared for catastrophes. The above advertisement is simple and clear to ensure that everybody living or visiting susceptible states such as Florida and North Carolina understand what to do in preparation for the hurricane. The advert emphasizes that the citizens should ensure they have adequate essential supplies, including food, medicines, money, phone charges, gas, radio, and batteries. The conveyed message positively impacts disaster preparedness since people start to plan early for the occurrence.

Hospice is one of the community settings directly impacted by disaster preparedness advert. The setting is a care facility for terminally ill individuals (Oechsle, 2019). The management of hospices in regions that are highly likely to be hit by a hurricane will plan to have enough supply of medicine and food among other necessities. Nurses will have a central role in effective preparedness for the disaster in the hospices. Nurses plan and implement safety measures and serve as agents of communication between the patients and their families and other stakeholders (Hagan et al., 2018). They ensure that the environment is safe for everyone and means of evacuation are readily available. Additionally, they communicate with management, families, and government agencies to facilitate updated information regarding the impending disaster and status of the hospices. These roles guarantee the availability of resources needed for effective preparedness catastrophes.

The hospice facilities management teams are key stakeholders who can collaborate with the Community Health Network (CHN) to ensure effective disaster preparedness. The hospices management is important because the team oversees all operations of the facilities, ranging from planning to implementation (Dahlin et al., 2018). Therefore, their cooperation with the CHN will allow the facility to have adequate clinical support from the agency such as supplies for medicines and an additional emergency response team. As a result, these community settings can respond well to disasters, minimizing their possible negative impacts.

References

Dahlin, C., Coyne, P., Goldberg, J., & Vaughan, L. (2018). Palliative care leadership.Journal of Palliative Care, 34(1), 21-28. Web.

Hagan, T., Xu, J., Lopez, R., & Bressler, T. (2018). Nursings role in leading palliative care: A call to action.Nurse Education Today, 61, 216-219. Web.

Oechsle, K. (2019). Current advances in palliative & hospice care: Problems and needs of relatives and family caregivers during palliative and hospice carean overview of current literature.Medical Sciences, 7(3), 1-16. Web.

Market Dynamics always change the supply and demand ratios of products, goods, and services. In many cases, the industry and the manufacturing organizations are able to anticipate and plan for such fluctuations, and this helps them to manage the supply chain effectively. But in many cases, natural events, political upheavals that are totally unpredictable can occur, and these can severely impact the supply and demand ratios. This paper analyses the impact that Hurricane Katrina had on gasoline prices.

The article on the effect of gasoline prices due to Hurricane Katrina are given at:

Walter William (2005), Supply, Demand and Gasoline Prices Web.

Cavaney Red (2005), Hurricane Katrinas Effect On The Oil Industry,

Healey James R. (2005),Storm worsens oil, gas problems Web.

• Relevant points: The articles suggest that the shortage in gasoline is due to the disruptions caused by the Hurricane in the oil drilling and refining areas of the Gulf of America. The hurricane destroyed many oil rigs and oil refineries, and this abruptly cut off the production and distribution of gas from these regions. These regions provide about 25% of US gas supplies. Due to this, there was a shortage of gas, and this created a rise in gas prices.
• Shift in the Supply Curve or Demand Curve: There was a downward shift in the supply curve as the production of gas was cut off. Demand rise was marginal as people only attempted to drive around for supplies and food.
• Is the shift an increase or a decrease: The shift in the oil supply is decreased, and the curve has moved to the left? At the same time, the rising cost of gas has reduced the demand to lower than normal consumption. This was partly due to the fact that the government urged people not to drive without reason.
• Equilibrium Point: The supply and demand curves attain equilibrium in the left region of the curve and then gradually move back to their original point. This would happen in the initial days when there is a lot of panics, and people just want to stock up on gas, fearing it would run out. At this point, the supply has decreased, but the demand momentarily rises. When there is no obvious shortage of gas, and the government announces that it has resumed supply, people desist from stocking up.

Final equilibrium price higher or lower than the original price: The final equilibrium price would be higher than the original price, but this has nothing to do specifically with the hurricane. Analysts have been long forecasting the excessive consumption of gas and the gradual increase in oil prices forced by OPEC. There have been many forecasts that the rise in gas prices is due to the heavy consumption by US markets. But the curve for the price would attain equilibrium at the original prices, even though this may be momentary.

Final equilibrium quantity higher or lower than the original quantity: The final equilibrium quantity would be higher than the original, but again this has nothing to do with the hurricane. There has been a steady increase in the consumption of gas over the decrease.

Introduction

When disasters occur, a business should always be prepared to cope and recover from it. In this way, it will be easy for them to measure, determine, and reduce risks in the future. Staff members often get stressed when disasters occur as they are unable to work effectively causing poor productivity of the business. Most disasters are unpredictable and can happen abruptly. In case of such events, disaster planning strategies equip businesses with the necessary techniques and tools to help in recovery.

Analysis

Disasters such as interrupted power can lead to mass data loss and threaten a business centers operations. When such disasters occur, it is always advisable to have emergency power systems. By making appropriate methods minimize the potential of component failure, it is possible to achieve power assessments and audits hence increasing power availability (Wheeler 2011). Therefore, with a reliable power system and emergency power equipment reliability in business will thus be improved. Emergency power can be provided by auxiliary power systems and uninterruptible power systems.

Auxiliary power systems are mostly provided by diesel generators. Other sources such as gas, petrol, or hydrogen may also be used when using fuel cells. Unfortunately, due to the delay caused by a generator to reach its operating power and supply electricity, will affect computer applications significantly. For this reason, a power source that is not interruptible is preferred. This is because it stores enough power and protects the business from power interruptions. It is mostly found in lead-acid batteries and can also be found in flywheel systems and NiCad batteries. Therefore, uninterruptible power sources are highly recommended in bookstores as they prevent data loss when electricity is abruptly interrupted.

In the case of external disasters, a team specialized in crisis management should always be available. The team will be responsible for managing the recovery from the disaster. The team should decide what changes should be made in the companys daily activities and prioritizing schedules of resources and also the acquisition of hardware and services. Therefore, they will have the authority of declaring a disaster in business as all unit requests in the business departments will be channeled through them. They will always work close to where the disaster occurred as this helps in determining the amount of damage caused by the disaster and also how to recover.

A recovery plan should also provide database information recovery plans to facilitate the recovery process (Andress 2011). Database information should contain information on employees, suppliers, customers, asset listings, and specifications of the equipment. This database can also include information on computerized building drawings. Most of this data will be accessible from the companys existing sources. However, these sources may not be available during the time of the disaster but in the area that was damaged.

Thus, maintaining the database information will provide a central point to find all the vital information. The database information and the entire plan should be kept current to provide unique and periodic reviews for the company. Management and employees should be trained in their responsibilities and duties and the overall plan requirements.

An employee preparedness program should also be considered when planning on the recovery process. Business recovery should not start anywhere else but within the business itself. To facilitate the recovery of bookstore operations in case of regional type disaster occurrences, the use of Family Disaster Plans, formulation of a Key Employee Support Network, and involvement of employees in Community Response Plans should be substantially encouraged.

The crisis management team should also be assisted by a support team of logistical managers. The logistical support team should provide administrative support and acquisition to all other teams. Their work is to arrange for all the requirements necessary for the recovery of the company. These requirements would include things such as temporary staffing arrangements, mass transportation and vehicles, training, day and night care, food flight, and hotel accommodations.

A damage assessment team to evaluate conditions of the interior facility, workstations, servers, peripherals, and files should be mobilized. The team will help the crisis management team to report to the damaged facility in the recovery of the business from the disaster. In addition to these teams, a technical support team that will be responsible for voice, data, and network connectivity for the business recovery will also be mobilized. This team will help in the recovery of the data center and service bureau.

With all the teams in place, the damage recovery process will automatically start. In the first steps, all power should be closed, and nobody should be allowed to enter the premises until this is done. It is the duty of the business unit managers to ensure that vital records of the business are well kept and protected. Later, the logistic support team and technical support team is required to prepare the site and establish a list of people who are authorized to access the facility during the time to the emergency command center and update them (Landoll 2011).

Therefore, no one without unauthorized access will be allowed into the facility. The business unit team together with the disruption directors will be directed by the crisis management team to prepare for additional information on the assessment of the damage. In addition, they will also decide whether to move the business recovery site to a different place or recover it in the damaged facility.

Marketing managers on the crisis management team should be responsible for updating telephone messages listed on the facilitys website. Moreover, they should make sure not to reveal confidential information on the status of the facility as the number is a public facility.

Reports obtained by the crisis management team from the damage assessment team local police and fire department will help to determine if primary data operations will be supported by the business recovery site or the data center. Senior management will be responsible for notifying regulators of the business process disruption. The media will also not be able to get any information on the ongoing recovery processes. Later on, the infrastructure of the business recovery, workstation applications, and data files at the site should be considered.

When all this is done, the staffing and training needs and operating fund requirements will then be started. All issues on the recovery process should be documented by the disaster recovery specialists. Verification of processing systems status network capabilities and telecommunications should begin. Data synchronization processes will begin, and connectivity and accessibility should be validated.

Conclusion

Therefore, with all these processes put into consideration and verified, a bookstore will quickly recover from disasters both externally and internally if the follow the strategic plans for recovery. This will hence improve operations of the facility as there will be no worries about disasters occurring as a good plan for recovery will be at hand for the business.

References

Andress, J. (2011). The Basics of Information Security: Understanding the Fundamentals of Infosec in Theory and Practice. New York: Syngress.

Landoll, D. (2011). The Security Risk Assessment Handbook: A Complete Guide for Performing Security Risk Assessments. New York: CRC Press.

Wheeler, E. (2011). Security Risk Management: Building an Information Security Risk Management Program from the Ground Up. New York: Syngress.

Introduction

In many organizations, it is always difficult to avoid some risks because of the nature of the business or some other natural forces that are beyond human control. According to Veenema (2013), an organization cannot evade some risks, and for this reason, the best approach would be to develop measures that can help mitigate these risks.

When analyzing the fundamentals of risk management, it is necessary to understand some of the stages involved when managing risks, and how they are related. This research paper will focus on the analysis of the relationships between mitigation, preparedness, response and the recovery phase of the disaster management cycle.

Discussion

Disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery are the four stages of disaster management circle. These four stages are closely related in that one stage leads to the other one. According to Bhattacharya (2012), the four stages of disaster mitigation circle are closely intertwined in a manner that any failure in the first stage would lead to the failure in all the remaining four stages.

The first stage of disaster mitigation would necessitate disaster preparedness which leads to disaster response, and finally ends at the recovery stage. This means that if an organization fails to develop proper mitigation measures, then the other three stages will be a failure. Consequently, all of the stages are closely interrelated and, therefore, must be looked as part of an integrated system. It would be necessary to define and analyze what takes place at each of the stages.

Mitigation is the first stage in the disaster management circle. Coppola (2011) states that mitigation is the direct effort to minimize the effects of a disaster within an organization, a society or even a country. The scholar says that, in most of the cases, mitigation is taken based on a past case or incident that took place in another society, country, or an organization. At this stage, the emphasis is placed on the development of measures that will help protect the society or organization from the adverse effects of a disaster in case it takes place.

One common example of mitigation that many organizations prefer is taking an insurance cover against the anticipated disaster. This way, the organization knows that in case a disaster occurs, some of the costs will be met by the insurance company. That is one of the best ways of minimizing its impact. Another example that is common when addressing issues that affect the society is to organize public awareness campaign. This may involve educating the public about the disaster.

The second stage is disaster preparedness which involves the plans that are in readiness to face any disaster in case it takes place. Within an organization, installing fire extinguishers, fire alarms and emergency exits may be important when planning on how to minimize casualties in case of fire. In a society, the government may consider stocking extra food or water in readiness for a famine. It may also involve building of dikes in case a given area is prone to flooding.

The third stage is the disaster response, which is the actions that are taken during or immediately after a disaster has occurred. It would involve implementing the plans developed at the initial stages of this circle. In an organization, it would involve sounding the bell to warn people of the dangers of fire, using the extinguishers to manage fire, directing people to use the emergency exists, and rescuing those who are trapped. In a society, it may involve distributing the relief food.

The recovery stage is the last phase, where the authority and other concerned individuals will try to bring normalcy to the organization or the community. These are activities that are done to help the victims or to restore structures that were damaged during the disaster.

This may include offering medical care to those who were injured, providing temporary shelter in cases where homes were destroyed in the disaster, or giving grants to the affected organization to enable it get back to its feet after the disastrous event. These stages are summarized in the table below.

Conclusion

Risk management is a complex process that requires a clear plan that would help an organization or a community to minimize the impact of a disaster in case it occurs. Managing risks takes place in four stages as explained above. Each of the four stages must be properly executed in order to achieve the desired results.

References

Bhattacharya, T. (2012). Disaster science and management. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education.

Coppola, D. P. (2011). Introduction to International Disaster Management. Burlington: Elsevier Science.

Veenema, T. G. (2013). Disaster nursing and emergency preparedness for chemical, biological, and radiological terrorism and other hazards. New York: Springer Publishing Company.

There has been an argument as to whether whistle blowing should be considered an essential aspect when it comes to the issue of enhancing a better business continuity mismanagement system. This is the reason why the US Labor Department is collecting comments that will give a good direction and come up with new regulations that will have a long term effect of protecting whistle blowers (Honour 1).

Whistle blowers are mainly workers who voice issues about security, safety, and health concerns. Business continuity is an activity performed by many organizations to ensure that critical business functions are accessed and guaranteed by all the stakeholders concerned. Many people have assumed that business continuity should only be conducted or done when an organization is faced by a disaster (Honour 2).

Although this should not be the case, however, business continuity should be done or performed daily to maintain recoverability, service, and consistency. It has been argued that encouraging employees to report risky business operations in their organizations supports and enhances business continuity. This is because silenced workers will never feel free to work well.

In the long run, their potential will not be realized. This is a very important issue when looked at from a business continuity perspective. Perhaps there is a need to ponder on the question of whether or not whistle blowing should be encouraged as an essential aspect of business continuity (Honour 3) about disaster recovery and emergency management.

Workers should be given a voice as a way of getting a better insight into a given organization. This way, they stand a chance to better understand the risks faced by an organization without the knowledge of others or better still the public at large.

These risks can be hidden, but they may have a very large business impact on a given organizations continuity. For efficient business continuity, there is a need to have good disaster management and recovery measures that will ensure that huge losses are not incurred. Without good measures to mitigate such eventualities, an organization will find it hard to operate well, and this may come up as a challenge in a bid to compete well.

As much as whistle blowing can be encouraged as a way of identifying disasters in advance, several boards have seen this as a threat to their organizational and business operations and hence, not a good thing (Honour 2). Instead of appreciating such employees, the management and boards have seen them as enemies who are reporting the organization to a given regulatory or government body that will eventually punish them.

This should instead be seen as a way of encouraging employees to voice their concerns on areas they think the organization is not doing well. Organizations are advised to have their whistle blowing structures internally as a way of assessing their performance. If this is done efficiently, employees will feel that they are highly valued listened to and empowered (Honour 3).

This will give them another reason to work harder and ensure that the organization is successful. In other words, they will feel that they are part of the organization and in the process, give it their best.

This approach will likely create a good business continuity and disaster management approach. There are occasions where employees might see something that will hurt the organization and keep it to themselves. It might be because they fear to talk about such issues due to the consequences that might befall them (Honour 4). Business continuity will only be termed effective if the latest information that preceded it is well catered for.

Managers know very well that business continuity will only be guaranteed if there is a proper business impact analysis (Honour 4). There is no way that an organization can achieve considerable success without a proper business impact analysis. The impact analysis should be done while looking at the possible negative and positive scenarios that might befall an organization as a result of a given action.

This process will be flawed if employees and the management dont work together harmoniously as expected (Honour 4). They should not feel that they are working under pressure from others. In this case, they should be free to reveal whatever they feel is important towards positive continuity of the organization. This means that they should be in a better position to disclose processes and procedures that are risky or disastrous than they may be presumed to be.

From this explanation, it is obvious that whistle bowing can come in handy in enhancing the achievement of proper disaster management and business continuity. A good whistle blowing process will ensure that there is a lot of confidentiality in information delivery, which will make it easy for participants to input their concerns without any fear (Honour 5).

Whistle blowing will make it easy to identify new disasters that have not been factored in a given organizations business continuity plan. If employees are encouraged to whistle blow, an organization will be safe from any disasters that might pose a threat to its continuity (Honour 6).

Works Cited

Honour, D. Why encouraging employees to report risky processes and behaviors supports business continuity. 2010. Web.

Key Points of the Article How CEOs Improvised in the Wake of Sandy

Responding to Business Challenges strategically and operationally

It is debatable whether Hurricane Sandy was a foreseeable event; nonetheless, it is an unexpected occurrence, which requires innovative action to maneuver.

Ethics and Social Responsibility

Ideally, the office is preferred as a workstation. However, at a tie of crisis such as the one faced by Northeast CEOs, most ended up working in unconventional environments such as entertainment halls, homes, and any other place with WI-FI.

Entrepreneurship in Action

The decision to cancel a business trip or the launching of a regional meeting given an outage is wise and so is the predetermined backing up of work files in a smartphone.

Analysis of the Article How CEOs Improvised in the Wake of Sandy

The power shortages or outages that crippled businesses in the Northeast due to Hurricane Sandy resulted in ingenious survivorship skills among numerous families, but while the ordinary employee may not have been affected much in terms of mental pressure and professional responsibilities, the CEOs of various major firms did not get off so easy. For instance, The Lands End Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Edgar Huber was on a business trip, but the power issues forced him to set up an unexpected trip to his in-laws apartment complex where he put up his office to continue working. The CEO of Sears Holding Corporation was forced to cancel his business trip to New York when cancellations hit the airport and so he did what he could by boarding an Amtrak train to the Washington DC area and booked himself into a communal entertainment center at the Bethesda MD complex where he soldiered on with the WI-FI.

Foot Locker Inc. CEO Ken Hicks bravely endured in his office long past the compulsory shut down of his New York Headquarters where he worked until three in the afternoon. Afterward, he moved to his house in Murray Hill and continued working until the power went out. However, he would not be shut down and upon this turn of events, he resorted to working on paperwork for another two and a half hours. Yet another CEO, Jonathan Hsu, CEO of Recyclebank was forcefully detained by the power supply in his home. He had to juggle between his five and three-year-old daughters and work on his third floor and managed this by distracting the children with animation films. Eventually, he had managed to cover some ground despite the disruptions. What is inspirational about all these occurrences is the resilience portrayed by CEOs. They worked on despite the hiccups and used every available resource. The Acorda Therapeutics Inc. CEO Ron Cohen had to maneuver this power and transportation crisis alongside the possibility of delivery as his wife was to give birth in a week. He was hesitant about using a generator, as he feared the outage would last even a week. However, he had to use it because he wanted to save on his cell battery just in case there was a medical emergency.

Conclusion

The Northeast is not a stranger to power outages and the populace is somewhat prepared for this eventuality, at least psychologically. However, strategic and operational plans should be laid out on a large-scale level to deal with a repeat event proactively. As such, these CEOs could team up and come up with a workable solution that would permanently protect them from the adverse effects of power and transport disruptions on a large-scale basis.

Works Cited

Mattioli, Dana. How CEOs Improvised in the Wake of Sandy. The Wall Street Journal, 2012. Web.