A Research Agenda for Disaster and Emergency Management (Department of Humanitarian Affairs/United Nations Disaster Relief Office - Disaster Management Training Programme - United Nations Development Programme , 76 p.): Appendices

A Research Agenda for Disaster and Emergency Management (Department of Humanitarian Affairs/United Nations Disaster Relief Office - Disaster Management Training Programme - United Nations Development Programme , 76 p.)

		(introduction...)
		1 Introduction
		2 Status of Research on Emergencies and Disasters in the Developing World
		3 Defining Disasters and Creating a Framework for Disaster Research
		4 Vulnerability and Risk Assessment
		5 Perception of Risk and Hazards
		6 Preparedness
		7 Mitigation
		8 Relief
		9 Recovery, Reconstruction and Development
		10 Displaced Persons
		11 Gender Issues and Children9
		12 Conclusions
		Appendices
		Bibliography

Appendices

Appendix 1

Assistance, advice, suggestions and comments concerning the development of this research agenda were solicited from the following individuals and/or organizations.

Dr. H. Adelman, Director	Centre for Refugee Studies
	290J Admin. Studies Building
	York University, 4700 Keele Street
	North York, Ontario M3J 1P3
Dr. Yasemin Aysan	Disaster Management Centre
	Oxford Polytechnic, Gipsy Lane
	Headington, Oxford OX3 OBP
Dr. Abera Bekele, Director	Ethiopian Nutritional Institute
	Addis Ababa, PO Box 5654, Ethiopia
Dr. Neil Britton, Director	Disaster Management Centre
	University of New England
	Armidale NSW 2351, Australia
Dr. Supang Chantavanich, Director	Indochinese Refugee Information Centre
	Institute for Asian Studies
	Chulalongkorn University, Phyathai Road
	Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Dr. Francis Charhon	Medecins Sans Frontiers
	8 r St Sabin 11e Paris, France
Dr. Ellen Colthoff, Director	Disaster & Emergency Reference Centre (DERC)
	Delft University of Technology
	PO Box 5048 - 2600 GA Delft
	The Netherlands
Dr. Ian Davis	Disaster Management Centre
	Oxford Polytechnic, Gipsy Lane
	Headington, Oxford OX3 OBP
Dr. M. Frontier	Centre for Research on the
	Epidemiology of Disaster
	Universite Catholique de Louvain
	Place de l' Universite 1
	1348 Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium

Dr. B. Harrell-Bond, Director	Refugee Studies Program
	Queen Elizabeth House, 21 St. Giles
	Oxford University, England OX13LA
Dr. Mahabub Hossain, Director-General	Bangladesh Institute of Development
	Studies
	GPO Box 3854, E-17 Agargaon
	Sher-e-Banglanagar
	Dhaka 1207 Bangladesh
Dr. Habibul H. Khondker	Department of Sociology
	National University of Singapore
	10 Kent Ridge Crescent
	Singapore 0511
Dr. M. Aminul Islam, Director	Centre for Disaster Research & Training, University of Dhaka
	Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh
Dr. Allan Lavell, Director	Central American Research Programme, CSUCA
	(Confederacion Universitaria Centroamericana)
	Secretaria General, Apartado 37-2060
	Cuidad Rodrigo Facio
	San Jose, Costa Rica
Dr. Michael LeChat	Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disaster
	Univeisite Catholique de Louvain
	Place de l' Univeisite 1
	1348 Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
Dr. E. L. Quarantelli, Director	Disaster Research Centre
	University of Delaware, Newark
	Delaware 197111, USA
Professor C. V. Rag Havulu, Director	Disaster Mitigation Centre
	Nagarjuna University, Nagarjunanagar
	Guntur District 522510
	Andra Pradesh. India
Brian Wood, Director	Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre
	Asian Institute of Technology
	Bangkok 10501, Thailand

Appendix 2

Myths and Realities of Natural Disasters

MYTH: Foreign medical volunteers with any kind of medical background are needed	REALITY: The local population almost always provides immediate first aid. Only medical personnel with skills that are not available in the affected country may be needed.
MYTH: Any kind of international assistance is needed, and it's needed now!	REALITY: A hasty response that is not based on an impartial evaluation only contributes to the chaos. It is better to wait until genuine needs have been assessed.
MYTH: Epidemics and plagues are inevitable after every disaster.	REALITY: Epidemics do not occur spontaneously after a disaster and dead bodies will not necessarily cause catastrophic outbreaks of disease. The key to preventing disease is to improve the sanitary conditions and educate the public.
MYTH: Disasters bring out the worst in human behaviour.	REALITY: Although isolated cases of antisocial behaviour exist, the majority of people respond spontaneously and generously.
MYTH: The affected population is too shocked and helpless to take responsibility for its own survival.	REALITY: On the contrary, many find new strength during an emergency, as evidenced by the thousands of volunteers who spontaneously united to sift through the rubble in search of victims after the 1985 Mexico City earthquake.
MYTH: Housing disaster victims in temporary settlements is the best alternative.	REALITY: It should be the last alternative. Many agencies use funds normally spent for tents to purchase building materials, tools and other supplies in the affected country.
MYTH: Things are back to normal after a few weeks.	REALITY: The effects of disaster last a long time. Disaster-affected countries deplete much of their financial and material resources in the immediate post-impact phase. Successful relief programmes make provision for the fact that international interest wanes as needs and shortages become more pressing.

Source: International Review of the Red Cross. No. 284, Sept/Oct. 1991 p. 515.