Models/Strategies of Planning, Managing and Responding to a Crisis/Disaster

Abstract

Disasters occur when people are unaware, and also often when they are fighting against an invisible enemy. As such, the responses differ. Agents of change, which include philanthropists, the government, civic society, and targets of change (beneficiaries who include the vulnerable groups largely affected by disasters), all have key roles to play when it comes to disaster management. Various models can be utilised when responding to disasters. This chapter focuses on Weyers’ Model of Community Development as it goes a long way in assisting communities to mitigate the adverse effects of disasters. Community development, social planning, social marketing, social action, and community education are the five components of Weyers’ Model of Community Development, representing integrated disaster response, motivation, and recovery. It is of paramount importance to include the local people who reside in the affected areas to let them take the lead, as they are stakeholders and have key contributions to make upon their wellbeing and that of the society. Weyers’ model of managing and responding to disasters is of paramount importance because it calls for the engagement of the local people who have experienced them, the course at the grassroots level, engaging such local people saves time, as the local people may assist in the identification of readily available resources and sustainable mitigation strategies. Throughout the disaster life cycle, the community members should be integrated as they are well equipped with their indigenous knowledge systems that can predict what will happen and relate into the various strategies previously used to respond to disasters based on their capabilities and liabilities. The community development model, based around the collectivism of the community members with the assistance of the government among other key stakeholders when responding to disasters, suits the Afrocentric approach of Ubuntu. It draws on the notion that people are responsible for one another and values relationships in community endeavours to enhance the wellbeing of the community as a whole.