Emergency managers often find themselves with limited funds available at their disposal, such as Los Angeles only dispositioning $6 million for emergency management in the city’s 2020-2021 budget, according to an article in Science Friday. The article, which is an excerpt from Disasterology by Samantha Montano, points to the better funded New York City Emergency Management team with an annual budget of only $40 million, and brings up the fact that many smaller communities find themselves with either part-timers or volunteers in charge.
With a lack of financial resources acting as a limiting factor, one thing those responsible for emergency management and coordination can do is emphasize the importance of planning, particularly by reaching out to the stakeholders among the entire affected community, and bringing them together to help identify risks, potential responses, and resources that may be available to help shape that same response, writes Montano. Similarly, this planning can extend to the recovery process, considering what could be done to accelerate it, or at least assemble lists of those who can be contacted to assist in guiding it.
While planning isn’t free, it can represent a good and inexpensive way to stretch limited emergency management budgets, expand coverage, and ensure people are aware of both potential threats and their roles in response.
Source:
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/climate-change-disaster-planning/
