
The Four Stages of Emergency Management
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It is generally agreed upon that there are four key stages to emergency management problems.
- Planning & Mitigation
- Preparedness
- Response
- Recovery
You can probably imagine a wide array of possible GIS applications that would make sense for each of these stages of emergency management. Lesson 2 in this class will talk about hazards more generally, and then, in Lessons 3-6, we'll walk you through how GIS can be used in these four stages. In Lessons 7-9, we'll explore scenarios and cover a few case studies to see how GIS has been used in real-world emergency situations.
Here are brief definitions for each stage of emergency management:
Planning & Mitigation: Evaluating the potential types of disasters and developing plans for reducing their probability or their impact on life & resources.
Preparedness: Actions undertaken when mitigation efforts have not prevented or are unable to prevent a disaster from taking place.
Response: Activities that occur in the wake of a disaster that are intended to identify and assist victims and stabilize the overall disaster situation.
Recovery: Actions following a disaster that aim to restore human and environmental systems back to normal.