HUMANITARIAN COORDINATION TRAINING

Disaster Management Cycle

Disaster Management Cycle – Overview
1 2 3 4 5 6

Overview Context DM Cycle Preparedness Mitigation Response

Overview ƒ Disasters with high human impact, do not happen suddenly.  
Sudden onset events, like earthquakes can happen, but the scale of 
human impact is a result of other pre existing factors, that can be 
addressed.
ƒ Response is not a “one off” activity, but should be something that 
can be prepared for, implemented, then developed upon further.
ƒ The Disaster Management Cycle sees a circular process from good 
preparedness, that leads to effective response.  Effective response, 
in turn leads to recovery activities that develop lessons learned and 
support better preparedness actions.
ƒ Recognizing and understanding the different elements of this cycle 
is critical for  practitioners to be effective, in any phase or aspect of 
humanitarian response.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE & COORDINATION TRAINING

Disaster Management Cycle – Context
1 2 3 4 5 6

Overview Context DM Cycle Preparedness Mitigation Response

Climate Change Increase in disasters such as rain, floods, hurricanes, droughts

Poverty Uneven globalization leading to socio‐economic polarization

Urbanization Challenges for public health and urban disaster response

Migration Rise with displacement from conflict, disasters, and poverty 
affecting developed and developing countries
Health Challenges shifting with globalization, aging, climate change, 
urbanization, poverty, HIV/AIDS, water‐related diseases, human 
influenza

Demographic Shifts Caused by aging or HIV/AIDS—impacting vulnerabilities and 
working environments
Vulnerabilities Will interact with each other more and more.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE & COORDINATION TRAINING

Disaster Management (DM) Cycle
1 2 3 4 5 6

Overview Context DM Cycle Preparedness Mitigation Response

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE & COORDINATION TRAINING

Disaster Management Cycle – Preparedness Components
1 2 3 4 5 6

Overview Context DM Cycle Preparedness Mitigation Response

Risk Reduction ƒ Governments, NGO’s, Organization, etc can work to minimize 
vulnerabilities and risks to avoid (prevent) or limit 
(prepare/mitigate) the impact of an event
Disaster  ƒ Readiness of communities and institutions to predict, prevent, 
Preparedness reduce impact, respond and cope with consequences
ƒ Readiness to respond activities including – Disaster Management 
Planning, Organizational Preparedness, Community Preparedness
ƒ Disaster preparedness policies and activities (early warning, 
contingency planning, community‐based disaster preparedness, 
Vulnerabilities
ƒ Capacity Assessment, National Levels of Preparedness
ƒ Strengthening household, community and national resilience and 
reducing disaster risk
ƒ Early warning

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE & COORDINATION TRAINING

Disaster Management Cycle – How Preparedness Supports Response
1 2 3 4 5 6

Overview Context DM Cycle Preparedness Mitigation Response

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE & COORDINATION TRAINING

Disaster Management Cycle – Disaster Prevention/Mitigation
1 2 3 4 5 6

Prevention/
Overview Context DM Cycle Preparedness Response
Mitigation

ƒ Techniques to interrupt the chain of disaster events.
ƒ Possible vulnerabilities that can be exposed by a disaster 
ƒ How to reduce impact of possible disasters
ƒ How preparedness can support response

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE & COORDINATION TRAINING

Disaster Management Cycle – Disaster Response
1 2 3 4 5 6

Disaster
Overview Context DM Cycle Preparedness Mitigation
Response

ƒ Objectives of response, can be, but not limited to:
ƒ Emergency aid:  Hospitals, Search and Rescue, 
ƒ Food, water and shelter
ƒ Prevention of health outbreaks.
ƒ What other techniques are there for response

ƒ Many entities participate in emergency response:  Local governments, 
NGO’s, churches, community groups, external governments, militaries, UN 
and above all PEOPLE.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE & COORDINATION TRAINING