Risk Analysis & Mitigation

Disaster Management

Disaster management  in an  organization is management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies, preparedness, response and recovery so as to reduce the harmful effects of all hazards, including disasters.

In order to avoid, or reduce significant losses, emergency managers should work to identify and anticipate potential risks. In the event that an emergency does occur, managers should have a plan in place to mitigate the effects of that emergency, as well as to ensure business continuity of critical operations post-incident. It is essential for an organization to include procedures for determining whether an emergency situation has occurred and at what point an emergency management plan should be activated.

While no business wants to face a disaster, no matter how large or small, it must be prepared because disasters of any kind can have a huge impact on the business. Organizations cannot always avoid disasters, but with careful planning the effects of a disaster can be minimized. The objective of a disaster recovery plan is to minimize downtime and loss of life and machineries.

Many crises are identifiable and predictable, situations that a company could easily find itself in as a result of a natural disaster, an operational failure or a cyber-attack. 

Although sound planning will help a company mitigate the consequences of a crisis and facilitate speedy recovery, even the best crisis management planning cannot anticipate every possible crisis, nor predict how any one crisis will actually unfold.  The other aspect of crisis management is creating the capacity in the organization to respond in the moment to things that were not anticipated or planned for. 

Planning, preparing and practicing are essential to improving resiliency in an organization.

If we want to save human lives, we have to account for human behavior during disasters and emergencies. We should not panic during crisis/disaster.

Aiyan Thiruvalluvar says

ஊறொரால் உற்றபின் ஒல்காமை இவ்விரண்டின்
ஆறென்பர் ஆய்ந்தவர் கோள். (662)

दुष्ट न करना, यदि हुआ, तो फिर न हो अधीर ।

मत यह है नीतिज्ञ का, दो पथ मानें मीर ॥ (६६२)

Explanation by Scholars

Not to perform a ruinous act, and not to be discouraged by the ruinous termination of an act, are the two maxims which, the wise say, from the principles of those who have investigated the subject.

இடையூறு வருவதற்கு முன்பே அதனை நீக்கிட முனைவது, மீறி  வந்து விடுமேயானால்  மனம்  தளராது இருப்பது  ஆகிய இரண்டு வழிகளுமே அறிவுடையோர்  கொள்கையாம்.