RESILIENCY IN TIMES OF DISASTER William M. Lokey Program Director Witt Associates Strengthening...

RESILIENCY IN TIMES OF DISASTER

William M. LokeyProgram Director

Witt Associates

Strengthening Community Resilience

Bad Stuff Happens!

Historical Perspective of Resiliency

Inherent strength

Sustainability

Assess and respond

Repair or restore in a timely manner

Infrastructure

Organizations and Institutions

People

Economy

Understand the risks Understand the complexity Understand the interdependencies Look for mitigation opportunities Engage in planning Exercise and train Create partnerships Keep the public informed

So………

Barriers to Progress

It won’t happen here.

If it happens here, it won’t affect me.

If it does effect me, it won’t be that bad.

If it is that bad, I can’t do anything

about it anyway, so……

Posted by the Washington Sun-Sentinel on May 29, 2009

President Obama said today that ``a huge percentage of people in hurricane-prone ��areas are unprepared for major storms. They don't have a plan…..”

Obama was apparently referring to a Mason-Dixon poll of coastal residents released on Thursday, which found that 55 percent did not have a family disaster plan and 83 percent have not taken steps to protect their homes.

“History is always a race between education and catastrophe.”

H.G. Wells

or….

Some training for a lot of people is better than a lot

of training for some people.

Disaster resiliency requires improvisational problem solving…..

Most disaster problems are management problems not skills

problems; yet, most disaster training is skills training!

There are decisions that belong in the boardroom

There are decisions that belong on the production floor

It is a journey,not a destination

Remember the glacier…

Any force no matter how small, can move any object no matter how large, if it is applied

consistently and for a long enough time

It takes a Community to be resilient