**CATASTROPHE VERSUS DISASTER -- TOP TEN ADDED/EXPANDED DIMENSIONS**[^1]

**Disaster and catastrophe distinctions:** Local officials are unable to
undertake their usual work, perform usual role; most or all of community
built structure is heavily impacted; facilities and operational bases of
emergency services organizations seriously debilitated for more than a
few hours; most or all everyday community functions sharply and
simultaneously interrupted;[^2] community order and ability may break
down; ability to communicate with effected population lost or seriously
degraded.

**What to do -- what is needed in higher educational focus:**

1.  **Overcoming Disbelief** -- Key to catastrophe preparedness is
    accepting that one is conceivable and that serious sustained
    mitigation, preparedness, and readiness to respond measures are
    taken. Needed \-- visualizations, GIS, simulations to help overcome
    disbelief.

2.  **Catastrophe Case Studies and Planning** -- Case studies of past
    and projected future catastrophes need to be studied -- need to know
    risks to overcome disbelief. Then specific catastrophe planning
    needs to take place in addition to all-hazard emergency operations
    planning.

3.  **Mitigation** -- The most important things that can be done to
    prevent disasters from becoming catastrophes are implementation of
    pre-event mitigation, reduction, prevention measures. A culture of
    disaster prevention and preparedness needs to be enculturated. The
    most robust response capability does nothing to prevent a
    catastrophe.

4.  **Regional Readiness/Preparedness** -- After mitigation, the next
    most important variable is the extent to which there is a readiness
    capability to implement plans, procedures, evacuations, and other
    emergency management procedures -- so that a disaster does not
    become a catastrophe because of an inability to implement plans and
    stage adequate emergency response operations. While this is also
    true for disasters, catastrophe preparedness demands regional
    coordination and cooperation -- public and private sectors. The
    model aimed for should be self-sufficiency (regional mutual-aid),
    not hold the fort until cavalry (feds) arrive.

5.  **National Guard and Military Use** -- Perhaps single most practical
    distinction between disaster and catastrophe is use of military
    forces -- rarely called upon in disasters -- but essential for a
    catastrophe, as would be use of National Guard -- to support
    civilian-led disaster response.

6.  **Health, Medical and Mass Care Systems** -- Federal government must
    be prepared to step in with health, medical and mass care resources
    due to anticipated local debilitation -- in short order -- say,
    within 1-2 days -- and must be prepared to work with private sector
    and volunteer organizations.

7.  **Communications** -- Not just the lack of ability of emergency
    services organizations to communicate with each other (interoperable
    communications), but the lack of ability of community leadership to
    effectively communicate with citizens -- leading to rumor
    proliferation and the "Fog of Disaster" \-- could well tip a
    disaster into catastrophe realm. For catastrophe preparedness
    communities must have robust, survivable, and backed-up Emergency
    Operations Centers and procedures. With survivable communications
    comes an ability to acquire intelligence (situational awareness)
    from within impacted and adjacent areas in order to inform decisions
    and expedite relief.

8.  **Cooperation and Coordination (Decentralized) versus Command &
    Control (Centralized) Model** -- Lack of organizational ability to
    set up joint operations center can tip disaster into catastrophe --
    Federal and State personnel, and local and private sector
    representatives, must be joined at the hip, physically co-located,
    coordinating and cooperating on all fronts, and speaking with one
    voice. Decades of social science research indicates that certainly
    in natural disasters, and probably in terrorist disasters,
    hierarchical, top-down, jockeying for whose-in-charge, command and
    control models of disaster response are not only inappropriate but
    counterproductive. The exception is an operation, such as a
    wildfire, in which essentially one uniformed service (firefighters)
    is involved.

9.  **Leadership** -- Lack of leadership, at all levels of government
    can tip scales from disaster to catastrophe. 1993 post Hurricane
    Andrew report states that "the nation needs presidential involvement
    and leadership both before and after a catastrophic disaster
    strikes."[^3]

10. **Organizational Location --** Academia needs to address issue of
    most appropriate organizational location of EM organizations within
    governments and organizations. Inappropriate organizational location
    (for example, within an emergency services organization) and clout
    can handicap improvement in all other areas.

[^1]: B. Wayne Blanchard, October 4, 2005 draft.

[^2]: E.L. Quarantelli. "Emergencies, Disasters and Catastrophes Are
    Different Phenomena." Newark, DE: University of Delaware, Disaster
    Research Center, 2000. Accessed at:
    http://www.udel.edu/DRC/Preliminary_Papers/pp304.pdf

[^3]: General Accounting Office. 1993. *Disaster Management: Improving
    the Nation's Response to Catastrophic Disasters* (GAO Report
    RCED-93-186). Washington DC: GAO, July 23, 1993. Accessed at:
    <http://archive.gao.gov/t2pbat5/149631.pdf>