Emergency Responders And Emergency Emergencies - 1233 Words

When volunteers are able to help, they can provide essential economic, social, and emotional support that encourages community resilience. However, their effectiveness depends upon proper coordination of volunteers, groups and volunteer organizations. Having large numbers of people and supplies can pose serious challenges for emergency management. Massive volunteer responses are typically part of the initial response phase following a disaster but, on some occasions volunteer efforts extend throughout the post-impact and recovery periods. In order for the volunteers to remain successful throughout the post-impact period, it is important for volunteers to coordinate with the agencies they represent to identify what type of aid they can†¦show more content†¦Because of this, volunteer efforts were only focused on non-emergency recovery outside of the immediate area of Ground Zero. Volunteer Management by the Government There have been many times in recent history where poor volunteer management led to increased complications during the response and recovery process. If volunteer efforts are not managed and distributed appropriately they can lead to additional harm to victims, response personnel and the environment. Unmanaged workers, equipment, and volunteers at the scene of a disaster can create congestion and interfere with response activities. Oftentimes, volunteers and extra supplies show up at a disaster scene unrequested and can add to the chaos. Because of this, government officials began developing plans to manage volunteer efforts. The lack of volunteer management following Hurricane Andrew in 1993 caused FEMA to develop a list of recommendations for States to manage unsolicited goods, unaffiliated volunteers, and donations. After the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, thousands of spontaneous volunteers showed up to help, but there was no management process in place to coordinate their efforts. This led to Federal Officials requesting that local and state disaster plans begin including processes to organize and manage volunteers. When Hurricane Floyd hit the North Carolina coast in 1999,