In a new report authors Andrew Thompson and David Welch find that “the international community has developed an elaborate network to respond to catastrophes, but the uncertainty of disasters, the immediate needs of those affected and the conditions that first responders will confront are never known in advance.”

The report, Responding to Disaster: Neglected Dimensions of Preparedness and Their Consequences, jointly published by the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA), both located in Canada, “provide analysis on how the international community can better coordinate the technical and political components of disaster response.” 

In December 2011, a panel of experts was convened at the Embassy of Canada in Tokyo, Japan, with the goal of drawing lessons from first responder experiences in both Haiti in January 2010 and Japan in March 2011. Based on the panel’s findings, Thompson and Welch offer four specific lessons in their new report:

The international community should not underestimate the importance of a communications strategy that clearly identifies in a timely way both what is and is not known. Disaster response is not merely a technical exercise of matching material supplies to material demands; it is also an exercise in maintaining public confidence — and, by extension, public willingness to comply with authorities’ advice — which can be undermined by poor and infrequent communication.

International and civil society responders must face the challenge of providing public goods without undermining local public authority and leaving the impression that sovereignty has been violated. It is important that public authorities, including local actors who are closest to the disaster, are not overshadowed and humiliated by well-meaning international actors.

Disaster responders must acknowledge the importance of addressing psychological as well as physical needs of victims. The mental health challenges in disaster zones are now garnering sustained attention from analysts and policy makers alike.

Global and regional disaster preparedness must be improved. Many aspects of disaster preparedness are entirely dependent upon domestic resources and domestic initiative, but in all cases — though of course, particularly in cases involving disasters in developing countries that lack the domestic capacity — the international community can lay the groundwork for more effective disaster response.