Planning and Capability Requirements for Catastrophic and Cascading Events

Natural disasters are a significant risk globally (World Economic Forum in The Global Risk Report 2018 . 2018, http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GRR18_Report.pdf). The extreme end of possible disasters, so-called catastrophic disaster risks, however, attract limited attention compared with either more frequent smaller and thus manageable events, or previous historical events. This is certainly the case in the context of the Australian emergency management sector, which remains strongly response-focused. Catastrophic disasters pose unique challenges and require a different approach. While a truly catastrophic disaster is by definition unmanageable, emergency managers can still help reduce loss of life and property and assist in sustaining the continuity of affected communities. Often the success of the response is reliant upon the capacities already present in communities. Emergency services need to plan how their service delivery models will adjust to the overwhelming demand for services and the complexity of catastrophes, including how they will anticipate and work with community first responders. This Chapter provides insights into preparedness for catastrophic disasters based upon insights from the global literature. Implications for practitioners are discussed to assist in strengthening disaster management capability and capacity.