| dc.description.abstract | Kenya like other countries in Africa is afflicted by various disasters most of which
are climate related. These disasters are triggered by such hazards as drought,
floods which are climate related. The country is also faced with man induced
disasters for instance collapsed buildings, civil strive leading to incidences of
Internally Displaced Persons,Besieged Populations, and Refugee Populations.
Godschalk (1991) defines preparedness in terms of actions taken in advance of
an emergency, to develop operational capabilities and to facilitate an
effective response in the event that an emergency occurs. Gillespie and
Streeter (1987) in their definition refer to preparedness as planning, resource
identification, warning systems, training, simulations, and other pre-disaster
actions taken for the sole intent of improving the safety and effectiveness of a
community's response during a disaster. Mileti (1991),asserts that preparedness
includes fundamental activities such as formulating, testing, and exercising
disaster plans; training disaster management/response teams and the general
public; and communicating (to the public and other stakeholders) about
disaster vulnerability and ways to combat such disasters. In assimilating the
various' definitions advanced, Mc Entire and Myers (2004) view disaster
preparedness as involving anticipatory measures taken to increase response
and recovery capabilities. Going by the above definition one would expect that any organization or
country would have elaborate disaster preparedness plans and structures or
institutions to manage disasters.This study therefore intended to examine how
the country handles the myriad of disasters that afflict it and especially to
understand what disaster preparedness measures are in place.
The study examined the disaster preparedness plans, resources and institutions
that were in place and how they were applied during times of disasters.
Secondary and primary data was used to understand the problem, which was
supplemented by interviewing disaster management practitioners both in the
public and private sector including non-state actors. | en |
