Read the following comment and provide a response agreeing or disagreeing with it: {A black swan event is an event that seems unlikely and improbable, until it happens (Taleb, 2016). The primary example for this is the 9/11 attacks. Even though homeland security experts had spoken about the possibility of airplanes as weapons, the idea seemed implausible and wasn't taken seriously by emergency management planners. After 9/11, huge amounts of federal money were put towards catastrophic planning in the largest urban areas of the country, with a focus on terrorist attacks. Generally, business continuity planning focuses on getting the most important business functions up and running as quickly as possible after a disaster. Typical suggestions are to make sure important business records are backed up at an offsite or cloud location or have petty cash available to make payroll and pay creditors. For non-catastrophic disasters, this is sufficient. But for catastrophic disasters, such as those that significantly disrupt the supply chain or displace a large portion of the employee population, more complex planning is necessary to ensure that businesses can continue to operate. Getting businesses back up and running as rapidly as possible after a disaster is vital to the local economy. When businesses reopen, people can retum to work — which not only provides a paycheck, but also helps return the community to a sense of normalcy. (Retuming to work, for parents, is contingent upon schools and child care centers also reopening.) In addition, open businesses help contribute to the local and national economy. The longer businesses are shuttered after a disaster, the greater the indirect cost to the community.
The book Learning from Catastrophes: Strategies for Reaction and Response was written for business organizations (2011). However, based on the review by Birkland, parts of the book could be relevant to emergency managers as well. Although emergency management exists primarily in the public sector, it has become increasingly clear that the private sector has a role in the recovery after a disaster.
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