Disaster preparedness indicators: An application in the state of Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

The present project is part of a planning study for structuring resilience in disaster risk reduction in cities. The objective of the article is to evaluate the capacity of municipal managers in terms of preparation for the occurrence of disasters. The article opted for an exploratory study, with the application of 10 interviews with specialists in risk management and disaster protection and civil defense. Ten municipalities were adopted in Paraná, in the south of Brazil, which had critical occurrences recorded between August/2016 and August/2017: hailstorms, storm tides (floods), runoffs and gale. The article provides how different municipalities deal with disaster preparedness, with a clear need for greater social and cultural involvement in their activities. Each municipality has its own characteristics in risk and disaster management. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to apply the methodology in other cities in Paraná. The document includes implications for the development of indicators that allow public managers to monitor risk and disaster management in communities, minimizing the negative impacts suffered by the local population. The document includes implications for the development of indicators for the other risk and disaster management stages. This document addresses a need identified in Brazil to study how municipal managers deal with preparation for extreme events, which are increasingly common in their cities.