Abstract for: The Dynamics of Crisis Lifecycle for Emergency Management

Cascading disruptions and failures product of natural, industrial and man-made disasters can be avoided or minimized if the concept of Crisis Lifecycle is included and understood into emergency management. Research studies by Turner and also by Vaughan have shown that crisis often have long incubation times. There are numerous precursors or warnings that are ignored or not detected. As Coombs put it, "crisis does not just happen, it evolves". According to Coombs, a crisis lifecycle has three stages: precrisis, crisis event and postcrisis. With this lifecycle-view in mind, emergency managers could encompass asynchronous management of the incubation periods, the physical manifestations of the emergency, the restoration periods and beyond. Hence, emergency management needs a long term approach, resolution of different perspectives and improvement of emergency communication. We aim to define the characteristics of each phase by analyzing real cases developing reference modes.