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The purpose of this paper is to explore the societal impacts and consequences of the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

One month after the tsunami, a group of social science researchers from the Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware, and the Emergency Administration and Planning Program, University of North Texas, participated in an Earthquake Engineering Research Institute reconnaissance team, which traveled to some of the most affected areas in India and Sri Lanka. Data were obtained through informal interviews, participant observation, and systematic document gathering.

This research yielded important data and information on disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. A number of issues are identified that emerged from the field observations, including: tsunami education and awareness; the devastation and the loss; economic impact; mental health issues; irregularities and inequities in community based response and recovery efforts and in the distribution of disaster relief aid; gender and inequality; and relocation and housing issues.

The paper highlights the role and importance of generating integrated early warning systems and strategies aimed at fostering sustainable recovery and building disaster resilient communities.

An extensive amount of perishable data were collected thus providing a better understanding of the societal impacts of disasters on impoverished communities. A number of emerging issues are identified that should be of primary concern in efforts to protect populations residing in coastal regions throughout the world from similar catastrophes.

The World Trade Center disaster generated many of the features seen in other disasters in the U.S., including post-disaster convergence. We conceptualize emergency management activities as taking place within a multilocational “response milieu,” and we suggest that the study of convergence should focus on the negotiated legitimacy of people in and wishing to enter it. We discuss the five types of personal convergers and how the access of each of these groups to the response milieu was related to their legitimation status. We then identify two additional forms of convergence: supporters or fans, and those who came to mourn or to memorialize. We conclude by discussing implications for policy.

Things will never be the same, some say, because of 9.11. We feel more vulnerable, more threatened, more at risk. It was the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, goes the refrain. It was dramatic beyond our worst nightmares. Like millions of others, I watched the events of that lovely morning unfold on television. When the South Tower fell for a few seconds I could not see it collapsing. My blindness wasn’t because of the smoke and dust. It was a cognitive blindness. I could not believe my eyes and so, somehow, my mind denied my brain the truth of the moment.

Terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and regional power outages from the past several years have all highlighted the low levels of disaster preparedness that exist at many firms. Supply chain disruptions caused by external events can have a significant financial and operational impact on firms not properly prepared. Therefore, improving disaster preparedness in supply chains is critical. One critical component of disaster management planning in supply chains is the storage of emergency supplies, equipment, and vital documents that will be needed in times of crisis. The goal of this paper is propose a decision process for establishing an efficient network of secure storage facilities that can effectively support multiple supply chain facilities.

The authors use the five‐stage disaster management process for supply chains as the framework for a proposed decision process for secure site locations. The decision process combines recommendations from FEMA's Disaster Management Guide with a set cover location model from the location sciences field to help establish a network of secure site locations.

Storing emergency supplies at every supply chain facility can be cost‐prohibitive. In addition, gaining access to emergency supplies that are stored at each facility may be prevented by some external events, such as fires or hurricanes, because items stored on‐site are destroyed or are inaccessible. Therefore, the proposed secure site selection process can balance operational effectiveness and cost‐efficiency by identifying the minimum number and possible locations of off‐site storage facilities.

One important contribution of the paper is that it combines recent recommendations for disaster preparedness in supply chains with established models in location sciences research to create an interdisciplinary solution to an important supply chain issue. Even though the storage of important documents, equipment, and materials is only one small part of disaster management planning, it is hoped that this model will do its share in helping supply chains become better prepared for the next emergency.