Natural calamities worldwide put people and their properties at risk as they cause environmental, economic, health, and social service damages. However, with a public-private partnership, precautions can be taken keenly to prepare for a calamity, and the damages experienced can be mend. The aftermath of the 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Good Friday earthquake, exemplifies the collective effort in a public-private partnership.
The events following the Alaskan earthquake involved collaborative efforts by public and private entities to mitigate the risks. “With a magnitude of 9.2, the earthquake triggered Tsunamis and landslides that caused massive damages which forced the Alaska governor to call for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management” (Villani et al., 2017). The U.S army corps of Alaska engineers worked together with the Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) to mend the damages. Emergency teams were sent in light aircraft to inspect the most affected areas. With this information, special project offices were formed to administer repairs on sewers and water supplies as these breakages would highly cause widespread water-borne diseases. Food shortage as a long-term effect would cause malnutrition; therefore, FEMA provided adequate funds for severely damaged areas to get food supplies. Due to damaged medical facilities, the residents were not able to access medication. It posed as a matter of concern as the situation could aggravate chronic diseases such as cancer. With adequate funds, building constructions were organized by the chief of engineers in Alaska. The Federal Emergency Management, in association with the U.S army corps of engineers, could formulate mitigations such as reviewing building use regulations and safety codes to protect the residents. They could equally implement preventive health measures that would educate the public on disaster management.
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A group or organization working together can achieve more positive results than individual effort. Long term and short term effects, as seen after the Alaskan earthquake, were responded to rapidly because of the collective efforts from both the public and private sectors. Such collaborations may factor mitigation efforts before a disaster to prevent severe damages that may occur after.
Reference
Villani, E., Greco, L., & Phillips, N. (2017). Understanding value creation in public‐private partnerships: A comparative case study. Journal of Management Studies , 54 (6), 876-905.
