After the wind : the emergent multiorganizational search and rescue network following the Cheyenne, Wyoming tornado of July 1979.

Bibliography: p. 114-120

Cover title

Reprinted with permission from Humboldt Journal of Social Relations; 1981; Vol. 9, no. 1; p. 90-120

Following tornado damage in Cheyenne, Wyoming, July 16, 1979, field interviews were initiated to document the emergent multiorganizational network that responded to search and rescue needs. Through a descriptive case study method, answers were sought to the following questions: 1) Who were the major participants in this emergent network? 2) What shape or configuration did this network assume? 3) How stable was the network? and 4) Why did it emerge into the shape that it did? This case analysis indicated that emergency responses to events like this one are directed primarily by local governmental agencies, although significant resources are provided by state and federal agencies and volunteer groups. Efforts to understand emergency management, within American society at least, must reflect a locally-focused, multiorganizational network perspective, wherein improvisation and emergence are core characteristics