What to do when a disaster strikes: advice to local chief executives from Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

An abstract written by Resource Referral Service Staff, from a report by Jay Gsell, Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Coping with the aftermath of a natural disaster is both a revealing and humbling experience. At a time when government generally is held in low esteem, local government must overcome both the immediate crisis caused by the natural disaster and the long term, ingrained suspicion of governmental activities and policy decisions. Community leadership must be legally based, acceptable to the citizenry, and perceived as effective and efficient. To exercise this leadership, the chief executive officer must have the community's confidence to allow him/her to assume authority and responsibility and transfer it to subordinates. Mobilizing resources, making decisions under public scrutiny, determining priorities during recovery, and alleviating public fears and inconveniences must all be balanced by the chief executive officer, often in a highly politicized environment. Knowing the attitudes of the people in a time of emergency or crisis can help to minimize unfavorable press and allows government to begin the work of disaster response, recovery and mitigation, with the support of the residents. Eau Claire followed three steps for governmental response: assess, organize, publicize and mobilize