Organizational response to community crises and group emergence.

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When disaster strikes a community, numerous emergency organizations such as fire and police departments immediately begin to cope with the crisis, and the majority of disaster activities are performed by pre-emergency organizations within the community. However, disasters can have a disruptive impact on organizational response and functioning, and community social systems must somehow deal with human problems so created. In certain crisis situations, the efforts of community organizations are supplemented by the development and functioning of emergent groups. The central question of this paper is: what is the nature of organizational response during crises that creates conditions conducive to the emergence of new groups? The author attempts to ascertain how the organizational response of stricken communities is related to group emergence