Disasters Are Space-Time Tricksters

Gus Koehler, Ph.D., CEO,

Time Structures, Inc.Sacramento, Calif.

Preplan to Establish Order

• Existing systems need to be strengthened so that they can expand their existing routines and roles

• Standard training for all responders to ICS

• Agreements between multiple agencies to resolve resource sharing and scope of decision making

• Measureable benchmarks and standards established

• Supplies and logistics systems identified and tested

• Communications

Time Structures

Disaster Strategy Involves Cunning in organizing the Response to the Trickery of

the EventTiming: first see the overall background timing imposed by the disaster.

Applicable timing is results from appreciating the fast and slow timings of critical parts.

Cunning and Trickery: To trick someone is to destroy their boundaries.

A disaster breaks the boundary of the day-to-day life of the city and of the responder’s planned strategy

Response “cunning” is responding to emergent opportunities and using the disaster’s timing to create a new response and a “controlled” disaster

Time Structures

Time Structures

The structure andBoundaries ofThe City Are Redefined inUnexpected Ways

Time Structures

Time Structures

Disaster Can Move in Space Time

Time Structures

A Moving DisasterOn the Sacramento River: Cantara Metam-Sodium Train Spill

Time Structures

Sacramento Metamsodium Cantara Train River Spill

Time Structures

The Trickster Laughs• Plan for when space-time events are likely to

occur and for their profile (equipment, supplies, personnel); expect disruption

• Practice on paper and in real time; assume ½ the trained people won’t show up

• Predict when parts will fail; practice for failure

Time Structures

• Develop personal trust and confidence in fellows; they will get tired and be replaced by unknowns

• Combination of anticipatory, bench-marked and tested top down structure with cunningly developed self-organizing and emergent response from the bottom up

• Knowledgeable, cunning managers and responders with timely access to the right information and resources is the pre-disaster training and organizing goal