Local emergency management special issue: guest editors’ introduction

Abstract

We synthesise the themes and contributions of this special issue on local emergency management. Despite extensive international efforts focused on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management, these challenges are local. Local governments are the first line of response and management, dealing with the intersection of climate change, disaster response and fiscal austerity. We contribute to the local government and hazard management literature by engaging the ongoing debate to define resilience and adaptation, locating these concepts within local administrative practice. We demonstrate that international relations paradigms can help conceptualise local governance challenges. We draw out themes of social capital, information, and collaboration between government and non-government actors in building resilience. Ultimately, we provide insight into the emerging challenges and pioneering approaches undertaken to building resilience across multiple countries, along with evidence-based strategies and practical approaches to juggling the demands of service delivery, austerity and an evolving hazard-scape.

COVID-19, information management by local governments, and food consumption

“…Any disaster, irrespective of its coverage or intensity, is a local phenomenon because communities have to deal with such events primarily on their own and, to a limited extent, in conjunction with disaster & risk mitigation initiatives designed by local agencies (Killian 1994; O'Leary 2004; Reinhardt and Drennan 2019 ). Therefore, when IMR is developed at the local level, it generates civic engagement, strengthens disaster preparedness ( Spialek, Czlapinski, and Houston 2016 ) and community resilience ( Norris et al, 2008 , Sakurai and Adu-Gyamfi, 2020 ).…”