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27 convergence of people and materials on the impacted area. Though projects undertaken as part of the IDNHR will not involve relief operations for specific disasters, they will include careful analy- sis of responses to disasters under various social and political circumstances. Emergency response generally entails much wasted effort, and there are often many urgent tasks that remain unaddressed, and much working at cross purposes. Contribut- ing to this condition is the fact that police and other public servants must suddenly perform many tasks for which they are not routinely trained. Both technological and social solutions are required to improve this situation. For exam- ple, development and installation of backup power sources and advance planning for making use of amateur radio operators have improved emergency response in many disasters. Likewise, various strategies for public education and ad- vance training for emergency response tasks have also been successfuL RECOVERY AND REDEVELOPMENT As the emergency period wanes, a community enters the long recovery and redevelopment period during which it restores itself. It buries the dead, treats the injured, houses the dispossessed, restores the damaged economy, and makes plans to minimize the hazards of future disasters, among many other activities. If the emergency response period is typically one in which the spirit . ~ 8 < ~ z z ~ ~ ~ ~ o z ~ w ~ ~ Z r o ~ < z o o Standing their ground before a wall of (lame, firefighters saved this Wisconsin home from the New Miner fire in May 1977. Blazes such as this are dangerous to fight, often traveling great distances quickly, outrunning firefighting equipment and trapping firefighters. Observations of the New Miner fire have helped fire scientists identify the roiling winds that make many wildfires act unpredictably. of unity and cooperation prevails, then the recov- ery period is typically one in which old divisions and conflicts resurface, exacerbated by the diffi- cult decisions that must be made. Conflicts arise between a strong sentimental force to rebuild the community just as it was before - perhaps in the flood plain or in a seismically vulnerable style - and a movement to seize the opportunity to make radical changes. Conflicts can also develop over the use of short-term solutions that interfere with more satisfactory long-term solutions. An exam- ple is the introduction of temporary housing, which often becomes permanent. Still other con- flicts arise over allocation of inadequate resources and evaluation of contradictory advice from supposed experts. These conflicts often lower community morale and undermine respect for political leadership and institutions, compound- ing the problems of restoring a community. Planning for future hazardous events involves several dangers during this period. Communities often rely excessively on a single strategy: for example, rebuilding the levees but making them higher and stronger, thus reducing the hazard of mild flooding but increasing the community's size - and thus the extent of damage - in case of more extensive flooding. Planning is also impeded by a sense of immunity. Residents may feel either that "we have had our quake and there won't be anoth- er like it in our lifetime," or that "we weathered this hurricane so we can weather anything nature throws at us." Errors made in the recovery stage can stay with a community for generations. Comparative stud-