Disaster Relief Logistics: An Academic Framework Evaluation of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires
Daniel CE and Rodrigues AM. 2017. Disaster Relief Logistics: An Academic Framework Evaluation of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires. University of Tennessee
Honors Thesis CONCLUSION: When the wildfires attacked the city of Gatlinburg in late November 2016, it awakened a fury from the affected townspeople. The city and region came together and quickly adopted the moniker “Mountain Tough”. In spite of the disaster they suffered, victims got up and started to rebuild. The mindset they embraced was and is beautiful. This paper has studied academic literature on the proper role of logistics in disaster relief, examined a framework meant to measure responses to these events, and studied the day-by-day timeline as the fires struck Gatlinburg. The academic framework was then applied to the specific events of late November 2016 and a rating system was applied to judge the performance of all involved. While both the preparation before the fires and the communication during the fires were lacking and should be improved, the humanitarian response to the fires was one of passion. Organizations and individuals alike rallied to help those victimized by the fires. Long-term recovery options will take time and be difficult, but will be done well. The academic framework provides the areas that require better development and further attention before the next disaster situation.
- Type
- Academic
- Authors
- Daniel, Clay; Rodrigues, Alexandre
- Date of Issue
- 2017-12
- Publisher
- University of Tennessee
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- APHN, Appalachian Highlands Network, Chimney Tops 2 Fire, disaster relief, economics, fire recovery, gateway community, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, GRSM, logistics, SER, social science, Southeast Region, thesis