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Convergence Phenomenon

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Disaster Relief Aid

Abstract

Unnecessary and low-priority emergency relief items offered to those who have suffered a natural or man-made disaster have been a perpetual problem across the globe. The spontaneous and often unsolicited flow of supplies to disaster-affected areas from non-affected locations pose a serious obstacle for effective emergency relief operations. This chapter deals exclusively with three types of post-disaster convergence phenomena: personal, informational, and material. The advantages and disadvantages of each type of convergence, along with typology and effects of each phenomenon on disaster relief activities, are discussed. Among the three types, convergence of material has a relatively long history compared to the other two. Material convergence has four overlapping categories which are examined before providing several recommendations to either slow or completely stop the flow of unwanted and unnecessary emergency items to disaster sites.

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  1. Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Bimal Kanti Paul

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Paul, B.K. (2019). Convergence Phenomenon. In: Disaster Relief Aid. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77282-0_5

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