Alignment between Disaster Policies and Practice: Characteristics of Interorganizational Response Coordination Following 2016 Hurricane Matthew in Florida

Abstract

This study examines the alignments between disaster policies and frameworks to disaster response practice by exploring characteristics of interorganizational coordination operated in Florida during Hurricane Matthew in 2016. To measure the alignment between policy and practice, a set of network data was constructed from a systematic content analysis of newspaper outlets resulting in 612 articles from 32 sources. Social network analyses were conducted to identify characteristics of interorganizational coordination and evaluate the alignment between disaster policies and practice. Findings highlight how actual disaster response coordination reflects the corresponding disaster policies in terms of resource sharing, information planning, and communication functions during response operations. Based on the findings, we suggest some policy and practical implications to enhance alignment between disaster policies, frameworks, and practices.