Municipal social services and responses to societal shocks

Abstract

Disasters are becoming more frequent in the world, not least because of global warming and globalization. The increasingly complex infrastructure of societies has created new challenges for modern societies as they deal with and try to avoid or minimize damage caused by social disasters. Disasters are well known in the South, as the area is geologically very active, there are e.g. the largest volcanoes in the country which, according to scientists, may erupt in the very next few years. The local authorities are key actors in disaster response and processing and provide important basic services to residents, including social services. The aim of the study is to examine how local social services can prepare to deal with social disasters. It is based on a project carried out by the civil protection and emergency management in Árnessýsla, a district in South Iceland, in the winter of 2021-2022. The purpose was to create and develop educational and training material for managers in local social services and on an interview study carried out in September 2023. Results indicate that procedures and checklists developed by social service staff and customized for each unit of practice are important tools in time of disasters. It was also stated that it is necessary for social service staff to regularly receive training and exercises based on realistic scenarios in their immediate community and their daily tasks.