InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society > Student Materials > Policy, natural hazards, disasters, and the emergency management cycle > Response > Summary: Response
InTeGrate's Earth-focused Modules and Courses for the Undergraduate Classroom
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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
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The student materials are available for offline viewing below. Downloadable versions of the instructor materials are available from this location on the instructor materials pages. Learn more about using the different versions of InTeGrate materials »

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For the Instructor

These student materials complement the Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.

Summary: Response

In sum, all disaster responses require coordination, cooperation, and cultural sensitivity, but the complexity of and challenges presented by the response effort increase significantly with the size of the disaster. The case of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami – one of the greatest disasters of all time, with an enormous, unprecedented response required of the international community to address a disaster that affected numerous developing countries with varying languages, cultures, religions, and levels of development – demonstrates this complexity. Emergency response policies at all scales need to recognize and account for complexity.


These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »