I haven't noticed that tendency in western cultures... so an organisational structure that works in an environment where everyone is super-committed for a whole bunch of reasons can (and does) fail spectacularly in one which is a bit looser, less structured, more self-focused, etc.

That said, I assume neither of us know anything about natural disaster management, so we're both really theorising on a deeply practical matter... Our thoughts on the topic are probably not worth the bits carrying them ;-)