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Emergency management

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'Mitigation' redirects here; for use of that term in criminal law, see extenuating circumstances.

Emergency management (or disaster management) is the discipline dealing with and avoiding risks.[1] It is a discipline that involves preparing, supporting, and rebuilding society when natural or man-made disasters occur. Emergency management is the continuous process by which all individuals, groups, and communities manage hazards in an effort to avoid or ameliorate the impact of disasters resulting from the hazards. Actions taken depend in part on perceptions of risk of those exposed.[2] Effective emergency management relies on thorough integration of emergency plans at all levels of government and non-government involvement. Activities at each level (individual, group, community) affect the other levels. It is common to place the responsibility for governmental emergency management with the institutions for civil defense or within the conventional structure of the emergency services. In the private sector, emergency management is commonly referred to as business continuity management.

History and role

In the United States, the Constitution assigns the responsibility of public health and safety with state governments.[1] When an emergency or disaster occurs in a community, the resources of the local governments will be used first to manage the incident. With small-scale incidents, the response of local police, fire, and emergency medical services is usually sufficient. Once the resources of the local government are overwhelmed, the mayor of the city, town, or village will call upon the resources of the state for additional help. Likewise, the Federal government is called upon to act when the resources of local and state governments have been overwhelmed.[1] Governors of the affected states will request a disaster declaration from the President of the United States.

As a result of these foundations, emergency management is often considered a fundamental function of government.[1] The structure and functions of emergency management have developed as government agencies and businesses have continued to search for ways to manage the effects of emergencies and disasters. In the public sector, the primary means of addressing the management of emergencies is accomplished through relevant legislation. The earliest known attempt at providing assistance through legislation occurred when a New Hampshire town was destroyed by a fire in 1803.[1] In response to the fire, a Congressional Act was passed to provide financial assistance to the town.[1] However, significant involvement of the U.S. government in emergency management functions did not occur until the Franklin Roosevelt administration. [1]

The Flood Control Act of 1934, which gave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authority over flood control projects, was a piece of legislation that had a significant impact on emergency management in the United States.[1] Since that piece of legislation was passed, the U.S. government has made many efforts to deal with a variety of emergencies. These efforts include the focus on civil defense in the 1950s, the passage of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and Disaster Relief Act of 1974 to address natural disasters, the well-known reforms of former FEMA director James Lee Witt during the Clinton administration, and the current focus on terrorism after the September 11th attacks.[1]

Phases and professional activities

The process of emergency management involves four phases: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Mitigation

File:Em cycle.jpg
A graphic representation of the four phases in emergency management.

Mitigation efforts attempt to prevent hazards from developing into disasters altogether, or to reduce the effects of disasters when they occur. The mitigation phase differs from the other phases because it focuses on long-term measures for reducing or eliminating risk.[1] The implementation of mitigation strategies can be considered a part of the recovery process if applied after a disaster occurs.[1] However, even if applied as part of recovery efforts, actions that reduce or eliminate risk over time are still considered mitigation efforts.[1]

Mitigative measures can be structural or non-structural. Structural measures use technological solutions, like flood levees. Non-structural measures include legislation, land-use planning, and insurance e.g. the designation of nonessential land like parks to be used as flood zones. Mitigation is the most cost-efficient method for reducing the impact of hazards. However, mitigation is not always suitable and structural mitigation in particular may have adverse effects on the ecosystem.

A precursor activity to the mitigation is the identification of risks. Physical risk assessment refers to the process of identifying and evaluating hazards.[1] In risk assessment, various hazards (e.g. earthquakes, floods, riots) within a certain area are identified. Each hazard poses a risk to the population within the area assessed.[2] The hazard-specific risk ( ) combines both the probability and the level of impact of a specific hazard. The equation below gives that the hazard times the populations' vulnerability to that hazard produce a risk. Catastrophe modeling tools are used to support the calculation. The higher the risk, the more urgent that the hazard specific vulnerabilities are targeted by mitigation and preparedness efforts. However, if there is no vulnerability there will be no risk, e.g. an earthquake occurring in a desert where nobody lives.

 

Preparedness

In the preparedness phase emergency managers develops plans of action for when the disaster strikes. Common preparedness measures include the proper maintenance and training of emergency services, the development and exercise of emergency population warning methods combined with emergency shelters and evacuation plans, the stockpiling of supplies and equipment, the development and practice of multi-agency coordination etc. An efficient preparedness measure is an emergency operations center (EOC) combined with a practiced region-wide doctrine for managing emergencies. The purpose of the EOC is to coordinate the activities in the subsequent emergency response phase. Physically, the EOC may only be a couple of cabinets in a conference room combined with a significant group of professionals. The EOC have reliable external communications including access to civil and amateur radio networks.

Response

The response phase includes the mobilization of the necessary emergency services and first responders in the disaster area, such as firefighters, police, volunteers, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the American Red Cross. A well rehearsed emergency plan developed as part of the preparedness phase enables efficient coordination of rescue efforts.[3] Emergency plan rehearsal is essential to achieve optimal output with limited resources. In the response phase, medical assets will be used in accordance with the appropriate triage of the affected victims.

Where required, search and rescue efforts commence at an early stage. Depending on injuries sustained by the victim, outside temperature, and victim access to air and water, the vast majority of those affected by a disaster will die within 72 hours after impact.[4]

Recovery

The aim of the recovery phase is to restore the affected area to its previous state. It differs from the response phase in its focus; recovery efforts are concerned with issues and decisions that must be made after immediate needs are addressed.[1] Recovery efforts are primarily concerned with actions that involve rebuilding destroyed property, re-employment, and the repair of other essential infrastructure.[1] An important aspect of effective recovery efforts is taking advantage of a 'window of opportunity' [3] for the implementation mitigative measures that might otherwise be unpopular. Citizens of the affected area are more likely to accept more mitigative changes when a recent disaster is in fresh memory.

In the United States, the National Response Plan dictates how the resources provided by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 will be used in recovery efforts.[1] It is the Federal government that often provides the most technical and financial assistance for recovery efforts in the United States.[1]

Phases and personal activities

Mitigation

Non-structural personal mitigation is mainly about knowing and avoiding unnecessary risks. An example would be to avoid buying property that is exposed to hazards, e.g. in a flood plain, in areas of subsidence or landslides. Homeowners may not be aware of their home being exposed to a hazard until it strikes. Real-estate agents may not come forward with such information. However, specialists can be hired to conduct risk assessment surveys. Insurance covering the most prominent identified risks are a common measure.

Personal structural mitigation in earthquake prone areas include seismic retrofits of property and the securing of items inside the building like the mounting of furniture, refrigerators, water heaters and breakables to the walls. In flood prone areas houses can be built on poles, like in much of southern Asia. In areas prone to prolonged electricity black-outs a generator would be an example of an optimal structural mitigation measure. The construction of storm cellars and fallout shelters are further examples of personal mitigative actions.

Preparedness

See also hurricane preparedness and earthquake preparedness

On the contrary to mitigation activities which are aimed at preventing a disaster from occurring, personal preparedness are targeted on preparing activities to be taken when a disaster occurs, i.e. planning. Preparedness measures can take many forms. Examples include the construction of shelters, warning devices, back-up life-line services (e.g. power, water, sewage), and rehearsing an evacuation plan. Two simple measures prepare you for either sitting out the event or evacuating. For evacuation, a disaster bag or knapsack should be prepared and for sheltering purposes a stockpile of supplies. For the specific hazard of hurricanes, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recommends that the 'disaster bag' includes [5]:

  • a flashlight with spare batteries;
  • a battery operated radio;
  • first aid kit;
  • prescription medicines;
  • cash;
  • a cell phone with a fully charged spare battery;
  • spare keys;
  • water;
  • high energy non-perishable food
  • change of clothing.

Response

On a personal level the response can take the shape either of a home confinement or an evacuation. In a home confinement scenario a family should be prepared to fend for themselves in their home for many days without any form of outside support. In an evacuation scenario, a family evacuates by car with the maximum amount of supplies, including a tent for shelter. The scenario could also include equipment for evacuation on foot with at least three days of supplies and rain-tight bedding a tarpaulin and a bedroll of blankets is the minimum.

Recovery

The recovery phase starts when the immediate threat to human life has subsided. In the reconstruction it is recommended to reconsider the location or construction material of the property.

In long term disasters the most extreme home confinement scenarios like war, famine and severe epidemics last up to a year. In this situation the recovery will take place inside the home. Planners for these usually buy bulk foods and appropriate storage and preparation equipment, and eat the food as part of normal life. A simple balanced diet can be constructed from vitamin pills, whole-meal wheat, beans, dried milk, corn, and cooking oil[6]. One should add vegetables, fruits, spices and meats, both prepared and fresh-gardened, when possible.

Profession

Emergency managers are generally trained through a combination of education, experience, and certificate courses. There are several professional organizations that provide certification, including the International Association of Emergency Managers (which offers the "Certified Emergency Manager" certification) and DRI International.

National organisations

United States

In the United States, most cities maintain at least one conference room, which becomes the emergency operations center (EOC) when a large-scale disaster arise. The EOC then coordinates the emergency efforts of agencies from multiple jurisdictions. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is lead agency for emergency management. The HAZUS software package developed by FEMA is central in the risk assessment process in the country. Many cities also maintain community emergency response teams (CERT). These volunteer teams are trained in large numbers to provide better coverage of emergency support when large crises overwhelm the conventional emergency services.

Canada

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) is Canada's equivalent agency. Each state or province has an emergency management office and most local levels of government have similar offices.

New Zealand

In New Zealand the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management has statutory authority for controlling any state of emergency declared by central government. Local government bodies such as city and regional councils have their own emergency management agencies to control localised states of emergency, but these all defer to the MCDEM in the event of a national state of emergency. The Wellington Emergency Management Office utilize a building that has been purpose built with its own water, electricity, communications and sewerage facilities to ensure operations in the event of an emergency or disaster.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Haddow, George D. (2004). Introduction to Emergency Management. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-7689-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Wisner, Ben (2004). At Risk - Natural hazards, people's vulnerability and disasters. Wiltshire: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-25216-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b Alexander, David (2002). Principles of Emergency planning and Management. Harpenden: Terra Publishing. ISBN 1-903544-10-6.
  4. ^ Walker, Peter (1991). International Search and Rescue Teams, A League Discussion Paper. Geneva: League of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
  5. ^ nhc.noaa.gov NOAA Hurricane Preparedness Website
  6. ^ www.fema.gov Federal Emergency Management Agency Website

See also

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