Preparing a Disaster Management Plan

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Adam StaniaGeneral Manager

Welcome Message

www.ccianswmembers.com.au/wednesday-webinars

The first 24 hours

Preparations for minimizing damage

Consolidation of business information

Where to go for assistance

Getting back to business

Notice of disaster

Activate the emergency plan

Assess the site for hazards

Activate the Disaster recovery plan

Activate the communication strategy

Preparations that minimise damage

The length of each period will vary

10 days ….

10 Hours …….

Or

10 minutes …..

3 Time Periods in Each Disaster 1. Pre Disaster 2. The Disaster Event 3. Post Disaster

You need to be organised so that you can organise everyone else.

• Threat causes emotion to overwhelm reason

• Selfish behaviours: push, shove• Contagion – panic spreads in a crowd

People may not be familiar with the area, location of roads or services etc. Vision may be impaired due to night time or smoke People may have mobility issues

Different disasters call for different plans of action

• Flood

• Fire

• Storm, tsunami• Biological

• Chemical

Business information stays the same - copy and paste into plans

Preparedness

Minimise damage • Get underway with moving items • Prepare the property and infrastructure • Have the emergency kit ready to go

Notice of disaster event

Commence pre disaster preparations• Pre flood plan• Pre fire plan

Page 1 Emergency contacts and sources of information

Business information• Needs to be in one place

Needs to be accessible• Soft copy

• Cloud• Google drive

• Hard copy • Where is it located? • Can staff find it quickly and easily?• Are they familiar with it? Have they practiced?

The Emergency Management Plan

Preparedness

Emergency Plans Page 1

Preparedness

Insurance

• Business insurance• Business interruption insurance*• Vehicle insurance• Personal insurance• Home insurance• Contents insurance

CHECK EVERY YEAR • Residential insurance• Long term casuals insurance

The right policy for your business

Preparedness

Business Interruption Insurance - Don’t undervalue

• Security fencing• Security personnel• Skip bins• Bob cat • Extra waste collections• EPA inspections• Asbestos removal • Service delivery replacements ; power, gas, water,

sewerage – lines and pipes• Hire equipment; generators etc • Cherry pickers• Personal protective equipment for clean up staff?

Gloves, masks hardhats, protective suits etc

Alarms /loudspeaker

Where can they be heard?Are they tested regularly?Will they be heard over machinery?

Preparedness

Evacuations Find the method(s) of alerting customers, guests and residents at your business

Text or Phone call

Is reception always good?Will people have their phones turned on?Can everyone use a mobile phone?

Doorknocking

Will you be heard?How long will it take to get to all doors ?

Evacuation plansWhere are people to go? How will they get there?

Preparedness

Residents• ICE records at office and updated regularly • Wardens for different areas of the park• Caretakers / Buddy system• Who needs assistance, how will those people be

identified?o coloured light, flag – is it visible at night?

• Pets

Long term casuals • Do they sign in when arriving? Their guests??

Staff• Will they go home? At what point in a crisis will they

go? • You and your family – Who goes? When? What do they

take with them?

Response – Move the people out quickly and safely

Preparedness -Evacuation questions

Avoid assembling on roads and near entry and exit points where possible

Keep entry and exit points clear for emergency vehicles

• Fence – right side• Fence – along the front• Narrow road • Entry and exit point • People trying to get out

with vans and boats• Emergency trying to get in

How many cars per site?

Invite the local fire brigade to come and chat with staff and residents – see if they can drive around the park

Emergency vehicle access on site

Evacuation routes - You need a plan B in case Plan A is obstructed.

Expect the Unexpected

Glen Cromie Caravan Park, Vic Black Saturday Fires

Surfrider Caravan Park, NSW 2011

The first twenty four hours are the most important

Response

Fight or Flight??

Are you in a physical position to assist?

Do you have the right tools to assist?

Don’t leave it too late to decide when to leave

DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN

Record of Review

The Disaster Recovery Plan is to assist businesses return to normal operations as quickly and efficiently as possible after a disaster has occurred. The document should be reviewed every 6 months to incorporate any changes and a hard copy should be kept with the business’ fire and flood emergency management plans.

EMERGENCY PLAN LOCATIONS

Emergency plan Hard copy location Soft copy location Fire Flood Storm

RECORD OF REVIEW

Version Date issued Reason for update

INSERT BUSINESS NAME HERE

Recovery

Disaster recovery is planning just as important as disaster management planning

Hazard Yes / No

Were any of the buildings constructed using asbestos? Refer to Annexure A for dates of supply for various asbestos materials.

 

Have any electrical transformers burst or found to be suffering from damage? **  

Is are there any gas cylinders that may have been damaged?  

Have any electrical wires been downed?  

Is there a risk of debris causing injury?  

Are floodwaters present?  

Has there been a sewerage /septic system overflow? Note these may come from a neighbouring site

 

Is there a biological hazard present eg medical waste/ damaged syringe disposal bins? Note these may come from a neighbouring site

 

Hazard Assessment

Recovery

**PCBs - Polychlorinated biphenyl

Recovery

Who needs to be contacted?• Insurance • Staff• Essential services

• gas, power, water• Business services

• phone, internet • Contractors

• gardeners, cleaners, deliveries

Action When Safe Business Services To Be Notified

Service Provider

Account/Ref Number

Contact person Phone number

done

Phone Insurance provider

Merchant bank Internet Security Energy Gas Water

Staff to be notified

Name Position Phone

Suppliers and contractors to be notified

Company Goods/services Contact person Phone

Recovery

all the information regarding insurance policies in the one spot.

Disaster Recovery Plan

Preparedness Response Recovery Mitigation

Communication Strategy • 1 person or 1 team (large organisations)• Regular and accurate updates - Build trust

Local emergency contacts • SES State Emergency

Service• LAC Local Area Command

(Police)• RFS Rural Fire Service

Relationship contacts • CCIA MHIA• Local and Regional Tourism

Organisations• Visitor Information Centre• Local newspaper • Local / community radio

Business Contacts• Guests • Customers• Suppliers• Contractors

Communication Strategy – social media

Avoid digital whispers – Chinese whispers of the digital age

Push through media hype and attract people back to the area

Remember… comments and pictures are shared…….. more people comment.. they are shared again…….. and again……. and more people comment

If you don’t update them… They will get the information from somewhere else, but the information may not be correct

Accurate and timely updates

Brisbane Council - 2011 post floods

Facebook activity:

• 1,570% Increase in likes• (759 likes to 12,679 likes)

• 17,546 comments• 4,641,232 post views

Twitter activity:

• 180% Increase in followers• (2,955 followers to 8,291 followers)

• 561 tweets sent throughout January• 2,207 re-tweets (RT)

105,306 clicks on links posted on Facebook and Twitter (bit.ly)

Recovery and social media

USA Hurricane Sandy

• 18% retrieved emergency info through Facebook• 27% used facebook to find shelter and supplies• 1 in 5 used social media, websites and email to contact

emergency services• 44% asked online friends to contact responders• 25% sent direct twitter messages • 24% let loved ones know they were safe

"Business has literally evaporated. We've experienced cancellations from as far away as people ringing up from Holland, for example, and saying we've had groups booked into your property, we'll have to cancel them for Christmas because the mountains are on fire."

Ongoing costs of a disaster

Recovery – regional response crucial

Getting Back to Business

Restoring services

Park owner owns the site and responsible for supply of services ie water, energy etcOccupants responsibility to put dwelling on, clean up when vacating the site. CCIA agreement states services need to be in place if vacating, in addition to driveway etc.

Rent payments

Abatement of rent only in the residential agreement, casual agreements do not have a clause. Needs to be decided by the owner in agreement with occupant.

Recovery – who’s responsible

Getting Back to Business

Clean Up

• Debris Cover will cover the parks clean up but not occupants mess - do not mix piles together if possible

• Business interruption coverage will cover loss of trade during clean up

• Example: Securing the site was up to $25K in one case– total cost well over due to security guards employed, extra staff to assist with clean up etc.

• Good to have a crisis control person come and to provide direction etc for the clean up

Recovery

Declaring a Natural Disaster

• State governments responsible for relief and recovery assistance after a disaster. They declare a natural disaster has occurred

• Federal Government acknowledge the high cost of the efforts and offer Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) in a state federal joint arrangement

• 4 categories of determining assistance – generally only A & B apply , do not require prime ministers approval.

• Under NDRRA, the state government determines which areas receive the assistance and what assistance is available to individuals and communities

Recovery – Government funds & assistance

Disaster Recovery Allowance (NRA)

Recovery

• Income support payments to employees, primary producers and sole traders who experienced a loss of income as a result from the disaster

• Generally made available to individuals affected in local government areas

• Fortnightly payment equivalent to newstart or youth allowance depending on persons circumstances

• Not eligible ifo Not an Australian citizen o Under 16 o Already receiving income support payments, (pension,

Newstart, service & aged pension)

RecoveryDisaster Recovery Payment (DRP)

One off financial assistance payment

Eligibility • Seriously injured• Lost or directly damaged home• Death of immediate family member

All claims and enquires should be directed to

The Department of Human Services (Centrelink) websitehttp://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/themes/help-in-an-emergency

Or phone the Australian Government Emergency Information Line Ph 180 2266

Tourism operators in the Blue Mountains estimate they have now lost nearly $30 million from cancellations and visitors avoiding the area after the recent bushfires.

Many of the operators suffering were not directly impacted on by the fires.However, the bottom line is, small businesses, independent businesses, the businesses which run without government funding, the businesses which provide the majority of our region’s local employment, the hard working ‘Aussie Battlers’ are mostly on their own to pick up the pieces.

Ben CurranManaging DirectorBlueMountainsAustralia.com

2013 Blue Mountains Fires – ongoing costs

SHORT TO LONG TERM ACTIONS

1. Business impact assessment2. Business recovery procedure3. Insurance claims 4. Financial assessment 5. Cash flow budget6. Market assessment 7. Plan to reopen / exit strategy

2 – 14 DAYS AFTER THE DISASTER EVENT

Recovery

Mitigation

Fire

• Clean gutters and roof areas

• Test water pumps

• No stockpiled wood or flammable items

• Regular testing of fire hoses and reels

• Fire training for staff

Flood

• Flood toolkit items ready to go

• Know highest and lowest points of site

Storm

• Umbrella, shade sails taken down

• Outdoor furniture removed

• Windows taped or boarded

• Vehicles and other items under cover

Practice evacuation drills every 6 months

For businesses in the Blue Mountains, the bush fire emergency resulted in an extended period of lost productivity (10 Days), loss of continuity, loss of income and conceivably for some, a significant impact on cash-flow.

• Insurance policies do not cover financial losses which are indirect and difficult to quantify.

• In short, after running ‘businesses on hold’, unless your business was directly impacted by fire, there is absolutely no support to help get your business back on its feet.

2013 Blue Mountains Fires

Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements

4 categories of assistance

A support for individuals for personal hardship and distress – automatic from the state gov without needing approval from the fed gov first. Often in-kind support ie vouchers.

B state and local gov assistance for restoration of essential public assets and some counter disaster operations. Also available to small businesses, primary producers, NFP organisations in the form of concessional loans, subsidies or grants. Provided by state gov without needing approval from Fed gov

C Severe situations only, assistance for communities and regions. Intended as additional to A & B. Includes clean up needs to be requested by the state, requires the prime ministers approval. Includes recovery grants for small businesses and primary producers and/or the establishment of a Community Recovery Fund

D exceptional circumstances beyond A – C, needs to be requested by the state, requires the prime ministers approval

Recovery