Session 18 1

Comparative Emergency Management

Session 18 Slide Deck

Session 18 2

Session Objectives

1. Provide an Overview of Disaster Preparedness

2. Describe and Discuss the Preparedness Actions of Government

3. Describe and Discuss the Preparedness Actions of Individuals

Session 18 3

Disaster Preparedness

“Action taken in advance of a disaster to ensure adequate response to its impacts, and

the relief and recovery from its consequences.”

Session 18 4

Who Performs Preparedness Actions?

• Emergency response agencies• Government officials• Businesses• Nongovernmental organizations• Hospitals• Individuals and families

Session 18 5

Preparedness Goals

• Knowing what to do in the lead up to or in the aftermath of a disaster

• Knowing how to do what needs to be done• Being equipped with the right tools to

effectively do what needs to be done

Session 18 6

Preparedness Establishes:• What hazards are likely to occur • What the consequences of those hazards will be• What the response requirements will be• What direct responsibilities the individual has to

address those requirements• What skills, competencies, and resources are

required to fulfill those responsibilities• What are the response triggers • How prepared the stakeholder actually is to

perform the required actions

Session 18 7

Two Preparedness ‘Groups’

• Government– administration, emergency management, public

health, and other services agencies

• Public– Individuals, nongovernmental organizations,

and businesses

Session 18 8

Mitigation vs. Preparedness

• Mitigation: reduces hazard risk likelihood or consequences before a disaster occurs

• Preparedness: Allows for enhanced response actions

• Many actions and activities will fit neatly into both categories.

Session 18 9

Government Preparedness Actions

• Planning• Exercise• Training• Equipment• Statutory authority

Session 18 10

Planning

• Determines: – Is the event a disaster?– Who is in control of the overall response?– Where will damage and needs information come from?– What specific actions need to be performed?– What is the logical flow of these actions?– Who is responsible for performing each action?– Where will resources come from?– What laws give authority to the actions and actors? – What outside resources can be called upon?– What procedures must be followed to request and

accept these resources?

Session 18 11

Planning: The EOP

• Centerpiece of government preparedness• A playbook of response actions• Built upon predictions of hazard risk• Must be flexible to allow for a range of

hazards and severity (scaled up or down)• Address complex/diverse needs

Session 18 12

Planning: EOP Function

• The people and agencies who will be involved in the response to hazard events (including disasters)

• The responsibilities and actions of these individuals and agencies

• When and where those responsibilities and actions will be called upon

• How citizens and structures will be protected in the event of a disaster.

• The equipment, facilities, and resources available within and outside the jurisdiction.

Session 18 13

Planning: EOP Components

• A hazards risk analysis• The basic plan• Emergency function (‘Functional’) annexes• Hazard-specific annexes

Session 18 14

Planning: The Basic Plan

• The Introductory Material• The Purpose• The Situation and Assumptions• The Concept of Operations• Organization and Assignment of Responsibilities• Administration and Logistics• Plan Development and Logistics• Authorities and References

Session 18 15

Planning: Functional Annexes

• Provide much more highly detailed information about operational needs

• Go into much greater detail about who does what

• May cover any specific task or function conducted in the lead up to, response, or aftermath of a disaster

Session 18 16

Planning: Functional Annexes• Direction and control• Notification and warning• Evacuation• Communications• Public works• Public information• Fire suppression• Search and rescue• Emergency medical

services and mass care• Mortuary services• Security and perimeter

control

• Inclusion of military resources

• Transportation• Traffic control• Relief• Short- and long-term

recovery• Financial management• International coordination• Volunteer management• Donations management• Vulnerable populations

Session 18 17

Planning: Hazard Annexes

• Contain operational information not covered in the base plan

• May stipulate risk for individual hazards, including the geographic range, the population likely to be affected, and the season or time the disaster is most likely

• Special detection and warning systems, evacuation routes, risk maps, preparedness and response issues, and other topics may be included

Session 18 18

Planning: Exercise

• Allows those involved in emergency and disaster response, as defined in the EOP, to practice their roles and responsibilities before an actual event occurs

• Prepares individuals to carry out their duties• Helps find problems in the plan in non-emergency

situations • Introduces individuals and agencies involved in

response

Session 18 19

Planning: Exercise Types

• Drill• Tabletop Exercise• Functional Exercise• Full-Scale Exercise

Session 18 20

Planning: Training

• Disaster response officials are more effective if they are trained to do their jobs

• Response officials may place their lives in unnecessary and grave danger if they are not adequately trained in the particulars of specialized response

• Untrained or insufficiently trained responders add to the possibility of a secondary emergency or disaster

Session 18 21

Planning: Specialized Training Topics

• Evacuation• Mass care• Mass fatalities

management• Debris management• Flood-fighting

operations• Warning coordination• Spontaneous volunteer

management

• Hazardous materials• Weapons of mass

destruction• Cyclonic storm response• Urban and wilderness

search and rescue• Radiological response• Crowd control• Response to terrorist

attacks• Wildfire and wildland fire

response

Session 18 22

Preparedness: Equipment

• Helps response agencies reduce the number of injuries and deaths and the amount of property damaged or destroyed as result of disaster events

• increases the effectiveness of response agencies by protecting the life of the responders themselves

• Access to equipment depends on available resources

Session 18 23

Preparedness: Equipment Types• Fire Suppression • Rescue• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)• Disaster Medical Care• Public Warning and Alert Systems• Communications• Disaster Feeding• Others…

Session 18 24

Statutory Authority

• Disaster characterized by:– Expenditures of funds– Suspension of normal government and private activities– Other deviations from ‘normal’

• Statutory authorities help to ensure that all individuals and agencies involved in the emergency management system are able to carry out their duties– Ensure that EM agencies and functions are established,

staffed, and funded.

Session 18 25

Public Preparedness

• In disasters, response resources are stretched to the limits of their capacity

• Vast response requirements can delay the delivery of these services to many people

• Individual and family preparedness are vital to increasing overall community resilience, especially in light of the limitations typically experienced by the emergency services in the outset of large-scale events

Session 18 26

Examples of Public Response Role

• Basic search and rescue• Provision of first aid• Fire suppression• Flood fighting• Traffic control• Utility shut-off