Lecture 6 Fundamentals of Emergency Management
Lecture 6 Fundamentals of Emergency Management
Preparedness
Fundamentals of Emergency
Presented By:
OWUSU ANSAH ERIC
Management Prevention/Mitigation
Co-Authored By:
Mr Charles E. Abbey Response
By JULY 31, 2014 Recovery 2
Yenzanya Sylvester
Definitions Definitions
Accident: An accidents is an unplanned or undesired event A crisis is any event that is, or is expected to lead to, an
that causes harm to people, loss to process and damage to unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual,
properties or the environment (Amegbey, 2015). group, community, or whole society.
Emergency: An emergency is an unforeseen situation that Calamity: “A massive or extreme catastrophic disaster that
threatens your employees, costumers, the public; disrupt or extends over time and space.” (Drabek 1996, p.4)
shut down your operations; or courses physical or
environmental damage. Catastrophe: “…any disaster that overwhelms the ability of
state, local, and volunteer agencies to adequately provide
Disaster: A disaster is an unplanned or sudden event that victims with such life-sustaining mass care services as
causes great damage or loss of life OR “an exceptional food, shelter, and medical assistance within the first 12 to
event that exceeds the capacity of normal resources and 24 hours.” (GAO, Disaster Management, 1993, p. 1)
organization to cope with it.”
3 4
1
Definitions Definitions
Vulnerability: The inability to resist a hazard or to response • Risk: The expectation of loss from hazards and their
when its has occurred. Depend on social, physical and impact. Risk is a function of probability (likelihood) of a
hazard occurrence and the impact (consequences) of a
economic factors. hazard
Exposure: The number of people, properties, livelihoods, • Disaster Risk Reduction: “The systematic development
systems are present in hazardous area and application of policies, strategies and practices to
minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout a
society, to avoid (prevention) or to limit (mitigation and
Act of God: An unintentional hazard event (usually a natural preparedness) adverse impact of hazards, within the
hazard) whereby society feels that no individual or broad context of sustainable development.” (Cited in
organization is responsible for the hazard occurrence or its FEMA Higher Education Project U.N. ISDR 2002, 25)
impact, i.e., an “accident.”
5 6
7 8
2
Types of Emergencies
Emergencies are mainly grouped into natural or man
made.
9 Types of Emergencies 10
11 12
3
Principle Of EM Cont’d Principle Of EM Cont’d
4
Mitigation Cont’d Mitigation Cont’d
• Many activities can be undertaken by emergency
management officials and their organisations to reduce the • Publicly subsidized insurance might be offered
risk of hazards in the long term.
to (or even required for) the public so that if
• Mitigation activities might include establishing building disaster strikes, the financial burden to the
codes that improve the chances of structures remaining victims and the taxpayers is more manageable.
standing after an earthquake.
• Zoning and land management might be used to ensure • Public education campaigns could help citizens
that residences are not located in flood-prone areas.
be more informed and equipped (and therefore
• Relocation funds, tax incentives, and low-interest loans less needy) should a disaster ever come.
might be provided to homeowners or businesses to
encourage their moving from areas prone to floods or
wildfires.
17 18
5
Mitigation Cont’d Preparedness
Challenges cont’d • This phase refers to activities undertaken in advance of an
emergency or disaster to develop operational and logistical
– It can cost quite a bit of money to bring an existing capabilities and to facilitate an effective response should
building into compliance with enhanced safety codes. an emergency management event occur.
– Likewise, the building of new structures for either • Effective preparedness efforts require:
residential or commercial use that are subject to new – proper planning
and costly codes and zoning regulations may be – the allocation of sufficient resources
impeded. – making the training of emergency responders a priority,
and
• Mitigation, frankly, can have a stunting impact on – engaging in disaster simulation exercises in order to
economic development and growth that would otherwise practice large-scale responses and to identify
have taken place. vulnerabilities in the response process.
21 22
23 24
6
Preparedness Cont’d Preparedness Cont’d
2. Risk Assessment 3. Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)
• Therefore, risk assessment is unique to the community Beyond that, the plan provides detailed information,
undertaking it. specific to that jurisdiction’s risks and needs, about
how particular types of disasters and emergencies will
be handled - (Well spelt out in the Lecture on
Can you identify some hazards and vulnerabilities in your Emergency Response Plan ).
communities? 25 26
7
Preparedness Cont’d Preparedness Cont’d
7. Mutual aid agreements
8
Preparedness Cont’d Preparedness Cont’d
8. Training and exercises Cont’d 9. Public education.
• In addition to training, emergency managers engaged in • The process of educating the public about what to do in
preparedness must also design and implement disaster large-scale emergencies is also an element of emergency
exercises. management preparedness.
• Exercises also afford the chance to identify weaknesses, • Through education programs, public apathy toward the
knowledge gaps, and vulnerabilities in the emergency possibility of disasters can be diminished without causing
operation plan and among emergency personnel. people to become excessively alarmist.
Exercises can be conducted on a large or small scale. • Education can also impact people’s behavior in a positive
way—hopefully resulting in the reduction of risky behavior
• Emergency managers also design and implement “table (such as continuing to live in a floodplain). Further,
top” exercises. These exercises are the least costly and education will equip citizens to respond to disasters in a
are generally conducted in the classroom or office. safer, more responsible, and more helpful manner.
33 34
9
Preparedness Cont’d Preparedness Cont’d
9. Public education cont’d 9. Public education cont’d
37 38
10
Response Cont’d Response Cont’d
Pre-hazard • At this stage of an emergency management event, officials
have some opportunity to respond in a way that can still
save lives and property. Warnings or evacuation orders
• During the pre-hazard stage, an emergency is could be given.
recognized by emergency management and public
safety officials as imminent, but not yet present. • Law enforcement and fire/rescue units could be alerted and
prepositioned. Hospital emergency rooms could be notified
• For example, rotation may have been spotted in a wall so that preparation might be made to treat potential
cloud, but a tornado has not yet touched down. Or casualties.
intelligence may have been gathered confirming a terror • Depending on the nature of the impending emergency,
attack is imminent against a city’s landmark, but it has there may even be time to engage in last-minute, ad hoc
not yet taken place. mitigation and preparedness measures. This might include
sandbagging vulnerable areas before an expected river
41 breach hours away (Coppola 2007). 42
• This response phase of emergency management might • But during this post hazard stage of an emergency
also be employed at some level during the emergency responders are no longer focusing on the hazard effects,
while the hazard is ongoing. but rather concern themselves with
• Depending on the nature of the event, the ongoing – tending to victim needs, rescuing the trapped and
phase of an emergency could last seconds, or it could injured,
last hours and even days. – recovering and managing human remains,
– and keeping the situation stable (i.e., ensuring that an
ongoing hazardous state does not return).
43 44
11
Recovery Recovery Cont’d
• The final phase of emergency management is • Commonly, the government plays a leading role in
recovery efforts of large-scale, local disasters.
recovery. “Recovery” refers to what the
government does in the mid and long term after
• Recovery efforts focus on the restoration of services and
an emergency management event.
the reconstruction of buildings and transportation
networks.
• Recovery activities are intended to restore the
community to its condition prior to the disaster, • Long-term recovery efforts may blend into mitigation
or even better, improve the condition over what it efforts as measures are explored and taken to ensure
was pre-disaster. similar disasters are averted or at least diminished in
impact in the future.
45 46
12
REFERENCES
• Wayne Blanchard (2008) “Guide To Emergency Management And Related Terms, • Peter Aitken (2007) Principles Of Disaster Management Anton Breinl
Definitions, Concepts, Acronyms, Organizations, Programs, Guidance, A Tutorial Centre James Cook University 73pp
on Emergency Management, Broadly Defined, Past and Present • Amegbey N. (2015, Safety Management, Short Course University of Mines
and Technology, Tarkwa, 100pp
• ICDRM/GWU Emergency Management Glossary of Terms Institute for Crisis,
Disaster, and Risk Management The George Washington University Washington,
D.C.
• Anon., 2015 “Emergency Action Plans” Study Guide, Occupational Heath and
Safety Academy”, Geigle Safety Group International, 38pp
49 50
13