What is Emergency Response in Disaster Management?
The emergency response includes the fundamental services and activities that are undertaken during the initial impact or in the aftermath of a disaster including those to save lives and prevent further damage to property (Bhatti, 2003:59; Kapucu, 2008:244; Kreps et al. 2006:20). The primary aims of disaster response are rescued from immediate danger and stabilization of the physical and emotional condition of survivors. These go hand in hand with the recovery of the dead and the restoration of essential services such as water and power. How long this takes varies according to the scale, type and context of the disaster but typically takes between one and six months and is composed of a search and rescue phase in the immediate aftermath of a disaster followed by a medium-term phase devoted to stabilizing the survivors’ physical and emotional condition.
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Elements of Emergency Response in Disaster Management
1. Activate the emergency operation centres (control room);
2. Deployment
of search and rescue teams.
3. Issuing updated warning;
4. Setting up community kitchens using local groups;
5. Set up temporary living accommodation and toilet facilities;
6. Set up medical camps;
7. Mobilising resources.
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8 Principles of Emergency Response in Disaster Management
Anticipation
Anticipation is
crucial in both the pre-emergency and post-emergency phases. Anticipation is
commonly used to describe the first phase of the Integrated Emergency
Management (IEM) process, which sees organisations actively ―horizon-scanning‖
for risks and potential emergencies. Anticipation is also a principle of
effective response and recovery, and, at the strategic level, the risk focus
must be forwards, upwards and outwards, with more operational risks being
appropriately addressed at lower levels
An important
aspect of anticipation is addressing recovery issues at the earliest possible
opportunity, ensuring that the response and recovery effort is fully
integrated. This will ensure that recovery priorities are factored into the
initial response, and will ensure coherence between the two streams of
activity. Ideally, the two activities should be taken forward in tandem from
the outset, although in some cases constraints on capacity may necessitate a
degree of separation, with the recovery effort gathering momentum once the
initial risk to life has been addressed
Preparedness
All individuals
and organisations that might play a part in the response and recovery effort
should be appropriately prepared. This requires a clear understanding of their
roles and responsibilities and how they fit into the wider, multi-agency
picture.
The Act requires
those organisations likely to be at the core of an emergency response to work
together to ensure that they are prepared for emergencies, as identified
through the national to local processes of risk assessment. Emergency
Preparedness explains the requirements of the legislation and offers good
practice advice to local responders
Subsidiarity
The UK‘s
approach to emergency response and recovery is founded on a bottom-up approach
in which operations are managed and decisions are made at the lowest
appropriate level. In all cases, local agencies are the building blocks of
response and recovery operations. Indeed, the local level deals with most
emergencies with little or no input from the sun-national or national levels
The role of the central government and the devolved administrations is to support and
supplement the efforts of local responders through the provision of resources
and coordination. The central and sub-national tiers will only become involved
in emergency response and recovery efforts where it is necessary or helpful to
do so
Direction
When an emergency occurs, those responsible for managing the response and
recovery effort will face an array of competing demands and pressures. These
will vary according to the event or situation that caused the emergency, the
speed of its onset, the geographical area affected, any concurrent or
interdependent events, and many other factors. The information available will
often be incomplete, inaccurate or ambiguous, and perceptions of the situation
may differ within and between organisations. The response and recovery effort
may involve many organisations, potentially from across the public, private and
voluntary sectors, and each will have its own responsibilities, capabilities
and priorities that require coordination.
It is, nevertheless, equally important to establish a clear aim and objectives to bring direction and coherence to the activities of multiple agencies under circumstances of sustained pressure, complexity and potential hazard and volatility. The government may, in certain limited circumstances, assume the role of setting the strategic direction where only it is in a position to deliver the necessary coordination.
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Information
Information is critical to emergency response and recovery, yet maintaining the flow of information, within agencies, with partners, and to the wider public, is extremely challenging under emergency conditions. The importance of information to emergency responders and those affected by events must not be underestimated. Effective information management is dependent upon appropriate preparatory measures being in place to build situational awareness and the development of a Common Recognised Information Picture (CRIP) at the local, sub-national and national levels (if appropriate). Such measures will need to support:
a) the transmission and collation of potentially high volumes of information from multiple sources;
b) the assessment of collated information to ensure its relevance, accuracy, timeliness, accessibility, interpretability and transparency; and
c) the translation of available information into appropriate information products, for example, briefing the Strategic Co-ordinating Group or national groups, or release to the media for public information
There is a
balance to be struck between ensuring that decisions are well informed and
acting swiftly and decisively. Establishing systematic information management
systems and embedding them within multi-agency emergency management
arrangements will enable the right balance to be struck.
It is important
to note that voluntary and private sector organisations will typically need to
be included in the multi-agency response and, as such, they must be integrated
into the information management structures and processes that are established,
trained, exercised and tested. In particular, the sharing of information in a
way that is responsive to the needs of emergency responders, and is compliant
with data protection and other legislation, needs to be thoroughly understood
and tested.
Where likely
information requirements have been defined, local responders need to follow the
established templates for such information products, whether these are locally
determined or supplied from the sub-national or national level. Additionally,
the use of such templates, and information management more broadly, should be
embedded and evaluated through training and exercising
Integration
Responding to,
and recovering from, emergencies is a multi-agency activity that may involve
many organisations. Their involvement, role and relative prominence may change
between phases of the emergency. Furthermore, depending on the nature and
severity of the event or situation, there may also be involvement from
sub-national and national levels. It is crucial that the contributions of
respective organisations are integrated.
The range of organisations involved in emergency response and recovery can pose difficulties for the effective management of local operations, and this underlines the importance of putting in place clearly defined structures to ensure that key agencies can:
a) combine and act as a coherent multi-agency group;
b) consult, agree and decide on key issues; and
c) issue instructions, policies and guidance to which emergency response partners will conform.
This will only be achieved if structures and processes are formulated through careful planning, and embedded through operations and regular training and exercising. In greater detail, the generic multi-agency framework for the management and coordination of local operations, while Emergency Preparedness covers the work required in the preparatory phases to enable effective integration.
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Co-operation
Emergency
response and recovery is a multi-agency activity. The management of emergencies
brings together a wide range of organisations that are not bound by
hierarchical relationships. Although one agency may take the lead in relation
to an emergency, or a phase or an aspect of that emergency, decision-making
processes should always aim to be inclusive and, wherever possible, arrive at
consensual decisions.
Mutual trust and
understanding are, therefore, the fundamental building blocks of effective
multi-agency operations. Organisations must understand each other‘s functions,
ways of working, priorities and constraints. This will facilitate the open
dialogue that is essential for a common aim and objectives to be developed,
agreed and worked towards. Furthermore, openness between agencies must be
supported and assured by a commitment to the confidentiality of shared
information when dealing with third parties or the public at large.
Unauthorised disclosure of information or unilateral action will not only prejudice
cohesion but may also undermine operational effectiveness.
Continuity
Emergency
response and recovery arrangements in the United Kingdom are founded on the
premise that those organisations undertaking functions on a day-to-day basis
are best placed to exercise them in the demanding circumstances of an
emergency. The experience, expertise, resources and relationships they have
established will be crucial, even though they may be deployed in a different
way or supported by neighbouring areas. For this reason, the CCA imposes a duty
on those organisations to plan for emergencies in respect of their everyday
role.
Effective response and recovery will be grounded in tried and tested arrangements built on everyday working practices. Wherever possible, response and recovery arrangements should preserve established structures and ways of doing things that people know well. By their very nature, emergencies require the special deployment of staff and resources. Wherever roles, responsibilities and organisational arrangements are different in emergency mode, these should be embedded through training and exercising.