Humankind is susceptible to many situations which are sudden and take people unawares, wrought by both nature and mankind. These situations are known as emergencies and wreak huge losses to life and property. Although modern technologies have devised sound meteorological systems that may warn us of impending natural calamities such as earthquakes, volcanoes, cyclones, Tsunamis etc., the losses suffered cannot be fully recovered because Government machinery is never sufficient to deal with the magnitude of the disaster. Modernization of facilities to make living style easier has in its wake exposed human kind to many dangers. Exposure to these dangers is an inevitable part of development and cannot be completely eliminated; at the most precautions can be taken to minimize them. There are accidents that claim lives and cause damage to ecology because of human fallacies. People living in disaster prone zones like in the coastal areas, seismic regions or in the vicinity of nuclear and chemical plants are always subject to the risk of unseen dangers. Another form of disaster that confronts humankind is disaster resulting from terrorist attacks. Unlike natural or technological disasters they are deliberate attempts to cause casualties and claim lives (Lindell, M. K., Prater, C., & Perry, R. W. 2006, p.5). The preparedness for and prevention of terror attacks has improved following the attacks in Washington and Virginia and large increases in allocation of funds for countering terrorist induced disasters has been made (Haddow, G; et al, 2013). However it becomes necessary to establish a system that can provide immediate assistance to the victims till help arrives from the state. This paper attempts to highlight the possible risks that human kind is subjected to, from natural calamities as well as from manmade systems and the preparedness for emergency response and recovery. It outlines the steps that can be taken at local levels to lower the magnitude of risks and to initiate rescue operations following a disaster. In relevance to the issue it also discusses the formation of local emergency management committee and the possible areas where it can extend support to the Government in Risk Management.
Discussion
An emergency is a situation that demands urgent attention. All cases of natural, technological and terrorism disasters are treated as emergencies and need immediate attention for mitigating the losses. Effective handling of an emergency that initiates prompt rescue operations and recovery of losses is known as Emergency Management. It is the application of Science, technology, planning and management to deal with extreme situations which cause injury or death, damage assets and disrupt community life (Drabek, T.E, 1991). The Government of every country has a plan ready for handling emergency situations which constitutes of prompt mobilization of military, rescue and evacuation facilities and rations for affected people. But Government disaster management alone is not enough for handling the volume of losses brought about by the suddenness of an event. Moreover Government assistance may be delayed because of weather conditions and inaccessibility caused due to the disaster itself. Sometimes all lines of communication are cut off due to the disaster and it is not possible to communicate the occurrence immediately. In such cases involvement of local bodies in emergency management can minimize the extent of losses by initiating evacuation and rescue operations until help arrives. Researchers on disaster management are of the view that public participation in community planning and disaster management planning can bring about sustainable hazard mitigation (Pearce, L. 2003, p.220). Communities and businesses can actively participate in the identification of risks, assessing vulnerability to disasters and formulating strategies for lowering risks in alliances with the Government or independently. A study conducted by (Mc Gee, T.K, 2011) analyzed the involvement of the residents to wild fire in the U.S risk reduction activities, which ultimately led to the organization of the Fire wise Community which proved to be highly effective in mitigating hazards from wild fire.
Emergency Management comprises of four important characteristics; Hazard Mitigation, Emergency Preparedness, Emergency response and Disaster recovery (Lindell, M.K, et al. 2006, p. 10) which have been explained below
Hazard Mitigation
The process of addressing the causes of disaster, lowering the probability of their occurrence and controlling their magnitude is known as Hazard Mitigation (Lindell, M.K, et al. 2006, p.11). Hazard Mitigation must be preceded by the following steps
Identifying the hazards – Certain areas are identified as disaster prone. Coastal areas are susceptible to floods, tsunamis and hurricanes. Areas that fall under the seismic or volcanic zone run the risk of being hit by earthquakes and volcanoes. A nuclear or chemical plant in the vicinity may cause disasters like the Chernobyl nuclear disaster or Bhopal Gas Tragedy. Recent terrorist attacks like the 9/11 has identified the U.S as being susceptible to terrorist attacks.
Estimating the Probability of the Hazards – Frequency of occurrence of the hazards in the recent years provides us an estimate of the probability of a hazard. An area which witnesses a heavy annual rainfall and is near large water bodies may face a greater risk of floods as compared to the plains. Places situated on mountainous areas are subjected to frequent landslides and avalanches following rain or snowfall.
Projection of consequences – Consequences of hazards may be different on different areas depending on its geographic location, the segment of population living there and the sector of the local economy. Remote locations struck by a disaster may suffer more than an easily accessible location because rescue machinery may be delayed due to conditions in certain geographic areas. Similarly consequences of a disaster is felt more acutely in a place which is inhabited by poorer segment of population as they may not have the means to escape from the area soon enough. Terrorist attacks in Paris have affected the tourism sector of economy more than any other sector.
All these factors have to be considered before the formulation of an extensive plan for hazard mitigation. Once the implications of a hazard are determined with relation to these issues, the strategy for hazard mitigation can be developed. The main idea is to focus on such alternatives that can prevent the occurrence of a hazard. This can be implemented in the case of floods by building dams, addressing the causes of earthquakes and excessive rainfall or snowfall through ecological strategies like planting trees etc. Since natural disaster is not always predictable, hazard mitigation steps may not be as effective as in the case of technological disasters. Risks from technological set ups can be reduced by timely inspections for breakage, leakage or through compliance of safety standards. Alarms and warning systems can also reduce hazards emanating out of technological failures. Installation of automatic shut down of operating systems of in response to warning can be very effective in mitigating technological disasters.
Disasters triggered by terrorists can be addressed in the same way as the technological disasters by administering security checks at all public places to discover explosives etc. Public awareness and response to suspicious movements in their neighborhoods is a very crucial step in mitigating terrorist hazards.
Emergency preparedness
Implementing measures that can initiate immediate steps in response to an emergency is known as Emergency Preparedness. This consists of gearing up in advance to confront an imminent threat as well as having a plan ready for disaster recovery. Emergency preparedness plans must incorporate the following measures
Agencies participating in preparedness –Business and public administration organizations mostly have a special departments or agencies to address emergency management. These agencies are have the necessary authority and resources to carry out security checks; design a plan for response to emergencies like initiating evacuation, allocating resources, temporary shelters etc. and keep rescue equipments ready to respond instantly.
Disaster Management plans for specific actions – There must be specific plans formulated for different types of emergencies depending on the location, affected communities and nature of emergency. The plans must include the measures that are to be taken in each case specifying the particulars of the person in charge of the operations etc.
Response and recovery Process and resources needed – The exact steps that are to be carried to out in response of an emergency and recovery process must be outlined. The machineries, automobiles, manpower, funds and other resources needed to carry out the recovery operations must be specified in advance to ensure quick response.
Sustainability of Emergency preparedness – Emergency preparedness must be maintained at all times through regular drills and exercises to test the effectiveness and readiness of the plans. Long periods of inactivity may render the equipments and machinery useless; hence maintenance is necessary to ascertain their preparedness too.
Emergency Response
The reaction by the rescue teams after the occurrence of a disaster is known as Emergency response and is undertaken with the primary objectives of rescuing people and property, damage restriction from primary and secondary impacts. (Koliba, C. J. et al. 2011) has explored the importance of accountability in emergency response in reference to rescue operations during Hurricane Katrina and has concluded that lack of accountability results in poor networking and coordination which results in inadequate response to disaster. The main features of an emergency response is as follows
Securing the affected area – The area that has been affected by the disaster must be cordoned off as it may still be dangerous and may further disintegrate. Volcanoes may continue to erupt or landslides may continue intermittently after the initial occurrence.
Evacuating the threatened area – Occurrence of the disaster in one area may precipitate the chances of other disasters in neighborhood. Earthquakes often trigger off tsunamis in coastal areas; terrorist attacks in public places can be followed by serial attacks in other places and in the face of threats people need to be moved to safe places immediately.
Conducting Search for the injured and rescue for the injured – There are injured people trapped under rubbles or destroyed buildings unable to move by themselves. Rescue teams must arrange for searching for these victims and provide them assistance.
Providing medical assistance – Moving the injured to hospitals immediately to provide them medical treatment and administering first aid is a part of emergency response.
Providing Shelter to the Evacuees – Temporary refuge for the disaster affected people must be arranged until things return to normal.
Disaster recovery
The process of salvaging assets, restoring damaged sites to normal and tracing the missing people is called disaster recovery and includes
Clearing Debris – The destroyed buildings must be removed the affected place must be cleared off for restoration of normalcy.
Renewing Economic Activities – Economic activities such as shops, factories, transportation must be taken up again after the disaster.
Restoring Government services – Many government services like roads, power, railways etc. are interrupted by the disaster. Repairing and restoration must be carried out for resuming activities.
Rehabilitating the victims – Building houses and other facilities for the victims has to be undertaken to re settle them after everything is normal.
Contributions from Local Emergency Management Committee
The local emergency management committee can extend valuable contributions in all of the areas mentioned above. Formation of local bodies at community level for emergency management can mitigate the effect of a disaster to a large extent. Researches addressing the involvement of local committee in rescue and recovery operations have stated that it can expedite the restoration process. (Lindell et al. 2006, p.77) has asserted that if the risks of an occurrence can be communicated to people effectively, management of emergency becomes easier.
The various responsibilities local committees can play in each stage of Emergency Management are highlighted in the discussion that follows.
Reasons for forming Local Communities
As discussed before Government organizations for Emergency Management is not sufficient to handle emergencies immediately because of inaccessibility caused due to disasters, broken communication lines and other mishaps. Hazard Mitigation, emergency preparedness and risk analysis can be accentuated with the participation of local communities in emergency management. Involvement of local bodies makes communication and awareness of risks easy through sharing. Even rescue operations and recovery can receive an impetus if preliminary measures towards response and recovery are undertaken instantly as accessibility is not a restricting factor for local communities. (Comfort, L. K., Et al. 2012) has advocated to build a community of researchers and professional practitioners to aid the improved performance of emergency managers at all levels including local involvement.
Formation of Local Communities – Local communities should include members from each segment of a community so that he can identify the risks associated with his profession and pinpoint the operations which pose a threat to society and preparations can be initiated accordingly. Similarly some of the professions like that of a doctor, nurse, radio operators and other artisans can provide their services in the response and recovery activities. A proper structure should be formed where responsibility and accountability is assigned to the various members of the committee. Since LEMC s are not equipped to undertake emergency operations they must work in collaboration with emergency management agencies like fire stations, police, medical and public departments . Most Local committees are voluntary bodies where posts are honorary in nature but a budget drawn for the operations may be helpful for getting funds from the government.
Contribution of Local Committees-Local Communities can contribute substantially to all four stages of Emergency management viz. Hazard Mitigation, Emergency preparedness, response and recovery. Every LEMC must formulate an Emergency operative plan (EOP) and document it (Lindell et al. 2006, p 65). The plan should contain a detailed step by step action plan for effective emergency management. Initiating measures in a locality aimed at preventing natural disasters, like building dams or prohibiting such activities that cause landslides, fires and draughts can lower the hazards of such natural disasters. Communication to community residents about the possible risks can build awareness and help in mitigating hazards. Inspection of factories by the mayor or local government bodies for safety and security checks can reduce industrial hazards and improve accountability. Hazards from Terrorist attacks can be mitigated by reporting suspicious activities in the neighborhood and adhering to the safety regulations formulated by the police department before leasing premises to any stranger.
Installation of Warning alarms like sirens, loudspeakers to warn imminent dangers are emergency preparedness measures that can be undertaken by local communities. Informing the public about the emergency telephone numbers that can be used for communicating hazards prepare a community towards disaster. Assessment of disaster demands and capabilities can highlight the extent of demand preparedness of local committees.
Emergency response may comprise of immediate information to local agencies. Using community and personal resources for evacuation as fast as possible, assisting and administering first aid to the injured and helping children and the elderly must be priority based emergency response. Assisting government rescue teams in their operations is a part of local emergency management response. A report on use of social media to communicate disaster occurrence has been published by (Lindsey, B.R, 2011) which discusses the potential of social media in disseminating information about the disaster, the rescue operation, contact details and casualties.
Disaster recovery can be undertaken by trying to salvage property, undertaking clearance of debris and rebuilding houses in association with Government restoring agencies.
Conclusion
Involvement of local communities in emergency management can enhance their accountability to the community and organizations and individuals will make efforts towards sustaining Emergency management operations.
References
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Koliba, C. J., Mills, R. M., & Zia, A. (2011); Accountability in governance networks: An assessment of public, private, and nonprofit emergency management practices following hurricane Katrina. Public Administration Review, 71(2), 210-220.
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