Fostering Successful Emergency Planning
Fostering a successful emergency plan ensures that the plan focuses on intensive training and exercises. In doing so, the plan reinforces emergency preparedness for a number of potential emergencies. The exercises that emergency planners can create to test their plans include trial or testing through prototypes and operations, rehearsing the plan and explaining the plan to others and memorizing it (Perry, 2016). The best way to access emergencies is through trials. I believe this is true because when accessing emergency systems using trial, one bases the trial on socialist systems. The use of socialist systems in responding to emergencies has a number of advantages. This is because the system puts into consideration the needs of those who are in emergency situations for example, the January 2010 earthquake that hit Haiti. The socialist system encompasses support for each other and providing assists and recuing lives of those needing help in emergency situations (Perry, 2016).
The Haiti earthquake goes down in history as one of the worst disasters to have ever hit the island. The island is a major tourism location that is blessed with wide spread white beaches. The earthquake could not have come at a better time as it hit the island during the holiday season with it causing damages to the tourism destination. Tourists who were already at the island were also not spared as they lost their properties with some losing their lives. Had the island developed a socialist system, the damages caused by the earthquake would have been limited and the response to the disaster would have been swift. The system would have ensured that those caught in the emergency are rescued in a systematic manner. It would have also provided higher level of safety to the victims of the earthquake (Perry, 2016). The earthquake led to a significant reduction in the number of tourist that visit the island causing the island revenue loss from its tourism industry. It is however important to note that economic conditions of Haiti does not favor it in terms of carry out regular training in preparedness for a disaster. For the country to be better prepared to handle any kind of disaster it will be vital for them to balance their economic strain to their emergency preparedness. To do this the island will have to take precautionary measures so that when they are hit by any disaster they are well protected from the effects.
Classes of Protection Action Recommendations
The protection action recommendation contains guidelines used in triggering public safety measures in case of a radiation emergency. It elaborates on measure used to reduce and prevent exposure to radiation during emergencies. These measures include actions such as staying indoors and evacuation procedures. The protection action recommendations were created to help emergency responders prepare and plan for radiation emergencies (ORIA, 2017). It is recommended that upon being aware of a radiation leakage which exceeds the set federal government limits, the responsible plant is called upon to evaluate its conditions and make necessary protection recommendations. These recommendations are then meant to be submitted to the local or state authorities that will be responsible for handling the emergency. The federal government also expects the plants personnel to report their protective action recommendations to the state or local authorities within fifteen minutes. The state and local authorities will review the recommendations and make the final call on the best way to react to the situation. They have the final decision on the protective action needed to ensure the public is protected and safe from radiation exposure.
The state is also mandated to inform the public about their decision in a timely manner to prepare them for what to expect. The recommended time to inform the public is set by the federal government to be within fifteen minutes of the disaster (ORIA, 2017). The United state nuclear regulatory commission is responsible for monitoring nuclear power plants in America. They ensure that every protective actions and recommendations are proposed by the plans personnel are appropriate and are to the best interest of the public. The state and local authorities are also mandated with ensuring that they carry out extra assessment of the situation and ensure that the appropriate protective actions and recommendations are made. Carry out independent assessment ensures the state and local authorities are in a position to ensure that the best possible action is taken. Independent assessments from the state authority eliminate any doubts or issues that might have been neglected by the nuclear plants employees. In return, the states become better and more equipped and informed on any matters that might arise from the plant.
Analyzing and Selecting Protective Actions
While analyzing and selecting protective actions it is important to consider the community vulnerability assessment tool. This is a series of modules used by a planner in producing local and state vulnerability assessment. In accessing the state vulnerability it becomes possible for the state to easily analyze and prepare for any emergencies that they might experience. They are required to select the right emergency shelters which are locations that are used to provide protection from disasters (Caunhye & Nie, 2015). Analyzing and selecting protective action also considers hazard exposure which determines the level of exposure facing people who live or work in a particular area. The hazard exposure is used to determine the level of threat facing people within a given area. Careful consideration of exposure gives way for mapping of the exposure. This is used to trace the exposure and determine the magnitude of its impact on the area being analyzed. Mapping is critical for emergency operations as it will determine the areas that will be affected and help responders determine the amount of resources they should allocate the emergency.
A good mapping procedure is also important for any emergency as it will help determine areas that will experience minimal impact of the disaster and help in re-establishing the local to safe locations (Caunhye & Nie, 2015). In America, affected states offer permanent housing solutions as they re-establish disaster victims to safer locations away from the center of the disaster. The states have successfully used their evacuation procedures to move people away from potential threats. For example, weeks before hurricane Mathew hit the coastal city of Florida, the State of Florida had already evacuated those who lived by the shores of the ocean. While analyzing and selecting protective actions it is also important to consider the secondary hazards that might arise. These secondary hazards are risks that are associated with the primary hazard for example, when an area is hit by massive flooding, the secondary hazards to this would be outbreak of water borne diseases. During hurricane Mathew American authorities made sure that they took care of secondary hazards that might have come as a result of the hurricane. They had the affected cities drainage systems cleared to accommodate the incoming influx of water brought about by the hurricane. Their preparedness limited the the outbreak of any secondary hazard after the hurricane.
The Content and Format of Emergency Plans
Emergency plans should capture the authority for planning. It should also capture the planning goals as well as the concepts of operation for response. Before developing an emergency plan it is important to analyze the risk assessment and identify potential emergency situations that might arise. Getting to understand what to expect will help those developing the plan identify the resources they will need to develop the plan and the procedure to handling the scenario. A well written emergency plan ensures that it clearly distinguishes the available resources for emergency preparedness and those that need to be added to ensure effective response to any emergency (Bennett, 2011). It also has to have a laid out rules that are to be used during emergency response. The rules should be able to guide emergency responders on the appropriate steps they should undertake while responding to different situations. A good emergency plan should also have advisory system that warns people of the magnitude of an incoming emergency. For example, the department of Homeland Security developed a color-coded system that they use to determine the level of thread posed by an imminent disaster.
The department has used the color-coding system to inform the public of any emergency they are about to face the threat level the disaster has. Hurricane Mathew was considered a category five hurricanes and labeled red due to its expected devastating effects. While making an emergency plan it is also important to consider the jurisdiction the plan will be used in (Bennett, 2011). Having a response blueprint for given jurisdiction is important as it help emergency responders to specifically concentrate on how to handle every disaster according to the location of the disaster. What works in a state that experiences wild fire would not work in areas that receive high and heavy winds or hurricanes. Apart from the jurisdiction it is important to consider the standard operating procedure for every emergency. These standards are detailed guides for specific operations that given emergency responders perform in the field. The standards should ensure that they are universal so that they merge with the standards of other emergency responders.
Apart from considering the jurisdiction of the plan, it is critical for the planners to consider and analyse organisational capabilities of those they trust with their plan. These organisations include the emergency responders both from private practice and public institutions. Getting to know the capabilities of emergency responders will enable the planners to be aware to what extent can they rely on their responders (Bennett, 2011). They will be able to identify what kind of emergencies its responders can handle and what types of emergency they might need to outsource assistance. However, analysis of organisational capabilities is not enough if the population protection analysis is not carried out. Population protection analysis is the process of identifying the available warning methods. It is important that after determining the capabilities of the responders available, the planners should provide a plan that encompasses the warning methods. This is critical since the warning methods will be used to make it possible for emergency responders minimise victims by warning them earlier to get to safe zones. With reduced victims, the warning methods ensure that the responders efficiently utilise their available resources in handling the emergency.
References
Bennett, D. (2011). State emergency plans: Assessing the inclusiveness of vulnerable populations. International Journal of Emergency Management, 7(1), 100. doi:10.1504/ijem.2010.032048
Caunhye, A. M., & Nie, X. (2015). A location-allocation model for casualty response planning during catastrophic radiological incidents. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 50, 32–44. doi:10.1016/j.seps.2015.02.001
ORIA, E. (2017). Protective action guides (PAGs). . Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/radiation/protective-action-guides-pags
Perry (2016). Fostering successful emergency planning. . Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=Fostering+Successful+Emergency+Planning&oq=Fostering+Successful+Emergency+Planning&aqs=chrome..69i57.422j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#
