COMPREHENSIVE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Dr. Adalat Khan
November 23, 2007
Every day we hear and see the news of natural and man-made emergencies and calamities. Some of these emergencies have disastrous consequences where thousands of people die and property worth millions get destroyed. Shall we surrender to the fact that emergencies are bound to occur and nothing can be done about it? Or can we take a more proactive approach and plan ahead for dealing with emergencies? Of course the second option is the best of option. As such in the recent past emergency management has emerged as one of the most popular fields and governments as well as individual organizations be they private or public are implementing emergency management systems. One of the other key reasons for this trend is that countries and companies which implement such systems greatly avoid or reduce human and material loss as compared to those which do not have identical systems at place. Before we go into the further details of the emergency management let us define some of the key terms used. What is an emergency? An emergency is any event that threatens to, or actually does, inflict damage to property or people. Emergencies can be small or large, and we often call large emergencies disasters. Disasters can include hurricanes and floods, explosions and toxic chemical releases, fires, major transportation accidents such as airline crashes, and national security events.
What Is Emergency Management?
In its simplest terms, emergency management may be as simple as a homeowner responding to a broken water pipe and a flooded basement. Depending on the homeowner’s abilities and resources, he or she may handle the emergency and restore services to normal without anyone else’s help. In so doing, the homeowner has managed the emergency. ( FEMA)
In broader sense Emergency Management can be defined as the discipline dealing with risk and risk avoidance. It is a discipline that involves preparing, supporting, and rebuilding society when natural or man-made disasters occur. Emergency management is the continuous process by which all individuals, groups, and communities manage hazards in an effort to avoid or ameliorate the impact of disasters resulting from the hazards (Wikipedia Encyclopedia).
Common Perception of Emergency Management
The average person probably thinks of emergency management in terms of a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, flood, or ice storm. However, emergency management also embraces man-made disasters such as hazardous materials spills, major transportation accidents, large fires, and, as we recently and unfortunately saw, terrorist events.
COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TOWARDS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT:
Emergencies are undesirable and at times disastrous happenings which must be dealt with in a timely and a comprehensive manner. Emergency management is a comprehensive system set up to address and handle natural and man-made hazards.
A comprehensive emergency management involves the following key steps and phases chief among them is prevention or mitigation of emergencies.
Mitigation
Preparedness
Response
Recovery
1- MITIGATION OR PREVENTATION OF EMERGENCIES:
Prevention is better than cure and wherever possible emergencies must be prevented or at a minimum mitigated. Mitigation includes activities that eliminate or reduce the chance of occurrence or the effects of a disaster. Communities can play an important role in mitigating emergencies. Research on the mitigation programs have shown that communities can do a lot to prevent major emergencies or disasters from affecting them negatively. If communities cannot prevent disasters, they can at least reduce the damaging impact. For example, requiring roof reinforcements will reduce damage from hurricane winds. Preventing new construction in floodplains or placing structures on columns in them can reduce the chance of flooded homes.
2- PREPAREDNESS
The next phase of emergency management is preparedness. In the preparedness phase, emergency managers develop plans of action for when the disaster strikes. Common preparedness measures include: communication plans, emergency organizations including command systems, maintenance and training and emergency exercises. It is planning how to respond when an emergency or disaster occurs and working to marshal the resources to respond effectively. These activities help save lives and minimize damage by preparing people to respond appropriately when an emergency is imminent or hits. To respond properly, a jurisdiction must have a plan for response, trained personnel to respond, and necessary resources with which to respond. Preparedness help people to deal with emergencies effectively and minimize the loss of people and properties resulting in major savings.
3- RESPONSE
Response is the third phase of emergency management and covers the period during and immediately following a disaster. During this phase, Emergency Response Teams (ERT) provides emergency assistance to victims of the event and tries to reduce the likelihood of further damage. Besides the ERT our local fire department, police department, rescue squads, and emergency medical service (EMS) units are primary responders. The response phase includes the mobilization of the necessary emergency services and first responders in the disaster area. This is likely to include a first wave of core emergency services, such as firefighters, police and ambulance crews. They may be supported by a number of secondary emergency services, such as specialist rescue teams.
4- RECOVERY
Recovery is the fourth and final phase of the emergency management cycle. It continues until all systems return to normal or near-normal operation. Short-term recovery restores vital life-support systems to minimum operating conditions. Long-term recovery may go on for months—even years—until the entire disaster area returns to its previous condition or undergoes improvement with new features that are less disaster-prone. For example, a town can relocate portions of its flood-prone community and turn the area into open space or parkland. This illustrates how recovery can provide opportunities to mitigate future disasters. The aim of the recovery phase is to restore the affected area to its previous state. It differs from the response phase in its focus; recovery efforts are concerned with issues and decisions that must be made after immediate needs are addressed.
Emergencies are situations that come unexpectedly and suddenly and can have dire consequences for the country, community or an organization. Nations, communities and companies are in a better position if they have good emergency management system at place. A good emergency system includes four key segments which are mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Let us hope that we are safe from emergencies but who knows anyone can meet emergencies only those have good chances of survival who are well prepared.
Dr. Adalat Khan is the president of Mina Resources Sdn Bhd a leading training organization providing various training services who can be reached at e-mail mina@streamyx.com or visit the website: www.mina.edu.my
What Is Emergency Management?
In its simplest terms, emergency management may be as simple as a homeowner responding to a broken water pipe and a flooded basement. Depending on the homeowner’s abilities and resources, he or she may handle the emergency and restore services to normal without anyone else’s help. In so doing, the homeowner has managed the emergency. ( FEMA)
In broader sense Emergency Management can be defined as the discipline dealing with risk and risk avoidance. It is a discipline that involves preparing, supporting, and rebuilding society when natural or man-made disasters occur. Emergency management is the continuous process by which all individuals, groups, and communities manage hazards in an effort to avoid or ameliorate the impact of disasters resulting from the hazards (Wikipedia Encyclopedia).
Common Perception of Emergency Management
The average person probably thinks of emergency management in terms of a natural disaster such as a hurricane, tornado, flood, or ice storm. However, emergency management also embraces man-made disasters such as hazardous materials spills, major transportation accidents, large fires, and, as we recently and unfortunately saw, terrorist events.
COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TOWARDS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT:
Emergencies are undesirable and at times disastrous happenings which must be dealt with in a timely and a comprehensive manner. Emergency management is a comprehensive system set up to address and handle natural and man-made hazards.
A comprehensive emergency management involves the following key steps and phases chief among them is prevention or mitigation of emergencies.
Mitigation
Preparedness
Response
Recovery
1- MITIGATION OR PREVENTATION OF EMERGENCIES:
Prevention is better than cure and wherever possible emergencies must be prevented or at a minimum mitigated. Mitigation includes activities that eliminate or reduce the chance of occurrence or the effects of a disaster. Communities can play an important role in mitigating emergencies. Research on the mitigation programs have shown that communities can do a lot to prevent major emergencies or disasters from affecting them negatively. If communities cannot prevent disasters, they can at least reduce the damaging impact. For example, requiring roof reinforcements will reduce damage from hurricane winds. Preventing new construction in floodplains or placing structures on columns in them can reduce the chance of flooded homes.
2- PREPAREDNESS
The next phase of emergency management is preparedness. In the preparedness phase, emergency managers develop plans of action for when the disaster strikes. Common preparedness measures include: communication plans, emergency organizations including command systems, maintenance and training and emergency exercises. It is planning how to respond when an emergency or disaster occurs and working to marshal the resources to respond effectively. These activities help save lives and minimize damage by preparing people to respond appropriately when an emergency is imminent or hits. To respond properly, a jurisdiction must have a plan for response, trained personnel to respond, and necessary resources with which to respond. Preparedness help people to deal with emergencies effectively and minimize the loss of people and properties resulting in major savings.
3- RESPONSE
Response is the third phase of emergency management and covers the period during and immediately following a disaster. During this phase, Emergency Response Teams (ERT) provides emergency assistance to victims of the event and tries to reduce the likelihood of further damage. Besides the ERT our local fire department, police department, rescue squads, and emergency medical service (EMS) units are primary responders. The response phase includes the mobilization of the necessary emergency services and first responders in the disaster area. This is likely to include a first wave of core emergency services, such as firefighters, police and ambulance crews. They may be supported by a number of secondary emergency services, such as specialist rescue teams.
4- RECOVERY
Recovery is the fourth and final phase of the emergency management cycle. It continues until all systems return to normal or near-normal operation. Short-term recovery restores vital life-support systems to minimum operating conditions. Long-term recovery may go on for months—even years—until the entire disaster area returns to its previous condition or undergoes improvement with new features that are less disaster-prone. For example, a town can relocate portions of its flood-prone community and turn the area into open space or parkland. This illustrates how recovery can provide opportunities to mitigate future disasters. The aim of the recovery phase is to restore the affected area to its previous state. It differs from the response phase in its focus; recovery efforts are concerned with issues and decisions that must be made after immediate needs are addressed.
Emergencies are situations that come unexpectedly and suddenly and can have dire consequences for the country, community or an organization. Nations, communities and companies are in a better position if they have good emergency management system at place. A good emergency system includes four key segments which are mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Let us hope that we are safe from emergencies but who knows anyone can meet emergencies only those have good chances of survival who are well prepared.
Dr. Adalat Khan is the president of Mina Resources Sdn Bhd a leading training organization providing various training services who can be reached at e-mail mina@streamyx.com or visit the website: www.mina.edu.my
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