With the widespread, expensive, and life-threatening damage that can occur during natural disasters, including floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and other events, it is important that the responses to these events are quick and performed efficiently, with cost and resource optimization in mind. That way, resources are not wasted in areas that don’t need them. And, if this were to happen, other, high-demand areas would suffer. With the amount of damage and displacement of local populations that occur, the planning and deployment of nearby resources needs to address these concerns. If done poorly, poor planning can in fact work against its own goals and cause failures to occur that compromise millions in assets and endanger many people as well. Take, for example, the legendary failure of FEMA in its response to Hurricane Katrina. Yes, one of the main reasons that FEMA failed was its inability to gather resources and knowledge, but it also lacked the ability to mobilize its resources (whereas Walmart could do both of these things successfully) (Horwitz 1). Utilizing a dynamic programming approach to deploy resources in specific areas based on what is available could vastly improve the effectiveness of a response plan. It may seem simple; if a resource were needed in an area, then one should send it there. However, there are millions of ways to distribute a resource to obtain an optimal value, and the optimal value changes based on the series of decisions made. In a computer system, it will take too long to calculate all of the combinations in order to find the optimal combination of resource allocation that can both save lives/assets as well as lower costs. To begin with, it is important to explain the concept of a dynamic optimiz... ... middle of paper ... ...to coordinate their supplier networks with known information about the status of a disaster in some regions. Works Cited Horwitz, Steven. "FEMA Doesn't Have Local Knowledge Needed for Effective Relief." Mercatus Center: George Mason University. Mercatus Center, 01 Nov. 2013. Web. 28 Nov. 2013. . Su, Xiaohui et al. The Study on Optimal Model for Relief Resources Allocation Using Dynamic Programming and Spatial Analysis Methods. Rep. GiScience/People's Republic of China, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2013. giscience2012_paper_184.pdf>. Wiitala, Marc R. "A dynamic programming approach to determining optimal forest wildfire initial attack responses." Fire Economics, Planning, and Policy: Bottom Lines (1999): 115-123.
Catastrophes impact large areas, crossing regional and often, state jurisdictional boundaries, and will require m...
NIMS provides a uniform nationwide basis and way for federal, state, tribal, and local governments, along with the public to work on preparedness, recovery, response and mitigation no matter what causes an event. With all organizations using the same application, effective and efficient responses are possible. Organizations will be able to arrive on the scene and be ready to assist and understand exactly what each group is doing and why. Protocols are set and it is known what equipment and personnel are available. With NIMS all groups are able to integrate und...
Often emergency response requires planning on multiple levels for successful preventive, preparedness, response and recovery coordination. This requires coordination from Federal, State, local, tribal, private sector and public sector critical infrastructure collaborative partners (DHS, 2015). Using the 2013 NIPP as a framework for collaborative efforts, Emergency Services Sector staff become involved in event coordination, risk management that improves the understanding of vulnerabilities to threats and consequences of those threats. They also provide their collaborative partners with the necessary tools, information and best practices that allow a more effective assessment of risks and the decisions made regarding those identified
Communities must come together in order to be aware of the steps that must be taken to reduce or prevent risk. “The guidance, programs, processes, and systems that support each component of the National Preparedness System enable a collaborative, whole community approach to national preparedness that engages individuals, families, communities, private and nonprofit sectors, faith based organizations and all levels of government.” (FEMA, 2011). Resources within a community are prioritized and customized based on community-based issues and local security programs. The resources used as the front line of defense are first responders, such as police officers, firefighters and medical personnel. The resources are provided and prioritized based on the priority of threat and risks to a specific community. Therefore, the threats and risks targeted towards a community must be analyzed and acknowledged in order to apply the correct resources to the opposing prioritized threats. Disasters and emergencies typically begin at the local level and eventually require resources from state and federal
Both man-made and natural disasters are often devastating, resource draining and disruptive. Having a basic plan ready for these types of disaster events is key to the success of executing and implementing, as well as assessing the aftermath. There are many different ways to create an emergency operations plan (EOP) to encompass a natural and/or man-made disaster, including following the six stage planning process, collection of information, and identification of threats and hazards. The most important aspect of the US emergency management system in preparing for, mitigating, and responding to man-made and natural disasters is the creation, implementation and assessment of a community’s EOP.
The National response plan outlines four key actions the disaster coordinator should take. They are gaining and maintaining situational awareness, activate and deploy key resources and capabilities, coordinating response actions and demobilizing. Throughout the response it is essential that responders have access to critical information. During the initial response effort the situation is will change rapidly. Situational awareness starts at the incident site. For this reason it is essential that decision makers have access to the right information at the right time. By establishing an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) all key responders are brought ...
The well-developed emergency response plan established beforehand helped the Company in making quick decisions after the disaster. Foreseeing situations arising from a major disaster and preparing well for them enabled the Company to take prompt actions when the time came. Management of the Company was empowered to make decisions without any lengthy analysis from a central authority. The Company also used flexible approach by modifying its delegation of authority to speed up critical decision-making process for recovery concerns. One of these decisions includes launching the Global Disaster Control Headquarters after mere 15 minutes of the disaster. The team further, worked upon the situation effectively by assessing damage while overseeing restoration efforts at various facilities. Latest information including details about employees’ safety and damage caused was absorbed and appropriate actions based on this were taken. Hence, the Company used proactive measures post the disaster situations rather than consuming time and delaying decisions which were indispensable. This was possible only through preparing a backup recovery plan well before the disaster, integrating tasks and taking several imperative decisions
Following the Cold War, the thinking towards civil defense gradually shifted to civil protection. The Cold War was no longer a major focal point and civil protection from natural and man-made disaster began to take precedent. During this time the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also shifted gears and was redirecting more of its limited resources from civil defense into disaster relief, recovery and mitigation programs (Chung para.7). As Chung further
As far as private entities, again, first responders were found to praise collaboration with utilities such as: electric power, telecommunications, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities (MacManus, 2011). Their counterparts, the non-first responders were less likely to embrace such collaborations. As first responders are the most rapid involvement in a crisis, they must provide safety to the population of their jurisdiction and neighboring jurisdictions, the elderly and disabled to be the first (Macmanus,2011). First responders are also aware of the difficulty of communication and recovery from a disaster, when the supply of power has been cutoff (MacManus, 2011). These interactions with utilities are very important when it comes to the quality of crisis
Regardless of your occupation or trade when a disaster occurs you must be prepared for it. For a bank this is very important for them to have a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) in place, because of the high demand for the services the bank provides as well as the
Walters (2010) explained in the wake of serious disasters, FEMA will initially deploy a cadre of disaster assistance reservists to help local officials take a first cut at establishing long-range recovery strategies and needs. For example, in the wake of Katrina, FEMA officials helped communities develop and pursue long-range recovery goals, which included helping communities track down the resources outside of FEMA’S direct control, and in Iowa City, FEMA worked with city officials on preparing grant applications, which led to a $25 million grant to aid in two recovery priorities (Walters,
Information technology relates contingency planning as synchronized strategy that involves tactics, processes and practical measures that ensure the retrieve of data after disturbance, information technology schemes and operation. Contingency planning comprises one or more methods to reinstate disrupted information technology facilities. Information technology (IT) and automated information systems are essential basics in most healthcare processes. The services provided by information technology system operates efficiently without extreme interruption. Contingency planning supports the necessary requirement by creating strategies, processes and practical measures enabling a system recover rapidly and efficiently following a service disaster. Temporary measures comprise the transfer of information technology systems and operations to a different site, the retrieval of Information technology functions using different equipment and the presentation of Information technology functions using physical methods (Moriarty, 2008).
Disaster Recovery Planning is the critical factor that can prevent headaches or nightmares experienced by an organization in times of disaster. Having a disaster recovery plan marks the difference between organizations that can successfully manage crises with minimal cost, effort and with maximum speed, and those organizations that cannot. By having back-up plans, not only for equipment and network recovery, but also detailed disaster recovery plans that precisely outline what steps each person involved in recovery efforts should undertake, an organization can improve their recovery time and minimize the disrupted time for their normal business functions. Thus it is essential that disaster recovery plans are carefully laid out and carefully updated regularly. Part of the plan should include a system where regular training occurs for network engineers and managers. In the disaster recovery process extra attention should also be paid to training any new employees who will have a critical role in this function. Also, the plan should require having the appropriate people actually practice what they would do to help recover business function should a disaster occur. Some organizations find it helpful to do this on a quarterly or semi-annual basis so that the plan stays current with the organization’s needs.
In order to fully understand the concept of a contingency plan, there are a few aspects which need to be explored. We must first define what a contingency plan is, followed by an explanation of why contingency plans are so valuable. Furthermore, an analysis of the implementation of contingency plans should be performed. Lastly, a comparison of such plans from other industries should be done, in order to comprehend the differences in both purpose and criteria.
Emergency management is often described in terms of “phases,” using terms such as mitigate, prepare, respond and recover. The main purpose of this assignment is to examine the origins, underlying concepts, variations, limitations, and implications of the “phases of emergency management.” In this paper we will look at definitions and descriptions of each phase or component of emergency management, the importance of understanding interrelationships and responsibilities for each phase, some newer language and associated concepts (e.g., disaster resistance, sustainability, resilience, business continuity, risk management), and the diversity of research perspectives.