Homeland Recovery and Continuity of Operations Continuity of operations (COOP) refers to the effort to make sure that there is continuity of primary mission essential functions in case of emergencies. There are several events, which require an emergency response by various bodies such as the Homeland Security and the National security (Hamilton & Brown, 2016). Some of the emergencies include accidents, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters such as earthquakes. Quick and effective response helps in saving lives. There are four phases of COOP such as phase 1, which entails readiness and preparedness of the departments concerned. On the case of an emergency, the bodies concerned with rescue missions and security issues such as the National …show more content…
The decision makers should receive the information very quickly for them to determine the order of the evacuation. The stakeholders that are critically involved may be viewed as decision makers, after which one political authority with power to make the final decision on evacuation is considered (DHS, 2004). Evacuation decision is made by various bodies and the social, political and economic issues have to be considered. There are also information providers that possess the information on evacuation decision. These partners should be identified, and know their tasks and limitations in the process of evacuation decision-making. Information plays an essential role in evacuation readiness effort. Transportation officials provide information to the decision makers. For reliability, information should be collected from official sources and readily available, interpreted and collected continually in all the phases of the evacuation operation (DHS, 2004). A reliable baseline data is required which should be updated continually to help in preparing for the emergency situations. During the evacuation, such data is very necessary since the evaluators have to know the number to be evacuated and do enough preparations. They also need to know the number that needs other kinds of help such as medical, food supplies, and other security. Planners may face …show more content…
The types of evacuations include voluntary, in which the targeted individuals especially the vulnerable ones are given priority. It depends \with the events that have occurred such that the ones in great danger are evacuated first. There can be recommended evacuations especially in events that bear high probability of threatening people living in risky regions (Petersen, 2004). However, people have a right to decide whether they are interested in moving or not and can chose the transportation means of their preference. Authorities determine the mandatory evacuations and although difficult to enforce, they can help secure individuals from imminent dangers. During this phase, there are several challenges faced especially in making decisions. Ordering evacuations may be quite hard as people may face emotion or physical distress related to costs, risks, looting and other challenges. Getting ready to assist individuals in danger require adequate preparations to ensure that everything goes on well as Lawyer (2005) argues. It is good to consider the emotional well-being of individuals facing challenges and ensure that the best measures are taken. During emergencies, confusion may arise since some people may go missing requiring search missions. This can be very traumatizing and authorities should ensure that there are psychologists ready to help the
2) Maintain critical infrastructure centers (telegraph, bridges, hospitals) that provide a situational awareness capability, actionable information about emerging trends, imminent threats, and the status of any incidents that involve
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 ...
Evacuation was when children, expectant mothers, the frail elderly, the disabled, and the chronically sick were moved to safer areas of the country in anticipation of bombing but not all these people moved. The plan for the evacuation was drawn up by the Anderson Committee in the summer of 1938. An advice leaflet produced by the Lord Privy Seal’s Office in July 1939 advised everyone to move whose presence could not be of assistance. Although evacuation was voluntary, many leaflets, radio shows and other propaganda was produced by the government to try to persuade people to go. They put a lot of time, effort and money into the production of propaganda. The evacuation was nicknamed ‘Operation Pied Piper’ (with reference to the children’s story) and initially took place on the 1st September 1939, however The Anderson Committee overestimated the number of people who would leave, a million and a quarter people ...
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.
Contingency plan-A rapid response unit to evacuate all individual on board and the implementation of safety procedure e.g. life jackets for each individual.
Mancock, I., Tristan, C. & Lunn, J., 2004, Introduction to Emergency Management, CD ROM, Charles Sturt University, Australia.
...plan. All the structures in the nation must be given the diagrams and fitting outlines that delineate the clearing arrange if there should be an occurrence of crisis circumstances. The structures ought to have more passageways for the departure of individuals from that region. After that an Alarm system ought to be strictly executed in all the structures and work places. The crisis catch must be given. All the representatives and the individuals ought to be given fitting direction with respect to the caution and crisis circumstances.
Haddow, G., Bullock, J., & Coppola, D. (2011). Introduction to emergency management (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Butterworth Heinemann.
The Department of Homeland Security has a prominent role in maintaining the safety, security and resilience of our nation. In a world where terrorism is an ever-increasing threat and where man-made and natural disasters have left people and areas in devastation, the Department of Homeland Security works diligently to prevent and protect the United States from the effects of such tragedy. In order to effectively protect our nation Department of Homeland Security must assess the risk associated with any terrorist, natural or man-made threat. The risk assessment method that the department uses takes into account certain variables that help the department determine the level of risk. Based on the assessed risk level Homeland Security uses risk management for strategic planning, operations, determining the allocation of resources and grant awards in an attempt to prepare for and mitigate any harm to our nation, critical infrastructure and its people in the event of a tragedy.
The Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment need the whole community to pass on information, account for population-specific factors, and acknowledge the effects of a threat or hazard. Communities have to be educated and updated on threats and hazards that they may specifically face in order to accurately plan and prepare. All situations are usually handled starting at the lowest level, however, they will also have to discuss on how the federal government will assist if needed. “By providing the necessary knowledge and skills, we seek to enable the whole community to contribute to and benefit from national preparedness.” (FEMA, 2015). Local communities recognize their risks and conclude on how they will handle the significant amount of risks. Local governments discover and address their greatest risks by finishing the Threat and Hazard
When a disaster has occurred it is vital that all emergency response components work together in order to battle the disaster in an optim...
Perry, R.W., Prater, C.S., & Lindell, M.K. (2006). Fundamentals of Emergency Management. Retrieved from http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/fem.asp.
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.
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.