Petra Nemcova, a model, television host and philanthropist, once said, “we cannot stop natural disasters but we can arm ourselves with knowledge: so many lives wouldn’t have to be lost if there was enough disaster preparedness” (“TOP 25 NATURAL DISASTER QUOTES (of 112),” n.d.). Whether the disaster is major or minor flood, a fire or other forms of arson, a building collapse, an earthquake, or a cyclone, panic sets in and staff need to follow set procedures to ensure that evacuations occur correctly and in a timely manner, and that protection of resources transpires to keep resources out of harm’s way. This is why a disaster plan is an important document to have in the library to prepare for, prevent and recover from disasters. With the latest …show more content…
This committee, comprising of library professionals, conservators, technical assistants, security and emergency officials such as police, fire and rescue and paramedics (Kale, 2013), are in charge of devising and updating the library’s disaster plan. This committee assesses dangers in the library collection, and recommends preventative actions; set recovery procedures; assess the buildings structure and devise an evacuation map with emergency exits; and, train staff with emergency preventions and response (Kale, 2013, p. 2). For further assistance, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) have two documents, “Disaster Planning in Libraries” (ALIA - Australian Library and Information Association, 2010a) and “ALIA Guide to Disaster Planning, Response and Recovery for Libraries” (ALIA - Australian Library and Information Association, 2010b), to assist with devising and updating a disaster plan. Another important role for the committee is to appoint a Disaster Manager, Disaster Reaction Manager and a Disaster Recovery Manager (Muir & Shenton, 2002). These three roles can be taken upon by three different people or by the same person and allows for some direction before, during and after a …show more content…
1–2). Furthermore it should outline, the most valuable and rare collections; books and materials that help achieve the library’s objectives; materials researchers use at a high frequency; difficult to replace collections; and materials that can be damaged if not treated properly, such as leather bindings (Kale, 2013, p. 2). In addition, information about equipment, its sources, addresses and the telephone numbers for repairing purposes (Kale, 2013, p. 2).
Disaster management is considered to be the most important aspect of library management, however is a neglected field in librarianship (Morgan & Smith, 2014). Having a disaster plan means the library has implemented action to prevent disasters from occurring and has developed necessary procedures to effectively respond to and recover from a disaster which reduces impact on staff, the collection and the library (Heritage Collections Council - Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts & Söderlund Consulting Pty Ltd, 2000, p.
In making the decisions to protect people’s lives from hazards and disasters, evacuations sometimes become necessary. Of course early in the reaction to the incident, or the response phase, this may become a decision for local and state emergency managers. The San Diego, California wildfire which occurred in October 2007 caused a large scale evacuation. This essay is an analysis, and identification of lessons learned from the evacuation incident. As well a plan of personal recommendations and improvements will be made based on information covered in the National Housing strategy, and Robert Stafford Act.
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.
An emergency operations plan for the community in which we live is a document of great importance to each of us whether we know it or not. This paper examines the emergency action plan for Knoxville, Tennessee. In the course of the examination, it will compare and analyze the plan for Knoxville with the standards set forth in the textbook for this course along with other recognized sources in the field of emergency management.
Bissell, R. (2010). Catastrophic Readiness and Response Course, Session 6 – Social and Economic Issues. Accessed at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/crr.asp
The goals include increasing nurses’ awareness of their roles and responsibilities in preparing for and responding to a disaster. There are web-based courses available for professionals who are not necessarily planning to deploy to a disaster site but working in hospitals, schools or long-term care settings. These individuals could help with the long-range planning of patients involved in a disaster. The course is designed to protect the nurse and the public through the use of universal precautions, protective equipment, evidence collection and isolation precautions. These are areas that the emergency nurse may not consider when volunteering on the front line of a disaster (Stokowski, 2012). Other areas of the course include how to prepare for a disaster, who to notify when an event is unfolding, the assessment, diagnosing and treating of injuries and illnesses, incorporating clinical judgment skills, and supporting the community after the disaster (Orr,
Hazards pose risk to everyone. Our acceptance of the risks associated with hazards dictates where and how we live. As humans, we accept a certain amount of risk when choosing to live our daily lives. From time to time, a hazard becomes an emergent situation. Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast or earthquakes in California are all hazards that residents in those regions accept and live with. This paper will examine one hazard that caused a disaster requiring a response from emergency management personnel. Specifically, the hazard more closely examined here is an earthquake. With the recent twenty year anniversary covered by many media outlets, the January 17, 1994, Northridge, California earthquake to date is the most expensive earthquake in American history.
Haddow, G. D., Bullock, J. A., & Coppola, D. P. (2010).Introduction to emergency management. (4th ed., pp. 1-26). Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
The Calgary Flood of 2013 forced over 100 000 people out of their homes, caused the death of three people, and caused six billion dollars in damage. Numerous buildings had no electricity, roads were shut down, and residents were asked to limit their use of water. The Alberta Government states that it will take many years to repair all the damage and have everything to return back to its normal state (CBC News, 2013). Most of the recommendations that were made after the flood in 2005 were never acted on, leaving Calgary ill prepared for the 2013 flood (Paperny, 2013). Emergency management is a framework that emcompasses procedures to effectively deal with natural and human disasters (Stanhope, Lancaster, Jessup-Falcioni, & Viverais-Dresler, 2011). The initiatives in the framework illustrate the four stages of disaster management in Canada: prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Natural disasters, namely the 2013 Calgary Flood, impact the community as a whole, and incline nurses to apply expertise skills while utilizing all resources available to initiate the disaster management framework of prevention and mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery (Stanhope et al., 2011).
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
Reputation is something that is immensely valued among humans. People care so much about their reputation that they will go to unimaginable lengths to keep it intact. This is shown in the short stories If I quench thee, and Slipper Satin also in the film Easy A and the short film Day Trip. the characters in these texts all gain a bad reputation for the decisions they make or the people they associate with. These characters in one way or another try to regain their reputation or decide to just live with it.
This section specifies procedures for various emergency situations, including accidents that occur between school and environmental emergencies, fires, natural disasters, medical emergencies, and school intruders. Emphasis is placed on the importance of creating scenarios and exercises for practicing responses to each of these situations. During an emergency the principal and staff must be prepared to follow procedures, yet make leadership decisions according to the situation to maintain the safety of students and themselves (Jefferson County, 2008). Drills are conducted routinely to prepare, train staff and students in case of an actual emergency. Different bells whistles and codes are used to alert staff and students in the school’s audible alarm system. Practice helps staff and students to know what actions are necessary for each alert. Each procedure is designed with direct bullet statements that are easy to understand and follow. This is essential during an emergency situation when it is necessary to react quickly in order to maintain calm and order.
Introduction 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 disruption time for their normal business functions. Thus, it is essential that disaster recovery plans are carefully laid out and updated regularly. Part of the plan should include a system where regular training occurs for network engineers and managers.
Tulsa, Oklahoma: Fire Engineering Books. Oliver, C. (2010). The 'Standard'. Catastrophic Disaster Planning and Response. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Of the four phases of emergency management, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, perhaps the place that individuals can make the biggest difference in their own state of resiliency and survival of a disaster is in the preparedness phase. Being prepared before a disaster strikes makes sense yet many people fail to take even simple, precautionary steps to reduce the consequences of destruction and mayhem produced by natural events such as earthquakes, volcanos and tornados (see Paton et al, 2001, Mileti and Peek, 2002; Tierney, 1993, Tierney et al, 2001).
The increase in unpredictable natural disasters events for a decade has led to put the disaster preparedness as a central issue in disaster management. Disaster preparedness reduces the risk of loss lives and injuries and increases a capacity for coping when hazard occurs. Considering the value of the preparatory behavior, governments, local, national and international institutions and non-government organizations made some efforts in promoting disaster preparedness. However, although a number of resources have been expended in an effort to promote behavioural preparedness, a common finding in research on natural disaster is that people fail to take preparation for such disaster events (Paton, 2005; Shaw 2004; Spittal, et.al, 2005; Tierney, 1993; Kenny, 2009; Kapucu, 2008; Coppola and Maloney, 2009). For example, the fact that nearly 91% of Americans live in a moderate to high risk of natural disasters, only 16% take a preparation for natural disaster (Ripley, 2006).