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DISASTER AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
A GUIDANCE BOOK
Some initial thoughts
I see the project as one that has four sections; introduction, risk assessment and control, communications and investigation.
Introduction
The aim of this section would be to explain to the reader that disasters and emergencies are not just large scale accidents, rather they are events that affect the continued vitality of the organisation.
A survey of the last ten years of disasters and emergencies would be used to explain this point with examples taken from both manmade and natural disasters.
An explanation of what constitutes a disaster and emergency using the several definitions and characteristics to arrive at a reasonable description. The several terms that are used, such as crisis, would be explained and linked together.
The response of the authorities to the disasters and emergencies such as legal requirements and standards. This would include UK, European and International responses.
Risk assessment and control
Most of the readers will understand the phrase risk assessment and control and the process that is involved. This involves the use of the standard risk assessment matrix. However, for DEMS things have to change. For example hazards are better considered as threats to the organisation and control is better considered as mitigating the consequences and maximising recovery. For example, nothing can be done to reduce the likelihood of the occurrence of an earthquake but a lot can be done about reducing its consequence to the organisation and aiding recovery.
The change from hazards, which in the main relate to the potential for causing injury and/or ill-health, to threats, is crucial to DEMS. Threats is taken to mean the potential for causing damage to the continued viability of the organisation. This change implies that the organisation must be looked at in a holistic manner. In technical terms it means that a soft systems analysis of the organisation is required. This in turn requires an analysis of the organisation from the point of view of the input-process-output model.
DEMS considers the organisation as a whole but at the same time it considers the organisation as part of a wider social environment. This implies that mitigating the consequences and aiding recovery requires coordination within the wider community.
Communications
This is a very large area because it involves many players each with their own agenda.
- It concerns communications within the organisation to better mitigate the consequences.
- It concerns communications from the organisation to its employees and their relatives.
- It concerns communications between organisations involved in mitigating the consequence.
- It concerns communications to the regulatory authorities.
- It concerns communications with the media.
One overall message will be that timely communication that is truthful and accurate is always required.
Investigation
For some investigations such as a disaster following a major fire the traditional accident investigation will form the central theme but for natural disasters such an approach is impossible. This calls for a different approach to investigating disasters, not the least because the wider social community have a stake in the issue. The control of the investigation and the procedures that have to be followed will more often than not be dictated by the authorities.
Proposed DEMS book
PW0715