Disaster Management - Essay Example

Disaster Management Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Introduction Response to disasters is a fact that needs to be considered and addressed timely since the extent of the disasters can be devastating and sometimes unmanageable. This paper will evaluate a hypothetical scenario in the Birch Green area of Skelmersdale in which house raid led to the discovery led to the discovery of various elements used in the manufacture of devices for attack. The things include element used in both chemical and biological attacks. Additionally, there is proof of more complicated activities including use of hand-gliders and spraying devices. There is also evidence that attackers have been spraying people with harmful chemicals in Blackpool and first responders have detected serious fires. The paper will therefore address the case above or similar occurrences in real life. In this respect, a number of issues will be discussed. First is the command structure that would be used to deal with occurrences of magnitude such as the one addressed, second is the responsibility of Category 1 Responders as a response to the potential disaster. Third, the paper will discuss various issues related to treatment and identification of victims in such disaster areas. The other issues highlighted in the paper include matters of warning and giving information to the public as well as investigation of issues that surround incident communications. Along this line, a strategy will be formulated to deal with the media representatives covering the scene of the disaster. At the end, a press statement is included to guide the attending media personnel. Command structure to deal with the incident The command response structure is formulated basing on the stipulations of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 in which emergency response and recovery issues are addressed (HM Government, Emergency response 2005). The details of the command structure are tailored based on the varying nature of disasters. However, the salient features include the nature and demands of the emergency, the local circumstances as well as priorities as well as experience, and the nature of involvement in the response, i.e. if it is regional or national. The command structure is founded on six basic principles, which include anticipation of the disaster, continuity, preparedness to deal with the anticipated occurrences, integration of various response strategies, cooperation among the various players involved in the response, and communication (HM Government, Emergency response 2005). In the British system, there are three fundamental command structures to deal with disasters as highlighted below. Gold command Gold command is the strategic level of response. It is appropriate where an occurrence or situation is considered to have a particularly pronounced impact or bears significant resource implications in addition to involving a large number of people or organizations and lasting for a prolonged duration (HM Government, Emergency preparedness 2005). This means that the Gold command structure involves implementation of multi-agency groups, referred to as gold commanders, from various organizations. In the theoretical case that forms the basis of this paper as described, there are multiple cases of evidence of planned attacks, involving potential biological and chemical hazards as well as other forms of sophisticated technology. These need to be addressed by experts in various fields. The gold command is structured such that it defines what to do and has overall command for the incident involved. Given that the scenes in Skelmersdale and Blackpool involve a diversity of elements of evidence, the gold command should comprise experts in chemical analysis, fire, computer experts and staff with experience in hang-gliding to study the possible routes used by the attackers in spraying their chemicals. The gold command should determine the strategies to be used to deal with any possible disaster as well as the nature of resources to be deployed. In addition, the gold command should assess the parameters within which other groups will operate without interfering in their operations. Under this command structure, decisions have to be based on a broad perspective since there are many other issues to be defined yet. Silver command The silver command is a tactical rank of the command structure (HM Government, Emergency preparedness 2005). It is a level of management that provides all the general management of reaction to an emergency. Silver managers are involved in determining the priorities in allocating resources, they obtain additional resources as may be required, and design plans for coordination of the tasks involved (HM Government 2005). Silver commanders actually define how to respond to an emergency or disaster by directing as necessary the recommendations made at the gold level of the command structure (HM Government, Emergency preparedness 2005). For example, with reference to chemicals found in a raid, the members will weigh out the possible options the chemicals would be utilized for. The silver command uses the information gathered to highlight the tasks to be covered by the bronze command as a continuity of the response exercise. Bronze command The bronze command is the operational rank of the structure. This is the level of management that offers immediate hands-on work at the site or sites of emergency or in any affected area(s) (HM Government, Emergency preparedness 2005). The decisions made at this level are fundamentally intuitive and related to solving immediate problems. For instance, in response to the chemicals used in the manufacture of chlorine, the bronze command will further their investigation by determining the accurate method use in the preparation and whether the chlorine is actually spayed to people, as well as its harmful effects such as the cause of the fires. It is noteworthy that in response to the situation noted in Skelmersdale and Blackpool, the roles of bronze commanders will be activated first as more details are received from the gold and silver commanders. Responsibilities of the Category 1 Responders to be involved The Civil Contingencies Act defines two specific responsibilities of Category 1 Responders in relation to potential disasters or disasters that have occurred. The first point is that they are charged with the responsibility to inform the public on issues related to civil protection so that they are better prepared to cope with emergencies when they arise. The second point is that Category 1 Responders have a duty to maintain plans that warn the public and offer appropriate advice if an emergency arises (HM Government, Emergency preparedness 2005). In the present discussion therefore, Category 1 Responders have to investigate the details of their raid, that is the fine details of the chemicals they unravelled and the potential harm of the chemicals as well as the explosives and fires. In addition, they have to warn the public on the possibility of being sprayed with chorine or other chemical as it was discovered that the attackers were possibly using hang-gliders to achieve this objective. This is in line with Part 1 of the Emergency Preparedness Act that gives Category 1 Responders the mandate to warn, inform and advise the public in case an emergency occurs (HM Government, Emergency preparedness 2005). The services of Category 1 Responders are therefore imperative when ever an emergency occurs or is about to occur. Issues arising with respect to treatment and identification of casualties Treatment and identification of causalities is a difficult task because of the various interest groups involved. There are various classes of people widely classified into three groups (Cable undated). To begin with, among the casualties there are survivors - those who are in the immediate vicinity and who are directly affected, probably wounded; and those who are close by that may need to take caution in order to avoid further harm. Among the local people, there are those who are directly affected by the disaster in terms of injuries to their relatives, and those who are not directly affected but may be friends to those affected. Among the wider audience, there are those who are not affected by the disaster but are just alarmed and therefore eager or simply interested, as well as the media (HM Government, Emergency response 2005; Levinson & Hayim 2002). The causalities have to be treated with care – medical personnel have to carry out triages and other stabilization practices before having the casualties evacuated to other areas for further treatment (HM Government, Emergency response 2005). However, this may be slowed down by the casualties’ relatives who may be carried by emotions. In addition, other onlookers may be an obstacle to reaching the casualties. Media teams on the other hand are eager to cover the events as they happen. In either case, all the interested parties have to be informed of what is happening, which may not be an easy task. Issues in treatment and identification of victims are further complicated by the fact that each disaster is unique and the circumstances that surround each event will dictate the number of casualties as well as how they are cared for. In addition, the nature of disaster may hinder access to casualties, for instance a building collapse due to a bomb explosion in which casualties are covered under the rubble (Cote 2003). Evaluation of issues regarding warning and informing the public Any emergency causes widespread curiosity from the public and the media. It is therefore important that essential structure and measure be put in place to ensure that the messages given out are consistent in order to avoid panic. In particular, the public has to receive relevant guidance, information and warnings as a reassurance strategy and a foundation for any essential action. It is important to ensure that the media get first hand information that can be disseminated to the public and to the world (HM Government, Emergency response 2005). If this does not happen, there is likely to be created a room for speculation or spread of rumours and inconsistent information. Thus, media representatives have to be provided with adequate space and support services. They need feeding and sanitation services, and in particular, broadcasters need ample parking room to accommodate their satellite equipment. There is also need for call centre to facilitate smooth flow of information (HM Government, Emergency response 2005). Informing and warning the public can be catastrophic given that some members will be greatly devastated by the disaster. Some family members of the victims may be too shocked to respond to information or sustain an interview (Cote 2003). Thus, the well-being of individuals has to be considered before they are given information or told to do anything. Those willing to provide information have to be supported to do so. The general public may be considerably difficult to handle if there are no proper communication channels. This may be due to noise and non responsiveness. As such, proper mechanisms have to be put in place to warn and inform the public. These include tannoys, loudhailers, radio and TV announcements, mobile public address systems, display screens, work sirens, scoreboards and monitors, and so forth (HM Government, Emergency response 2005; Cote 2003). Evaluation of issues surrounding incident communications Effective communication at the disaster scene is one of the eight guiding principles of emergency response. Good two-way communication is essential for effective response as well as recovery. Therefore, reliable information should be passed without delay to those who need to be informed, including the public. For example, there is need for good two-way communication between the government and Category 1 Responders. Therefore, there is need for development of a reliable internal communication system that facilitates effective communication between various players at the disaster scene. Effective incident communication is vital since it facilitates better dealing with the direct effects of emergencies in addition to streamlining issues that would otherwise be obstructive, such as public disruptions and media interest (Levinson & Hayim 2002). Effective incident communication may be hindered by a number of factors. These include varying information management procedures between agencies, dissimilar perspectives on the disaster situation, mistakes and misunderstandings, and overloading of communication systems as experience on the 999 contact at Blackpool. Strategy to deal with the attending media representatives Media representatives are important in reinforcing a driving interoperability at a disaster scene. In most cases they hold responders responsible for inept services at the scene since they are usually among the first to arrive and cover the event to the public (NPIA 2009). The Skelmersdale and Blackpool is a security issue that needs to be handled with utmost consideration for safety of the public. In such a case it is important to ensure that the media does not release reports that cause mayhem and panic among the public but which are reassuring. The most effective strategy is therefore to ensure that Category 1 Responders consider the role of exercises in building confidence among the public. Therefore, it would be worthwhile to work with the media and advise them to run news that causes panic before the conclusive investigations about the disaster are made. Nevertheless, it is notable that when the media brief the public of the happenings, the situation becomes more reassuring. Press statement for the attending media Following a raid conducted on a house Birch Green area of Skelmersdale in connection with an ongoing counter terrorism enquiry, it was found that some suspicious gangs have been planning a series of attacks. This was evidenced by the recovery of some stolen items including credit cards, money orders and chequebooks. There was significant evidence of planned biological or chemical attack following discovery of chemicals used in the manufacture of chlorine. This is supported by the fact that there were details of hang-gliding equipment including photographs of the devices and contacts of their manufacturers. There is evidence that these devices could be used in spraying the manufactured chlorine or other chemicals. There have been numerous reports of a small aircraft spraying chemicals along the Promenade at Blackpool and this could be linked to the terror gang. In effect many people are lying on the ground and there have been numerous collisions of vehicles. In addition, there are unconfirmed reports an explosion and a fire at the base of the Blackpool Tower. Category 1 responders are on the ground and have established a rendezvous 400 meters south of the affected area. Media houses are requested to converge at this point in order to get information from reliable sources. All command groups - gold, silver and bronze have been dispatched to the scene to ensure that the situation is controlled. Media representatives are therefore urged to report consistent information from the media centre to avoid speculation and rumours that may escalate the situation. Conclusion It has been discussed that emergency situations particularly those involving coordinated attacks need much caution in order to avoid escalation of disasters. This requires concerted efforts from all command groups including gold, silver and bronze. In particular, Category 1 Responders have to be very cautious since they are attending to casualties and also giving advice and warning to the public. There are many interest groups at scene and each group has to be served as necessary. In particular, media representatives have to ensure that they report reliable information since it is very important to other interested groups as a reassuring measure. References Cable, S undated, Casualty management, undated PowerPoint slides, University of Central Lancashire. Cote, A E 2003, Organizing for Fire and Rescue Services, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, London. HM Government 2005, Emergency preparedness: Guidance on Part1 of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, its associated regulations and non-statutory arrangements, Library and information Centre, Easingwold. HM Government 2005, Emergency response and recovery: Non statutory guidance to complement Emergency Preparedness, Library and information Centre, Easingwold. Levinson, J & Hayim G 2002, Transportation disaster response handbook, Academic Press, London. NPIA (National Policing Improvement Agency) 2009, Guidance on multi-agency interoperability, National Policing Improvement Agency and the Association of Chief Police Officers, Bedfordshire. Read More