Planning for Emergencies - NIMS - Essay Example

At any rate, it is always better to prepare for any eventuality to lessen its disastrous effects and to make recovery much faster for the affected community. A good starting point for any emergency and disaster planning is to recognize that there are limitations to that activity no matter how good the plan is or the how well executed the plans will be when the actual disaster strikes. There are no good ways to measure a so-called “success” from the emergency-services perspective unless there is a zero casualty rate attributable to good planning and preparedness.

A good disaster plan must also take into account the very scarcity of any available resources as no community has unlimited resources to prepare for any and all these eventualities. Planning must consider resource constraints due to limited budgets. This paper discusses some of the crucial issues involved in such planning activities in a world that has changed rapidly. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) has been the main tool used as the starting point for an “all hazards” planning but its has its limitations due to other factors such as luck, chaotic events and unpredictable outcomes that no one can control.

A good idea is to develop or build up response capabilities (Natural Hazards Center, 2005, p. 1). Discussion Hazards planning assumes a number of factors, primary of which is that a response for one disaster will be applicable for another type of disaster. The main principle behind the NIMS is that disasters can somehow be brought under control if enough preparations were made prior to the occurrence of such an event but experience has shown this is not always the case as shown by the earlier assertion that there are inherent limitations to such an approach.

Disaster events are non-linear happenings which cannot be predicted with absolute certainty; a response for massive fires should be different for that intended in case of an earthquake, flooding, industrial accidents or a terrorist attack. However, these various responses may have certain commonalities such as a good early warning system, an incident command system (ICS) to coordinate all first responders and aid by multiple agencies, emergency communications to prevent panic and most important, a no nonsense implementation of recovery efforts and processes to limit the damage.

Preparing a disaster-specific plan – the main advantage of this approach is efficiency to maximize scarce resources. However, this presupposes a good predictive ability such that a very specific disastrous event is planned for well in advance of its happening and responders can do a good job. If a typhoon is expected and massive flooding is a natural consequence, a purchase of rubber boats is a wise move in spending the city's financial resources. The procurement of all the necessary equipment will be effective because it is intended for a very specific purpose.

People can be likewise better prepared for such an event but all equipment cannot be conceivably used against other disasters such as a forest fire or earthquake. This approach severely limits all such resources which can be redeployed if another disaster strikes; finances and donations must also be managed well in case another disaster strikes (Lautze, 2003, p. 52). Preparing a general EMP (emergency management