Analysis and Benefits of Integrated Emergency Management - Essay Example

Integrated Emergency Management Integrated emergency management includes five key activities that are assessment, prevention, preparation, response, and recovery. Assessment entails the assessing of risk and threats across the area where the IEM is instituted. Prevention is the elimination, isolation, or reduction of risks. Preparation entails the planning, training, exercising, and informing those tasked with responding to the risk. Response culminates from preparation and entails coordinated and well informed engagement in attending to the risk. Recovery is the achievement of a return to normality after response to the risk. The four principles that govern IEM includes common factors, extension of everyday activity, effects not cause, and flexible and adaptable. The benefit of IEM includes efficient application of resources to the management and response to risk (North Ayrshire Council, 2014). This is done through ensuring all the facets involved in emergency response including the local, national governments integrate their efforts, and roles to perform different tasks that ensure the resources are used in an efficient manner. The resources are pooled together then disbursed to different agencies that are well prepared and planned to deal with the emergency owing to the IEM practice ensuring the personnel in these emergency response agencies are well equipped and ready to deal with the emergency. The other benefit of IEM is quicker response time of the emergency response agencies. This is possible due to preparations carried out under IEM and the ability of projecting the possibility of a threat at the assessment stage of IEM. This ensures the agencies are prepared for the threat and ready to face it when it occur leading to quicker response. The other benefit of IEM is less confusion and duplication of effort by the emergency response agencies (Gov. Canada, 2014). Integrated emergency management allow for the assessment, prevention, preparation, response planning ensuring all the roles and responsibilities of the different arms of emergency response unit are well spelt out and understood. This ensures that there is a good understanding of the roles of each time and individual reducing the chances of confusion when an emergency emanates. It also ensures that the different arms of emergency response unit be it in the national and local government are well versed with their efforts towards the eradication and elimination of the threat reducing the possibility of duplication of efforts. This is due to the development of a shared understanding of the role played by the sub-national, local, and national level in responding to emergencies and measures of integrating these efforts for earlier recovery from a threat and return to normality. The other benefit of IEM is that it allows for the development of a common frame of reference especially In terms of language and concepts for personnel involved in emergency responses (Integrated Risk Management (IRM) and Homeland Security Benefits for State, Local, and Regional Jurisdictions, November 2010). This allows the personnel to know the concept and language definition of the various facets and roles they have to deal with and perform during emergencies. IEM also allows for collaboration between provincial, federal, and territorial departments for the strengthening of national emergency preparedness through support to training, planning, exercising, and testing emergency preparedness plans (Government of Canada, 2014). It also aids in sharing experiences and lessons from planning exercises among the departments prior to any emergency leading to better event response, reduction in the impact of a disaster requiring an emergency, and the identification of opportunities for the prevention and mitigation of threats in future. IEM allows for the flexible response to any disaster that strikes without warning as it encompasses the actions of different agencies that have their roles and responsibilities spelt out in through IEM (Gov. UK, 20 February 2013). This is possible through information sharing by different partner agencies in the face of a disaster. Information sharing ensures the different agencies working on an emergency have a common picture of the incidents and eliminates confusion in reporting of the situation. IEM further aids in the determination of the risks faced by a national or any other jurisdiction through risk assessment and determination of the risk preparedness. Risk preparedness is determined through knowing the amount of resources available and existing capabilities for the jurisdiction to have a better understanding of the ways through which it can build resilience against the hazards that may afflict it and be ready to confront them and attain a return to normality within a limited period. IEM enhancement in the context of UAE In the context of the United Arab Emirates, integrated emergency management can be enhanced through the collaboration of different agencies that work on ensuring emergency response in UAE is top notch. IEM enhancement in UAE will aid in the strengthening of the capabilities of UAE in emergency and crisis management and develop requirements that ensure business continuity and quick recovery through joint preparation and planning by the different levels of emergency response departments. This is possible in IEM by ensuring coordination and communication at private, federal, and local level for the preservation of properties and human lives. Integrated emergency management can be enhanced in the United Arab Emirates using technology in prompt identification of potential threats (North Ayrshire Council, 2014). This will allow for the identification of threats using mobile communication, satellites, and other telecommunication media and informing the agencies tasked with emergency responses. This allows for information sharing between this agencies allowing for the assessment, preparation, Response, and recover from the threat that fall in the realm of integrated emergency management in the UAE. It allows the employment of intergovernmental partnerships between local jurisdictions and higher governments that remit high amount of resources for emergency preparedness. The other benefit of IEM enhancement in the United Arab Emirates allows in the generation of information on probability of occurrence and aids in the development of measures for the elimination of the projected levels of danger and identification of resources for implementing those actions. Enhancing IEM in the United Arab Emirates can also be done through reinforcement of the role played by Sanid and national emergency response organizations in dealing with emergencies. This is because of the possibility of integrating the roles played by Sanid volunteers in national and local emergencies to those of national emergency organizations. The other measure that can be taken to ensure integrated emergency management is enhanced in UAE is ensuring the roles and responsibilities f agencies involved in emergency response in UAE are well spelt out. This ensures that there is a close interaction between this agencies allowing for better utilization of resources and reduces the chances of duplication of roles. Dealing with an emergency requires the combined and coordinated response of all the agencies due to the lack of enough resources and skills to deal with an emergency. Ensuring there is adequate communication between different agencies and having one coordination center in the UAE allows IEM to be enhanced. This calls for partnerships among emergency response organizations in UAE to allow the nation to access integrated emergency management benefits. Work Cited Gov. Uk. Emergency response and recovery. 20 February 2013. Accessed on 6th October 6, 2014 from https://www.gov.uk/emergency-response-and-recovery Gov. Canada. Public Safety Canada: Emergency Management. 2014. Accessed on 6th October 6, 2014 from http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/mrgnc-mngmnt/index-eng.aspx Integrated Risk Management (IRM) and Homeland Security Benefits for State, Local, and Regional Jurisdictions. November 2010. Accessed on 6th October 6, 2014 from http://fcemhs.com/Portals/0/Planning/Documents/irm_benefits.pdf North Ayrshire Council. Integrated Emergency Management (IEM). (2014). Accessed on 6th October 6, 2014 from http://www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk/resident/community- safety/integrated-emergency-management.aspx Read More