Terrorism Emergency Plan for Metropolis - Research Paper Example

Terrorism Emergency Plan for Metropolis Terrorism Emergency Plan for Metropolis, Florida: Part 1 Introduction Terrorism is one of the leading bottlenecks to international peace and security[Slo02]. Tourism costs human life when people die through terrorist acts and others become permanently disabled. Moreover, terrorist acts aim to destabilize governments, thereby undermining socio-economic development. Addressing the threat of terrorism has never been easy. It is even harder toady given the evolving and sophisticated nature of terrorism. Typically, a terrorist act cuts across national borders, encompassing actors and victims from many countries. As such, combating terrorism calls for cooperation within and among countries and international organizations. A single country or organization cannot win the fight single-handedly. One of the strategies the United States employs for combating terrorism is terrorism emergency planning[Jia08]. Terrorist acts are organized in high secrecy such that when they are eventually unleashed, they catch the target nation or nations by surprise. Usually, it does not matter how sophisticated the security apparatus of the nation is. This nature of terrorist acts calls for national, state and local governments to be ready for any eventuality. The Homeland Security Department has developed guidelines that state and local governments can use to prepare their terrorism emergency plans. This paper examines four areas of each of two aspects a terrorism emergency plan, namely the reactionary and resiliency plans, in relation to the city of Metropolis in Florida. Background on Metropolis Metropolis is the largest urban center in the state of Florida, with a population of 1,523,908. As pointed out already, the main goal of terrorist acts is to destabilize governments and cause anarchy. In this regard, there are several features of Metropolis that would make the city a prime target of terrorist acts. Two of them will serve as examples here. First, Metropolis is home to a big naval base. Secondly, the city is a significant tourist destination. The two main tourist attractions are excellent climate and twenty-five miles of beach. Snappy World is a major theme park located along the beach and attracts visitors from all over the country and around the world. Reactionary Planning The purpose of the reactionary plan is to enable city authorities to respond as promptly as possible to an act of terrorism[Hen05]. The first critical issue under this plan is the city and state response systems[Jia08]. Terrorist acts create an environment of pressure under which authorities have to respond to an emergency. Typically, city and state responders are the first to report at the scene of a terrorist act. Usually, these responders will act under a Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) prepared by the state. These responders will take charge of the scene until FBI arrive and take over. The second critical area of the reactionary plan is the federal response system[Jia08]. By their nature, most acts of terrorism are sophisticated such that left on their own, the city and the state may not manage them. The city and the state request for support from the concerned federal agency. In most terrorist acts, the federal agency involved is the FBI. Upon reporting at the scene of a terrorist act, FBI assumes jurisdiction for the emergency. In certain cases, a joint response may be necessary throughout the management of the emergency. In such a case, there has to be a Unified Command where the city responders will take orders from the state responders. The latter will in turn take orders from FBI. The third crucial are of the reactionary plan is the coordination among the various actors in the emergency[Jia08]. The world over, many governments have mismanaged terrorist acts on account of poor or lack of coordination among the concerned responders. The United States is no exception. In fact, lack of or poor cooperation and coordination among security agencies is one of the primary reasons terrorism continues to thrive. This aspect of the plan lays down the chain of command to be observed in the event of a terrorist act. The absence of a chain of command creates an atmosphere of confusion that makes it possible for the terrorists to escape without being apprehended. The fourth and final area is the procedure of notifying members of the public of the act of terrorism[Jia08]. The essence of this component is to minimize the number of casualties. This aspect should be well executed so that it does not lead to more casualties. For instance, it would be inappropriate to sound police sirens around the scene of the incident. Doing so could confuse some people who would end up running toward, instead of away from, the scene. Instead, authorities should broadcast breaking news on television and radio stations. In addition, in this day and age, the social media would come in handy. Resiliency Planning Terroristattacks disrupt day-to-day activity at the target site. The purpose of resiliency planning is to help Metropolis bounce back to normalcy as soon as possible in the aftermath of a terrorist attack[Bow14]. Of the four areas of resiliency planning discussed here, the first two are short-term or immediate in nature. The third and the fourth are longer-term. The first critical aspect of resiliency planning is victim support[Hen05]. Terrorist attacks often result in the deaths of many people while seriously injuring many more. The essence of this aspect of the resiliency plan is to get those who are wounded to hospitals as soon as possible and link them with their loved ones. Consequently, as soon as the scene is secured, the bodies of the deceased need to be retrieved at taken to morgues and their relatives helped to locate them. The second area is site restoration[Slo02]. Besides destroying lives, terrorists destroy property. The city authorities should help in the speedy restoration of the site. Where damage to the property is minimal, it may be possible to restore a property to its original status and use, with renovations. Where the damage is severe, the site may be changed into a different use such as a memorial park. Throughout the process, the city authorities should work closely with the owners or tenants of the property. The third area of concern for the resiliency plan is the prevention of similar terrorist attacks in the future[Slo02]. Doing so may require policy and legislative measures. For instance, where a shopping mall is attacked and later it becomes clear that the poor planning and design of the mall contributed to more deaths and injuries than would have been the case had the mall been planned properly, the authorities may develop new guidelines for mall development. These would include requiring that in the future malls have many entrances and exits both for pedestrians and motorists. The authorities would believe that if such a mall were attacked, more people should be able to escape, resulting in fewer casualties. The fourth area is impact reduction[Slo02]. Metropolis has three major indoor malls hosting over 750 shops combined. The city also has two outdoor malls hosting more than 300 shops. If these malls were located in one place, they would become an attractive target for terrorists. Attacking them would cause greater damage. One way to reduce the impact of a terrorist attack is to locate separately facilities terrorists are likely to attack. Thus, rather clustering all industries in one industrial district, it would make more economic sense to have a number of separate industrial zones. That way, if one were to be attacked, the remaining ones would sustain the city. Conclusion Terrorism remains one of the leading threats to nations around the world. Terrorist activity destroys human life, disrupts socio-economic development and destabilizes governments. Metropolis is the biggest city in Florida and is an economic center notjust for the state, but also for the greater southeastern region of the country. Hence, if the city were to be attacked by terrorists, the implications would be far-reaching. To effectively combat terrorism, countries must cooperate and coordinate within and among themselves. In the United States, a terrorism emergency plan provides a framework for federal, state and local agencies to work together to mitigate the effects of terrorism. The reactionary and resiliency plans are integral parts of terrorism emergency plan. References Slo02: , (Sloan, 2002), Jia08: , (Jiangang, Zhexiong, Bing, & Jianzhong, 2008), Hen05: , (Hendrickson, 2005), Bow14: , (Bowen, Fidgeon, & Page, 2014), Read More