Disaster City Preparedness
Building readiness in the community
Peggy Gutierrez
EADP 3035
November 28, 2012
Introduction
As the new Preparedness Coordinator for the fictitious Disaster City Office of Emergency
Management (DC OEM), I will work with the emergency management coordinator (EMC) and
local authorities to implement a community wide emergency preparedness program that will
serve to establish and enhance readiness. The main goal would be to prevent loss of life and
property and to coordinate responses. I would begin by reviewing hazard analyses and risk
assessments, then incorporate an all hazard approach containing some hazard specific profiles
and protections for the varied local populations. I would seek to involve established authorities,
citizens and other local stakeholders as well as the surrounding jurisdictions. The types of
preparedness activities I will include are multi-agency coordination, educating the public on risk
and readiness and enlisting ongoing support from stakeholders. In order for Disaster City and
the surrounding communities to be better prepared for emergencies, I will ensure that a good
Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) is known, maintained and practiced routinely.
What type of Approach will I use?
For the purposes of this essay, I will assume that DC OEM has already done some hazard
analysis and risk assessments for the city. For Disaster City, an all hazards approach to
emergency preparedness is necessary. I would want to review and critique the gathered data to
ensure it’s sufficient. Does it assess potential technological hazards at the airport, the freeways,
the railways, and the manufacturers? What types of chemicals are made or shipped in the area?
Are there meteorological and hydrological risk assessments; especially flood history for the area
because of the nearby river. I would seek to ensure local building codes up to date for the safety
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of residents (McEntire & Myers, 2004.) I would make sure to consider the needs of various
special populations in the area, such as any persons with disabilities, the elderly, commuters,
university students, and non-English speaking community members. I will use demographic and
geographic maps to determine certain vulnerabilities. I want to find out what types of effective
warning systems are already in place and gain support if enhancements are needed. I will
conduct surveys to determine the local risk perceptions and likely emergency behaviors (Lindell
& Perry, 2011.) Finally, in order to be mindful of all hazards, I would assess the terrorism risk if
it had not been done already. Sharing the findings with the surrounding jurisdictions, and
inviting them to give feedback will be important at this early stage in order to know what
preparedness actions I will need to implement, as well as to gain their support later. When the
reviews are done, I can begin to make recommendations, enlist support, and formulate my
preparedness plans for the community. My plans will include a cycle of education, training and
practicing. Preparedness must be an ongoing effort involving everyone.
Who will I seek to involve?
Team effort, as well as resource and information sharing are essential to carry out the many
activities involved in community wide preparedness. I would recruit planning team members
from the staffs and workforces of local authorities, citizens and other stakeholders, like business
owners, large employers, and emergency responders. Since the surrounding jurisdictions are
small in size and population, I would encourage them (including the business communities in
each) to participate in all preparedness activities, in return for cooperation and benefits. I will
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convince them that they have an interest in the planning activities because they want their
citizens, constituents, employees, patients or customers to be prepared, safe and resilient in the
face of emergencies. A first important step will be to establish city ordinances regarding the
creation and evaluation of emergency preparedness plans, plan renewal requirements, training
mandates, and mutual aid agreements. Passing laws about preparedness is a good way to let the
community know that the leadership is serious about its citizens’ safety, and it builds confidence
within the community. Enlisting help in applying for grant funding will be an important
endeavor of the local government as well (McEntire & Myers, 2004.) Establishing emergency
roles and responsibilities for managers and responders, as well as identifying facilities and
locations to use during emergency operations are all steps that mean willing cooperation from a
wide variety of local stakeholders. Where will shelters be located if needed? When and how
will evacuations take place if needed? How much money will be set aside for emergencies, and
what will be the criteria for accessing the funds? Many stakeholders must weigh these
considerations. It will take time to come to consensus, but when these decisions are made, the
information must be made public to avoid redundant efforts, confusion or wrong expectations by
citizens or agencies.
What activities will I plan?
While the city officials are working through legal and governmental details, I would coordinate
more hands on efforts. I would act as a hub of information and liaison between agencies and
jurisdictions so that efforts are not redundant. Less experienced agencies can learn from more
advanced and prepared ones and resources such as personnel, expertise and equipment can be
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inventoried and possibly shared (Perry & Lindell, 2003.) Other activities I would initiate are
things like recruiting planning committee members, finding volunteers to host preparedness fairs
and give presentations at civic centers, libraries and schools. I’d find creative ways to gain the
interest of the public, for instance, I create a poster or ad contest within the community and offer
a prize. I’d make use of existing social media for emergency alerts, events, surveys and other
aspects of involvement (Merchant, et al, 2011.)
Another way to create interest is to utilize the
city’s web site. I would provide links on the site to online trainings such as FEMA Independent
Study, ready.gov and other programs. I’d offer a training and events calendar on the site for
routine or special trainings hosted by DC OEM. I would work with local response practitioners
such as CERT, Red Cross or the hospital or fire department to create or modify existing trainings
that could be used for ordinary citizens and business owners. I’d want to offer different levels
such as tabletops, functional and full-scale exercises using common language and factors like
ICS and HICS (Chau, 2012.) Mechanisms for feedback will be used to evaluate and identify
improvements after each of the trainings. These can fulfill requirements for funding and bring a
sense of commitment to preparedness. All of these preparedness activities will be ongoing,
creating visibility and trust in the local OEM while creating readiness in the local community.
Is the community prepared for disaster?
After a period of coordinated efforts that it takes to create and maintain a sufficient EOP, I believe
that the community will be capable of dealing effectively with disaster when it strikes. Myths must
be dispelled in exchange for knowledge and citizens must be reminded to avoid complacency.
Having plans in place or on paper does not equate to readiness. Plans must be tried, evaluated and
regularly revised to meet changing needs or recognized deficiencies (FEMA, 1996.) Flexibility in
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methods used is important as long as the existing methods are understood. Flexibility will add to
an overall confident and resilient mindset in the community. As the preparedness coordinator, I
will build readiness among the local stakeholders and citizens by making disaster awareness
commonplace and providing a variety of training regularly. With agencies and jurisdictions having
their own hazard specific EOP annexes, and all agencies being made aware of each other’s
procedures, I can work towards effective, coordinated responses to disaster. Overlap in procedures
will allow for more coordination and resource sharing, which can potentially save time and money.
Conclusion
Community wide knowledge and creation of emergency operations plans is important to prepare
the Disaster City citizens and surrounding jurisdictions. Routine meetings and a variety of
exercises practiced among agencies will also be vital to overall disaster readiness. As the
preparedness coordinator, it is my job to make these things happen. Getting people, activities,
and programs moving towards readiness will be my ongoing endeavor.
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References:
Chau H. Vu, 2012
Lessons Learned in Emergency Preparedness
David A. McEntire and Amy Myers, 2004
Preparing communities for disasters: issues and processes for government readiness.
Ronald W. Perry and Michael K. Lindell, 2003
Preparedness for Emergency Response: Guidelines for the Emergency Planning Process
FEMA Guide for All-Hazard Emergency Operations Planning, State and Local Guide (SLG)
101, 1996
Raina Merchant, Stacy Elmer, and Nicole Lurie, 2011
Integrating Social Media into Emergency-Preparedness Efforts.
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