Social Problems In Emergency Management

Emergency preparedness can be defined as pre-impact activities that establish a state of readiness to respond to extreme events that could affect the community. It establishes organizational readiness to minimize the adverse impact of these events by means of active responses to protect the health and safety of individuals and the integrity and functioning of physical structures. The emergency preparedness is achieved by planning, training, equipping, and exercising the emergency response organization. That is, members of the DRRMO establish the basic plan, annexes, and appendixes of the jurisdiction’s EOP, train members of the emergency response organization to perform their duties, and test the plan’s effectiveness with emergency exercises.

Whether a novel technological system is being developed for use in a normal environment or a novel social system such as an emergency response organization is being developed to respond to an unusually threatening physical environment, the rationale for systems analysis is the same—the opportunities for incremental adjustment through trial and error are extremely limited. The analysis of a social system conducted for an emergency management program must first identify the range of hazards to which a given community is vulnerable and the demands that the hazards would place upon the

A major component in emergency preparedness is the development of preimpact EOPs that provide emergency responders with the resources they need to take prompt and effective response actions. This chapter will examine EOP development, emphasizing that plans are only a part of preparedness. The primary focus is on the planning practices of local agencies having explicit emergency response missions (e.g., emergency management, fire, police, and EMS). The chapter begins with the guiding principles of emergency planning and then turns to a discussion of the supporting analyses needed to adapt the plan to local conditions. It continues with an examination of the principal organizational structures involved in emergency preparedness—the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI), Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS), and National Incident Management System (NIMS). The latter is implemented through the Incident Command System (ICS) and the jurisdiction’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The chapter concludes with a discussion of preparedness by households, businesses, and government agencies that do not have explicit emergency management