Comparative Emergency Management

1. Comparative Emergency Management Session 25 Slide Deck Session 25

2. Session Objectives • List and Describe the Different Components that Form Most Nations’ Emergency Management Systems • Describe the Different Governmental Organizational Structures Under Which Emergency Management Systems Operate • Explain how National Governments Provide Bilateral Disaster Management Assistance to Each Other Session 25

3. Evolution of Governmental Capacity • Response • Preparedness • Recovery • Mitigation Session 25

4. Governmental EM Components • Institutional Sharing • Standardization of Practices, Protocols, and Equipment • Driven by various factors, including: • Wealth • Technical expertise • Government type • Risk profile Session 25

5. Fire Departments • Universal mission • Other names: Fire Brigade, Fire Service • Most common EM component • Scope of services has expanded • Organizations may differ from country to country • Locally-Based • Regionally-Focused • National Session 25

6. Fire Department Needs • Personnel • Training • Equipment • Communication • Facilities • Information • Authority Session 25

7. Law Enforcement • Also called Police Departments, Sheriff’s Offices, and Constibularies • Responsible for maintaining law and order • Typically follows structure of the national government • National-level organization very common Session 25

8. Emergency Management • Also called Civil Protection • Almost nonexistent prior to 1950’s • Started by helping communities to prepare for nuclear war • National-level emergency management tends to be supportive of the local and regional efforts Session 25

9. Emergency Medical Services • Also called the Ambulance Service • Specialized form of medical care that ‘goes beyond the basics of first aid’ • Differ according to: • Training levels • Funding • Equipment • Culture • Mode of operation • Typically private Session 25

10. The Military • Almost all countries use the Military in their emergency management operations • Some countries hesitate to use the military except as a matter of last resort • Military command structure can be at odds with the emergency management concept of command and control Session 25

11. Other Resources • National emergency management offices maintain small staffs • EM agency dictates the actions of many other government functions • Agencies participate as appropriate given their non-emergency function Session 25

12. EM Structure • Influenced most heavily by government structure • Dictate command and control • Other factors: • Risk Profile • Social Structure • Risk Perception • Development Indicators • Wealth • Technical Expertise • More Session 25

13. National Civil Protection Roots • Building community shelters • Providing public preparedness education • Conducting air-raid exercises • Creating squads of medical and other response crews Session 25

14. Efforts to Promote Government EM in Developing Countries • UN IDNDR • Yokohama Strategy • Many countries finding it hard to act on pledges Session 25

15. Successful EM Capacity The most successful emergency management systems are those in which local emergency management agencies maintain operational control of all phases of emergency management, with regional and national authorities only intervening in a supportive role and never assuming any leadership control Session 25

16. Locally-Based Structures • Disasters inherently based at the local level • Communities best able to identify: • Needs • Capacities • Risks • First responders • Personally affected • Capacity proportional to complexity and need • Most effective if they address the full range of functions Session 25

17. Regionally-Based Structures • Subdivisions into political and administrative designations • Government type dictates the authority that rests regionally • Federal systems decentralize power • Emergency services may be organized and funded from this level in such systems, but not always • Back up local resources as needed Session 25

18. Nationally-Based Structures • Almost all countries have some structure, though capacity varies significantly • Differences in: • Where it sits in government structure • What authority it has to assume command • What budget exists • Staff training • Assets • Most effective when their role is supportive Session 25

19. No Capacity / No Government • Many reasons why this happens: • A special EM capacity has not yet been developed by the affected government • Conflict • Disaster has destroyed all government capacity • Existing government unable or unwilling to provide any assistance Session 25

20. Options for Bilaterial Assistance • Cash • Grants • Loans • Equipment / Supplies • Expertise and Technical Assistance Session 25

21. Types of Government Agencies Involved in BiLat Assistance • Diplomatic Missions • International Development Agencies • National Disaster Management Agencies • Other Government Agencies • Military Resources Session 25