Concepts in Emergency

Management

The basis of EHA Training Programmes in WPRO

 Health Sector Emergency Managers

are concerned with

public safety and public health

Our clients are

threatened or injured and damaged
communities

2 Concepts in Emergency Management

 A Community …
consists of 5 elements (each of which has specific
vulnerabilities from specific hazards):
the people
their property (infrastructure,possessions and
assets; public, private and cultural)
their services (government and non-
government, commercial and voluntary)
their livelihoods (urban and rural, formal and
informal)
their environment (air, water and soil; urban
and rural, built and natural)
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 Hazards

There are 4 classes of hazard:

Natural hazards
Technological hazards
Biological hazards
Societal hazards

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 A Hazard

is:

any potential threat to public health and

safety

5 Concepts in Emergency Management

 An Emergency

is:

any actual threat to public health and

safety

6 Concepts in Emergency Management

 Risks

are:

the consequences of exposure to a

hazard

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 Risks = consequences, outcomes

dead and missing;

injury (mental and physical);
disease (mental and physical);
secondary hazards (fire, disease etc.);
contamination;
displacement;
breakdown in security;
damage to infrastructure;
breakdown in essential services.
loss of property;
loss of income …
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 Vulnerabilities

are:

determinants of risk
(outcomes, consequences)

9 Concepts in Emergency Management

 Determinants of risk (people)
Access to health care Access to safe water
Measles vaccination Access to sanitation
coverage rate Access to adequate
Under 5 nutrition rate housing
Under 5 mortality rate Access to regular source
of income
Female literacy rates

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 Capacities

are:

determinants of risk

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 Preparedness

is:

Measures to build capacities

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 Ten elements of preparedness
Legal Framework
National level Local level Personal level
9 Policies 9 Plans 9 Knowledge
9 Procedures 9 Resources 9 Skills
9 Guidelines 9 Authority 9 Attitudes

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 A Disaster

is:
an emergency

in which local authorities

cannot cope

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 Local authorities are unable to cope
they don’t have capacity to meet urgent needs:
find and rescue victims
evacuate victims to safe place
provide first aid and medical transport
treat the injured
provide shelter, sanitation, food and water
care for the dead and manage the missing
establish security
re-establish the lifelines (water, power, phone)
plan and pay for recovery and reconstruction
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 The goal of emergency
management
is
to protect public health and safety

regardless of scale/cause

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 All disasters are emergencies
but not all emergencies are
disasters

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 Two types of emergencies
Non-disaster emergencies
The local emergency services are not part of
the affected population or group, and can
function normally
Disaster emergencies
The local emergency services are themselves
victims and cannot function effectively

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 hazard + community

threat to public safety

emergency
Disaster Non-Disaster
Emergency Emergency
• Reconstruction of the community Local floods, storms etc.
Epidemics
• Emergency services also victims Transport / Industrial accidents
Environmental pollution

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 Non Disaster Emergency
HAZARD
Local capacities can cope
ƒ natural
ƒ technological
ƒ biological
• Surge in demand
ƒ societal • Local services intact
• Resources may or may not
threat to public be adequate or sufficient
­ safety
COMMUNITY
Disaster Emergency
ƒ People
ƒ Property International, national and local re-
ƒ Services sponse needed
ƒ Livelihoods
ƒ Environment • Surge in demand
• Local services cannot
function normally
• Resources destroyed,
damaged, inadequate
and/or insufficient

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 Disaster Management is:
80% generic 15% specific 5% unique
to all disasters to the hazard to the event
1. Organisation
EOC earthquake time
coordination large numbers of trapped and injured place
communications large numbers of homeless and displaced weather
transport large numbers of dead and missing
logistics geography
information dead, injured and missing staff climate
reporting damaged critical infrastruture (hospitals)
2. Response loss of water, electricity, phone networks security
search and rescue loss of road, sea, air, rail access
evacuation politics
mass casualty management long period of SAR, victim extraction economy
dead and missing high demand for FA, stretchers, triage, medical transport governance
security high demand for beds, surgery, blood products, referral
temporary shelter high demand for temporary shelter, food, emergency management capacity
emergency water, sanitation and energy water, energy, clothing, tents, blankets logistics capacity
emergency food supplies wound infections, amputations, tetanus
emergency public and environmental health high demand for orthotics, prosthetics, disability, dental leadership
emergency engineering and public works demand for specialised spinal and head injury care solidarity
3. Recovery high demand for psychosocial support of victims and staff morale
lifelines
curative and public health care few outbreaks of communicable diseases corruption
education variable demand for medicines and equipment
agriculture (acute injury care - high, infectious disease - low,
trade and commerce potentially unstable chronic disease - medium)
4. Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
people contamination of water, air and soil
property toxic chemical and gas leaks/spills
services urban fires, explosions
livelihoods contaminated, infested and unsafe foods
environment increased vector breeding

loss of livelihoods, markets, distribution networks

21 Concepts in Emergency Management

 The Risk Analysis process
1. selects a hazard
2. maps the distribution of the hazard
3. identifies the communities exposed to the hazard
4. predicts the consequences of that hazard interacting with
that community at a certain time in a certain season
5. analyses each of the 5 elements of community in terms
of that hazard to identify the factors which will lead to
each consequence i.e. determines the vulnerabilities of
each element
6. identifies the capacities within the community to respond
to that hazard
7. Undertake interventions to reduce risks by reducing
exposure to hazards, reducing vulnerabilities and building
capacities

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 Risk analysis
risk analysis is based on the formula:

Public Safety Risk is proportional to:

Probability of hazard X Vulnerabilities

---------------------
Capacities

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 Risk analysis

The purpose of a risk analysis is to guide

communities in planning for protecting
health and safety by developing and
maintaining 3 sets of plans:
„ Hazard Reduction Plans
„ Vulnerability Reduction Plans
„ Emergency Preparedness Plans

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 Outcome of our work

Safer and healthier communities

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 Key learning points
The Risk Management Framework uses:
4 classes of hazard
5 elements of community
10 components of preparedness
to produce:
3 sets of community plans
to protect public health and safety
in communities

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Concepts in Emergency
Management

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