Crisis Management to Controlled Recovery: The Emergency Planning Response to the Bombing of Manchester City Centre

Fuelled by terrorist attacks on urban areas, emergency planning responses to manmade disasters is a growing area of critical debate within the field of urban management. The response of a major British city--Manchester--to the 1996 bombing of its commercial core, is examined in this paper. It focuses on the transformation of the emergency planning response from dealing with the immediate crisis during the first week, to a stage of controlled recovery that still continues. The response to the devastation caused by the bomb was co-ordinated by the city council, which developed a range of short- and long-term initiatives, but the re-opening of the city centre could not have happened so quickly had the council not worked in collaboration with other key organisations and agencies. Working partnerships were crucial to the immediate response and subsequent recovery, with such capacity for organisational learning built upon existing co-operative arrangements within the city, which had developed over the previous decade.     

Preparedness for emergency response: guidelines for the emergency planning process

Especially since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, governments worldwide have invested considerable resources in the writing of terrorism emergency response plans. Particularly in the United States, the federal government has created new homeland security organisations and urged state and local governments to draw up plans. This emphasis on the written plan tends to draw attention away from the process of planning itself and the original objective of achieving community emergency preparedness. This paper reviews the concepts of community preparedness and emergency planning, and their relationships with training, exercises and the written plan. A series of 10 planning process guidelines are presented that draw upon the preparedness literature for natural and technological disasters, and can be applied to any environmental threat.     

Information technology and emergency management: preparedness and planning in US states

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of information technology (IT) on emergency preparedness and planning by analysing a survey of US state government departments of emergency management. The research results show that there has been a significant impact of IT on emergency planning. IT has proven to be effective for all phases of emergency management, but especially for the response phase. There are numerous technologies used in emergency management, ranging from the internet, Geographic Information Systems and wireless technologies to more advanced hazard analysis models. All were generally viewed as being effective. Lack of financial resources and support from elected officials is a perennial problem in public administration, and was found to be prevalent in this study of IT and emergency management. There was evidence that state governments rating high on a performance index were more likely to use IT for emergency management.     

委任消防部队参与院前急救的措施

就现行体制下,分析了消防部队参与灾难和事故时危重伤员的院前医护急救的可行性和好处,提出了消防部队参与院前医护急救的模式,并探讨了消防部队参与院前医护急救所需要解决的技能培训、人员编制、装备配置和经费保障等问题.     

环境污染事故风险预测评估模式研究

从环境风险到环境污染事故演变的一般规律入手,提出了环境污染事故风险预测评估模式,为环境污染事故风险评估、预防与应急响应提供科学手段。环境污染事故风险预测评估模式的提出,一方面丰富和发展了环境安全与应急响应理论;另一方面,对公共安全、企业安全管理与应急响应等工作具有一定指导意义。     

我国应急预案体系现状及展望——以上海为例

应急预案在自然灾害等突发事件发生时可以起到迅速反应的作用,因此成为突发事件应急管理中重要的一环。我国的应急预案体系已经基本建成,但还存在着预案格式雷同、脱离部门实际、分级体系科学性和可操作性不强、不同预案间接洽性不够、预案建设数量质量不够、缺乏后续管理等种种问题。分析了国内应急预案体系的现状,并探讨了对应急预案体系的改进方法。     

Realising a resilient and sustainable built environment: towards a strategic agenda for the United Kingdom

Recent natural and human-induced emergencies have highlighted the vulnerability of the built environment. Although most emergency events are not entirely unexpected, and the effects can be mitigated, emergency managers in the United Kingdom have not played a sufficiently proactive role in the mitigation of such events. If a resilient and sustainable built environment is to be achieved, emergency management should be more proactive and receive greater input from the stakeholders responsible for the planning, design, construction and operation of the built environment. This paper highlights the need for emergency management to take a more systematic approach to hazard mitigation by integrating more with professions from the construction sector. In particular, design changes may have to be considered, critical infrastructures must be protected, planning policies should be reviewed, and resilient and sustainable agendas adopted by all stakeholders.     

How near is near? The distance perceptions of residents of a nuclear emergency planning zone

This paper reports the results of a study conducted within the emergency planning zone (EPZ) of the Nine Mile Point (NMP) nuclear complex located in Oswego County, New York. An EPZ is the area in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant for which detailed plans are implemented for the management of emergencies and for the communication of the risks of nuclear energy production. EPZs are subdivided into emergency response planning areas (ERPAs) according to distance from the plant. This study aimed at discovering how residents of the NMP EPZ perceived distance to the nuclear plant. Distance was conceptualized in five different and complementary ways: estimated straight line distance, estimated driving distance, actual straight distance, actual driving distance and perceived distance. The results indicate that people living at a very short distance from the nuclear plant perceive and estimate distance differently than people living farther away. These results have policy implications and suggest alternative and potentially more efficient ways to redesign ERPAs. Fundamental geographic variables and concepts such as distance, location, proximity and their associated human perceptions are important human dimensions of risk analysis. These results should be of interest to nuclear emergency planners and are probably applicable to many other hazard planning activities.     

Mapping convergence points in the initial emergency response to 9/111

In response to extreme events, researchers have recognised the convergence of volunteers, emergency responders, and other individuals and organisations. In 2000, geographer Paul Routledge presented the concept of convergence spaces as a theoretical means to explain social movements. In applying this concept, this paper explores the geographic space in which organisations and individuals converged immediately following the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. The paper begins to answer the question of whether there were in fact any patterns of convergence among the locations utilised by organisations responding to the attacks. Using data collected from field documents, these geographic locations are mapped over 12 days to help identify possible patterns of clustering. Results of this analysis will begin to provide researchers, policy makers and practitioners with a better understanding of how emergency response evolves geographically following an event.     

New tools for emergency managers: an assessment of obstacles to use and implementation

This paper focuses on the role of the formal response community's use of social media and crowdsourcing for emergency managers (EMs) in disaster planning, response and recovery in the United States. In‐depth qualitative interviews with EMs on the Eastern seaboard at the local, state and federal level demonstrate that emergency management tools are in a state of transition—from formal, internally regulated tools for crisis response to an incorporation of new social media and crowdsourcing tools. The first set of findings provides insight into why many EMs are not using social media, and describes their concerns that result in fear, uncertainty and doubt. Second, this research demonstrates how internal functioning and staffing issues within these agencies present challenges. This research seeks to examine the dynamics of this transition and offer lessons for how to improve its outcomes—critical to millions of people across the United States.     

An exploratory comparison of disasters, riots and terrorist acts

One question that emerged following the 11 September attacks was how to categorise and classify the event within existing disaster and conflict-event research frameworks. A decade ago, Quarantelli (1993) compared findings on the similarities and differences between consensus- and conflict-type events by illustrating a conceptual distinction between the two. In this paper, this discussion is expanded to include terrorist attacks by offering comparisons from research findings following 11 September. We provide analyses of individual, organisational, and community-level behaviour in crisis situations and suggest how 11 September is both similar to, and differs from, consensus- and conflict-type events as they were previously considered. Applications for emergency management are also suggested.     

Addressing challenges for future strategic‐level emergency management: reframing,networking, and capacity‐building

The mounting frequency and intensity of natural hazards, alongside growing interdependencies between social‐technical and ecological systems, are placing increased pressure on emergency management. This is particularly true at the strategic level of emergency management, which involves planning for and managing non‐routine, high‐consequence events. Drawing on the literature, a survey, and interviews and workshops with Australia's senior emergency managers, this paper presents an analysis of five core challenges that these pressures are creating for strategic‐level emergency management. It argues that emphasising ‘emergency management’ as a primary adaptation strategy is a retrograde step that ignores the importance of addressing socio‐political drivers of vulnerabilities. Three key suggestions are presented that could assist the country's strategic‐level emergency management in tackling these challenges: (i) reframe emergency management as a component of disaster risk reduction rather than them being one and the same; (ii) adopt a network governance approach; and (iii) further develop the capacities of strategic‐level emergency managers.     

地方政府灾害应急管理问题研究——以灾区某市政府地震灾害应急管理为例

为了建立健全我国突发公共事件应急管理体制,提高各级政府应对突发事件的能力,分析和研究各级政府在突发公共事件应急管理过程中存在的问题显得非常重要。本文通过对九江地区5.7级地震发生后灾区某市政府在应急救灾抢险方面所展开的各项管理工作的调查研究,对灾区政府从启动初动体制到全面展开应急救灾工作的应急管理过程进行了详细分析。在此基础上,以灾区某市政府地震灾害应急管理为例,就我国各级政府在灾害管理过程中普遍存在的有应急预案但没有相应的防灾规划实施细则、灾后受灾应急评估体系不健全、应急避难与应急救灾物资缺少规划管理等问题进行了探讨和分析,并就如何加强我国地方政府灾害应急管理能力提出了相应的建议和方法。     

THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRACTICE OF EMERGENCY AND DISASTER MEDICINE IN THE UNITED STATES

Accidents and sudden illness constitutes a major public health problem in many countries. Emergency medicine had developed as a vigorous new specialty in the U.S. and has fully integrated itself within the American medical and hospital system to provide improved emergency medical care. Emergency medicine plays a central role in disaster medical services, planning, and management and is the only specialty in American civilian medicine that includes disaster medicine as a primary field within its domain. Now that the basic framework of emergency medicine has been established, the American College of Emergency Physicians is implementing a nationwide training program on disaster planning and management for emergency physicians.     

中国自然灾害应急管理研究进展与对策

从中国自然灾害应急管理的现状出发,系统分析了自然灾害应急管理领域的研究进展,指出了中国自然灾害应急管理在理论和实践方面存在的问题.在此基础上,提出了中国自然灾害应急管理框架,认为建立适合中国国情的自然灾害应急管理体制是提高中国自然灾害应急管理的基础;应急预案的制定和实施是规范灾害应急管理,提高灾害紧急救援能力的关键措施;灾害信息快速准确的获取和评估是灾害应急管理的有效保障;建立实际可用的应急管理系统是提高灾害应急管理水平和工作效率的根本出路.     

地震应急避难场所的规划建设与城市防灾

建设应急避难场所是国际社会应对突发性事件的一项灾民安置措施,同时也是现代化大城市用于民众躲避地震、火灾、爆炸、洪水等重大自然灾害的安全避难场所.应急避难场所是预先经科学划定并进行规范化管理,能提供基本生活保障的场所.由于城市应急避难场所的规划建设是一项系统工程,涉及社会的方方面面,本文试图就有关建设应急避难场所的紧迫性、国内外现状、设计规划、技术要求和启动管理作一系统阐述,并以北京市应急避难场所的建设试点作为范例加以介绍.     

灾难危急时刻的管理

灾难危急时刻的管理往往是出乎于原有的抗灾计划的。研究发现,成功的灾害管理主要来源于应急组织的作用,特别是当管理中存在着信息交流、职权行使和协调发展等方面的问题时更是如此。事先的救灾计划可以减少但却不能完全消除这些管理上的问题。     

Casualty treatment after earthquake disasters: development of a regional simulation model

This paper presents a new approach to the casualty treatment problem following a large-scale disaster, based on a mathematical model of how a regional health-care system responds to an earthquake event. The numbers and locations of casualties rescued alive, the scale of pre-hospital care, the post-earthquake hospital capacity, and the transport system are inputs to the model. The model simulates the movement of casualties from the stricken areas to hospitals. It predicts the number of casualties that die as well as other statistics about the health-care system response, such as waiting time before treatment. The model can be run with varying input assumptions to simulate alternative disaster response strategies. Preliminary runs demonstrate the potential of the model as a tool for planning and training.     

Identifying and mapping community vulnerability

Disaster vulnerability is socially constructed, i.e., it arises out of the social and economic circumstances of everyday living. Most often discussed from the perspective of developing nations, this article extends the argument using American demographic trends. Examples from recent disasters, Hurricane Andrew in particular, illustrate how certain categories of people, such as the poor, the elderly, women-headed households and recent residents, are at greater risk throughout the disaster response process. Knowledge of where these groups are concentrated within communities and the general nature of their circumstances is an important step towards effective emergency management. Emergency planners, policy-makers and responding organisations are encouraged to identify and locate high-risk sectors on Community Vulnerability Maps, integrating this information into GIS systems where feasible. Effective disaster management calls for aggressively involving these neighbourhoods and groups at all levels of planning and response, as well as mitigation efforts that address the root causes of vulnerability.     

Cyclone preparedness and response: an analysis of lessons identified using an adapted military planning framework

The United Kingdom uses the Defence Lines of Development (DLOD) framework to analyse and understand the key components and costs of a military capability. Rooted in the Resource Based View (RBV) of a firm, an adapted DLOD approach is employed to explore, analyse and discuss the preparedness, planning and response strategies of two markedly different countries (Australia and Bangladesh) when faced with a major cyclone event of a comparable size. Given the numerous similarities in the challenges facing military forces in a complex emergency and humanitarian agencies in a natural disaster, the paper demonstrates the applicability of the DLOD framework as an analysis and planning tool in the cyclone preparedness planning and response phases, and more broadly within the disaster management area. In addition, the paper highlights the benefit to disaster managers, policymakers and researchers of exploiting comparative cross-learning opportunities from disaster events, drawn from different sectors and countries.