Emergency Strategic Planning

Review of National Strategies

The National Response Framework

This is a guide indicating how a Nation responds to various types of disasters and emergencies. The framework is developed on scalable, flexible, and adaptable concepts to set out the key roles and responsibilities across the Nation. The framework gives more details on specific authorities and best practices for dealing with incidents of diversified magnitude. It offers more information concerning the principles, roles and responsibilities, and coordinating structure necessary to ensure response to an incident. The National Response Framework will be relevant in informing on the revision process of the County Emergency Management Plan  (FEMA, 2013).

One of the sections of the NRF that will be adapted is on the core capabilities which represents a lists of activities that needs to be fulfilled in incident response irrespective of the levels of government involved. The core capabilities #3 on Operational Coordination will be relevant for the County Emergency Management Plan.  Review of reports of management of past emergencies has led to the discovery of uncoordinated response which has seen lives and property which would have been saved. The objective of coordination is to come up with and maintain a unified and coordinated operational structure and process that brings together all relevant stakeholders in an appropriate manner to support the carrying out of all core capabilities  (FEMA, 2013). To achieve this, the National Response Framework stipulates critical tasks that need to be performed. The NRF requires the mobilization of all critical resources and developing command, control and coordination structures with the community facing the emergency situation. There is need to establish and maintain a NIMS compliant command, control and coordination structures that help realize the basic, ensure stabilization of incident and well as aid the recovery process.

The National Response Framework offers more information on the response actions on how to achieve the core capabilities. The different stake holders highlighted in the NRF include the individual and households, private sector, nongovernmental organizations, state, tribal & local actions and the federal actions. The NRF identifies the overlapping areas and comes up with a comprehensive plan to properly address the response. This is by clearly indicating the established roles, responsibilities and reporting protocols.

The county has been experiencing floods causing destruction of homes rendering the citizens to be homeless. The National Response Framework under the emergency support function #6 provides guidelines on how to conduct mass care, emergency assistance, temporary housing, and human services. Under this support function, the key response core capabilities include provision of mass care services, offering public and private services and resource, public health and medical service, critical transportation and fatality Management Services. The county emergency management plan will be developed to indicate how the mass care and emergency assistance will be extended in case of a flood  (FEMA, 2013).

National Incident Management System (NIMS)

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is a strategy that is offers a systematic proactive approach to guide departments and agencies at all levels to ensuring working seamlessly to prevent, protect against, respond and deal with the effect of incidents without limitation to cause, size, location, or complexity. The NIMS offers a template for the management of incidents and works alongside the National Response Framework which provides the structure and mechanisms at the national level for incident management. The NIMS is not an operational incident management but rather offers a set of doctrines, concepts, and principles developed to ensure an effective, efficient, and collaborative incident management. The NIMS forms standardized resource management procedures which helps coordination among different jurisdiction  (DHS, 2008). Its applicability is different and diversified incidents from day-to-day incidents to large scale incidents. The dynamic nature of the system promotes an ongoing management and maintenance.

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) will be relevant in offering guidelines for the review of the County Emergency Management Plan. One such component is on component II, Section B on Management characteristics.  This section of the NIMS requires the emergency management personnel to be in a position to manage incident communication and other information effectively. The NIMS provides procedure necessary for equipment standards and training. It has been established that the state has had issues of maintaining the communication equipment necessary to be used during the emergency response.  During an emergency response, there is need for the emergency response personnel to have access to communication equipment that is normally made up of various components that are times connected through common interfaces. Many of the equipment rely on private sector providence. The NIMS requires this equipment whether public or private to be maintained regularly. The maintenance is relevant for an effective emergency management and incident response activities. There county should set up trainings and exercises making using of the interoperable systems and equipment to help the personnel to understand their capabilities and limitations before the occurrence of an incident  (DHS, 2008).

The component of the NIMS relevant for the adoption for the County Emergency Management Plan is the component III on Resource Management. This principle points out that every emergency management and incident response activities need to have carefully managed resources to successfully meet the incident needs. The resources required for an effective resource management needs to be flexible and scalable to be in a position to support any incident and adapt effectively to changes. The NIMS provides concepts and principles that need to be integrated in every phases of emergency and incident response. The process of resource management entails coordination, oversight, and processes in a manner that offers timely and appropriate resources during the management of an incident  (DHS, 2008).  The State’s emergency plan will be updated through the inclusion of resource management principle. Successive resource management requires the adherence of the following principles.

Planning is the first principle that offers foundation to the proper usage of the resources management. Planning provides for developing policies aimed at locating resources closer to the expected incident site. The second principle on resource management deals with use of agreements to ensure that all parties agree to providing or requesting for the necessary resources to enable effective and efficient resource management in response to situation. The next principle related to classification of resource on the basis of category, kind, and type which makes the process of ordering and dispatching the required resources to be more efficient. The next principle concerns the resource identification and ordering. This is essential to ensure the identification of the required resources and putting up request for their acquisition. The last principle of resource management is on effective management of resources which aims at eliminating redundant system and protocols within the functions of ordering, mobilizing, release and demobilizing of useful resources  (DHS, 2008).

FEMA Strategic Plan

The 2014-2018 FEMA Strategic Plan puts forward the Agency’s mission to offer support to the citizens and first responders and make sure that the nation collaborates to build, sustain, and improve on the potential to protect and recover hazards. It sets out five strategic priorities aimed at strengthening the national capabilities for disaster preparedness.

The County Emergency Management Plan will be made better by adapting it to the FEMA Strategic Priority 3 that call for the posture and build capacity for catastrophic disaster.  Applying this principle will have the CEMP focus on outcomes such as identification of capability gaps in level of preparation of system planning, training, and exercise. The principle calls for partnerships and tools to accommodate national-scale response and recovery operations and catastrophic disaster.

The FEMA plan notes the main challenge to emergency management is pegged in carrying out preparations for a catastrophic disaster. The catastrophic events refer to the events with severe impacts such that existing emergency plans, coordination structure and other resources becomes depleted quickly.  The FEMA strategic plan calls for strengthening the capabilities with the greatest abilities to change outcomes for any catastrophic disaster. The objective requires the operationalization of resource-sharing opportunities for catastrophic disaster. This requires developing a plan that enables for rapid expansion of response and recovery capabilities in new ways. The strategic plan provide guidelines through formalizing relationships and offering commitments with key partners who have the capability to deal with disaster response and recovery efforts (FEMA, 2014).

Conclusion

The above described National plans and guidelines will be relevant to influence the revision of the County Emergency Management Plans.  The plan requires to be put up to date and reflect the recently established guidelines. This will make it possible for the state to deal with the commonly occurring qualifications such as the floods prone to many regions within the state.    

References

DHS. (2008). National Incident Management System. Retrieved from https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Ic2EcvfUpHYJ:https://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/NIMS_core.pdf+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=firefox-b-ab

FEMA. (2013). National Response Framework. Retrieved from https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:aCtwHUXVpt8J:https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1914-25045-1246/final_national_response_framework_20130501.pdf+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=firefox-b-ab#36

FEMA. (2014). FEMA Strategic Plan 2014-2018.