Question

What are some of the consequences a locality might face by not having a pre-planned public notification system in place?

How could you convince a local government of the necessities of such a system and what would you do to show that public notification (and even education) needs to be a priority?

Answer 1

*Emergency management is the organization and management of the resources and responsibilities for dealing with all humanitarian aspects of emergencies (preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery). The aim is to reduce the harmful effects of all hazards, including disasters.

The World Health Organization defines an emergency as the state in which normal procedures are interrupted, and immediate measures (management) need to be taken to prevent it from becoming a disaster, which is even harder to recover from. Disaster management is a related term but should not be equated to emergency management.

Inadequate emergency communications capabilities can have consequences that are inconvenient at best and disastrous at worst.this can leads to death of the people in the locality and also the working personnels;even it can bring about a great economic crisis among people because a diasater can destroy both man and material.examples areNew York City World Trade Center attack;London Underground bombings;Hurricane Katrina etc.

*crisis standards of care (CSC) responses will combine the efforts of health care, public health, and emergency management and response systems, they will necessitate interaction between public and private actors and resources and local, state, and federal authorities.

the response to this level of crisis requires a comprehensive systems approach.In this system, all levels of government (from local to federal) and all components of emergency response and health care are mobilized as a coordinated, interdependent, and interacting response network.

Depending on the specific nature of the incident, various state agencies, as well as private health care system entities, should be involved in CSC planning and implementation activities because no single agency or health or emergency response entity alone can be expected to handle the challenges presented by a CSC incident.

• Partner with local community emergency response teams (CERTs). These teams are comprised of citizens in your area who already are aware that being prepared is an important step to take. These teams can help you organize the other suggestions on this list.
• Hold a build-an-emergency-kit party. Invite citizens who do not have an emergency kit come to an informational meeting. Have handouts about emergency kit contents and bring a few kits to display as examples. Set up the kits in a row, ranging from a basic (one-person kit) all the way up to large, advanced kits for bigger families.
• Host workshops on designing a financial first aid kit. Some people have a basic kit full of supplies, but they rarely have all their financial and insurance information written down in a place they can take with them if they need to evacuate.
• Partner with schools to have discussions with students about disaster preparedness. One of the reasons the “Turn Around – Don’t Drown” program has been successful is that it’s targeted towards adults and children. Obviously, the children do not drive, but they relay this information to parents. Follow the model of the “Stranger Danger” program and send emergency responders to classrooms to promote emergency preparedness.
• Develop PSAs for radio and TV. In order to make the PSA interesting to citizens, use local celebrities and/or media personalities in your efforts.Think of the recent PSAs dedicated to encourage people to stop smoking. The advertisements are gritty and in your face, and people take notice because of the shock value.
• Partner with local merchants to set up an emergency kit display area in their store. Work with the merchants to create a list of emergency kit items and display all those items in the same place. It works much like the shopping lists that schools provide to local stores at the beginning of the school year.
• Set up awareness booths at local festivals/fairs/community events. Partner with local school districts to encourage poster design competitions. Display CERT (computer emergency response team)  information, display sample emergency kits and provide handouts for creating kits at home.
• Involve the local media in the planning process. Partner with local media to inform citizens of evacuation routes and make the maps accessible online. Ask local media outlets to post links to the evacuation maps on their Web sites.
• Host evacuation workshops. Partner with local churches and other mass-care facilities to involve more citizens in the operations of a mass-care facility. Encourage facilities to conduct a drill and “activate the shelter.” Use the opportunity to invite local citizens to prepare. Have police and fire vehicles on static display. Provide demonstrations and have emergency responders on hand to to answer questions. If your jurisdiction is identified as host jurisdiction for a sister city, establish exchange programs so that emergency planners and facility managers can meet to discuss issues.
• Provide relevant disaster preparedness information on your department/agency Web site. Ensure that this information is up to date and relevant by updating the Web site at least once a year. Develop a citizen advisory board to help you review the content and make recommendations for improvements.