Question

What is Emergency Management?	Explain why it is necessary to plan for emergencies and disasters. What elements should be considered in emergency and disaster planning?

Answer 1

Emergency planning may be the course of action that a company takes in order exclude or minimize the effects of an incident or crisis.

An emergency plan usually consists of necessary procedures during a crisis, a clear set of roles and responsibilities and established instructions for local emergency response and recovery bodies. These is a crucial part of keeping staff safe.

The main objective of emergency management is:

• To reduce any incidence of risk or accidental crisis.

   •   To protect the community.

• In order to ensure  business continuity.
• For  safeguarding both employees and employers.
• In order to reduce the accidental damage of machinery.

Elements to be considered while planning an emergency condition involves:

1. Clear communication

During a disaster, everyone inside the organization must  be informed. To effectively manage an emergency, all personnel must be on the same page – medical, legal, government affairs, and facilities management, among others, have to understand what’s going on.

2. Comprehensive training

Proper and timely training is vital for the organization to ensure that the staffs are as prepared as possible.

Establishing their role during training is very crucial for emergency management preparations.

3. Business continuity plan

A business continuity plan helps to identify the hardware, software, space and other resources that each area of your facility requires to remain operational. It is crucial to recognize these needs in order to develop alternative solutions before any of the requirements are disrupted by disaster.

4.Health care involvement

For every organization, there should be involvement of the healthcare team as a part of proper disaster management.