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

The emergency management which is otherwise called as disaster management is the process of organizing and managing the resources and responsibilities for dealing with all the aspects of emergencies, disasters and crisis.

It usually involves plans, structures and arrangements established to engage the normal endeavours of government, voluntary and private agencies in a comprehensive and coordinated way to respond to the whole spectrum of emergency needs.

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.
• ensuring that the  organization can continue to function during and after a crisis or natural disaster.

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.