Responding to a disaster can be a hectic time. A vital mitigation action of this chaos can be achieved by knowing who is leading what segment of the response and what each segment’s roles and responsibilities are. Therefore, it is wise that the emergency management team delegate Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) into the Emergency Operation Plan (EOP) for their jurisdiction. While it is not a recognized requirement to list and identify ESFs, but including them into the EOP allows all personnel involved in the Emergency Management (EM) team to understand what is expected of the functions, identifies resource management and therefore eases communication. The support functions are akin to a house of cards, removing any one of the support functions and the capabilities of the remaining functions be hindered, or will result in a failed EOP response. This paper will be addressing the role of ESF 7 Resource Support, commonly referred to as logistics.…
Hurricane Elena was an unpredictable and damaging tropical cyclone that affected the United States Gulf Coast in late August and early September 1985. Threatening popular tourist destinations during Labor Day weekend, Elena repeatedly defied forecasts, triggering an unprecedented series of evacuations; many residents and tourists were forced to leave twice in a matter of days. Elena's slow movement off western Florida resulted in severe beach erosion and damage to coastal buildings, roads, and seawalls. The hurricane devastated the Apalachicola Bay shellfish industry, killing off vast oyster beds and leaving thousands of workers unemployed. Farther west, Dauphin Island in Alabama endured wind gusts as high as 130 mph (210 km/h) and a significant…
The effects of Hurricane Georges in Louisiana included $30.1 million in damage and three deaths. Forming from a tropical wave over the Atlantic Ocean, Georges attained a peak intensity of 155 mph (250 km/h) on September 20, 1998. Over the following several days, the storm tracked through the Greater Antilles and later entered the Gulf of Mexico on September 28, the Category 2 storm made landfall in Mississippi before dissipating on October 1. Before landfall, about 500,000 residents in Louisiana evacuated from low-lying areas. The mayor of New Orleans declared a state of emergency to allow federal assistance into the state. After nearly 1.5 million people were urged to evacuate coastal areas, officials described the evacuation as "probably the largest [...] we have ever achieved".[1]…
Brownsville Texas is located in approximately 30 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and it is vulnerable to a major hurricane like Hurricane Katrina that devastated much of Louisiana in 2005. During Hurricane Katrina many of the things when wrong because emergency leaders were because, emergency managers were not prepared for the after mass of the hurricane. It is important for a city to have a structured Emergency Operations Plan in place in the event of a major hurricane. This will help make emergency operations run smooth and emergency managers make important decisions.…
The combination of the world’s growing population and increased incidence of natural disasters proves that emergency response plans are needed to maintain civil order within both urban and rural areas. The Hurricane Ike Rapid Needs Assessment for the Houston area provides a quick estimation of the needs of the people at days 5 and 6 after the incident. The information gleaned from this assessment is to be used in establishment of personal needs cells, which provide food, water, electricity generators prioritized by medical needs, medicines, and other health maintenance items (toiletries). Many needs and issues…
On August 24, 1992 Hurricane Andrew slammed into the South Florida, devastating Homestead, Florida City and parts of Miami, then continued northwest across the Gulf of Mexico to strike Louisiana coastline.…
The role of major health personnel in an emergency is to manage the safety and well being of the people in their community during and after a natural or man-made disaster. This is done by assessing the details of what occurred, what needs must be met and facilitating a team to organize information about the event and provide logistics as quickly as possible. This is seen in the simulation exercise for the “Disaster in Franklin County”. (Olson, Larsen, Scheller, & Johnson, 2006) Roles are appointed in a chain of command format. It is ideal that all personnel have received some type of emergency management training, but even if not, skill sets must be assessed and duties assigned accordingly. An Incident Commander will be appointed and the Public Health Director assigns rolls that include finances, planning, logistics, public information liaison and operators. The Public Health Team will work closely and concurrently with other entities, such as the Fire Chief, Police Chief, Hazardous Materials Team, Public Works and EMS teams. The public health department is mostly concerned with the safety and logistics of sheltering victims and being sure that food and water provided is safe for consumption.…
The roles of major public health personnel must be delegated properly in a disaster situation in order to facilitate effective action. In the incident presented, a chain of command was established and assignments given to the appropriate personnel based on their skills and experience. As a whole, this group reports to the Incident Commander, an individual that is responsible for managing the entire disaster operation and various teams involved in every level of disaster management.…
ESF-13 is a mechanism for providing and coordinating Federal to Federal support; Federal support to State, Tribal, and Local authorities; and/or in support to other ESFs. These elements consist of law enforcement, public safety, and security capabilities/resources in the event of a potential or actual disaster requiring a coordinated Federal response such as a major hurricane. The capabilities support crisis incident management requirements that include force/critical infrastructure protection, security planning/technical assistance, technology support, and of course general police operational support assistance. This occurs in both pre-incident and post-incident situations. ESF-13 will activate whenever States, Tribal, and local government resources are overwhelmed or become inadequate when circumstances require extensive public safety and security applications. This will also apply when requirements for protective solutions or capabilities that is unique to the Federal Government…
The area's mass travel framework is approaching private transportation organizations for reinforcement. Police divisions all through the locale are attempting to keep up request and secure property. In the interim with such a large number of homes and structures harmed, the Governor is recognizing extra makeshift asylum and lodging, the state is working with FEMA, the Red Cross and other government offices like (EOC)* to make transitory safe…
Many recall the dramatic images of nurses at New York University's Langone Medical Center (NYULMC) heroically evacuating over three hundred patients, carrying many including the youngest and most vulnerable down flights of stairs during the power outage resulting from the storm surge generated by Hurricane Sandy.…
US Marines arrive to bolster Haiti quake efforts. (2010, January 19). Retrieved November 30, 2011, from news.bbc.co.uk: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8466698.stm…
In discussing efficiency and preventative policy during hurricane Katrina, The focus will be policies that were in effect before the storm as well as policies that could have helped during and after. The United States national response framework (NRF) is part of the national strategy for Homeland security that presents the guiding principles enabling all levels of domestic response partners to prepare for or provide qualified national response to disasters and emergencies. (Wikipedia, 2012) During this time of emergency and disaster the response time was very slow, and communication was not effective. In an emergency support plan there are 15 functions transportation, communication, public works & engineering, firefighting, emerging management, mass care emergency assistance housing and human services, logistics and management & resources, public health & medical services, search and rescue, hazardous materials, agriculture and natural, energy, public safety & security, long term recovery, and external affairs. (Georgia Emergency Operations plan, 2013) Functions 2, 5 and 6 were the main things that hindered hurricane Katrina. These functions are what in need of improvement. The primary contact for these functions of the emergency support plan were homeland security, department of human services, and department of community affairs and Red Cross. There are many third party organizations that aid in the process of response to disasters and emergencies. Most of them are contacted after the first responders are called to action, which includes the local, state, and federal government. Red Cross made major changes after Katrina, cutting response delivery time down from 6 days to 72 hours. They also made changes with more trained staff, established resource venues, and building lasting partnerships with local, state, and federal governments as well as FEMA. A Disaster coalition should be implemented, during emergencies, decisions made by one organization will impact…
Why were rescue efforts hampered in the first 24 hours? Their backup generator flooded. Communication device were useless. 3/4 of the police force came in to work.…
Medical teams assembled to assess, triage, and provide medical supportive care for patients with acute primary care needs while updating the patient’s electronic health record into the system to ensure medical records will be retrieved at the final destination of the patient. Their duties are to stabilize life during emergency events for up to 72 hours without external assistance and determine the appropriate destination for patients. The teams consist of medical personnel that are trained in their line of duty and certifications and licensures are necessary to perform their line of work. However, certifications and licensures are honored from all states during activation of the emergency plan. NDMS is responsible for ensuring these credentials are current and valid. These medical professionals include nurses, physicians, medical technicians, and other medical staff responsible for providing health care. Teams are able to respond to the emergency activation within 6 hours and move to the emergency site within 48 hours…