DISASTER

PREPAREDNESS
For

INFORMATION &
REFERRAL
SERVICES
 Part One

✔ Introduction

✔ Phases of disaster
Why are we here?
SCHEDULE
✔ Introduction, Objectives, Phases of Disaster
✔ Your Disaster Mission and Role
✔ Writing an Business Contingency Plan
✔ The Incident Command System (ICS)
✔ Maximizing Survivability & Effectiveness The
Community Disaster Network
✔ The Federal Response Plan
✔ Next Steps
COURSE OBJECTIVES
✔ Help you develop your organization’s disaster
mission and role
✔ Explain the phases of disaster
✔ To map the working environment of a major
disaster
✔ To assist you in developing an effective
Business Contingency Plan
✔ To encourage building local disaster
coalitions
COURSE OBJECTIVES, cont.
✔ Strengthen your organization’s
preparedness to maximize your
survivability and continuity of service
✔ Lay out the next steps towards effective
disaster planning and preparation
THE PHASES OF A DISASTER

EVENT!
Response
Alert and
Warning

Relief
Planning and
Mitigation

Recovery
Typical Flow of Needs After A Disaster

Long-term
Recovery

Stress-
related
Needs
Immediate
Emotional
Trauma Material
Needs

0 6 12 18
Months
Many agencies will come to town
COMMUNITY REACTIONS
At first:
✔ “We’re all in this together”,
✔ “thanks to all the heroes”

Later:
✔ “Where’s all the help that was promised?”
✔ “Why does everything take so long?”
✔ The need to place blame
 Your Disaster Mission & Role

✔ “Socially-created
Vulnerabilities

✔ I&R Disaster Roles

✔ Reimbursement?
 “The Magnet”
Socially-
Disaster Created
Impacts Vulnerabilities
•Poverty
•Disability
•Non-English speakers
•Alone
•etc.
Your organization’s mission in a
disaster should be based on:

✔ Your developed strengths and knowledge

✔ Your ability to help people in crisis
✔ Your knowledge of your communities and
clientele
What Is Your Organization’s
Disaster Mission?
SAME EXPANDED NEW OR
DIFFERENT
Population

Area

Type of
Service
 Writing Your Business
Contingency Plan

✔ Based on ICS

✔ Using checklists

✔ Employee safety and

preparedness
Incident Command System

✔ A flexible organizing
concept
Pulling it together to solve
problems
 ICS Organization

M a n a g e m e n t

O P E R A T I O N S P L A N N I N G A N D F I N A N C E A N
L O G I S T I C S
I N T E L L I G E N C E A D M I N I S T R A
Management

✔ Responsible for overall emergency policy

and coordination Public Information
✔ Liaison

✔ Public Information

✔ Establish good communications between

functions
Operations

✔ Operations - coordinates response to

emergency; assigns roles and
responsibilities to staff
✔ Implements the Operational Plan
Planning and Intelligence
✔ Collects, evaluates and disseminates
information; Pre-disaster database
✔ maintains documentation;

✔ develops action plan in coordination with

operations
Logistics
✔ Logistics - provides facilities, services,
personnel, equipment, and materiel
✔ Obtains staff

✔ All in support of Operations

Finance

✔ Maintains financial records, negotiates

contracts, pays the bills
✔ All in support of Operations
 ICS Organization

M a n a g e m e n t

O P E R A T I O N S P L A N N I N G A N D F I N A N C E A N
L O G I S T I C S
I N T E L L I G E N C E A D M I N I S T R A
Writing Your Plan (continued)

✔ Should include how

your I&R will
respond to:
✔ Acute Phase
✔ Long-term recovery
 Writing Your Business
Contingency Plan (continued)

✔ Data management
✔ Planning and
mitigation
✔ Safety and well-
being of staff and
families
Survivability & Effectiveness

✔ Threat assessment

✔ Building &
environment safety

✔ Staff’s well-being

✔ Training
THREAT ASSESSMENT

✔ Internal- threats to your continued

operation (building, loss of data, loss
of telephones, loss of staff)

✔ External- threats to your services

BUILDING SAFETY

✔ Mitigation

✔ Evacuation plan

✔ Relocation?

✔ Building inspection
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VITAL RECORDS

✔ Personnel information

✔ Client records

✔ Essential computer
and paper files
FOR OUR EMPLOYEES

✔ Life-safety concerns

✔ People’s normal
emotional responses

✔ Long-term concerns
 TRAINING AND EXERCISES

✔ Personal workplace and

home preparedness

✔ For your agency

✔ Strengthening
collaborations
The Federal Response Plan

✔ Emergency Service
Functions

✔ Relationship of FEMA
to VOAD
 FEDERAL FUNCTIONS
✔ ESF 1: Transportation ✔ ESF 7: Resource Support
✔ ESF 2: Communications ✔ ESF 8: Health and Medical
✔ ESF 3: Pub. Works and ✔ ESF 9: Urban Search and
Engineering Rescue
✔ ESF 4: Firefighting ✔ ESF 10: Hazardous
✔ ESF 5: Information and Materials
plans ✔ ESF 11: Food
✔ ESF 6: Mass Care ✔ ESF 12: Energy
Conclusion and Next Steps

✔ Disaster mission
statement
✔ Emergency Operations
Manual
✔ Work in/build
coalition
✔ Disaster database
✔ Exercise
Coordination of Efforts

✔ Identifying the
primary organizations

✔ VOAD

✔ Committees

✔ Mutual aid
Voluntary Organizations
Active in Disaster (VOAD)
National Voluntary Organizations
Active in Disaster
(NVOAD)

State VOAD Other state

VOADS

County Local organizations City VOADs

VOADs
 AIRS DISASTER
COMMITMENTS
✔Statement of Understanding –
American Red Cross

✔NVOAD membership
VOADS Representatives
✔ Adventist Community Services (clothing)
✔ American Second Harvest (food)
✔ American Red Cross
✔ Catholic Charities
✔ Church of the Brethren
VOAD Continued
✔ Episcopal Relief & Development
✔ Humane Society (pet shelter, large animal
removal)
✔ Points of Light Foundation
✔ The Salvation Army
✔ United Methodist Committee on Relief
(UMCOR)
VOAD Continued

✔Many more organizations that

assist
✔See www.nvoad.org
LOCAL EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT
✔ Look for Office of Emergency Management
in a mid to large municipality
✔ In small towns, look at Fire or Police Chief,
maybe Mayor
✔ Ask American Red Cross
FEMA’s Role

✔ Only in Federally declared disasters

START COLLABORATING
✔ Think through what your community might
need to respond to
✔ Determine the role other agencies have
already agreed to play
✔ Define your role
✔ Bring everyone together and plan together
✔ Talk to American Red Cross
WHY PARTICIPATE ?

✔Efficiency
✔Effectiveness
✔Reimbursement
MUTUAL AID AGREEMENTS

✔Between you and other I&Rs

✔Between you and other
organizations (United Way,
Volunteer Center, Red Cross)