Emergency Preparedness

Emergencies and disasters are typically of two types — natural or human caused.

Natural hazards involve the forces of nature and the resulting effects on people. Consider such emergencies or events as severe weather including thunderstorms, lightning, hail, tornadoes, severe summer heat or winter cold, and even earthquakes, land slips, or mine subsidence. For example, severe winds can lead to downed power lines and trees in the roadway, causing electrical outages at our residences or businesses and impeding travel. Taken to the extreme, people who depend on home medical devices such as oxygen concentrators or home dialysis need electricity or a backup system until power is restored. Roadways blocked by downed trees also block fire, EMS, law enforcement, and other services from prompt access.

Human caused hazards involve the actions of people, either accidentally or deliberately. Consider such emergencies as computer or cell phone cyberattacks and active assailants or shooters. An accidental human caused hazard might involve an unavoidable vehicle crash with injuries. A deliberate one might involve a crash triggered by “road rage” that could have been avoided.

Emergency management involves procedures that can be implemented to reduce, eliminate (prevent), minimize, or manage the impacts of emergencies, disasters, and other incidents on our citizens and communities.

Emergency management is a resource that begins with “citizen immediate responders” on the scene who are willing to safely take action to the level of their training with the available resources, beginning the response process by calling 911 and assisting any victims.

911 dispatchers gather information and dispatch our first responders (fire, EMS, law enforcement, and others) based on reports from the scene.

The mission of first responders begins with a safe and rapid response for incident stabilization (minimizing further injuries or damage), saving lives (life safety measures), and property and environmental conservation and protection. These actions combine to help protect our citizens and communities during emergencies, disasters, and other incidents or events.

Emergency management can be thought of as a continuous loop, with overlap, of:

Mitigation — actions taken pre-event to eliminate (prevent) or reduce the degree of long-term risk to human life, safety, health, and property (including pets and livestock) from any type of hazard. Examples include building codes, public education, risk-area mapping, insurance, tax incentives, rain and river flood monitoring systems, and tornado shelters.

Preparedness — activities taken in preparation of an emergency that make a coordinated response quicker and easier. Examples include hazard and risk identification, emergency operations plans, broadcast notification systems and sirens such as all-hazard (weather) radios and tornado sirens, advisories, watches and warnings, and “trigger points” that initiate safety actions by authorities and citizens.

Response — actions taken immediately before, during, and immediately after an emergency that secure the scene, save lives, and minimize property and environmental damage. Examples include the response of fire/rescue/EMS/law enforcement, implementation of the Incident Command System (ICS) and emergency operations plans (EOPs), activation of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) if needed, and evacuation or shelter-in-place for those nearby.

Recovery — short-term activities to return vital life-supporting systems to minimum operating standards, and long-term activities to return the community to safe, healthy, and “new” normal levels. Examples include debris management, damage assessments, decontamination and return to service, disaster assistance for victims, temporary housing, grief or stress counseling, and reconstruction of homes, businesses, and facilities.

The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standardized, on-scene, all-risk, all-hazard incident management concept. ICS allows its users to adopt an integrated organizational structure to match the complexities and demands of single or multiple incidents without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries or typical job titles. ICS has considerable internal flexibility — it can grow or shrink to meet different needs as a response begins, expands, and concludes, making it cost-effective and efficient for both small and large situations.

ICS was developed in the 1960s and 1970s following a series of catastrophic fires in California's wildland-urban interface, where forests and fields meet homes and businesses. Property damage ran into many millions of dollars, and many people died or were injured, including first responders. Investigators discovered that incident failures could rarely be attributed to a lack of resources or a failure of strategy and tactics.

What were the lessons learned? After-action reports found that incident failures were far more likely to result from inadequate incident management than any other single reason. Weaknesses were often due to:

1. Lack of personnel accountability, including unclear chains of command and supervision, reporting to multiple bosses, and “free-lancing” instead of working toward common objectives.
2. Poor communications due to inefficient use of available systems and conflicting codes, terminology, jargon, and acronyms.
3. Lack of an orderly, systematic planning process.
4. No common, flexible, predesigned management structure to delegate responsibilities and manage workloads efficiently.
5. No predefined methods to integrate interagency requirements into the management structure and planning process effectively.

A poorly managed emergency can be devastating to life safety, increase injuries to victims and responders, become costly to our economy, disrupt local supply chains, and jeopardize individual, family, and community safety and health.

With so much at stake, we must continue to learn to effectively manage our response efforts. ICS is a proven management system based on successful emergency operations and business practices. It allows multiple agencies from all levels of government and the private sector — as well as the “citizen immediate responders” who are often first on scene — to work together from the same blueprint toward a common, successful mission for the good of our local individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities.

1. Provide aid with emergency planning and response, logistics, communications, operations, safety and health, and other needs.
2. Assist and establish points of distribution (PODs) for needed supplies such as blue tarps and drinking water, and points of dispensing for health screenings and clinical services for victims and first responders.
3. Assess and make recommendations on disease issues (prevention, referrals, obtaining subject matter experts as needed).
4. Participate in epidemiological or disease investigations, research and provide information, and assist with administrative documentation of the response.
5. Respond and assist with biological or radiological emergencies affecting community safety, health, and well-being.
6. Assess and assist with environmental health sanitation issues — potable drinking water, sanitary sewage treatment, shelters and housing needs, disease prevention, disease vector identification and control, and food service inspection/licensing.
7. Assist with other roles and needs, such as providing resources, staff, equipment, and supplies as available and to the level of training and credentials, including ICS and public information officer roles.
8. Other needs as capabilities and capacities allow.

To better prepare yourself, your family, your neighborhood, and your community for the next emergency, consider the following:

Know your risks — understand the risks that you, your family and neighbors, and your community face from a variety of hazards. Most communities face many types. Learn the risks specific to your area and how to assess your risks when you are away from home. Know how and when to take action before, during, and after different hazards.

Make a plan — create a communications plan for your family and prepare for both evacuation and shelter-in-place scenarios. Plan for unique needs, including medications, pets, and livestock. Use your social network to help family, friends, and neighbors prepare, and gather emergency supplies such as water and food. Secure important documents you will need to start the recovery process.

Take action — put your plan into action. Be ready to face disaster wherever you may be. Check your insurance coverage, make a list of personal property, and consider how to mitigate property damage. Practice your family emergency plans, use existing alert and warning systems, and assist with your neighborhood and community preparedness and recovery efforts.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Phone: 800-621-3362
www.fema.gov — opens in a new tab and leaves this website or www.ready.gov — opens in a new tab and leaves this website

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Phone: 800-232-4636
www.cdc.gov — opens in a new tab and leaves this website

Ohio Emergency Management Agency (EMA)
Phone: 614-889-7150
www.ema.ohio.gov — opens in a new tab and leaves this website

Ohio Department of Health (ODH)
Phone: 614-466-3543
www.odh.ohio.gov — opens in a new tab and leaves this website

Perry County Emergency Preparedness & Response Coordinator
Jim Mickey — 740-721-0865
jim.mickey@perrycountyohio.net