Emergency Management Organizations Research Articles

Telehealth Ontario detection of gastrointestinal illness outbreaks.

Prompt detection of infectious disease outbreaks and rapid introduction of mitigation strategies is a primary concern for public health, emergency and security management organizations. Traditional surveillance methods rely on astute clinical detection and reporting of disease or laboratory confirmation. Although effective, these methods are slow, dependent on physician compliance and delay timely, effective intervention. To address these issues, syndromic surveillance programs have been integrated into the health care system at the earliest points of access; in Ontario, these points are primary care providers, emergency departments (ED), and Telehealth Ontario. This study explores the role of Telehealth Ontario, a telephone helpline, as an early warning system for detection of gastrointestinal (GI) illness. Retrospective time-series analysis of the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) ED discharges and Telehealth Ontario data for GI illness from June 1, 2004 to March 31, 2006. Telehealth Ontario recorded 184,904 calls and the NACRS registered 34,499 ED visits for GI illness. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient was calculated to be 0.90 (p < 0.0001). Time-series analysis resulted in significant correlation at lag (weekly) 0 indicating that increases in Telehealth Ontario call volume correlate with increases in NACRS data for GI illness. Telehealth Ontario call volume fluctuation reflects directly on ED GI visit data on a provincial basis. Telehealth Ontario GI call complaints are a timely, novel and representative data stream that shows promise for integration into a real-time syndromic surveillance system for detection of unexpected events.

Objectives and achievements in the first four years of the EURANOS project: European approach to nuclear and radiological emergency management and rehabilitation strategies

The 5-year multi-national project EURANOS, funded by the European Commission, started in April 2004. Integrating 17 national emergency management organisations with 33 research institutes, it brings together best practice, knowledge and technology to enhance the preparedness for Europe's response to any radiation emergency and long term contamination. After four years of operation the following achievements can be stated. Two handbooks to assist national and local authorities in the management of contaminated food production systems and inhabited areas in Europe have been developed in conjunction with a wide range of European stakeholders. A governance framework for the sustainable rehabilitation of long term contaminated territories has been developed and tested in France. Its implementation in Norway has started. A consistent methodology for calculating the best estimate possible of current radiological situation in both contaminated agricultural and contaminated inhabited areas has been developed. The migration of RODOS (Real-time On-line Decision Support System) to the operating system LINUX is completed. A mass consistent wind field model was implemented together with a particle model for complex terrain. A complete re-engineering of the system has started aiming to incorporate all the user's recommendations collected within the demonstration projects and the operational use of the system in emergency management organisations.

European approach to nuclear and radiological emergency management and rehabilitation strategies (EURANOS)

Abstract The 5-year multi-national project EURANOS, funded by the European Commission and 23 European Member States, started in April 2004. Integrating 17 national emergency management organisations with 33 research institutes, it brings together best practice, knowledge and technology to enhance the preparedness for Europe's response to any radiation emergency and long-term contamination. Key objectives of the project are to collate information on the likely effectiveness and consequences of a wide range of countermeasures, to provide guidance to emergency management organisations and decision makers on the establishment of an appropriate response strategy and to further enhance advanced decision support systems, in particular, RODOS (Real-time On-line Decision Support), through feedback from their operational use. The research activities focused on emergency actions and countermeasures, the enhancement of decision support systems for operational application and the development of strategies for the sustainable rehabilitation of contaminated territories. The demonstration activities exercise the developed methods and tools in the actual operational environment.

The Role of Homeland Security Information Bulletins within Emergency Management Organizations: A Case Study of Enactment

Homeland security information bulletins from governmental, commercial, and non-governmental providers are an important source of threat information within local emergency management organizations. This article examines how email-based homeland security information bulletins influenced preparedness in one university's emergency management organization. A one-year field study of the university's emergency management meetings, supplemented by in-depth interviews, survey data, and textual analysis, was used to determine how participants made sense of and communicated about homeland security threats. Assumptions about communication obscure the influence of bureaucratic imperatives in shaping enactment of homeland security threats. Process changes may be needed in order to enhance the contributions of homeland security information bulletins to emergency preparedness.

Robust and affordable mobile communications for emergency management

During any emergency, reliable communications can be a matter of life-and-death. First-responder communications are widely seen as a critical emergency management issue identified by Hurricane Katrina in the USA, and the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004. In cooperation with national, regional, and local emergency management organisations, a US research consortium has developed and demonstrated robust and affordable mobile communications systems particularly well suited for field operation in rural communities. This paper describes the development and demonstration at major public events and actual emergencies of a Man-portable and Interoperable Tactical Operation Centre (MITOC) which was funded by the US Department of Homeland Security. The result is a state-of-the-art mobile communications system that can be transported in a single small vehicle that upon arrival at an emergency is quickly transfigured into a robust command post with satellite communications, laptop computers, and other systems essential for organising and executing emergency management and crisis response.

Mapping an emergency management network

We present a web-based method for mapping various relations between agents that have been involved in an emergency response operation. The method is based on combining a web-questionnaire with telephone interviews and it provides an efficient way of collecting large amount of information concerning the agents. By using the resulting network of agents it is possible to perform various network analyses such as identifying important agents and groups, analysing the correlation between certain relations between the agents, and studying the temporal development of the network. Furthermore, we exemplify the method by presenting results from an analysis of an emergency management operation concerning the release of 16.000 tons of sulphuric acid in the city of Helsingborg, Sweden. We conclude that the emergency management organization included a significant amount of agents that were not part of any plans, such as boundary spanners and agents that were not part of any of the involved organizations but still played very important roles during the operation.

Network Enabled Decision Support for Civil Emergency Management

Civil emergency management is discussed when more than one aid organisation is involved in solving an emergency problem. This paper analyses interagency cooperation, decision-making and leadership in the planning stages as well as during emergencies and disasters. Specific deficiencies about information exchange and interagency staff work are identified. The authors describe shared or parallel information processing and network enabled procedures between all involved emergency management organisations for supporting decisions made under time constraints, and point out the need for open source software strategies to maximise use, also involving small, voluntary NGOs. Finally, further research and development is called upon towards realising the aforementioned concepts for decision-making support.

Design and analysis of multi-level active queue management mechanisms for emergency traffic

Multiple average-multiple threshold (MAMT) active queue management (AQM) is proposed as a solution for providing available and dependable service to traffic from emergency users after disasters. MAMT is a simple but effective approach that can be applied at strategic network locations, where heavy congestion is anticipated. It can provide low loss to emergency packets while dropping non-emergency packets only as much as necessary. Fluid flow analysis and simulation is conducted to provide guidelines for proper MAMT design, especially regarding the queue size and averaging parameters that are most important. This work considers non-responsive traffic exclusively, since non-responsive traffic types are currently getting the most attention from emergency management organizations. Plus, very little work has been performed regarding AQM and non-responsive traffic. It demonstrates queue oscillation problems that previously may have been attributed to the interactions between TCP and AQM, but which are actually inherent to AQM and can be greatly reduced with proper parameter settings. MAMT is shown to perform well over a range of loads and can effectively protect emergency traffic from surges in non-emergency traffic.

The future of emergency management

The discipline of emergency management (EM) is at a critical crossroads. Emergency managers around the world are faced with new threats, new responsibilities, and new opportunities. This paper examines the organizational changes made by the US federal government in shaping the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and presents three key lessons learned during the past decade that could guide emergency planners as they design and manage EM organizations of the future.

MacDonald Dettwiler real-time emergency management via satellite — status update and future directions

Real-time wireless communications between permanent command centres, field command posts, and field resources such as field crews, helicopters and other mobile equipment are a necessity for most emergency management and coordination organizations worldwide. Space-based technologies such as satellite positioning systems, satellite communications systems and Earth observations systems have the potential to fill many of these needs. MacDonald Dettwiler's Real-time Emergency Management via Satellite (REMSAT) system addresses this gap by providing an integrated system that has now been used operationally in a forest fire fighting role over the past 2 years. This paper will provide the concept of operations, an overview of the initial REMSAT system, and the results of the field tests including recommendations for future systems.

The evolution of emergency management and the advancement towards a profession in the United States and Florida

The occupation of “emergency management” is the official organizational structure established by governments (federal, state, county, and city) to manage the social repercussions of natural and/or technological emergencies. This field has evolved quite extensively from its Cold War-civil defense origins and some have stated that the field is “professionalizing”. We examine the process of professionalization in the United States and Florida. Our research explores how emergency management organizations are modifying in order to develop the capacity to prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against disaster events more effectively.

Modular desalting for specialized applications

In this paper, we consider the uses of modular containerized desalination facilities in both emergency and temporary applications in remote and populated areas. These types of systems, while not new to the marketplace, are rapidly gaining prominence for numerous system designs by those wishing rapid deployment of complete units. With the considerations of the military and emergency management organizations forming some paramount reasons for this section of the industry, these sea or land transportable system designs are also highly useful for the temporary needs of the construction industry. The need for purified water for construction personnel as well as building material support may seem unrealistic, but the rise in projects in remote areas or areas without existing water supplies has given credence to these designs. These all-inclusive self-contained units can be quickly and economically erected on various types of sites, with only a water source and available power necessary for their function. Various designs and their implementation will be discussed, with modular pre-treatment and post-treatment options examined. Also, the modular approach to larger scale facilities will be addressed. Storage and transfer modules to contain and distribute the product of these systems will be featured as well. The usage of sophisticated control systems with modem capability, both cellular and land based, will be referred to in systems designed for use in remote areas. These systems might include a modular power generation unit as well as the water treatment modules to allow for a complete, stand alone system. Also, a design proposal for systems capable of handling many different qualities of feed water will be presented as a “universal” modular system. This type of system could be installed in any location, regardless of the feed water quality, and function to provide potable water for a shortterm situation.

The Use of Waveform Shapes to Automatically Determine Earthquake Focal Depth

Earthquake focal depth is an important parameter for rapidly determining probable damage caused by a large earthquake. In addition, it is significant both for discriminating between natural events and explosions and for discriminating between tsunamigenic and nontsunamigenic earthquakes. For the purpose of notifying emergency management and disaster relief organizations as well as issuing tsunami warnings, potential time delays in determining source parameters are particularly detrimental. We present a method for determining earthquake focal depth that is well suited for implementation in an automated system that utilizes the wealth of broadband teleseismic data that is now available in real time from the global seismograph networks. This method uses waveform shapes to determine focal depth and is demonstrated to be valid for events with magnitudes as low as approximately 5.5.

Counting the cost

The Wellington after the Quake conference, organised by the Earthquake Commission in Wellington in March 1995, sought to answer some of the questions faced by all concerned with the recovery and restoration phases of a major earthquake in a nationally significant city. The papers, which were by a range of international authorities, and the discussions were published later that year, and some copies of the volume are still available from the Earthquake Commission.&#x0D; Then, in November 1996, the Earthquake Commission and the Insurance Council of New Zealand jointly sponsored a seminar on Natural Hazards: Finding, managing and sharing people and information, and a summary booklet was prepared as a record for those who attended and to inform those who were unable to attend.&#x0D; This seminar, Counting the Cost: The economic effects of a major earthquake, was again sponsored jointly by the Earthquake Commission and the Insurance Council of New Zealand, with the intention of looking more closely at the economic effects of a major earthquake. It attracted about 200 participants, most coming from the insurance and banking industries, fund and risk managers, and economists in a range of organisations, although there were also representatives from emergency management and civil defence organisations, local and regional councils, and earthquake engineers.&#x0D; This report on the information presented in the papers and discussions has been prepared to highlight the main conclusions and themes raised, for both the attendees and a wider audience who were unable to be present.

Emergency Management in Korea and Its Future Directions

Since South Korea has historically experienced a great number of natural hazards, the emergency management system has traditionally focused on natural hazards. However, as several large‐scale man‐made and/or technological disasters have occurred in South Korea in the 1990s, major changes have taken place in Korea`s emergency management systems. Accordingly, this paper examines the emergency management system in South Korea in terms of structural dimensions for emergency management along with the types of disasters. Discussions on theoretical issues of crisis and emergency management are included, but most of this paper is devoted to an overview of Korean emergency management systems as recent responses to disaster. Korea has had to learn the hard way. The Disaster Management Act was established after Korea experienced serious disasters in the mid 1990s. Korea`s emergency management system is still evolving. This paper concludes that emergency management organizations should have coordinating power for a unified response to a crisis as quickly as possible and that the emergency management system in Korea should be equipped with mitigation and preparedness strategies.

MMS: an electronic message management system for emergency response

This paper outlines the main features of an electronic communication system, MMS, designed to support coordination and exchange of information in connection with emergency management (EM) efforts. The design of the MMS has been motivated by interviews with EM decision makers and reviews of communication and coordination problems observed during EM efforts and exercises. The system involves the use of a small set of message types designed to match the main categories of acts of communication in the domain of EM. Message tokens related to a sequence of message transactions can be linked, and links among messages can be viewed in a graphic tree-like display. By employing the extensive filtration facilities offered by the MMS, users are able to monitor the current status of messages. And, in general, filtration provides users with means of surveying a possibly large number of responses to messages. Thus, users are able to define filters that capture, for instance, "unanswered requests sent out by me today" or "requests from me that have not been answered by an unconditional 'OK' ". Last, the authors describe an associated preparedness plan module, which contains, for a given EM organization, its contingency plan and procedures to be applied during predefined stages of an emergency.

Effects of Organizational Type and Localism on Volunteerism and Resource Sharing During Disasters

After a disaster, community consensus is at its highest. This suggests that geographic distance is a barrier to coordination. This study found that geographic distance is negatively related to links among organizations, but most of this relationship is accounted for by organizational variables, including geographic service range, volunteerism, and appreciation shown to volunteers. Organizations with a local orientation have lower levels of volunteerism. Compared to emergency management organization, social service organizations have larger geographic service ranges, a less localistic orientation, and more network links. This study suggests that social service organizations promote resource redistribution and network coordination, whereas emergency management organizations with limited service ranges tend to block resource redistribution and limit volunteer participation.

Regionalizing Emergency Management: Counties as State and Local Government

Hurricanes Hugo, Andrew, and Iniki and the Loma Prieta earthquake are still having profound impacts on the national emergency management system. The failures to prepare and respond adequately to these emergencies may well lead to fundamental reform of the system. The U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs has been holding hearings on the reauthorization of the Emergency Management Agency, which has borne much of the criticism for the recent failures. In 1992, Congress commissioned a National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) study of the national emergency management system and a General Accounting Office (GAO) study of the Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Both studies focused on improving federal executive leadership, transferring resources from FEMA's national security and civil defense programs to its natural disaster programs, and building state and local capacities to manage their own emergency management systems better. States and communities, too, are reexamining their emergency management organizations and capabilities. This analysis examines the emergency management function in terms of its fit within the emerging roles of county government in the United States. The thesis is that county governments may in fact be the most logical and hospitable hosts for emergency management agencies because of their unique roles in state and local governance. Indeed, county governments are the most appropriate and effective vehicles for regionalizing policy making and program administration in a variety of functional areas, as well as emergency management. In fact, the NAPA report recognized the crucial roles of county governments in implementing and maintaining emergency management programs and pointed out the uneven state and local government commitment to emergency management and limited capacity to design and administer programs (1993; pp. 82-88). GAO (1993) focused on the problem of bringing federal resources to bear when state and local government and volunteer agency capacities are overwhelmed. GAO recommended improvements in the damage assessment process and in state and local capacities (pp. 6-12), as well as in the structure and function of FEMA. Both NAPA and GAO recognized the need for sustained federal action to build state and local capacities to handle such events. In response to the NAPA and GAO studies and recent congressional hearings, the sponsors of S.995, the Federal Disaster Preparedness and Response Act of 1993, sought to reorganize FEMA and to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131) to (1) authorize federal agencies to be more proactive in preparing for anticipated disasters; (2) clarify federal, state, and local government and private organization roles in disaster preparedness and response; (3) create an accessible inventory of disaster response resources; (4) manage private agency and volunteer participation; (5) assist state and local officials in assessing damage and requesting federal aid; and (6) improve state and local government capacities (including financial incentives for state compliance). The Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs scheduled hearings on S.995 for the fall of 1993 (Glenn, 1993). The principal goal was to designate a lead agency with the capacity to ensure communication between the President and governors and effective interaction among emergency management agencies at all levels. The major question was whether a reformed Emergency Management Agency can fulfill those responsibilities. The logical next question was whether similar reforms could encourage better communication and interaction among state and load emergency management agencies, including governors' offices. That is the question addressed here. Brief overviews of emergency management and county government will provide the context for the managements for central roles for counties in state and local emergency management. …

Handbook of emergency management: programs and policies dealing with major hazards and disasters

Preface Introduction to Emergency Management by William L. Waugh, Jr., and Ronald John Hy The Function of Emergency Management by Ronald John Hy and William L. Waugh, Jr. Earthquakes by Richard T. Sylves Volcanic Hazards by William L. Waugh, Jr. Hurricanes by William L. Waugh, Jr. Floods by Beverly A. Cigler and Raymond J. Burby Tornadoes by Loran B. Smith and David T. Jervis Wildfire Hazards by Diane Moskow-McKenzie and John C. Freemuth Drought by Donald A. Wilhite Hazardous Material Transport Accidents by and Jeanette M. Trauth and Thomas J. Pavlak Nuclear Emergencies by Joan Aron Air Disasters by Margaret Baty Structural Failures by Ronald John Hy Public Health Emergencies by Caffilene Allen Civil Defense by Loran B. Smith The Utility of All-Hazard Programs by William L. Waugh, Jr., and Ronald John Hy Selected Bibliography Emergency Management Organizations and Information Sources Index

Adoption of emergency planning practices for chemical hazards in the United States

Emergency preparedness for chemical hazards is a relatively recent phenomenon. The earliest plans were adopted in the late 1960's but more than half of the existing chemical plans were enacted after 1987. The central purpose of this paper is to examine factors underlying variations in levels of community preparedness for chemical hazards. Ideally, the implementation process would be observed directly in a number of communities to determine the events and factors that stimulate the adoption of various planning practices; However, such a study is probably unrealistic, expensive and unlikely to be able to observe enough of the process to be useful. This paper examines survey data collected in late-1987 and mid-1988, in support of the SARA Title III Section 305b Report to Congress. Five factors related to the adoption of state-of-the-art planning practices among local community emergency management organizations are examined: innovation, available resources, necessity, vicarious experience, and professionalism. While each of these factors exhibit relationships with the adoption of state-of-the-art planning practices, none is sufficient to explain the trends in the adoption of planning practices. Supporting evidence is presented that links the adoption of state-of-the-art planning practices to the evaluation of risk in the community and innovation in other related areas.