Emergency Response Program Research Articles

Hearts and minds cannot be bought: Ineffective reconstruction in Afghanistan

Recent work has suggested the foreign-led reconstruction effort carried out in Afghanistan and Iraq can mitigate violence because it helps win the “hearts and minds” of local people. For the case of Afghanistan, we show there is no evidence behind such an assertion. Analyzing unique data on Commander’s Emergency Response Program (CERP) spending across the country from 2005 to 2009, we find no discernible effect of the reconstruction effort on violence. In light of the absence of empirical evidence for the success of the CERP, we suggest the hearts and minds credo currently guiding U.S. policy be reconsidered. [D74, H56, O1]

Factors influencing readiness to deploy in disaster response: findings from a cross-sectional survey of the Department of Veterans Affairs Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System

BackgroundThe Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) program provides a system of volunteers whereby active or retired Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) personnel can register to be deployed to support other VA facilities or the nation during national emergencies or disasters. Both early and ongoing volunteer training is required to participate.MethodsThis study aims to identify factors that impact willingness to deploy in the event of an emergency. This analysis was based on responses from 2,385 survey respondents (response rate, 29%). Latent variable path models were developed and tested using the EQS structural equations modeling program. Background demographic variables of education, age, minority ethnicity, and female gender were used as predictors of intervening latent variables of DEMPS Volunteer Experience, Positive Attitude about Training, and Stress. The model had acceptable fit statistics, and all three intermediate latent variables significantly predicted the outcome latent variable Readiness to Deploy.ResultsDEMPS Volunteer Experience and a Positive Attitude about Training were associated with Readiness to Deploy. Stress was associated with decreased Readiness to Deploy. Female gender was negatively correlated with Readiness to Deploy; however, there was an indirect relationship between female gender and Readiness to Deploy through Positive Attitude about Training.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that volunteer emergency management response programs such as DEMPS should consider how best to address the factors that may make women less ready to deploy than men in order to ensure adequate gender representation among emergency responders. The findings underscore the importance of training opportunities to ensure that gender-sensitive support is a strong component of emergency response, and may apply to other emergency response programs such as the Medical Reserve Corps and the American Red Cross.

The Only Thing That Stops a Guy with a Bad Policy is a Guy with a Good Policy: An Examination of the NRA’s “National School Shield” Proposal

With the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, the public and the government are looking for solutions to school violence. The National Rifle Association (NRA), a Second Amendment, pro-gun advocacy group, has proposed an “education and training emergency response program” called The National School Shield, which advocates the placement of armed security in schools. Although the program sounds provocative, serious questions complicate its plausibility, necessity, motive, and effectiveness. Furthermore, the potential policy and practical ramifications of encouraging armed security forces in U.S. schools are complex. The authors examined the proposal’s key elements from a public policy perspective and determined that the NRA program would be expensive in terms of both implementation and civil and/or criminal liability, would increase juvenile contact with the criminal justice system, would increase the potential for injuries and deaths from firearms, and would potentially only serve to increase profits for those invested in security industries. More potentially effective and safe policy alternatives are offered.

Systems of China Meteorological Disaster Emergency Response*

China Meteorological Administration (CMA) and the local Meteorological Bureaus, have set up Emergency Management Office and associated organizations for weather emergency in the Chinese inland. A suite of relatively comprehensive system for meteorological disasters and some emergency response programs have also been implemented by CMA. To illustrate how the mechanism operates, this paper presents two cases with one involving the Olympics weather emergency services in August 2008 and the other the low-temperature and snow disaster emergency response in Southern China in early 2008. I conclude that weather emergency management in China should follow the scientific emergency management principle, as well as the prevention-oriented and emergency rescue-combined principle.

Does development assistance reduce violence? Evidence from Afghanistan

Current military doctrine emphasizes the importance of development spending in reducing insurgent violence. Using data from three distinct development programs, the Afghan National Solidarity Program, USAID's Local Governance and Community Development Program, and the U.S. military's Commander's Emergency Response Program (CERP), combined with military records of insurgent-initiated events, this article explores whether development aid in Afghanistan is violence-reducing. I find that overall spending has no clear effect on rebel attacks. Moreover, the type of development program most effective at reducing violence in Iraq - small CERP projects - does not appear to do so in Afghanistan. Possible reasons include troop strength, conditionality of aid, effectiveness of aid in producing benign outcomes, and measurement issues.

Policy Monitor

Over the past five decades, the U.S. government has enacted laws and developed regulations to respond to actual and threatened releases of hazardous substances. This article describes a relatively understudied component of the nation’s response capability: the Superfund Emergency Response and Removal Program. This program addresses a wide range of threats, complicating efforts to assess its net benefits. We examine a new dataset of 113 recent removal actions at 88 sites in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region and find a great deal of diversity across sites, from the causes of contamination to the types of risks and the cleanup strategy. Contamination most frequently resulted from improper disposal, handling, or storage of materials. Soil, air, groundwater, and surface water contamination were prevalent at these sites, but risks from not yet released contained contaminants and potential fire or explosion were also common. We describe the involvement of potentially responsible parties and examine EPA expenditures on removal actions. Finally, we consider challenges for future research into the net benefits of the program.

Earthquake Hoax in Ghana: Exploration of the Cry Wolf Hypothesis.

This paper investigated the belief of the news of impending earthquake from any source in the context of the Cry Wolf hypothesis as well as the belief of the news of any other imminent disaster from any source. We were also interested in the correlation between preparedness, risk perception and antecedents. This explorative study consisted of interviews, literature and Internet reviews. Sampling was of a simple random nature. Stratification was carried out by sex and residence type. The sample size of (N=400), consisted of 195 males and 205 Females. Further stratification was based on residential classification used by the municipalities. The study revealed that a person would believe news of an impending earthquake from any source, (64.4%) and a model significance of (P=0.000). It also showed that a person would believe news of any other impending disaster from any source, (73.1%) and a significance of (P=0.003). There is association between background, risk perception and preparedness. Emergency preparedness is weak. Earthquake awareness needs to be re-enforced. There is a critical need for public education of earthquake preparedness. The authors recommend developing emergency response program for earthquakes, standard operating procedures for a national risk communication through all media including instant bulk messaging.

Jakarta flooding: systems study of socio-technical forces

This paper uses tools from systems thinking to address flood problems from multiple perspectives with a case study of flooding in Jakarta, Indonesia, which faces a daunting challenge due to its topography, climate, congested areas and inadequate infrastructure. While it cannot solve flood problems with structural measures alone, Jakarta can incorporate risk management into development strategies and policies, implement an effective early warning system and integrated emergency response programme as well as improve law enforcement; it can also work to develop a culture of resilience through collective strategies, greater public awareness and a flood management information system.

Spatio-temporal trend analysis of long-term development patterns (1900–2030) in a Southern Appalachian County

Many mountainous areas in the U.S. have experienced significant changes in residential development patterns over the past century, in large part due to changing economies and in-migration from outsiders seeking the scenic resources of these areas. To evaluate changes in the Southern Appalachian mountain region, we reconstructed building and road locations in Macon County, North Carolina, since 1906 from historic maps, aerial photographs, county parcel records and emergency response program data. We used these data to analyze growth trends using spatio-temporal classification and quantile regression analysis. We also forecast future development patterns through 2030 using a multi-step model incorporating population growth projections, extrapolations of recent development density trends, and spatial logistic regression models. We characterize new development in the county as primarily rural from 1906 to 1960, exurban from 1960 to 1975 and increasingly suburban since 1975. While the rate of population growth and new building construction peaked in the 1980s, the total road length and rate of development in forested areas continued to increase from 1990 to 2009. We forecast that through 2030 approximately 75% of new buildings will be constructed at urban and suburban densities and that 67% of all new buildings will be constructed in forested areas. In addition to establishing the utility of using spatial analysis to draw together disparate data sources to understand urbanization over long time scales, this analysis identifies trends that have important implications for land-use planning, hydrology, forest management, and wildlife conservation.

The Commanders Emergency Response Program in Afghanistan: Refining U.S. Military Capabilities in Stability and In-Conflict Development Activities

The U.S. military has become substantially engaged in the development and stabilization space and will likely continue to operate in this space for some time to come. Analyzing the Commanders Emergency Response Program in Afghanistan, we look at the scope and rationale for development related activities carried out by the U.S. military. Acknowledging that tensions have arisen between the development community and the U.S. military in Afghanistan, we discuss the scope for improving the U.S. military’s capabilities in carrying out development-related activities in in-conflict zones. Specifically, we propose five policy changes for the U.S. military - improving education and training for military officers, reforming authorities and doctrine, understanding the dominant sectors of the economy, monitoring outcomes, and increasing awareness of unintended consequences.

Red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus), an invasive pest recently found in the Caribbean that threatens the region

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, an important palm pest, was accidentally introduced into the Caribbean. A monitoring programme was established to determine the population level and distribution of infestations on Aruba and Curacao through the use of commercially available pheromone traps. Due to the small size of the islands and limited distribution of palms, eradication may be feasible using a combination of trapping, timely disposal of infested palms and curative and prophylactic chemical treatments. These studies on the pest in the Caribbean were used to help design a USDA plant health emergency response through the development of Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine New Pest Response Guidelines and provide an effective emergency response programme for other Caribbean Islands and the Americas.

Cost and benefits of a typical county’s emergency response program

Threats from natural disasters and terrorist attacks are real and are occurring ever closer to home. The State Homeland Security Program authorizes annual grants to supplement state and local response capabilities. Although county-level emergency management agencies have received grants to enhance response capabilities, analysis tools to strategically manage these new capabilities are still not in place. Through a combination of research, qualitative, and quantitative analysis, this study provides a broad view of the resource-based relationships between a typical Midwest county emergency management agency and its neighboring district counties, as well as other counties and districts within the state. A capabilities assessment and a life cycle cost analysis are also presented to demonstrate ways of valuing response equipment and the future costs associated with replacement, maintenance, and training.

Emergency response to the incursion of an exotic myrtaceous rust in Australia

In April 2010, an exotic rust of Myrtaceae was detected in New South Wales, Australia, identified as Uredo rangelii and provided a new common name, ‘myrtle rust’. It was declared an Exotic Plant Pest as it was recognised as a taxon within the Puccinia psidii (eucalyptus/guava rust) complex, which is a key biosecurity threat to Australia. This paper describes the emergency response that ensued, including surveillance, tracing, quarantine, destruction and community engagement. A unique aspect of this emergency response was the disjointed stages of action, with the response initially falling under national emergency management procedures (PLANTPLAN) for 1 week (Stage I), then outside the national process and under the state process for a further 2 months (Stage II), before falling again under the national emergency response program (Stage III). Problems associated with the identity of the introduced rust are discussed, and a brief update on the current status of the rust, now established in Australia, is provided, including distribution and impact in the native environment and affected industries. Major outcomes of recent reviews of the emergency response are outlined.

(A204) Importance of Emergency Response Program Organizations in Coping with the Increasing Risk of CBRN Events

IntroductionOne of the most prevalent issues identified by Emergency Response Program Organizations (ERPOs), is the inability to care for an overwhelming number of contaminated patients within a civilian community. Even when emergency responders successfully decontaminate and triage large numbers of patients at the scene, it is unlikely that neighboring hospitals are prepared and equipped to receive such a large amount of patients and treat them within the boundaries of the existing healthcare system. Thus, planners must avoid any collapse of the healthcare system and may need to redistribute existing resources to enhance and facilitate patient outcome. As a response to this issue, ERPOs should develop an alternative healthcare facility: the Off-Site Triage, Treatment and Transportation Center (Off-Site Center). This Center is a temporary patient clearinghouse to be disassembled once the flow of new patients has diminished to the point that they can be handled by the existing healthcare systems.MethodsThe Off-Site Center is intended to care for patients who have been triaged as “Minimal” at the scene, those patients who are worried that they might have been exposed to contamination, and those who self-refer to the Center.ResultsPlanners, administrators, first responders, medical professionals, and public health and emergency management personnel must evaluate the Concept of Operation for the Off-Site Center in order to increase their level of preparedness and provide effective mass-casualty care.ConclusionsIn this report, some general guidelines will be provided for the efficient planning and management of an Off-Site Center. A practical example will be also illustrated: a case study in Bergamo during a May 2010 National Meeting of the Italian Association of Alps Infantry Troops.

(A169) Strategic National Stockpile: American Preparedness to a Domestic Biological Attack

This session offers an overview of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI), including CHEM PACK. Managed by the US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “push-packs” of this critical federal cache of pharmaceuticals and medical materiel are at sites located throughout the country. The CDC's CRI is a federally funded program designed to compliment the SNS and enhance preparedness in the nation's largest cities and Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) where more than 50% of the US population resides. Through CRI, state and large metropolitan public health departments continue refining plans to respond to a large-scale bioterrorism attack by dispensing antibiotics to the entire population of an identified MSA with 48 hours. The SNS Technical Assistance Review (TAR) will be reviewed, as well as best practices and lessons learned from successful public health emergency preparedness and response programs throughout the US.

The New Worst‐Case Scenario

In his column, AWWA Executive Director David LaFrance describes the March 2011 combined earthquake/tsunami/nuclear power plant radiation leak disaster in Japan as the new worst‐case scenario, which demonstrates the importance of utilities planning emergency response programs. LaFrance had recently returned from meeting with the Japan Water Works Association (JWWA) in Japan in February, and heard via email the day of the disaster that his JWWA colleagues were trying to communicate with and support the Japanese water supply utilities that suffered damages. He describes two AWWA‐sponsored programs created to unite the water industry in protecting public health: the Water/ Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN), a voluntary mutual aid and assistance network of utilities that respond to emergencies in which other water/wastewater utilities have sustained damages; and, the ANSI/ ASME‐ITI/AWWA J100‐10 Risk Analysis and Management for Critical Asset Protection (RAMCAP#174) Standard for Risk and Resilience Management of Water and Wastewater Systems.

Physical and mental health status of soldiers responding to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

While internationally major disasters occur frequently, for any one country they are unusual events. In this project we aimed to identify public health issues arising from the physical and mental health symptoms suffered by the soldier volunteers deployed in an emergency relief task during the Wenchuan earthquake. Health problems identified in other emergency volunteer populations guided the development of a questionnaire. A cohort of 1,187 soldier volunteers completed the questionnaire, which measured physical and mental health symptoms during their rescue mission. The results were compared with a population norm of soldiers, although baseline data of the respondents were unavailable. Half the respondents reported suffering from skin and mucous membrane problems, followed by respiratory symptoms (38%), digestive (29%) and nervous (22%) symptoms. Despite a low response rate (53%) to the mental health component, nearly half (49%) of those who did respond reported mental health problems. The incidence of the above symptoms were significantly higher than the general soldier population. Health complaints were common in the soldiers, who had not received any formal training in rescue operations. Non-professional rescue workers who are not appropriately prepared for the role may suffer more than their professional counterparts. Attention needs to be paid to the health and safety of non-professional rescue workers, which has been ignored in most disaster management plans. These findings can be used to enhance the understanding of emergency response programs within and outside China, where this particular disaster occurred.

Chevron's Success with Planning an Overseas Tier 3 Exercise (January 10, 2011)

ABSTRACT Conducting a realistic spill response exercise that truly tests all three tiers of a company's emergency response program while, at the same time, working within practical constraints can be quite a challenge. Conducting a successful major exercise, though, can also be very beneficial as it will reinforce strengths and identify opportunities for enhancing the company's emergency response process and capabilities. Chevron utilizes industry best practice of tiered response and maintains well trained Tier 2 and Tier 3 emergency response teams. These teams include the Tier 2 Regional Response Teams and the Tier 3 Worldwide Emergency Response Team and Functional Teams. Chevron periodically develops and conducts Tier 2 and Tier 3 training and exercise programs at overseas locations to test these teams' preparedness. In recent years these training and exercise programs were conducted in Indonesia, Malaysia, Honduras, Panama, Kuwait, Brazil, Grenada, Colombia, and the United Kingdom. In 2009, Chevron dev...

An aggregative fuzzy risk analysis for flood incident management

Mitigation of loss or damage is the prime focus in flood incident management (FIM). Emergency response program, a key element in flood incident management can fail in multiple ways; however it can be mainly attributed to failure of infrastructure and/or failure of human institutions. Characterization and quantification of various risk factors in emergency response is a difficult task because responses to floods are complex and dynamic in nature. For these reasons, high level of uncertainties are inherent in the estimation of risk associated with the emergency response and may warrant the usage of a quantitative–qualitative risk assessment framework. In this paper, a multi-stage hierarchical model is developed to estimate the aggregative risk associated with the failure of emergency response system in case of flood. Each risk item is defined by the product of the likelihood of a failure event and associated consequences. Both likelihood and the consequences of a failure event are defined using fuzzy numbers to capture vagueness in the concept of relevant risk factors. An analytic hierarchy process is used for estimating the priority matrix (weights) for grouping risk attributes. Utility of a proposed model is demonstrated through a simplified risk hierarchy representing emergency response system failure of a FIM.

Contributing to Haiti’s Recovery through Cultural Emergency Response

The world was shocked by the terrible earthquake that hit Haiti on 12 January 2010 and by the subsequent humanitarian needs. The Prince Claus Fund immediately contacted its network in Haiti and was astonished by the courage and strength of the people dealing with this terrible situation. Signs of resilience arose from amid the rubble, and stories of hope and survival fed people’s readiness to fight. Bolstered by their religion and culture, people in Haiti are still facing challenges every day, challenges they face with pride. In order to support the people in Haiti, the Prince Claus Fund has put its Cultural Emergency Response programme into action.