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Since the establishment of the Incident Command System (ICS), many discussions have centered on its design, using the failure or success of disaster response to evaluate the effectiveness of this system. However, even prior to implementation, there are certain pre-conditions that must be first satisfied by responders. Two major factors underlying these pre-conditions, that strongly influence the eventual design and consequent functioning of the ICS, are pre-disaster established trust and relationships. This research utilizes qualitative methods to explore the importance of pre-disaster established trust and relationships in the implementation of the ICS. Twenty-eight in-depth qualitative interviews were completed and analyzed. From looking at how ICS users make a variety of different decisions regarding the establishment of the incident command, the setting up of overall response goals and objectives, the implementation of the Incident Action Plan, the selection of new ICS leaders, and the working arrangements made with volunteers, it can be observed that relationship and trust are two very important factors that dictate the successful implementation of the ICS. Based on this analysis, three conclusions could be drawn in this research: (1) any thorough evaluation of the ICS should also include an analysis of any existing pre-conditions, (2) future ICS training should cover strategies to build relationships and trust between response organizations, and (3) additional research should be conducted to understand other factors that influence the implementation of the ICS at scene of disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on household disaster preparedness in New York City (NYC) prior to Superstorm Sandy occurrence on October 25, 2012. The purpose of our analysis is to explain the level and patterns of disaster preparedness before a relatively rare natural disaster event occurred and to investigate the factors that influenced the capacity of NYC households to prepare for emergencies and disasters. A random telephone (RDD) survey comprised of 2001 NYC residents across all five boroughs was conducted by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and completed before Sandy struck the City. These data were explored using frequencies, cross-tabs, and factor analysis to build a path model of household disaster preparedness. Findings indicate that household disaster preparedness levels in NYC are high, especially regarding the acquisition of emergency supplies and communication resources. A trust in local government and assistance from one's social network are the strongest predictors of general household preparedness. Exogenous variables in our model – low income households and those with functional and access needs residents – will be more vulnerable during an actual disaster since they are less able to access communication technologies to search for self-protective disaster information and to communicate their needs during an emergency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores adaptive capacities in infrastructure preparedness planning from a resilience approach using the bridge between Denmark and Sweden as a case. First, a theoretical framework anchors adaptive capacity in a more general resilience discourse focusing on flexibility and adaptive capacity with emphasis on citizens' ability to interpret information and adjust their behaviour without prior planning and training or instructions. Then, findings from a small qualitative study (n = 45) of the perception of commuters and travellers of the responsibilities and contingencies involved in potential long‐term disruptions of the Øresund Bridge are discussed. The most important suggested recommendation for authorities and infrastructure owners is simply to remind users that an infrastructure is not a given—in other words, to ask travellers whether “they have a Plan B,” thereby prompting citizens to contemplate their dependency on infrastructure and prepare for a disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to optimize the timeliness and pertinence of message delivery in emergency rescue scenarios and improve the service performance of emergency communications network, we propose a location-assistant content distribution scheme based on delay tolerant network. First of all, considering that the movement patterns of rescue teams tend to follow a predetermined course of action, we design a location-based group mobility model. Due to the intermittent network connectivity and variety of emergency service, a content-classification-based publish/subscribe architecture and a GenericSpray routing algorithm based on the prediction of overlap opportunity in spatio-temporal positions are proposed. Furthermore, we also give a cache management strategy based on the content significance. Since locationassistant content distribution scheme can predict the overlap of activity between rescue teams through the course of action, not only can the number of copy forwarding and message delivery delays be significantly reduced but also the priority delivery of important messages can be ensured by message classification. Simulation experiments show that compared with the traditional delay tolerant network routing algorithm and the classic first-in-first-out caching strategy, location-assistant content distribution scheme improves the performance of message delivery rate, transmission delay, and control overhead significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a recent increase in the body of knowledge related to children and disasters. These studies converge into three main fields of research: the impact of disasters on children and their psychological recovery, the integration of disaster risk reduction (DRR) into the education sectors and children’s participation in DRR. This article provides a literature review of the two latter fields of research where the focus is on reducing disaster losses and building resilience prior to a disaster. Overall, 48 studies are critically reviewed and compared in relation to the strengths and weaknesses of their aims, methods, locations of research, impact, and outcomes. The review identified a number of differences between the two fields and significant opportunities for linking the two approaches, sharing lessons and knowledge. Based on the review, recommendations for further research are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of risk perception and sense of place on disaster preparedness have been widely reported. However, most studies have only demonstrated weak relationships and it is unknown whether these are applicable to China. This study investigated such relationships in hazard-threatened areas of the Three Gorges Reservoir area in southwestern China. Data were collected from 348 farming households in landslide-prone areas. Binary logistic and Tobit regression models were constructed to determine whether risk perception and sense of place influence landslide preparedness. The results show that: (1) Farming households' awareness of the need to prepare for disasters was relatively low, and disaster preparedness behaviors were mainly based on self-learning. Among the 348 sampled households, 67% exhibited no disaster preparedness behavior, and only 2% adopted four of the five types of disaster preparedness behaviors. About a quarter of farming households consciously learned disaster-related knowledge. (2) Risk perception and sense of place had important influences on disaster preparedness. Respondents who received higher scores on the perception of the probability of a landslide, the threat of a landslide, and the place dependence variables were more likely to adopt a greater number of disaster preparedness behaviors. Respondents with higher scores on the perception of controllability in the case of a landslide were less likely to adopt a greater number of disaster preparedness behaviors. Additionally, individual and household socioeconomic characteristics--education, loss, distance from hazard site, information acquisition channel, and housing material--were all related to household disaster preparedness behavior. This study contributes to the current literature by improving the understanding of the relationships of risk perception and sense of place to disaster preparedness in farming households threatened by geological disasters in southwestern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated defense against earthquake disaster is an urgent problem. In this paper, the basic principle of urban multi-lines for seismic defense was proposed. The basic theory of defense periphery for urban earthquake disaster was established. The exchange rate between periphery groups was regard as control variable, and the Lotka-Volterra model was introduced into defense periphery system. The evolution model of urban multi-lines for earthquake disaster defense was set up, which explained the competition and collaboration dynamic mechanism of urban multi-lines for seismic defense. The order parameters of multi-lines defense system were selected according to synergy principle. The co-evolution measurement model of urban multi-lines for defensing earthquake was established, and it was applied to Nantong city earthquake disaster integrated defense system. The result shows that competition alienation characteristics of defense system arise, and system coordination degree is reduced to 0.62. The system is restored to the previous level of coordination degree, and it is developing towards coordinated direction by adjusting the input proportion of multi-lines for seismic defense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent natural or man-made disasters have reminded the government to prepare an efficient evacuation plan in advance to cope with extreme threats, especially for urban area with high density of population. In view of this, many approaches have been proposed from different viewpoints, but limitations of them always exist more or less. Instead of presenting a new approach, we expand an existing staged evacuation algorithm for one exit to solve evacuation problems with multiple exits in this paper. The principle is to assign evacuees to different exits to translate a multi-exit problem to several single-exit problems. The objective is to balance traffic flow among exits and reduce the total clearance time, and thus a series of allocation and optimisation strategies are proposed to approach it. Experiments validate the proposed methods, and a simulation program is also developed to visually examine their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural hazard mitigation is a recent field in name only. For decades various professionals have been practicing hazard mitigation: for example, emergency managers have been working with architects and city planners to update building codes for disaster-resistant construction, civil engineers have been working with local officials to design flood-resistant urban drainage systems, and foresters have been working with state officials to enact more effective prescribed burning practices. Yet most often, natural hazard mitigation has taken place as isolated activities scattered within the daily duties of diverse professions - an accidentally cross-disciplinary effort recognized as vitally important to protect individuals and communities, yet not recognized as its own multidisciplinary field. The crucial importance of natural hazard mitigation requires a more coherent approach, with consistent and accessible technical information and training, formal and informal discourse among hazard mitigation professionals, interaction with a greater public awareness of the social components, and recognition of hazard mitigation as a profession in its own right. Simultaneously, hazard mitigation professionals need to strengthen their multidisciplinary tendencies and continue to collaborate with other key fields, such as public health and the various sciences. Today many professionals are starting to bridge the gaps between disaster risk reduction, hazard mitigation, and climate adaptation. This article discusses the benefits of emergency management professionals working with others in community partnerships to achieve resilience [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a brief history and overview of FEMA's Higher Education Program and the role it has taken in shaping the emergency management higher education community and the field of emergency management; details the process undertaken to arrive at the most recent effort focused on curriculum outcomes and introduces the substance of that effort; and, suggests next steps in the forward movement of emergency management higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

John Odermatt has been the Commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management and Executive Officer of the NYC Police Department’s Intelligence Division. He is currently the Global Director of Business Continuity for Citigroup, Inc. Since 9/11, large numbers of managers have been added to the field of emergency management; however there is still a dearth of leaders. Leadership is not a course to be taken. It is a quality of character. John Odermatt embodies both management and leadership. It was an honor and a pleasure to talk with Mr. Odermatt in his office in New York in mid-June 2011. This article is a summary of the salient points from that conversation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article takes a closer look at the United States’ domestic preparedness program. Beginning in the mid-1990s, the domestic preparedness program has served as the United States’ disaster response and management option in the case of a biological or chemical weapons attack. In its early years, the program focused solely on chemical weapons, but eventually expanded to cover the threat of biological weapons as well. The program, however, is fragmented, leaving authority in the hands of over a dozen different agencies. This leaves the authorities, capabilities, and resources needed to effectively implement the program divided across multiple bureaucracies. In addition, the program is essentially made up of a series of legislative initiatives, causing it to be desperately uncoordinated. Given this organizational fragmentation, we ask: does the domestic preparedness program really prepare the United States for a biological weapons attack? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States has invested significant resources toward creating a surveillance capability that can detect emerging diseases or acts of bioterrorism. While this is a timely pursuit — the WHO states new diseases are being detected at an unprecedented rate — the effort remains disjointed and oriented toward "high-tech" solutions, often at the expense of potentially readily apparent solutions. This article examines extant surveillance efforts and proposes that a more mundane approach to biosurveillance may actually be more productive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the ramifications of Israel's nationwide emergency exercise on May 23-27, 2010. According to the author, the exercise aimed to improve Israel's preparedness and response to emergencies at the national and system-wide levels based on joint operation in a war scenario. The author reports that 35 local governments were directly involved in the exercise with government ministries being required to assist them in the supply of critical services for civilians in an emergency.

The author compares the characteristics of emergency preparedness activities with those of mythology. The author claims emergency preparedness exercises create worst-case scenarios as this helps emergency services and all those who respond to incidents of this nature to prepare for similar events of smaller scale, which are more likely to occur, as well as for worst case scenario. She mentions exercises like Osiris, Kali and Demeter, which use the ancient names of deities and other mythological or legendary beings.

Disasters, whether man-made or naturally occurring, require complex responses across multiple government agencies and private sector elements, including the media. These factors mandate that, for effective disaster management and because of the unpredictability of such events, response structures must be in place in advance, ready to be activated on short notice, with lines of responsibility clearly delineated and mechanisms for coordination of efforts already established. Disaster response experiences in the USA and the UK were reviewed at a conference convened by the New York Academy of Medicine and the Royal Society of Medicine in June 2007. Lessons to be drawn from these comparisons were sought. The importance of careful advance planning, clear delineation of spheres of responsibility and response roles, effective mechanisms for communication at all levels, and provision for adequate communication with the public were all identified as key elements of effective response mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers tips on creating disaster preparedness program. It mentions the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) move to use Zombie Apocalypse to explain the importance of disaster preparedness. Ways to create such programs include looking for partners, gathering enough information, and planning.

In recent years many emergency situations show that in our country it is also necessary to undertake various actions on prevention of emergency situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]