Emergency Communication Policy: Draper City Emergency

Hurricane Katrina has destroyed several of the core communications infrastructure in the area. The storm made it harder for 911 emergency call centers which disturb local emergency services. A great majority of people lost phone service, broadcast communications were also affected. Even through state, federal and/or local agencies had communications plans in place, the plans were not enough to respond efficiently to the storm. The available communications were not fully utilized due to the fact that there was no national or state wide communications plans to incorporate them. The local, state, federal governments haven’t really completed an extensive strategy to improve operability and telecommunications for emergency responders. The Department of Homeland Security should come up with an emergency communications strategy if a disaster like Hurricane Katrina would happen again.

The chapters (5-7) of Timothy Sellnow and Matthew Seeger’s book, Theorizing Crisis Communication, discusses the theories of communication (or human nature) in relation to emergency response as well as the strengths and weaknesses of different theories. In their writings, the assumptions that guide the emergency response approaches to communications are stuck in the basic problem of communication during a crisis to elicit the wanted response. If the emergency manager was not to be able to persuade the public to take specific actions to minimize harm, such as evacuating an area due to potential flooding/fires/fallout from an accidental man-made disaster, the casualty/fatality count would go up exponentially. By utilizing all forms of available communication, radio, television, landline and cellular phones, ham radios, etc., to reach and persuade the public can be overwhelming involving “consideration of audience characteristics, available channels and the larger social and crisis context” to facilitate the natural responses by haring important information throughout the planning, mitigation, response, and rebuilding. (Sellnow & Seeger 2013, 107-108).

Tragic events that cause damage to property and life may destroy the social, cultural and economic life of a community. Communities must be engaged in the various phases from prevention to recovery to build disaster resilient communities. In order to do this, there must be a disaster preparedness plan in place that involves multiple people in various roles.

An emergency operations plan for the community in which we live is a document of great importance to each of us whether we know it or not. This paper examines the emergency action plan for Knoxville, Tennessee. In the course of the examination, it will compare and analyze the plan for Knoxville with the standards set forth in the textbook for this course along with other recognized sources in the field of emergency management.

Local protective measure planning equips first responders with the knowledge needed to organize efficient response results in the event of an emergency. Structured open dialogue between local emergency jurisdictions enables responders to delegate the appropriate individuals and equipment resources to the impacted local areas requiring the most aid following a terror event. By establishing a streamlined communication framework, local emergency responders can collaborate their efforts and resources to promote collective well-being. When a local emergency plan specifies what responders and resources belong where and at what time, response overlap and shortages can be avoided. Unionized response action established prior to a terrorist incident, serves to mitigate the risks, hazards and threat of injury or harm the people and property of the US face when a terrorism event occurs. Furthermore, a structured local emergency operations plan for a hazardous materials incident involving a terrorist is imperative to public health and safety, as the blueprint outlines protective measures the public can follow to minimize their exposure to dangerous substances. The people of a community affected by a terror event can be warned and notified of the event’s associated dangerous materials, which threaten their well-being, through a variety of methods such as warning sirens or horns, emergency alert systems, automated

Supplies could be needed in one area, but without communication that area might not be able to reach out for those supplies. Communication amongst first responders is important for information sharing, so that information can flow between different jurisdictions and agencies. When looking at the efforts of first responders, communication is the one constant variable, which without communication all efforts would be in vain. (Newman & Clarke, 2008) The National Incident Management System (NIMS) places an emphasis on the importance of communication when dealing with response efforts. The National Incident Management System shows how having a unified command systems can benefit the response efforts to disaster. However, without proper and efficient communication, a unified command system cannot proceed efficiently.

Timely and accurate information is essential during a terrorist attack and a natural disaster. Therefore, the government must inform the public of all events. However, officials need to be mindful of the information that is released could expose intelligence in an ongoing investigation and put lives at risk. Crisis communication is a fine line of keeping the public informed and placing them harms

The attacks of 9/11 in 2001 shed a light on many different weaknesses relevant to the security of the United States regarding communication, and disaster response. On every level of government— federal, state, and local— substandard communication methods contributed to the deaths of nearly 3000 people, as well as the growing number of people dying from illnesses that resulted from participating in the cleanup at Ground Zero. There were many communication challenges faced by agencies tasked with responding to the incident, and particularly in the case of law enforcement, these problems likely resulted in more fatalities than would have occurred had better systems been in place. This paper will discuss the communication problems that

Communication is also very critical in the case of a catastrophic event. Thus, the first respondent need to be a good communicator for communication is an essential part in response to a catastrophic event (Pope, 2005). It is also the responsibility of the first respondent to have a practical plan to implement in case an emergency erupted following the catastrophic event. The aftermath of a catastrophic event is highly unpredictable and emergencies cannot be overlooked. It is, therefore, the

The Wake Forest Emergency Communications Plan (WFECP) is intended to provide information, strategies and 24-hour radio, telephone, and internet capabilities in the event of a disastrous situation. The WFECP provides clear and concise information as to what types of communication equipment is available, leadership and agency roles and alternative equipment that will be used if primary equipment is overburdened or destroyed. This plan also serves in cooperation with the North Carolina Emergency Communications Plan (ESF-2), and the FEMA’s National Emergency Communications Plan. Properly planned, established, and applied communications enable the dissemination of information among command and support elements and, as appropriate,

Each disaster response should start at the local or state level, and then depending on the magnitude it may grow to the response level only the federal government can provide. The initial response to an emergency by the state should deal with the emergency needs of the public. The State’s responsibility will be to focus around control of communication procedures; warning of the upcoming emergency if possible, providing public information, any information regarding evacuations and shelter (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1996). Beyond controlling communication, the state will also be responsible to alert and dispatch the required emergency response teams to engage in protection of people and their property, and if needed a request for aid from the Federal Government (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 1996).

Why is it necessary for our country to have an effective emergency plan in place? Why does it matter how the country responds to emergencies when every part of our country, including cities and states, face emergency situations on a daily basis all over? Some are bad to worse, and some horrific to deadly. Well, this paper explains the importance of the National Response Plan and why it is necessary for our country to have it in place. It explores several articles that have been published to show the results on the effectiveness and response of the National Response Plan.

The burden of emergency management has grown great deal in the last few decades. We have seen an increase in natural disasters, a new threat of terrorism on our front door and an increase in manmade disasters. All of these have tested emergency management in a number of cities and towns across the nation. It is not always disasters that present problems for emergency managers. We have to look beyond our traditional view of emergency management of helping us during times of disasters and view what issues they consider may affect their emergency response. Issues that emergency management see that are moving into the critical area are issues of urbanization and hazard exposure, the rising costs of disaster recovery, and low priority of emergency management.

Communication is widely regarded as one of the most essential elements in successfully managing an emergency situation. The dissemination of information, which is both timely as well as accurate, to the parties concerned goes a long way to lend a hand in ensuring that the recovery activities in an emergency situation, together with its management takes place effectively. For that reason, five critical assumptions are used to provide the basis of disaster management strategy.

However, non-emergency calls by residents have led to jamming of the system. As alternatives to reduce non-emergency calls, both charging for the calls and hiring more operators are viable. However, formulating an educational campaign to teach the residents on what constitutes and does not constitute an emergency call is the most effective solution.