Special Event Readiness Levels

According to http://www.ready.gov/business/implementation/emergency explains the steps that need to be taken and the importance of an emergency plan. “When an emergency occurs, the first priority is always life safety. The second priority is the stabilization of

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.

The four phases of a disaster plan will consist of Preparedness Efforts, Mitigation Measures, Response Phase, and the Recovery Function. This is where I will describe each part in its own section of this essay.

The four phases of the emergency management cycle are Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. Mitigation is the process of reducing the occurrence, minimizing impact of the event, and preventing an event from occurring. Mitigation steps can happen before and after an event.

According to Jack Herrmann is Asst. Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester School of Medicine “Disaster management is the preparation for, response to, and recovery from disaster. While there are different understandings of Disaster Management, it is generally viewed as a cycle with the following five key phases:

The terrorist attack on the United States on September 11th, 2001, exposed the country's preparedness to threats by an emerging threat of terrorism. The United States Department of Homeland Security was brought to life through the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Precisely, this was in response to the country's preparedness to stop such acts of terrorism on American soil. However, it was also mandated to response to such natural disasters such as hurricane as part of a wider responsibility to ensure people within the American borders were secured from all forms of danger (Kamien, 2006).

Risk management is a process for identifying, assessing and prioritizing risks of different kinds. Once the risks are identified, the risk manager will create a plan to minimize or eliminate the impact of negative events. A variety of strategies is available, depending on the type of risk and the type of business. There are a number of risk management standards including those developed by the Project Management Institute the International Organization for Standardization the National Institute of Science and Technology and actuarial societies. Organizations uses different strategies in proper management of future events such as risk assumption, risk avoidance,

Under the Constitution of the United States has mandated the government to protect the United States of America from any threat, foreign and domestic. The government must deter and prevent attacks on our homeland and as well as deter and threats from potentially occurring. Following 9/11, the Department of Defense has been entrusted with the role in the management of risks facing the United Sates.

While we do not have historical record of all of the natural hazards that have impacted the United States, we do know that for multitudes of years, the United States has been hit by many natural hazards – hurricane, tornado, drought, wildfire, flood and earthquake, to name a few. As each of these natural hazards occur, multiple issues arise – relative to the core components of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Yet, even with prior knowledge from years past and the destructive events that have occurred, we as a nation continue to struggle with natural hazards that more often than not become natural disasters. For too long it seems as if we have settled in to a rhythm of responding, attempting to recover, rebuilding and then repeating the cycle as another natural hazard strikes.

Mitigation: The avoidance of, lessening, or compensation for anticipated harmful effects of an action, especially with respect to the natural environment.

Preparedness awareness will cover guidelines regarding family and community planning with floods, wildfire, hurricanes and power outages. DCHHS encourages each family to initiate a preparedness plan to ensure each person knows what to do in an emergency. Families should discuss where each person will stay if the family separated, posting emergency telephone numbers, delegate family members for certain task such, disconnecting utility services, and learning first aid or CPR. Families should also communicate with neighbors and plan how to work together in the event of a disaster.

Within this department, there was a color-coded threat system known as the Homeland Security Advisory System. There was red for severe risk of terrorist attacks, orange for high risk of terrorist attacks, yellow for significant risk of terrorist attacks, blue for general risk of terrorist attacks, and green for low risk of terrorist attacks (Homeland Security News, 2011). This system is being replaced by the National Terrorism Advisory System, which will more effectively communicate information about terrorist threats by providing timely, detailed

Disaster Management Operation Cycle. Purpose of ‘Disaster Management Cycle’ is to ensure pre and post disaster measures. Phases of ‘Disaster Management Cycle’ normally overlap and their length depends on magnitude of disaster[5]:-

Every emergency or disaster, from a small house fire to a hurricane that devastates entire communities, have a distinct cycle. This is

Risk for disasters is a part of life; emergency situations occur more frequently than many people believe. A wise person plans for the worse, and hopes for the best. After a disaster, how well a community can recover will depend largely on how well they prepared in advance. Risk management includes identifying any potential risks to a community and proactively planning to minimize the threat. Proactive organization of resources and people to respond to emergencies can mean the difference between a community’s ability to regroup and recover, and the loss of life. To better