5 9 L O C A L G O V E R N M E N T Integrating Emergency and Disaster Planning A critical point that is often over- looked in emergency management is that an emergency does not begin or end with the incident itself. How a community responds and recovers from a disaster depends on proper planning, preparation, and integration of all facets of government and of emer- gency response into our emergency operations plans (EOPs). When we think of how a city might respond to an emergency, we often focus on firefighters, medics, and police. They are all an important part of emergency response, but they are only a part. Just as criti- cal are public works, community services, finance, and administra- tion. An integrated plan must include all aspects of government and how those aspects interrelate. As we saw with Hurricane Katrina, the disaster itself is only a small part of an emergency. The logistics of how you evacuate citizens, how you support their needs, and how you keep track of those citizens and their needs are critical. How services are restored, temporary shelter is supplied, and everything is funded must be planned for. An integrated plan must also include citizen preparedness, continuity of government (COG), and continuity of operations (COOP). It should be coordinated with other local plans as well as with regional and state plans. It should encompass part- nering with nongovernmental agencies (NGOs) and preposi- tioned contracts. It must consider planning for citizens and animals. It must embrace public facilities, critical records, and possible relo- cation. It is also critical that in developing this plan, elected offi- cials have a clear understanding of how all the parts fit together. Elected officials, especially those from small communities (where they are often employed part– time), have myriad issues to face every day. But one fact remains: during a disaster, who are the citi- zens going to look to for answers? It is the duty of elected officials to have a clear understanding of how the community will respond. It is also critical to understand the process that emergency operations plans present in order to work smoothly with the EOP and not create additional problems. During a disaster, we elected offi- cials still have a critical role to play, but we are not necessarily going to be the ones in charge. Emergency management is not an area where we can afford to let egos get in the way. A valuable resource we all have in our communities is citizens who want to help. However, if untrained, these well-meaning citizens can compound problems and make an emergency even more critical and dangerous. Rather than take a pass on using these volunteers, offering citizen-based training should be a focus in the preparation portion of a plan. Community Emergency Re- sponse Training (CERT), Map your Neighborhood (MYN), neighborhood emergency teams, and many othe.

1. 5 9
L O C A L G O V E R N M E N T
Integrating Emergency and Disaster Planning
A critical point that is often over-
looked in emergency management
is that an emergency does not
begin or end with the incident
itself. How a community responds
and recovers from a disaster
depends on proper planning,
preparation, and integration of all
facets of government and of emer-
gency response into our emergency
operations plans (EOPs).
When we think of how a city might
respond to an emergency, we often

2. focus on firefighters, medics, and
police. They are all an important
part of emergency response, but
they are only a part. Just as criti-
cal are public works, community
services, finance, and administra-
tion. An integrated plan must
include all aspects of government
and how those aspects interrelate.
As we saw with Hurricane Katrina,
the disaster itself is only a small
part of an emergency. The logistics
of how you evacuate citizens, how
you support their needs, and how
you keep track of those citizens
and their needs are critical. How
services are restored, temporary
shelter is supplied, and everything

3. is funded must be planned for. An
integrated plan must also include
citizen preparedness, continuity of
government (COG), and continuity
of operations (COOP). It should be
coordinated with other local plans
as well as with regional and state
plans. It should encompass part-
nering with nongovernmental
agencies (NGOs) and preposi-
tioned contracts. It must consider
planning for citizens and animals.
It must embrace public facilities,
critical records, and possible relo-
cation. It is also critical that in
developing this plan, elected offi-
cials have a clear understanding of
how all the parts fit together.

4. Elected officials, especially those
from small communities (where
they are often employed part–
time), have myriad issues to face
every day. But one fact remains:
during a disaster, who are the citi-
zens going to look to for answers?
It is the duty of elected officials to
have a clear understanding of how
the community will respond. It is
also critical to understand the
process that emergency operations
plans present in order to work
smoothly with the EOP and not
create additional problems.
During a disaster, we elected offi-
cials still have a critical role to
play, but we are not necessarily

5. going to be the ones in charge.
Emergency management is not an
area where we can afford to let
egos get in the way.
A valuable resource we all have in
our communities is citizens who
want to help. However, if untrained,
these well-meaning citizens can
compound problems and make an
emergency even more critical and
dangerous. Rather than take a pass
on using these volunteers, offering
citizen-based training should be a
focus in the preparation portion of a
plan. Community Emergency Re-
sponse Training (CERT), Map your
Neighborhood (MYN), neighborhood
emergency teams, and many other

6. national, state, and local programs
around this country all help train
citizens to be a valuable resource.
Most important, this training also
educates citizens to be better pre-
pared, lessening their demands on
a local response. By incorporating
these citizen programs into our inte-
grated emergency plans, we will
already know how these resources
can be used and deployed. With
additional training, many of these
citizens can play key roles in the
mitigation, recovery, and restoration
portions of your plan.
B Y R I C H A R D H I L D R E T H
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w w w. i n t e r s c i e n c e . w i l e y. c o m )

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The Incident Command System
(ICS) must be the unifying thread
throughout your emergency plan-
ning. From how citizens are used
during the phases of an emergency
to restoring normal activities, ICS
plays a key role in coordination of
efforts. The ICS is the foundation
for an effective all-risk emergency
planning and response capability
to any critical incident and may be
expanded or contracted as re-
quired to meet the needs of any
situation, regardless of the magni-
tude of the disaster. It fosters con-

8. sistency in how team members
and agencies function in an emer-
gency. In layman’s terms, it places
everyone on the same page. ICS
also contributes common terminol-
ogy, modular organization, inte-
grated communications, manage-
able span of control, and manage-
ment of resources. ICS has five
main areas that are expanded or
contracted as needed: command,
operations, logistics, planning,
and finance and administra-
tion. As the core of an integrated
emergency plan, ICS promotes
smoother operations when an
emergency or disaster occurs.
Many EOPs are already “all-risk

9. and hazards.” So I will not go into
detail here, other than to point out
that as with a number of types of
emergency, the recovery and
restoration portions of your plan
must be flexible and adaptable to
meet the needs of the emergency
you are facing. Each community
should conduct a risk assessment
to see what hazards are likely and
how those hazards might cascade
into larger events.
Following hurricanes Katrina and
Rita, the federal government
issued a requirement that all juris-
dictions include provisions for ani-
mals and livestock in their
emergency plans. During Katrina,

10. many victims refused to evacuate
without their pets and later suf-
fered additional problems as flood
waters rose. For health and safety
reasons, shelters barred admission
of animals and even limited the
access of service animals. This
often had a profound impact on
the emotional well-being of sur-
vivors of a disaster. Reasonable
accommodations should be in-
cluded in any emergency plan.
Because 60 percent of pet owners
consider their cat or dog to be part
of the family, exclusion of that ani-
mal could almost be as traumatic
as loss of a child. Would you
endorse a disaster plan that in-

11. cluded leaving a child to fend for
herself in a flood?
If your community was hit with a
massive flood and you had to relo-
cate city hall, what would your
plans be for records retention and
COOP? Do you have a written COG
plan that includes prepared letters
of succession and adopted policies
and procedures? Who issues the
declaration of emergency and acti-
vates the EOP? All of these issues
must be addressed.
Finally, in a fully integrated EOP
all four facets of emergency man-
agement are considered. In the
planning facet, you need to take a
realistic look at what assets you

12. have, how to better develop those
assets, and how they might be
used during an emergency. In the
response facet, it is critical that
everyone understand the EOP and
their role in it. Everyone must be
working out of the same playbook.
In the recovery facet, who per-
forms which tasks, and should you
look at using prepositioned con-
tracts to provide some services?
Does your plan address language
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Just as critical as firefight-
ers, medics, and police in
emergency response are
public works, community
services, finance, and
administration. An inte-
grated plan must include
all aspects of government

13. and how those aspects
interrelate.
6 1
to avoid conflict with labor agree-
ments? How can we incorporate
planning for disasters into the mit-
igation of risk facet and build more
disaster-resistant communities?
With today’s political realities, it is
critical that proper planning for
emergencies be done. Luckily, we
also have myriad resources avail-
able, including grants and training
through FEMA and DHS. Many
states have additional resources
such as risk assessment and tem-
plates of emergency operations
plans. It is up to us as leaders in

14. our communities to bring these
resources together. This is how we
can impart leadership for disaster
recovery.
Richard Hildreth is mayor of Pacific,
Washington, and an instructor in citi-
zen-based emergency preparation and
education programs.
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