Thailand floods ics report 2011

1. 2011 THAILAND FLOODS: INCIDENT COMMAND
SYSTEMS TRIP REPORT
Summary
The magnitude of the historic 2011 floods in Thailand would strain the resources and capabilities of
any government, and the new Royal Thai Government (RTG) struggled to effectively and efficiently
manage the crisis. Within the RTG, however, a 30-member cadre of trained professionals exists—
mostly from the Department of Disaster Prevention
and Mitigation (DDPM)—who are ready to train
What is ICS?
other responders in U.S. National Incident
Management Systems (NIMS) and Incident Command
Systems (ICS) principles and processes. When fully
incorporated and integrated, NIMS and ICS practices
should help ensure a unified effort among all levels of
the public and private sectors for effective and
efficient response and recovery operations.
Overview and Background
From October 20 to November 4, Dennis Orbus
traveled to Thailand to assist the U.S. Forest Service
(USFS) and USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster
Assistance (USAID/OFDA) as a disaster management
and ICS technical specialist. Utilizing his previous
experience working in Thailand and during disaster
responses such as Hurricane Katrina in the U.S.,
Dennis was tasked with providing information on
whether leadership had incorporated NIMS and ICS
practices, procedures, and processes taught in
workshops conducted for the RTG in previous years
into the floods response.
Dennis was welcomed to the Flood Relief
Operations Center (FROC) by the Ministry of
Information, Communication, and Technology and
given work space and access to operations. Dennis
also worked with associates at the DDPM, including
officials that had attended previous NIMS and ICS
workshops in Thailand in March 2011. During the
visit, Dennis was able to observe operations at
several levels, utilizing personal interviews as the
main method for gathering information.
ISC is a pre-defined chain of command that is
designed to provide a common framework within
which response agencies can work together
effectively. ICS is an institutional approach
involving personnel, policies, procedures, facilities,
and equipment integrated into a common
organizational structure. During disasters,
responders may be drawn from multiple agencies
that do not routinely work together, and ICS is
designed to give standard response and operational
procedures to reduce problems and potential for
miscommunication.
ICS comprises five components, including:
1. Command
2. Operations
3. Planning
4. Logistics
5. Finance/Administration
What is NIMS?
NIMS is a systematic approach to guide
departments and agencies at all levels of the
government, non-governmental organizations, and
the private sector to work to prevent, protect
against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the
effects of incidents.
NIMS comprises six components, including:
1. Command and Management (ICS is a
component)
2. Preparedness
3. Resource Management
4. Communications and Information
Management
5. Supporting Technologies
6. Ongoing Management and Maintenance

2. The 2011 Thailand Floods Response Observations
Based off of these interviews and observations at the FROC, Dennis noted that:
• The NIMS and ICS workshops previously conducted have not yet been integrated to form
effective and efficient teamwork among all the various governmental and non-governmental
entities involved in large-scale disasters.
• The DDPM and others previously trained in
principles of NIMS and ICS have done their
best to integrate best practices into the
response, but they are not in lead command
positions. Those in command prefer to use
old, more familiar methods, rather than NIMS
and ICS.
• Operations at the FROC included several
successes, such as well-prepared daily incident
status summary reports, critical resource
tracking, efficient call center operations, and
evacuation centers meeting needs of survivors.
• Shortfalls included lack of unified command,
ICS Training in Thailand
Since the mid-1980s, USAID/OFDA has utilized
technical expertise from USFS to institutionalize
the system for disaster responses and implement
disaster management capacity-building programs
throughout the world.
Most recently, from April 25 to May 4, 2011, USFS
conducted a series of train-the-trainer (TOT) ICS
courses in Khao Yai, Thailand. Participants
comprised the approximately 30-person ICS TOT
cadre that had received previous ICS training
conducted by USFS. Participants included DDPM
staff from headquarters, regional offices, and
training centers, as well as representatives from the
Bureau of Health Administration, the Emergency
Medical Institute, the Thai Red Cross, and the
Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology.
operations and planning sections that appeared
more reactionary than proactive, lack of
written incident action plans, confusion between who is in command (directing resources) and
who is in a coordination and/or support role, and dissemination of public information, which
contributed to confusion and mistrust.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Based on the observations from the 2011 floods response, Dennis has formulated four
recommendations for strengthening disaster management practices in Thailand, including:
• Incorporating the principles of NIMS and ICS, such as unified command, strong operations and
planning sections looking long-range, management by objectives, written action plans, and joint
information systems, would greatly enhance capabilities of RTG in responding to disasters.
• The command function (directing the operations) and the coordination and support functions
should be more clearly defined and separated.
• An After Action Review process should be conducted to identify lessons learned that can be
incorporated in future operations and written plans and protocols.
• Continued support for integrating NIMS and ICS principles and management practices in RTG
disaster operations should provide large dividends.
Attachments
1. Attachment 1: Focus Questions on Processes
2. Attachment 2: NIMS/ICS Workshops Completed and Planned