Re: [emergency] RE: A view from Australia on dealing with emergencies.

[Art Botterell <acb@incident.com>]

Carl -

All-Hazards was the paradigm for U.S. emergency management from Mt.  
Saint Helens until 9/11.  It got lost amid the New Sentimentalism  
that swept the nation after the 9/11 attacks, just as FEMA got lost  
within DHS.

- Art

On Sep 29, 2005, at 4:15 PM, Carl Reed OGC Account wrote:

> I recently attended and presented at a workshop is Australia titled  
> Geospatial Support to the National "All Hazards" Counter-Terrorism,  
> Emergency. By way of background, after 9-11, and convened with  
> greater urgency as a result of the Bali bombings, the Australian  
> Government invited representatives from key United States emergency  
> management organizations involved in the response to the September  
> 11 incident were invited to lead a series of ‘Lessons Learnt’  
> Executive Breakfasts and Workshops around Australia in March 2003.  
> The results of these workshops can be found in a document located  
> athttp://www.ema.gov.au/agd/EMA/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/ 
> (63F21BC6A4528BAE4CED2F9930C45677)~EMALessonsLearntbookletfinal.pdf/ 
> $file/EMALessonsLearntbookletfinal.pdf .
>
> One of the key recommendations that arose from these workshops and  
> has since become and integral component of EM and Preparedness in  
> Australia is something called the  'All hazards' approach.  
> Basically, this approach is to develop preparedness and response  
> plans that incorporate the 'all hazards' approach - really one plan  
> that can be activated with the flexibility to be adapted to all  
> incidents.
>
> This policy is captured in the 2004 Emergency Management Act. The  
> Emergency Management Act 2004 establishes a framework for the  
> management of emergencies. Its major parts deal with:
> the State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC) - establishment,  
> membership, functions and powers, including the power to create  
> advisory groups
> co-ordination - through the Commissioner of Police, as State Co- 
> ordinator, and assistants
> the management of emergencies, including:
> their classification as major incidents, major emergencies or  
> disasters
> recovery operations.
> The Act replaces the State Disaster Act 1980, and is consistent  
> with the Government's policy on emergency management, protective  
> security and counter-terrorism. It shifts the focus from 'disaster  
> management' to a flexible 'all hazards' framework that applies to  
> planning, coordination and control for any emergency.
>
> Their philosophy is to treat all emergencies the same in terms of  
> policy, jurisdictional relationships, partnerships, agreements,  
> communications, information sharing, and so forth. There are  
> obviously response hardware differences according to the event  
> type, such as required for radiation versus fire versus a bomb  
> threat. However, the policies and procedures - the plan - are  
> almost identical for all event types.
>
> I am not sure how similar or dissimilar this approach is from what  
> DHS is doing. However, they Aussies are a bit mystified by what  
> appears to be a fragmented approach in the US.
>
> Carl Reed, PhD
> CTO and Executive Director Specification Program
> OGC
>
> The OGC: Helping the World to Communicate Geographically
>
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