Planning emergencies and hazard vulnerability analysis using NIMS

ASLP Planning Emergencies

Emergency management plan is the document that contains information on how the authorities, people and businesses can respond, prepare and mitigate the risks associated with hazards in the United States. The emergency plan also assists in identifying the magnitude of a disaster, and probability of its occurrence within a specific year. The information assists the government to put aside the adequate resource to manage the emergence. The paper identifies the Hail Storm, Tornadoes and Wildfire for the hazard and vulnerable analysis.

Hazard & Vulnerability Analysis Table

Hazard

Magnitude

Frequency

Seasonal Pattern

Duration

Speed of Onset

Priority

Hail Storm

50%

years

Likely to occur during the winter and spring

May last between one and two weeks

More than 24 hours' warning

Damage to properties. Shutdown of critical facilities

Tornadoes

50%

1-year

Likely to occur during the winter

May last for more than a week

More than 24 hours' warning

Damage to properties. Shutdown of critical facilities

Wildfire

40%

10 years

Likely to occur during Summer

May last for several weeks

Minimal ("No warning notice")

Damage to properties. Shutdown of critical facilities

Hailstorm is one of the natural hazards that can damage properties in the United States. Hail is a spherical ball of ice and product of intense showers and thunderstorms. Hail is translucent and white that consists of snow and liquid particles, which encase layers of ice. Hail Storm can cause more than $1 billion damage to property and crops annually. The hailstorm can be very destructive to homes, plants, buildings and crops. In essence, a large hailstorm is faster than the 100 mph and can be very dangerous to the community and cause a significant damage to crops, animals, roofs, windows and automobiles. Its magnitude of its damage is 50%. The frequency of a large hailstorm occurring is every 5 years. In 2012, the overall costs incurred to manage the hailstorm are more than $3.8 billion. However, the Texas recorded the most hail and wind losses, and the intensity of the storm affects more places in the country. While scientists debate about the cause of the storm, nobody argues about the estimates of the extensive property damages caused by the storm. In 2013, there were approximately 5,457 major hailstorms across the United States. In 2013, there were 1,376 storms. In June 2013, the U.S. recorded 1,145 storms and 750 storms in July. The Colorado recorded more than $25 million yearly hailstorm insured damage. Over the last 10 years, the costs associated to the hailstorm-insured damage are more than $3 billion. In New Mexico, the hailstorm led to $16.5 million insured damages around the Roswell, Clovis and Logan in 2007.

Fire is of the natural and manmade hazards that can cause an immense damage to properties. Fire can kill individuals, plants, animals as well as aquatic organisms. The magnitude of a fire occurrence in the United States is 50% and the frequency of its occurrence is every 10 years. The societal costs of wildfires are inestimable because of its economic and social costs. However, the costs have increased substantially because of the urban-wild land interface since the government will need to spend considerable resources to protect homes and other structures.

Gebert, Calkin, Yoder (2007) argues that the average annual fire suppression expenditure of fire fighter between 1991 and 2000 total $580 million. However, the expenditure doubled between 2001 and 2010 reaching $1.2 billion. Moreover, the expenditure that states use to suppress wildfire is also more than $1.6 billion annually. However, the costs do not include the costs incurred by the local fire department across the country. In the United States, the suppression costs represent a fraction of the costs attributed to the damage caused by the wild land fire. (Liang, Calkin, Gebert.et al. 2008).

In the United States, nearly 1,200 tornadoes occur each year. The frequency of its occurrence is every year and its magnitude is 50%. The tornado that occurred in 2008 caused an estimated $193.5 million worth of insured losses and $212.2 million of insured loss in 2014 dollars. In 2011, the United States recorded a record breaking of 1,600 tornado causing over $25 billion damages and 550 deaths.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the ERP Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis for your ERP

The strength of the hazard and vulnerability analysis is that it is able to identify the strategy to mitigate the disaster. Typically, the government can mitigate some hazards by providing elaborate education for the community about the strategy to mitigate the hazards. For example, the damaged caused by the tornado and the hailstorm can be reduced using the mitigation strategy.

Preparedness is strength of the plan. Preparedness is the strategies of building a capacity as well as identifying resources that could be used to manage the disaster in case it occurs. A response is strength of the plan because it assists in controlling the negative effect of the disaster. The plan provides a strategy that the government can employ to reduce the damage done to properties and costs of the damage and negative effects from the emergency. Other strength of the Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis is Recovery that provides the strategy the government can use to resume normal business operations and restore essential services since recovery aspect of the ERP is very critical to sustain a long-term viability of the health centers. (National Association of Community Health Centers, 2010).