Disaster Recovery Centers, Hurricane Ready

Disaster Recovery Centers, Hurricane Ready with Generator Power decals, ICS 300 and ICS 400

Disaster Recovery, Hurricane, ICS

Disaster Recovery Center is utilized whenever there is a disaster. In the case of FEMA, a Disaster Recovery Center -- DRC is a facility which is being readily accessible or is considered to be a mobile office wherein the applicants might go for information regarding FEMA or any of the other available disaster assistance programs, or for queries in relation to one's case. Few of the services which a DRC might offer include guidance relating to disaster recovery, clarifying any of the written down correspondence being attained, information relating to assistance for housing and rental resource, answers for the questions, resolving problems as well as referrals to the agencies which might offer additional assistance, status of the applications which are being processed by the FEMA, information of the SBA program in case if there is an SBA Representative at the site of the Disaster Recovery Center. ("FEMA: About DRCs," n. d.)

One example of a typical disaster recovery center is that of the HyperTec Group, a Canadian VAR. This company has decided to take disaster recovery to the next level of functioning, in which the initial idea of building an enormous business continuity and disaster recovery center has been implemented with great success. This BDCR centre is located in Montreal, and it will purportedly be able to provide office accommodation for more than 3,500 workers, while at the same time providing 40,000 feet of high availability, all in the eventuality of a disaster in which the original data of the company may be lost. HyperTec manages and also monitors all the workstations and network switches so that its clients would be able to start working in these premises almost immediately after a disaster, both man-made and natural. According to Bob Novek, his team and himself are all fully aware of the importance that they would play if there is a disaster, and the company, albeit unfortunately, loses its valuable data. They also realize the importance of downtime, he states, and "...they've seen the need that they can't afford to go down." (Hickey, 2006, Oct)

Another good example of a typical disaster recovery center is the Sigma Solutions based in Indonesia. The disaster recovery operations that Sigma provides are extremely useful for those companies that have chosen this company to provide it for them; not only is data stored for the companies, but support is also offered for it project management and implementation, in case of a disaster of any kind. ("Sigma is the leading banking Solution provider in Indonesia," n. d.)

Several of the firms are today rethinking about the decision to make use of the 'hot site' vendors which are necessary for disaster recovery and are functioning towards the formation of the facilities of the internal data recovery. Damian Walch, the vice president of consulting at the T-Systems and also a speaker at TechTarget's 2003 Data Center Futures conference, is of the opinion that the important reason for this trend is that several firms consider outsiders as who cannot be trusted so as to recover the complex as well as the increasingly interdependent systems fast enough immediately after an outage. There are few other factors which firms are considering to initiate inward in relation to their recovery requirements inclusive of the enhancing price of the technical support as well as floor space of the hot site vendors, and the absence of control which the businesses have in relation to having accessibility to the vendors facilities. Conventionally firms went to a commercial hot site vendor such as the Comdisco or that of the SunGard. However now they understand that, as a result of few of the dynamics prevalent in the disaster recovery industry, the hot site vendors are not able to satisfy their needs any further. (Brunelli, 2003)

One of the few issues that businesses ought to consider while determining whether the in-house data recovery is a useful alternative relates to the amount of applications which need full recovery within the six hours of the cause of an outage. Firms which have at the most two of the applications cannot stay on without making good candidates for the purpose of in-sourcing of the disaster recovery. Another level of consideration relates to the amount of excessive floor space as well as server capability a firm has in relation to the testing and progress of the new applications. In case if one has test and development systems; what several firms do is to relocate them to a different location and to make use of them for the purpose of recovery. One of the issues related with the purpose of in-sourcing data recovery is to make the business case to the company executives. In order to help bring about the case together, businesses need to operate a cost benefit review of internal against the external data recovery. (Brunelli, 2003)

Today, a new program has come into operation, termed the 'Hurricane Ready with Generator Power Decals program'. Take for example Broward County. This County, in collaboration with municipality's building departments, has created a brand new decal program, which in effect would enable residents of a particular area identify those stores that still have supplies and power, in the aftermath of a raging hurricane. Easily identifiable with a blue and white decal, the program allows businesses proudly announce to residents that "This facility is Hurricane Ready with Generator Power." In other words, those stores that have joined or enrolled in the Hurricane Ready Program vow that, unless there is severe structural damage to the store, they would be open for business, even during a hurricane, and after it has passed. (Auerhahn, 2006)

It was the Broward County of Board of Commissioners that grabbed the opportunity to adopt several the recommendations that have been brought forth for Hurricane Preparedness. Some of them are: the Broward Country must, at the very outset, perform a 'space analysis' at the Emergency Operations Center in order to find out whether or not the various other groups that had been identified earlier as being in possession of the essential components of emergency preparedness are in fact truly prepared to face the emergency. They must also perform an analysis of whether or not it would be possible to have generators ready and functioning immediately after the storm has passed. They must take it upon themselves to engage in a cooperative effort with municipalities so that a model could be formed for the better supplies of essentials immediately after the storm. Staging areas as well as distribution sites must be identified before the hurricane season, so that it would be easier to cope with the disaster when it arrived. (Maroe, 2006) collaboration effort must be undertaken with the Department of Children and Families in advance, so that it would be possible to identify those locations that would be ideally suited for the distribution of supplies, water and food stamps. Most importantly, the Broward County is expected to approve of decal signs that would identify for the common man the places that are 'Hurricane Ready with generator Power'. When the signs are displayed, it would be of immense relief to the common man in the immediate aftermath of a hurricane; he could be sure that he would be able to obtain whatever he needs in this store. This novel idea is catching up, and everywhere in the United States of America today, people are trying to prepare well in advance for the disasters that would definitely strike in the particular season. A store displaying the decal stating that it is "Hurricane Prepared with Generator" would probably shine like a beacon for those in need, especially in the face of tragedy and catastrophe, whether natural or man made, of immense proportions. (Maroe, 2006)

FEMA or the federal Emergency management Agency is a part of the Homeland Security. The agency undertakes the responsibility of planning for and responding immediately to devastation and the destruction that can be caused by disasters of any kind. John Macy was one of the first Presidents of the agency, and it was this enterprising individual who brought to the attention of the government the similarities that seemed to exist between natural hazards preparedness and civil defense activities, and this was the reason why FEMA started to develop an integrated Emergency management System that would be composed of an 'all-hazards' approach, which would include, among others, a warning system, a direction system and also a control system, all of which are routinely used during a war. It was not until the month of May in the year 2003 that the Federal Emergency Management Agency became an integral part of the functioning of the Homeland Security, and today, it has as its mission the reduction of the loss of life and property that can result form a disaster, and also to protect the country form all types of hazards, including acts of terrorism, natural disasters like a hurricane or a flood, and other man made disasters. ("About FEMA," 2007)

The method followed by FEMA is to lead the country in cases of a disaster, in a risk-based comprehensive emergency management system that would have as its important tenets preparedness, protection, response and recovery, and finally, mitigation of the losses that the people have suffered. These are some of the plans that FEMA has in place, and for which it recruits trainees: the National Response Plan, strategic Plan, and Annual Agency Performance Plan. The National Response Plan encompasses a sort of a complete and all hazards approach to the management of domestic incidents. Some of the protocols that the National Response Plan have established are: to save lives and also to effectively protect the lives and the health and safety of the public, the responders to the calamity, and to the health care and rescue workers at the scene, while at the same time making sure that the security of the homeland is never compromised in any way. The NRP will also try its best to prevent an incident from taking place, like for example a terrorist attack. ("About FEMA," 2007)

Most importantly, the agency will try to protect and also to restore critically important key resources, so that recovery would be immediate and quick. Law enforcement officials will be engaged so that the law and order situation would be brought under quick control, without damage or loss to life and property. Evidence will be collected to prove the crime and to catch the criminal. NRP endeavors to help in search and rescue operations, so that they would be located easily and so that individuals, families, businesses and governments would be back to normal in no time. The environment will also not be ignored, and this will be restored after the disaster has passed. ("About FEMA," 2007)

Training is an essential part of any agency, and the FEMA training course ICS-300 is one such course. Training is important at the FEMA, especially because of the fact that Federal, State Territorial, Tribal and Local entities must all take part in the activities of FEMA whenever and wherever there is a disaster that requires recovery. As a matter of fact, today Federal, State and Local agencies are on their way to becoming compliant with the NIMS. It is important to remember that NIMS implementation will not end, as was assumed, in FY 2007. This is because of the simple fact that the NIMS is an extremely dynamic system, for which the several implementation requirements will have to continue to evolve over time, and especially when a nation's preparedness, readiness, responsiveness and readiness in the case of a disaster improves and changes over time, in such a way that the entire security landscape of the country would evolve and change as well. This is the reason why experts state that it is critical to undergo basic NIMS training, and primarily because this training eventually becomes an integral part of the training programs of the organization. ("NIMS Training," 2007)

All those individuals, who wish to play a direct role in emergency management and emergency responses must undergo training, and this would include those individuals who belong to Federal, State, Local, Tribal entities, or to the Private Sector, or to non-governmental organizations. Training would include a familiarity with all emergency related services like for example, EMS, hospitals, fire services, law enforcement and other agencies that serve and protect the citizen of the country. The NIC or the National Integration Center responsible for Incidents Management Systems Division prefers members to be capable of and able to interact constantly with multiple jurisdictions and agencies in case of an incident, with a basic minimum qualification of IS -700. Training is generally provided through the ICS, or the 'Integrated Command System'. ("NIMS / NIC Training frequently asked Questions," 2007)