Emergency management, crisis management, and emergency preparedness

Emergency Management

It is no secret that the emergency management response of the city needs to improve, especially when it comes to winter snowstorms and related issues. With that in mind, it becomes necessary to focus on how to help both businesses and residences who may have people trapped in them. Additionally, people can easily become trapped in their cars, and without food or water they can be at serious risk. With the freezing temperatures, the danger in which these people find themselves is extremely significant, and not something they can easily ignore or extricate themselves from. Of course, there is more than just people to consider. The safety of structures, the clearing of roadways, and the proper functioning of city services are all issues that can come about when snowstorms and other natural disasters hit a city (Howitt & Leonard, 2009). Individuals who work for city agencies need the ability to do their jobs, and they also need the equipment to do so. The agencies, conversely, need qualified people they can trust to do what is needed for the people of the city during and immediately after an emergency (Howitt & Leonard, 2009).

To improve emergency management capabilities significantly, there are many options that can be considered (Buchanan, 2000). Some will work better than others, especially if there are high costs involved that may render some of the choices completely impractical. In order to make sure the city considers the implementation of options that make sense, it is vital to analyze a number of different suggestions. People who are able to think outside of the box are needed when it comes to ensuring that emergency management is efficient, and that it is forging ahead in such a way that allows for the most assistance for the people who need it and the highest level of capabilities from the agencies and individuals who are contracted to help people in their particular times of need (Buchanan, 2000). Until and unless the people and the agencies work together on all facets of the emergency response, very little will get done (Howitt & Leonard, 2009).

One of the most serious problems is that people are focused on Mode R (routine emergencies) when they should be focused on Mode C (crises) (Howitt & Leonard, 2009). Making the switch in focus is not always easy, often because people spend so much of their time in Mode R. They may forget how to adjust things for Mode C, and they may also not be sure what constitutes a crisis to the point that the switch needs to be made. Additionally, training is not always adequate, especially for people who are relatively new to the agency. For these people, there are serious concerns that they may have missed out on something very important that would have taught them how to handle a crisis that requires Mode C (Howitt & Leonard, 2009). For the city and its emergency services that deal with winter storms, training is one of the biggest areas on which they need to focus. Because the winter storms are common enough to be problematic but not common enough to require a high level of time spent in Mode C. On a regular basis, the workers designated to deal with these storms can become lax. Training can also be forgotten if it is not used frequently enough to help the trained person remember it (Suttmeier, 2011).

However, training is not the only issue these workers and the agencies that employ them are facing. The equipment they have should also be examined (Buchanan, 2000). If anything is outdated or does not work correctly, it should be repaired or replaced. There may be machinery that is not helpful, and that could be sold and the proceeds used toward machinery that would work better for the intended purpose. For those agencies that are not sure about what they need, contacting similar agencies in areas with higher levels of winter storm emergencies can help them decide what they should purchase and what they can forgo. That can make a significant difference in the success that is seen by agencies that are not used to dealing with a particular type of problem, but that realize they need to do more than what they have been previously considering when it comes to crisis situations (Drabek, 1991).

The scripts that are used in Mode R. are also nonexistent in Mode C, so people who have been trained to only do certain things in specific ways may have trouble (Howitt & Leonard, 2009). In other words, training is vital, but mostly so people will know what to do on a physical level during a crisis. Those same people still have to focus on what choices they need to make, so they are able to get things done in the best way for everyone involved (Drabek, 1991). The choices they make when they are in Mode C. could potentially mean life or death for some people, so these choices are not to be made lightly. With no script, though, there is nothing to follow to determine if they are doing something the right way. They have only their training and judgment on which to go when they decide what to do next (Buchanan, 2000). If they do not understand that there will not be scripts and protocols for them to follow when in Mode C, they will be completely lost. Imparting this information is vital if the agencies and their workers are to be successful during a crisis.

The city should also look carefully at the people who are working in these agencies, and whether they have a collaborative spirit. It is common during Mode R. For there to be a leader who makes decisions and gives orders (Howitt & Leonard, 2009). The rest of the people in the agency simply follow that leader, and do what they are told, so that the issue can be resolved correctly. However, when Mode C. situations occur, there is very little actual leadership (Howitt & Leonard, 2009). The focus should always be on whether the people who are trying to help are able to work together, because much more gets accomplished that way. If the agencies are dysfunctional to the point that people cannot work together, those agencies need to be adjusted and re-populated with people who can work as a team when needed (Suttmeier, 2011). That will give them the opportunity to truly care for others, and to help those in need when the next winter storm (or other type of emergency) strikes. While it can be hard to maintain a cohesive workforce, especially in a big agency, working toward doing so is a very important way to be successful (Drabek, 1991).