Incident Command System and Emergency Crisis

¶ … Command System and Emergency Crisis: Handling Unanticipated Situations

How can crisis managers and those in the roles of general staff within the incident command handle the situation with the news media that may be presenting conflicting information?

Media coverage of natural disasters or emergency crisis situations is expected to give the audience a constant flow of information to facilitate their preparedness, and also to give an accurate account of what is happening. However, when the mainstream media does cover these events, more often than not they provide conflicting information that may frustrate response and rescue operations. For instance, hurricane Floyd in Florida received a lot of criticism due to what was termed as unnecessary evacuation procedures. The Division of Emergency Management had thought their plan to carry out large scale evacuation in all areas that were perceived to be in extreme danger was practical (Husock and Howitt, 1). Public shelters had also been prepared way in advance. However, after massive evacuation of 2.5 million people in Florida, Hurricane Floyd bypassed the state of Florida and passed around the coastline. The ABC News termed Floridians 'safe but annoyed' as divers were left stuck in traffic jams for more than 10 hours, and the resultant evacuation was bigger than what had been planned. The staff within the incident command were deemed inexperienced since in three years, they had dealt with five hurricanes and they were expected to have mastered situations that would require such a massive evacuation operation.

During the September 11 attacks, Chief Plaugher, who was identified as the public face of the unfolding events at the time, noticed that in the efforts to rescue the injured and evacuate workers trapped in buildings, they had overlooked one very important factor: dispensing information on the pentagon attack to the media (Varley and Howitt, 22). Due to this, journalists had to rely on incomplete and inaccurate information which resulted in negative and conflicting reports.

In light of such incidences, it is important that crisis managers cooperate with the media in giving accurate and reliable information to the public. Joint information centers should be established where information will be integrated, organized, and coordinated before being released to the public. Consistent accounts of incidences should also be released to mainstream media to prevent wrongful conclusions and speculations. The joint information centers should be strict in correcting any false information that may be disseminated. Enabling a variety of media to get their information from one source will enhance the cooperation between the media and the Incident Command Teams. It will also prevent the tendency of media to drift away from coverage once nothing new can be reported as the main objective is to keep the public informed. Varley and Howitt claim incident command systems should make sure that the president and other senior officials, if present at the scene, are engaged in conversation during emergency response (23). The interactions with the rescue teams and command leaders may provide the public with assurance that the situation is under control. It is also crucial that all the teams present at the site identify their leading commanders to avoid situations where authoritative conflicts facilitate conflicting information.

How will EMS providers be able to handle an unanticipated public response concerning panic, unexpected actions (e.g. looting, gunfire, and rioting), and other unanticipated events?