Emergency management—encompassing preparation, response, recovery, and restoration—has gained urgency in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the United States in 2005. Whether the emergency is a hurricane, an earthquake, a wildfire, a terrorist act, or a train wreck with a chlorine leak, emergencies can happen anywhere, at any time.

Following the two hurricanes, national, state, and local officials in the United States examined what went wrong in the disaster response, identified the lessons learned, and began to develop an alternative to the traditional “command and control” approach to disaster management. The proposed alternative is a dynamic and network-centered approach that has the flexibility to move resources and assets where they need to be, when they need to be there. Although based on U.S. experience, this approach suggests improvements that could be applied elsewhere as well.

Lessons Learned and Local Government Perspectives

In the U.S., the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita taught a number of lessons.

The Breadth of Local Government Resources

First, local governments possess deep and broad resources that can be tapped in emergencies if an effective networked approach can be developed. Before disaster strikes, those resources need to be acquired in a systematic way. Teams of qualified professional local government personnel who can maintain or restart vital services need to be identified and trained so they can be deployed without delay.

The Importance of Networks

Second, a network of relationships can help expedite response and recovery efforts. Many local governments found ways to get help into the Gulf Region after Hurricane Katrina through their personal relationships with individuals in the communities affected by the disaster. By developing relationships with key personnel and training with local governments in the region, it was possible to sustain a long-term recovery effort. Such regional teams provided recovery assistance for more than three months by rotating personnel and establishing clear management protocols. In this way they were able to retain essential capabilities in their own region while providing long-term assistance in another.

External Supply Chains

Third, it is important to establish supply chains in a remote location so supplies can be accessed if the community’s food, water, materials, and equipment are destroyed. The business model of a “just-in-time inventory” fails in a disaster in the absence of a sophisticated logistics plan to deliver quickly in an emergency.

Expertise Beyond the First Response

Major disasters require more than public safety expertise. The recovery and restoration phases require a wide array of talent, well beyond first responders. Debris removal may well take a year or more. Building inspectors, technology and communications professionals, utility workers, finance and accounting specialists, lawyers, planners, and engineers all have extensive roles. A community that cannot communicate and keep records is unable to recover. Communities that have good technology and financial planning as elements of their disaster plans do better than others.

In a disaster, communication lines can go down for a period of time. Local governments understand the need to anticipate and prepare for loss of communication. Similarly, information technology plans are essential for continuity of government, and those plans should include storage of backup data outside the immediate area. GIS map expertise with printer capability is especially helpful in emergency operations centers so that crews from other locations can assist in rescue and recovery efforts.

The Importance of Preparation

Local governments have learned that they need to improve their emergency plans and their preparedness. Here are examples of issues that most communities now recognize need to be included in their emergency planning:

• Have emergency declarations in place so that they can be executed quickly in a disaster.
• Identify and make arrangements for long-term shelter for emergency personnel and evacuees, such as vacant warehouses, leased space, multi-family apartments, and hotels. Most emergency plans do not consider long-term shelter needs and rely on schools and arenas, which are inappropriate for anything but immediate shelter.
• Make plans for where mobile housing communities should be located, or find alternatives to them.
• Have a plan to manage volunteers and get to know the leaders of key volunteer organizations as part of preparedness work. These nonprofit organizations can provide training for volunteers and manage their assignments.
• Plan transportation to evacuate the frail and poor.
• Include animal control experts in disaster planning.

Lessons from International Experience

After the tsunami in December 2004, ICMA worked through its CityLinks project, funded by USAID, to provide long-term support to affected communities in India and Sri Lanka. For example, members from several Florida local governments worked with their counterparts in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam, India, to help them prepare for and mitigate future disasters along the southern Indian coastline. These Florida managers were selected because of their knowledge and expertise in disaster recovery. They worked with the Indian communities in the areas of:

• Disaster preparedness and development of response plans
• Coastal management
• Development and implementation of financial management strategies
• Land reuse
• Park redevelopment (Cuddalore)
• Port redevelopment (Nagapattinam)
• Improved citizen access to municipal services.

This international model is cost-effective and achieves long-term goals. With financial support from USAID, ICMA was able to deploy local government teams to provide restoration support to areas devastated by the tsunami, but there is no comparable system to assist devastated communities in the U.S.

Recommendations for a Networked Solution

Drawing on the “lessons learned,” local governments could benefit from the development of a networked approach to disaster preparedness—a system to leverage the people, facilities, and equipment that are needed in the four phases of disaster situations: preparation, response, recovery, and restoration:

• Identify region-based teams of national, state/provincial, and local employees who can respond in emergencies; such teams should be multidisciplinary and specific to the stage of the disaster they are called on to address (i.e., search and rescue or rebuilding and recovery).
• Involve private and nonprofit sectors in planning and response.
• Improve communication and interoperability.
• Provide first-responder training and, where appropriate, certification.
• Establish accountability.
• Ensure risk assessment and management.
• Improve the ability to collect accurate information, analyze it, and respond accordingly, adapting quickly to changing conditions.
• Where appropriate, take advantage of services the military can provide in emergencies, such as transport expertise and storage facilities.
• Develop collaborative relationships that allow all involved—national, state, local, and nongovernmental organizations—to leverage their assets in a way that minimizes bureaucratic obstacles and complements and strengthens the response.
• Train, equip, stockpile, and stage before disaster strikes—early declarations and mobilization of resources are essential.

Ideally, these steps would be supported by a technology platform consisting of (1) a comprehensive database of human and physical assets from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors that could be deployed for emergency response and recovery efforts and (2) a geo-mapping tool to identify, select, activate, track, and manage response assets.

Implementing the Approach

Using the networked approach, teams can provide assistance at each of the four phases of a disaster.

Preparation. Preparation includes the planning necessary to ensure that teams and resources can be positioned prior to the event. As noted earlier, teams should be assigned to such functions as information technology, utilities, code enforcement, public works, finance and accounting, EMS, police and fire, and other essential operations. Equipment inventories and asset identification should be conducted and equipment and materials not currently in use should be stored in accessible locations.

Response. Response requires police, fire, medical, public works, and other essential service providers; early restoration of essential local government functions such as water and sewer services; and coordination with nongovernmental organizations, including businesses, religious institutions, and nonprofits that are able to provide services and donate needed supplies.

Recovery . Recovery involves restoring basic community services such as schools and building inspections; identifying long-term housing solutions; coordinating with national, state, and regional organizations; finding and managing public and private aid; and recruiting and managing volunteer networks.

Restoration. During the restoration phase, the team needs to address any issues related to infrastructure, sustainability, and location of facilities. Working with community leaders, the team can help develop mitigation strategies to prevent repeat scenarios, and identify regional capabilities able to provide long-term restoration of services and help businesses return to productivity.

All too frequently, the initial outpouring of support following a disaster is not sustained, and restoration can take place over years. It is most successful when communities that need ongoing, long-term assistance are matched with others who are able to provide such assistance. A networked approach facilitates such matches.