Disaster Response and Recovery: Strategies and Tactics for Resilience, 2nd Edition

5

IMPLEMENTING INITIAL RESPONSE MEASURES

Hazard Detection, Warning, Evacuation, and Sheltering

Starting Point

Pretest to assess your knowledge on initial response measures.Determine where you need to concentrate your effort.

What You'll Learn in This Chapter

• Methods to detect hazards during the initial period of the response phase
• The importance of warning systems
• Different evacuation methods
• Categories of sheltering and housing
• Typical human behavior during evacuation and sheltering

After Studying This Chapter, You'll Be Able To

• Detect hazards and implement the community disaster plan.
• Develop effective warning messages.
• Compare and contrast alternative means to warn people about disasters.
• Understand human behavior during evacuation and sheltering.
• Evaluate evacuation and shelter options.

Goals and Outcomes

• Understand ways to identify hazards.
• Assess the best way(s) to issue warnings.
• Implement the community's emergency operations plan.
• Evaluate and select the appropriate protective action for affected populations.
• Predict typical human behaviors during evacuation.
• Establish and maintain a shelter.

INTRODUCTION

When a disaster is about to occur, you, as an emergency manager, will have many significant responsibilities. The first step in response is to detect a hazard, and this may be accomplished through a variety of means. During or after this identification process, it will be imperative that you warn the population that could potentially be at risk. While warnings are ...