Friday, January 12, 2007
Presence
Presence is either yes or no.
Presence: Yes You will be able to maintain your presence in your home unit
Presence: No You will need to evacuate and be unable to maintain your presence in your home unit
Presence has a significant impact on planning. If Presence is yes, you do not need to worry about types and amount of clothing or bedding. You do not need to worry about footwear, or weather gear. You will have access to tools, utensils, a minimal level of shelter and a whole lot of comfort regardless of the external circumstances because you are in your home. Even in darkness, you will be able to move more freely.
If the structural integrity of your housing remains intact, most Americans can deal with a 6:2 or lower disaster with only minimal additional planning beyond your day to day living. Events requiring you to evacuate are the exception.
If the potential for damage to your housing exists (flooding, wild fires) then whether you are required to evacuate or not requires you to plan for Presence: No.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Disaster Classification System
Introduction
Everyone knows Murphy’s Law: anything that can go wrong will go wrong. What few people know is Coyle’s Law: Murphy was an optimist.Disaster Scale Classification
Disaster, like beauty, is in the eye of the befallen. We might empathize with people in a disaster, but if it is not happening to us, we are likely to take few lessons from the consequences.What constitutes a disaster is not the cause but the scope of the event. 9/11 offers the best illustration.
On 9/11 four planes crashed. Taken in reverse order, Flight 93 crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. No structures were damaged, no infrastructure impacted, and no one on the ground died. The scope of this crash was minor. Emergency response and security of the site caused little or no lasting effects on the local economy.
Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. Damage to the building was extensive, but work resumed in most of the building almost immediately. The local area was impacted only slightly more than in Pennsylvania.
Flights 11 and 175 crashed into the World Trade Center Towers. Initially, the impacts disrupted only the buildings of the Center. Many people and businesses viewing the scene rather than the impact of the crashes themselves caused the loss of productivity. The local area response did not fail. However, the damage done by the initial crashes paled next to the final consequences. The collapse of the Towers severely impacted the entire neighborhood surrounding the Center and compromised and exceeded by orders of magnitude the available response.
Two planes crashing in a field in Pennsylvania would have been a tragic event. Two planes crashing into the Pentagon, a devastating blow. But two planes crashing into and causing the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers was a disaster.
Man made disasters are difficult to create. Although hoped for, the terrorists of 9/11 could not have foreseen the outcomes of their actions. Had all four planes crashed into fields, the aftermath of 9/11 would have been considerably different and the event would likely have never been labeled a disaster.
In 1908 a meteor exploded over the Siberian tundra. Only one death was reported and some small settlements were affected. Had the same event occurred over the Eastern Seaboard of the US, the disaster would have exceeded the combined destruction of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
The scale or scope of the damage caused by an event is the first factor in classifying a disaster. A 9.1 earthquake in the deep ocean is unlikely to cause as much damage as a 6.8 located under downtown Los Angeles. The location of the event determines the scope of the damage. Similar events in rural and urban settings will have differing amounts of damage. A fire in a barn will probably cause less impact in an area than a fire in a row house in a large city.
Disaster Scale One - Scope
Level 1 | Single building | 9/11 DC |
Level 2 | Group of contiguous buildings | 9/11 NY initial |
Level 3 | Neighborhood | 9/11 NY post collapse |
Level 4 | Town or multiple neighborhoods | Tornadoes |
Level 5 | Area – multiple sites over a region | Cat 1 or 2 hurricane |
Level 6 | Region | Katrina |
Level 7 | Country/multiple regions | War(?) |
Level 8 | Multiple countries | 12/04 tsunami |
Level 9 | Hemisphere | |
Level 10 | Global | Dinosaur killing meteor |
An argument can be made that 9/11 was a Level 5 disaster but that is beyond the scope of this document.
In most First World countries, the time between the cause of a disaster and a first response is measured in minutes. Almost all Level 4 and lower disasters in the US have little or no persistence. (Many locations may experience persistence during higher level events.)
Persistence is also a function of expectations. When a home fire occurs, many people expect a fire department response in mere minutes. If the expectation is that a response will occur within five minutes and it takes seven, people will note a 40% increase in the response time and ignore that it was only two minutes more.
The response to Hurricane Katrina was perceived to be slow, although persistence was well within historical and planned levels. However, the expectations were not met and the perception was that it took too long.
Persistence expectations have to be rational. No one should expect a response within minutes of the rain stopping in a hurricane or within minutes of an earthquake. The scope of these events/disasters can reach Level 5 or higher, usually far above the available resources of even well prepared local areas.
Disaster Scale Two - PersistenceLevel 1 | 24 hours or less |
Level 2 | 24 to 48 hours |
Level 3 | Less than 96 hours |
Level 4 | 5 – 9 days |
Level 5 | 10 – 21 days |
Level 6 | Up to a month |
Level 7 | 2 – 6 months |
Level 8 | 6 months to a year |
Level 9 | 1 – 3 years |
Level 10 | More than 3 years |
The last factor in disaster classification is foreknowledge. A disaster is anticipated, expected or surprising. Foreknowledge is often location dependent also. A volcano appearing in a Mexican field is more surprising than an eruption on Hawaii. An earthquake can be anticipated in California but surprising in New York. There is no foreknowledge in a surprising event. The residents of the Gulf Coast should have expected the Katrina disaster or at least anticipated it.
Disasters can be classified in this way:Level 1:1:n
Scope = 1 (single building)
Persistence = 1 (day or less)
Foreknowledge = n (none)
An example: the crash of Flight 77 into the Pentagon
Scope = 6 (region)
Persistence = 3 (less than 96 hours)
Foreknowledge = e (expected)
An example: Hurricane Katrina
Preparedness Scale Classification
The purpose of classifying disasters is to assist in preparing for them. Disaster preparedness has two separate but compatible participants. First, those affected by a disaster and second, those whose job it is to respond to one. Each has responsibilities that compliment each other.Those that are affected by a disaster react based upon the foreknowledge available. For the Gulf Coast residents, hurricanes are both anticipated (historically hurricanes make landfall annually) and expected (forecasts are becoming increasingly accurate). Preparing for a hurricane should be a routine exercise for all residents of that area.
For California residents, earthquakes are also both anticipated (historically the area is quite active) and expected (continuing research shows ongoing movement in the earth below the state). Disaster drills are routine, but preparation needs to be also.
For those charged with responding to disasters, foreknowledge of the likely and potential disasters should effect planning and readiness states.
Preparedness Scale One - Scope
Level 1 | Single building | Family home or local business |
Level 2 | Group of contiguous buildings | Campus, mall, apartment complex |
Level 3 | Neighborhood | First responders |
Level 4 | Town or multiple neighborhoods | Municipality planning |
Level 5 | Area – multiple sites over a region | County planning |
Level 6 | Region | State planning |
Level 7 | Country/multiple Regions | National planning |
Level 8 | Multiple countries | Joint plans |
Level 9 | Hemisphere | International agreements |
Level 10 | Global |
Level 1 and 2 preparedness are the responsibility of those occupying these levels. Level 3 and 4 are the responsibility of the local fire, police and governmental units. Level 5 and 6 are the responsibility of state resources and regional cooperation. Level 7 and 8 are the responsibility of national agreements, cooperation and legislative planning. Level 9 and 10 are the responsibility of everyone.
The second requirement for preparedness is to be aware of how long the potential response will take. If you can determine that for all expected and anticipated events, the response time will be less than one hour, then your plans should encompass everything necessary to survive for that one hour. If you determine that the response time will be up to, but not more than 72 hours, your plans need to provide for everything you need to survive for that 72 hours.Preparedness Scale Two - Response
Level 1 | Less than 10 minutes |
Level 2 | Less than 1 hour |
Level 3 | 1 – 3 hours |
Level 4 | Next day |
Level 5 | 72 hours or less |
Level 6 | 4 – 14 days |
Level 7 | 3 – 4 weeks |
Level 8 | Month or more |
Level 9 | Up to 6 months |
Level 10 | Never |
Planning for a Katrina style disaster is prudent along the Gulf Coast and Eastern seaboard, but not in the Rocky Mountains or Upper Midwest. Planning for an earthquake is rational in California, but not in Maine. Planning or preparing for a Level 4-6 disaster can be expensive and time consuming especially if it is not necessary. However, knowing the types and scope of potential disasters is a part of the planning process. Once the event occurs, the ability to prepare is gone.
If all the people of the Gulf Coast had purchased in advance of Katrina all the supplies recommended, almost all the relief provided would have still been necessary as thousands of homes were destroyed or flooded. The likelihood of any one disaster occurring on a given day is very small. Even expected disasters (like a hurricane) can change location or intensity with no or little warning.
The scope and expected response classify preparedness. Specifying the foreknowledge further refines it.
Level 1:1:a Scope = 1 (single building)
Response = 1 (less than 10 minutes)
Foreknowledge = a (anticipated)
Example : Having a plan for evacuation in event of a fire
Scope = 6 (region)
Response = 5 (72 hours or less)
Foreknowledge = e (expected)
Example : Preparing for a hurricane landfall – boarding windows, ensuring adequate food, water are available, evacuation if appropriate.
Preparedness Matrix
Level 1:1:n | Level 1:4:e | Level 1:3:a |
Level 3:2:n | Level 3:5:e | Level 3:4:a |
Level 6:4:n | Level 6:8:e | Level 6:5:a |
Note: these are not recommended preparedness levels. Knowledge of the type of disasters a location is reasonably likely to have and the general preparedness levels of the surrounding areas need to be considered.
In the United States, most homeowners and businesses are in areas with an anticipated preparedness of Level 4:2 That is, multiple neighborhoods in an area can expect a response in less than one hour to a disaster affecting them. Adequate planning can and should consider the preparedness of an area.
What actual supplies will be necessary for a business or family in a disaster will vary. A family with a disabled child will have different requirements than those of a couple without children. A business with single location and a couple of employees will have fewer needs than a large business in several buildings and hundreds of on-site employees.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Who are you relying on?
If disaster struck, would you be sitting around waiting for the government to come bail you out? Do you want to appear on TV complaining that no one is helping you while you sit 10 feet from the very place disaster struck you maybe days ago?
Virtually every kid in America has come home and asked if the family had an evacuation plan if something happened....and virtually every parent said yes...with absolutely no thought to an actual answer to "what is it?".
If a tornado was heading your way, what would you do with the short notice you have?
If a blizzard was forecast, what is your plan for being stranded for days?
If a hurricane is headed your way, how will you flush the toilets, have water, survive?
If a brush fire is headed your way, what do you take?
What about disasters with no warning? Earthquakes, tsunami?
If you were told today, that you had 24 hours to prepare for no heat, electricity, transportation, telephone, internet, TV for 15 days...what are you going to do?
Want a worse case scenario? A major earthquake, 9.2, hits California this weekend and terrorists, planning for years, denonate a 1 kiloton dirty bomb in either NY or DC on the same day.
Now what?
Does your family, extended family, friends and neighbors have a plan? Why not?
The purpose of this site:
First. We will define disasters.
Second. We will begin to formulate reasonable plans to face those disasters.
Third. We will seek out suppliers and services to provide the necessary items for those reasonable plans.
If you don't have a plan for your survival, who are you relying on?