Planning for Emergencies and Disasters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Planning for Emergencies and Disasters - Essay Example There are many protocols which the emergency services use in dealing with an emergency, which usually start with planning before an emergency occurs. The planning phase starts at preparedness, where the group decide on how they will respond to a given incident or set of circumstances. Following an emergency, the groups then move to a response phase, where they execute their plans, and may end up improvising some areas of their response. Groups may then be involved in recovery following the incident, where they assist in the clear up from the incident, or help the people involved overcome their mental trauma. The final phase in the circle is mitigation which involves taking steps to ensure that no re-occurrence is possible, or putting additional plans in place to ensure less damage is done. This should feed back in to the preparedness stage, with updated plans in place to deal with future emergencies, thus completing the circle. In the event of a major incident, such as civil unrest or a major disaster, many governments maintain the right to declare a state of emergency, which gives them extensive powers over the daily lives of their citizens. If this happens, the safety of the people always comes as the first priority of the state. They should ensure the flow of the people from where the disaster has struck and to ensure that proper safekeeping and provisions were given to the inconvenienced parties. In cases wherein difficult decisions are to be made, the state should always follow one rule.