8 ASPECTOS ÉTICOS
9.4 Hallazgos Operatorios
The incident commander (IC) prepares to delegate responsibilities as needed to maintain focus on the overall situation. The IC needs to assign positions, such as debrief- ers, coordinators, and unit leaders, to manage the command center. As the response and recovery process proceeds, the IC needs to have an ongoing dialogue with staff members and officials to monitor and manage the response. The IC needs to evaluate the continu- ing needs of the responders and determine if additional resources are needed. In the after- action reports, discussion and evaluation of the disaster determines the success based on the initial competence and effectiveness of the incident commander and the center.
Federal Response
Once the governor has determined that a disaster event has overwhelmed the capac- ity of state and local governments to effectively respond and subsequently fund the
recovery effort, the governor forwards a letter to the president requesting a presi- dential disaster declaration. This is the first step toward involving federal officials, agencies and departments, and resources in a disaster event (see Figure 4–2). If the event is declared a major disaster by the president, 32 federal departments and agencies, including the American Red Cross, work together to support the efforts of state and local officials.
The Department of Homeland Security, through FEMA, is responsible for coordi- nating all federal activities in support of state and local response and recovery efforts in a presidentially declared disaster. In such an instance, FEMA activates the National Response Plan. FEMA also manages several programs that provide disaster assistance to individuals and affected communities. These programs are discussed in detail in Chapter 5.
FIGURE 4–2 Flow of initial national-level incident management actions. Source: DHS National
Presidential Disaster Declaration Process
The presidential disaster declaration makes available the resources of the federal govern- ment to the disaster area. Although a formal declaration does not have to be signed for the federal government to respond, the governor must make a formal request for assis- tance and specify in the request the specific needs of the disaster area. The presidential major disaster declaration process is provided as follows:
Federal, state, local, tribal, private-sector, and nongovernmental organizations report threats, incidents, and potential incidents using established communications and reporting channels. The Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC) receives threat and operational information regarding incidents or potential incidents and makes an initial determination to initiate the coordination of federal information-sharing and incident management activities.
The decision to make a disaster declaration is completely at the discretion of the presi- dent. There are no set criteria to follow and no government regulations to guide which events are declared by the president and which events are not. FEMA developed several factors it considers in making its recommendation to the president, including individual property losses per capita, level of damage to existing community infrastructure, and insurance coverage. In the end, however, the decision to make the declaration is the president’s alone.
A presidential disaster declaration can be made in as short a time as a few hours, as was the case in the 1994 Northridge earthquake and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
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Presidential Major Disaster Declaration Process
A disaster declaration should include the following guidelines:
• Contact is made between the affected state and the FEMA regional office. This contact may take place before or immediately following the disaster. • If it appears the situation is beyond state and local capacity, the state
requests FEMA to conduct a joint preliminary damage assessment (PDA). Participants in the PDA include FEMA, state, local government, and other federal agency representatives.
• Based on the PDA findings, the governor submits a request to the president through the FEMA regional director for either a major disaster or an emergency declaration and identifying the counties affected.
• The FEMA regional office submits a summary of the event and a
recommendation based on the results of the PDA to FEMA headquarters, along with the governor’s request.
• On receipt of these documents, headquarters senior staff convenes to discuss the request and determine the recommendation to be made to the president. • FEMA’s recommendation is forwarded to the White House for review. • The president declares a major disaster or an emergency.
Sometimes, it takes weeks for damages to be assessed and the capability of state and local jurisdictions to fund response and recovery efforts to be evaluated. If the governor’s request is turned down by the president, the governor has a right to appeal and can be successful, especially if new damage data become available and are included in the appeal.
Presidential declarations are routinely sought for such events as large floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and big tornadoes. In recent years, governors have become more inventive and requested presidential disaster declarations for snow removal, drought, West Nile virus, and economic losses caused by failing industries such as the Northwest salmon spawning decline.
Since 1976, there have been 1,179 presidential disaster declarations, averaging 38 declarations per year (see Table 4–1). As an example of disaster declaration activity in a sin- gle year, in 2006, there were 52 major disaster declarations in 33 states (see Table 4–2).
Table 4–1 Total Major Disaster Declarations, 1976–2006
Total Disaster Number above or
Year Declarations (below) Average
1976 30 (8) 1977 22 (16) 1978 25 (13) 1979 42 4 1980 23 (15) 1981 15 (23) 1982 24 (14) 1983 21 (17) 1984 34 (4) 1985 27 (11) 1986 28 (10) 1987 23 (15) 1988 11 (27) 1989 31 (7) 1990 38 0 1991 43 5 1992 45 7 1993 32 (6) 1994 36 (2) 1995 32 (6) 1996 75 37 1997 44 6 1998 65 27 1999 50 12 2000 45 7 2001 45 7 2002 49 11 2003 56 18 2004 68 30 2005 48 10 2006 52 14 Total 1,179 Average 38.0 Source:www.fema.gov.
Table 4–2 FEMA Major Disaster Activity, January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2006
Date State Title
12/29 Missouri Severe winter storms
12/29 Oregon Severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides 12/12 Washington Severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides 12/12 New York Severe storms and flooding
12/08 Alaska Severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides 11/02 Louisiana Severe storms and flooding
11/02 Missouri Severe storms
10/27 Alaska Fire
10/24 New York Severe storms and flooding
10/17 Hawaii Earthquake
10/16 Alaska Severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides 10/06 Indiana Severe storms and flooding
09/22 Virginia Severe storms and flooding, including severe storms and flooding associated with Tropical Depression Ernesto
09/07 Arizona Severe storms and flooding 08/30 New Mexico Severe storms and flooding
08/15 Texas Flooding
08/04 Alaska Snow melt and ice jam flooding
08/01 Ohio Severe storms, straight line winds, and flooding 07/13 Virginia Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding 07/05 Delaware Severe storms and flooding
07/07 New Jersey Severe storms and flooding
07/02 Maryland Severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes
07/02 Ohio Severe storms, tornadoes, straight line winds, and flooding 07/01 New York Severe storms and flooding
06/30 Pennsylvania Severe storms, flooding, and mudslides 06/05 Minnesota Flooding
06/05 South Dakota Severe winter storm
06/05 California Severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides 06/05 North Dakota Severe storms, flooding, and ground saturation 05/25 Maine Severe storms and flooding
05/25 New Hampshire Severe storms and flooding 05/25 Massachusetts Severe storms and flooding
05/17 Washington Severe storms, flooding, tidal surge, landslides, and mudslides 05/02 Hawaii Severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides
04/14 Kansas Severe storms, tornadoes, and straight line winds 04/13 Oklahoma Severe storms and tornadoes
04/12 Arkansas Severe storms and tornadoes
04/05 Missouri Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding 04/06 Tennessee Severe storms and tornadoes
03/28 Illinois Tornadoes and severe storms
03/20 Oregon Severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides 03/16 Missouri Severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding
02/27 Idaho Severe storms and flooding 02/03 Nevada Severe storms and flooding
02/03 California Severe storms, flooding, mudslides, and landslides
(Continued)
Critical Thinking
Should there be more strict guidelines about what events the president can declare a disaster? Why or why not?
Federal Response Plan and National Response Plan
In 1992 the Federal Emergency Management Agency developed the Federal Response Plan (FRP). FEMA defined the FRP as a
Signed agreement among 27 Federal departments and agencies, including the American Red Cross, that: Provides the mechanism for coordinating delivery of Federal assistance and resources to augment efforts of State and local gov- ernments overwhelmed by a major disaster or emergency, Supports implemen- tation of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 5121, et seq.), as well as individual agency statutory authorities and Supplements other Federal emergency operations plans devel- oped to address specific hazards.
The fundamental goal of the FRP was to maximize available federal resources in support of response and recovery actions taken by state and local emergency officials.
Table 4–2—Cont'd
01/26 Nebraska Severe winter storm 01/26 Kansas Severe winter storm 01/20 South Carolina Severe ice storm 01/11 Texas Extreme wildfire threat 01/10 Oklahoma Severe wildfire threat 01/04 Minnesota Severe winter storm 01/04 North Dakota Severe winter storm
Types of Federal Assistance Available
The Federal Response Plan made available the following types of assistance:
To deliver immediate relief:
• Initial response resources, including food, water, emergency generators. • Emergency services to clear debris, open critical transportation routes,
Following the absorption of FEMA into the Department of Homeland Security, on February 18, 2003, President Bush signed Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5) “to enhance the ability of the United States to manage domestic incidents by establishing a single, comprehensive national incident management system.” This action authorized the design and development of a National Response Plan to “align Federal coordination structures, capabilities, and resources into a unified, all-discipline, and all-hazards approach to domestic incident management.” The Department of Homeland Security writes,
(From the NRP Letter of Agreement) The NRP is an all-discipline, all-hazards
plan that establishes a single, comprehensive framework for the management of domestic incidents. It provides the structure and mechanisms for the coordination of Federal support to State, local, and tribal incident managers and for exercising direct Federal authorities and responsibilities. The NRP assists in the important homeland security mission of preventing terrorist attacks within the United States; reducing the vulnerability to all natural and manmade hazards; and minimizing the damage and assisting in the recovery from any type of incident that occurs.
The NRP was designed according to the template of the National Incident Management System (released March 1, 2004) to ensure that a consistent doctrinal framework exists for the management of incidents at all jurisdictional levels, regardless of the incident cause, size, or complexity. NIMS was created to integrate effective practices in emergency preparedness and response into a comprehensive national framework for incident man- agement. NIMS enables responders at all levels to work together more effectively and efficiently to manage domestic incidents no matter what the cause, size, or complexity, including catastrophic acts of terrorism and disasters.
The Department of Homeland Security lists the benefits of the NIMS system to be • Standardized organizational structures, processes, and procedures.
• Standards for planning, training, and exercising and personnel qualification standards.
• Equipment acquisition and certification standards.
• Interoperable communications processes, procedures, and systems.
Critical Thinking 119
To speed return to normal and reduce damage from future occurrences:
• Loans and grants to repair or replace damaged housing and personal property. • Grants to repair or replace roads and public buildings, incorporating to the
extent practical hazard-reduction structural and nonstructural measures. • Technical assistance to identify and implement mitigation opportunities to
reduce future losses.
• Other assistance, including crisis counseling, tax relief, legal services, job placement.
• Information management systems.
• Supporting technologies—voice and data communications systems, information systems, data display systems, and specialized technologies.
Consistent with the model provided in the NIMS, the NRP can be partially or fully implemented in the context of a threat, anticipation of a significant event, or the response to a significant event. Selective implementation through the activation of one or more of the system’s components allows for flexibility in meeting the unique operational and information-sharing requirements of the situation at hand and enabling effective interac- tion among various federal and nonfederal entities.
The NRP provides the framework for federal interaction with state, local, and tribal governments; the private sector; and NGOs in the context of domestic incident prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery activities. It describes capabilities and resources and establishes responsibilities, operational processes, and protocols to help protect the nation from terrorist attacks and other natural and human-made hazards; save lives; protect public health, safety, property, and the environment; and reduce adverse psychological consequences and disruptions. Finally, the NRP serves as the foun- dation for the development of detailed supplemental plans and procedures to effectively and efficiently implement federal incident management activities and assistance in the context of specific types of incidents.
The NRP establishes mechanisms to
• Maximize the integration of incident-related prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery activities.
• Improve coordination and integration of federal, state, local, tribal, regional, private-sector, and nongovernmental organization partners.
• Maximize efficient utilization of resources needed for effective incident management and critical infrastructure/key resources (CI/KR) protection and restoration.
• Improve incident management communications and increase situational awareness across jurisdictions and between the public and private sectors.
• Facilitate emergency mutual aid and federal emergency support to state, local, and tribal governments.
• Facilitate federal-to-federal interaction and emergency support.
• Provide a proactive and integrated federal response to catastrophic events. • Address linkages to other federal incident management and emergency response
plans developed for specific types of incidents or hazards.
The NRP covers the full range of complex and constantly changing requirements in anticipation of, or in response to, threats or acts of terrorism, major disasters, and other emergencies. The NRP also provides the basis to initiate long-term community recov- ery and mitigation activities. The NRP establishes interagency and multijurisdictional mechanisms for federal government involvement in, and DHS coordination of, domestic incident management operations. This includes coordinating structures and processes for incidents requiring:
• Federal support to state, local, and tribal governments. • Federal-to-federal support.
• The exercise of direct federal authorities and responsibilities, as appropriate under the law.
• Public- and private-sector domestic incident management integration.
The NRP distinguishes between incidents that require DHS coordination, termed incidents
of national significance, and the majority of incidents occurring each year that are handled by
responsible jurisdictions or agencies through other established authorities and existing plans. In addition, the NRP
• Recognizes and incorporates the various jurisdictional and functional authorities of federal departments and agencies; state, local, and tribal governments; and private-sector organizations in domestic incident management.
• Details the specific domestic incident management roles and responsibilities of the secretary of homeland security, attorney general, secretary of defense, secretary of state, and other departments and agencies involved in domestic incident management as defined in HSPD-5 and other relevant statutes and directives. • Establishes the multiagency organizational structures and processes required to
implement the authorities, roles, and responsibilities of the secretary of homeland security as the principal federal official for domestic incident management.
The NRP is applicable to all federal departments and agencies that may be requested to provide assistance or conduct operations in the context of actual or potential incidents of national significance. This includes the American Red Cross, which functions as an emergency support function (ESF) primary organization in coordinating the use of mass care resources in a presidentially declared disaster or emergency. The NRP is applicable to incidents that may occur at sites under the control of the legislative or judicial branches of the federal government.
Based on the criteria established in HSPD-5, incidents of national significance are those high-impact events that require a coordinated and effective response by an appro- priate combination of federal, state, local, tribal, private-sector, and nongovernmental entities to save lives, minimize damage, and provide the basis for long-term community recovery and mitigation activities.
The NRP bases the definition of incidents of national significance on situations related to the following four criteria set forth in HSPD-5:
1. A federal department or agency acting under its own authority has requested the assistance of the secretary of homeland security.
2. The resources of state and local authorities are overwhelmed and federal assistance has been requested by the appropriate state and local authorities. Examples include
a. Major disasters or emergencies as defined under the Stafford Act. b. Catastrophic incidents.
3. More than one federal department or agency has become substantially involved in responding to an incident. Examples include
a. Credible threats, indications or warnings of imminent terrorist attack, or acts of terrorism directed domestically against the people, property, environment, or political or legal institutions of the United States or its territories or possessions.
b. Threats or incidents related to high-profile, large-scale events that present high-probability targets such as national special security events (NSSEs) and other special events as determined by the secretary of homeland security, in coordination with other federal departments and agencies.
4. The secretary of homeland security has been directed to assume responsibility for managing a domestic incident by the president. Additionally, since incidents of national significance typically result in impacts far beyond the immediate or initial incident area, the NRP provides a framework to enable the management of cascading impacts and multiple incidents as well as the prevention of and preparation for subsequent events. Examples of incident management actions from a national perspective include
• Increasing nationwide public awareness.
• Assessing trends that point to potential terrorist activity.
• Elevating the national Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS) alert condition and coordinating protective measures across jurisdictions. • Increasing countermeasures such as inspections, surveillance, security,
counterintelligence, and infrastructure protection.
• Conducting public health surveillance and assessment processes and, where appropriate, conducting a wide range of prevention measures to include but not be limited to immunizations.
• Providing immediate and long-term public health and medical response assets. • Coordinating federal support to state, local, and tribal authorities in the
aftermath of an incident.
• Providing strategies for coordination of federal resources required to handle subsequent events.
• Restoring public confidence after a terrorist attack.
• Enabling immediate recovery activities, as well as addressing long-term consequences in the impacted area.
Signatory Partners
There are 32 signatory partners in the NRP. Each of these partners serves as a primary agency or support agency in one or more of the 15 emergency support functions in the NRP. FEMA defines primary and support agencies as follows.
Primary Agencies. A federal agency designated as an ESF primary agency serves as a fed-
eral executive agent under the federal coordinating officer (or federal resource coordinator for non-Stafford Act incidents) to accomplish the ESF mission. When an ESF is activated in response to an incident of national significance, the primary agency is responsible for
• Orchestrating federal support within its functional area for an affected state. • Providing staff for the operations functions at fixed and field facilities. • Notifying and requesting assistance from support agencies.
• Managing mission assignments and coordinating with support agencies, as well as appropriate state agencies.
• Working with appropriate private-sector organizations to maximize use of all available resources.
• Supporting and keeping other ESFs and organizational elements informed of ESF operational priorities and activities.
• Executing contracts and procuring goods and services as needed. • Ensuring financial and property accountability for ESF activities.
• Planning for short-term and long-term incident management and recovery operations. • Maintaining trained personnel to support interagency emergency response and
support teams.
Support Agencies. When an ESF is activated in response to an incident of national sig-
nificance, support agencies are responsible for
• Conducting operations, when requested by DHS or the designated ESF primary agency, using their own authorities, subject-matter experts, capabilities, or