Communications Plan for New Orleans - Report Example

Communications Plan for New Orleans Copyright Communication systems must be readily available, reliable and properly maintained to support adisaster. Also, procedures for the use of such communication channels and their allocation should provide maximum utility, coordination and flexibility during disasters. Thus, it is important that towns, cities, local governments and regions try to develop communication plans that will ensure that those who are involved in the management of emergencies do have the best support and are able to act in a coordinated manner. This brief report presents a broad communication plan for the City of El Cerrito in California that is likely to be of use in supporting the Incident Command that has been designated for disaster management. Declaration I certify that, except where cited in the text, this work is the result of research carried out by the author of this study. _____________________________________________ Name and Signature of Author September 2008 This write - up is presented in fulfilment for the requirements related to a report on an Emergency Communications Plan for New Orleans. Biographical Sketch Acknowledgements Contents Introduction 1 Administration 2 Operations 4 Communications Teams 5 Administrative Units 5 Logistics Units 6 Systems Requirements 6 Equipment Requirements 7 Communications Mutual Assistance 7 Conclusion 8 Bibliography/ References 10 (This page intentionally blank) Introduction The scope of this plan encompasses the City of El Cerrito within the State of California in the United States of America. Relevant statutes within California require that county and local governments maintain emergency preparedness. An emergency communications plan is an important part of the overall emergency preparedness because such a plan enables coordinated action to be made possible in an emergence, such as a hurricane or other natural disaster. A communication plan usually contains emergency, administrative and regulatory information that is needed by managers who are involved with disaster management (Federal Communications Commission, “Communication Plans”). The plan which has been presented here presents salient features of who and what will be involved in an emergency and what procedures will be required to be implemented. The next section presents the administration structure for an emergency and this is followed by the operational aspects that are likely to be of use. Administration Those who are expected to play a leading role in managing an emergency in the El Cerrito include the Incident Commander / Manager, the planning unit, the administration or records unit, the operations units and the logistics units. It is expected that the Incident Commander will be the overall in charge of emergency operations and communications in the event of an emergency. The Incident Commander will do all that can be done to manage an emergency from a Command Post which will be connected to other operational, logistics and planning units through a variety of communication channels which can include telephone lines, wireless radio communication and emergency radio. Reports that are provided from a variety of sources, including the general public, law enforcement, fire brigade or news reporters will be assessed by the planning unit and a holistic picture will be available to the Incident Commander whose command post is linked to the planning, logistic and operational units through all possible channels including the ones described previously. When a disaster is expected or an unexpected disaster report reaches a reporting centre, it is passed on to the planning unit. Depending on the nature of the threat that is expected, the planning unit will request the Incident Commander to declare full emergency procedural response. A full emergency procedure will require that alerts be issued to all emergency services including Police, Fire Brigade, Health Services and volunteer groups including local reserves. If the magnitude of the emergency is sufficiently large, the Federal Emergency Management Authority will also be notified and any emergency assistance provided will be allocated and coordinated by the Incident Commander. The planning unit continues to present reports and plans for disaster management related to the evolving picture that emerges from ongoing reports that they receive from a variety of sources to the Incident Commander. Operational and logistics units are provided broad directions for action by the Incident Commander who also decides what should be made available to the media and when. The Incident Commander will usually issue broad directives to the Operations Board, which consists of Police, Fire and Health Services chiefs. The chiefs can decide about how best to assign priorities, utilise available resources and allocate tasks amongst those that are under their command. The Incident Commander and other chiefs will ensure that adequate communications resources that are likely to be required during a disaster are available and supported. A variety of communications channels may be envisaged and these may include analogue and digital communications equipment, internet networks, vehicles and telephone sets or mobile radios etc. A communication policy that requires level of threat to be classified according to severity with directives about what to do with various threat levels should be developed. Directives about communications reliability should be decided and communicated to operations and communications teams. A list of phone numbers, emails, radio frequency allocations and other general orders should be maintained at all times. Citizen access channels and procedures should be clearly decided in any emergency planning. Operations Operational teams from Police, Fire Brigade and Health Services as well as volunteers or reservists are required to be in position at pre-assigned locations to meet various threat levels or in accordance with the decision of the Incident Commander. The minimum number of personnel for each operation team is two and these teams should have the required equipment and communication resources to perform their envisaged function. Normally operational teams will be under the command of their chiefs, but these teams are expected to be in constant contact with the planning team so that they can also report evolving situations. Operational teams may be dispatched by the Incident Commander or the planning section to render assistance in accordance with predetermined dispatch rules. These dispatch rules will take into account the severity of situations and the strength of the ethical requirements to assist. Thus, a potentially life threatening situation will have a higher priority as compared to situations of lesser severity, such as damage to property. Communications Teams For a city which is the size of El Cerrito, it makes sense to have in place communications teams that will deploy emergency backup communications systems according to an agreed arrangement in the event of a disaster. Such teams should also be ready to attempt to repair disrupted communication systems during a disaster. Emergency base stations, relays and radio systems with best possible configuration and functionality are the responsibility of the communications teams and these teams should be able to rig up temporary systems if required to ensure that communications is possible. Emergency systems that can be rapidly rigged may include satellite voice and data systems and radio / wireless data systems. Communications teams will be in constant touch with the Incident Commander and the planning unit, but their task is to ensure that the best possible communication systems are deployed and maintained in emergency situations. Administrative Units Administrative units usually handle the financial allocation for resources that are required in an emergency and provide support for coordination. Logistics Units Logistics units are used to support and to provide supplies to areas where they are needed. Thus, logistics units are likely to be equipped with a variety of vehicles that will be useful in various situations during an emergency and communications systems that will support mobile logistics activities. Logistics units are likely to receive coordinated instructions from Incident Commander and the planning unit. Systems Requirements All vehicles that are likely to be involved in emergency duties should have two – way radio communication capability. However, in addition to the basic radio system, a variety of systems are likely to be used to provide support during disaster situations. These include VDR Channels, SMC / CMC channels, automated vehicle location systems, repeaters, base stations, paging systems, portable systems and mobile / wireless LAN systems. Equipment Requirements Communication equipment that is required to be used specifically for an emergency should be extremely rugged and should at least meet military specifications. Mobile data computer equipment should be able to withstand rain, salt fog, dust, vibration and shock. Encryption and authentication systems and procedures should permit information security on desired channels. Software and hardware should be able to permit connectivity on several different schemes, such as Secured Sockets Layer (SSL), Virtual Private Networks (VPN) or Frame Relay etc. Antenna systems should be rugged and capable of being readily repaired and deployed. Wireless LAN systems should be able to provide acceptable levels of security and reliability. Communications Mutual Assistance Various agencies that exist, such as the Fire Brigade, Police, Health Services and or even the paramilitary units are likely to have their own communication systems. Also, radio armatures and other citizens will also have their own communication capabilities. Communication mutual assistance refers to extending the maximum possible assistance to each other in the event of a disaster or emergency incident so that the best can be done to utilize available resources and to maintain communication channels. (This page intentionally blank) Bibliography/ References 1. City of El Cerrito, California. Incident Command: El Cerrito Fire Department. City of El Cerrito, California, 2008. September 20, 2008. http://www.el-cerrito.org/fire/incident_command.html 2. Federal Communications Commission. Communication Plans. Federal Communication Commission, 2008. September 20, 2008. http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/clearinghouse/comm-plans.html Read More