EOC and Disaster Response Operations

Recommendations /outcome of EOC and Disaster Response Operations Conference held on14-15th Feb 2011, at the initiatives of RESPECT (Renewing and Empowering Society’s Progress & Enhancing capacities Through Technologies) an NGO in knowledge collaboration with Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI), USA

Conference Objectives: “EOC & Disaster Response Operation” Conference was an attempt to sensitize administration and emergency management practitioners on issues relating to Design, Functional, operational and management aspects of Emergency Operation Center (EOC), connectivity with Incident Command Systems and the Global best practices.

Recommendations

Two days extensive deliberation during the conference were focused on

Day – 1
Seven Critical Capabilities required (1.Pre-event Intelligence Fusion and Information Exchange, 2. Adequate Staffing, 3. Knowledge, 4. Detection, 5. Unified Incident Command & Communications, 6. Specialized Equipment and 7. Inter-agency Response) for enabling Effective Disaster Mitigation, Planning, Response and Recovery considering Seven critical threat i.e. Human+ BNICE+ Cyber: (1) Human threat, (2) Biological, (3) Nuclear / radiological, (4) Incendiary, (5) Chemical, (6) Explosive, and (7) Cyber against information and data systems. At least seven elements were distilled from summit discussions as essential for first responders to operate effectively and safely against these seven threats at a catastrophic hazardous event.

Day-2 EOC facility design, operation and management considerations.

Summery of the recommendations emerged out of discussion deliberation are as given below, marked with the attention of concerning agency below each.

General recommendation

1. Need for a consistent State-level statutory framework for implementation of the National Disaster Response System (NDRS). (Applies to National, State levels)
2. Need for consistent training and education for key disaster responders. (Applies to National, State, province, local and first responder agency levels)
3. Need to develop and implement programs that will help make citizens an effective part of the NDRS at the local level. (Applies to National, State, province, local and first responder agency
levels)
4. Need an established mechanism for dynamic validation, maintenance and sharing of emergency response Plans and resource databases .(Applies to National, State, province, local and first responder agency levels)
5. Need to design and establish an EOC and disaster response system performance audit to identify strength and weaknesses on regular basis. (Applies to State, province, local and first responder agency levels)
6. There needs to design and establish a “national system of disaster response Lessons Learned and Best Practices” which is accessible to administrations and responders at all levels. This will also provide the basis for responder training and education through the country. (Applies to National, State, province, local and first responder agency levels)
7. Need to plan, design and establish Integeration mechanism for linking national and state disaster intelligence fusion centers and enable local and province responders access to and communications reporting to them. (Applies to National, State, province, local and first responder agency levels)
8. Need to plan, design and establish a system to integrate Local, State, District, and Federal plans dynamically. (Applies to National, State, province, local and first responder agency levels)
9. Need to plan and establish a mechanism which will enable mandatory participation of Key officials and decision-makers in pre-event training, planning and exercises. (Applies to National, State, province, local and first responder agency levels)
10. Need for planning and establishing a training mechanism for Emergency responder’s n the use of The Indian Disaster Resource Network (IDRN), state disaster resource networks and other relevant disaster response support systems. (Applies to National, State, province, local and first responder agency levels)
11. Need to plan, design and establish a CIKR (critical infrastructures and key resources) directory with adequate monitoring system in place. The CIKR director may include -
Protecting and ensuring the resilience of the National critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR) is essential to the nation’s security, public health and safety, economic vitality and the way of life. India, urgently, needs a national policy program for preventing, deterring, neutralizing, or mitigating the effects of deliberate efforts by terrorist to destroy, incapacitate, or exploit elements of our Nation’s CIKR. (Applies to National, State, province levels)

Recommendations on - Emergency Operation center (EOC) – design, implementation, operation and management
21. Need to plan and establish system to ensure that State EOC networks ICT infrastructures are compatible in each state for seamless sharing of databases and applications during planning, response and recovery. (Applies to National, State, province, local and first responder agency levels)
22. Uniform and compatible State EOC ICT infrastructures design consideration should include
a. Standardized spatial data infrastructure (SDI);(Applies to National, and State agency levels)

b. State wide area network for steady-state communication linkages ;(Applies to National, and State agency levels)
c. Standardized VSAT based communication network for emergency communication. There should be a single VSAT based National network of emergency communication and alls states should subscribed to that. This will avoid duplication of Hub resources in each state. (Applies to National, and State agency levels)
d. Standardized Decision support system in each state so as common pool of prediction model (simulation model) for cyclone, earthquake, flood and gas leakages can be used by all states. (Applies to National, and State agency levels)
e. Uniform and compatible mass messaging system for each state so as resources from across the state can also be alerted during certain critical incidents. (Applies to National, and State agency levels)
f. Each state EOC should have compatible (IP based) be Unified communication infrastructures for seamless Integeration of voice communication or call centers. (Applies to National, and State agency levels)
g. Each state EOC should have compatible (IP based) be Unified communication infrastructures for seamless Integeration of voice communication or call centers. India needs a Unified Emergency Call Center with unique calling number for through the country and creation of unified communication infrastructures will be enabler for a national emergency service call center. (Applies to National, and State agency levels)
h. Uniform public alert and warning system working on Common Alert protocol (CAP). Alert and warning system created in each state should have manageability from any level (national, state and local). (Applies to National, and State agency levels)
i. EOC facility management on PPP Model – Looking to the low ICT skill set available in the Government system and the frequently changing technology scenario, PPP (private-public-partnership) model would suite best for planning, designing, implementation and management of EOC (s) ICT infrastructures in each state. Central Government should draw standard based policy guidelines on EOC(s) technical and management specifications to be followed by each state, in order to ensure that system installed in different states talk to each other. (Applies to National, and State agency levels)