Tasks and Tools: The Emergency Managers Milieu

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Tasks and Tools The Emergency Managers Milieu
For Environmental Risk and Emergency
Management ISESS 2004 Dennis Atwood
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EM Opportunity

• To apply the increasing capabilities of
  information technology tools to current and
  anticipated key functions in preparedness,
  response, recovery and mitigation
• In compliance with policies, directives,
  standards and requirements
• In a manner which enables institutionalization
  without disruption

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EM Challenge

• To apply the increasing capabilities of
  information technology tools to current and
  anticipated key functions in preparedness,
  response, recovery and mitigation
• In compliance with policies, directives,
  standards and requirements
• In a manner which enables institutionalization
  with minimal disruption

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Emergency Managers Role

• All-hazards, risk based, comprehensive emergency
  management
• Post 9-11 and establishment of Department of
  Homeland Security additional responsibilities
  for terrorism preparedness
• Threat information WMD/CBRNE
• Planning, Training, Equipping, Exercising
• Infrastructure protection and assurance
• Relationship with Homeland Security Advisors

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EM Phases

• Preparedness
• Response
• Recovery
• Mitigation

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MMRS Purpose

• Supports local jurisdictions enhancing and
  maintaining all-hazards response capabilities
  to manage mass casualty incidents during early
  hours critical to life-saving and population
  protection, to include
• Terrorist acts using WMD/CBRNE
• HazMat incidents
• Epidemic disease outbreaks
• Natural disasters

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MMRS Linking Response Systems
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MMRS SUSTAINMENT DYNAMICSJurisdictions Must
Manage Changes In

• Terrorist threats
• Disease threats
• Demographics (special needs, culture, languages)
• Definitive care resources
• Pharmaceuticals (Project BioShield)
• Training audience, courses, delivery modes
• Technology surveillance, detection, information
  systems interoperability, and medical treatment
  modalities

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FY 04 MMRS Focal Points

• Radiological event (RDD and NucWeap)
• Quarantine/isolation capabilities
• Automated support and systems interoperability
  for unified command/area command decision making
  and resource management
• Viability (operational resources) for medical
  treatment surge facilities
• Adoption of NIMS and achieving NRP/CIRA
  venue-specific planning (MMRS essential core
  local capabilities)

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Mass Casualty/Trauma Preparedness MMRS
essential core local capabilities
External Resources

• - Epidemic Disease
• Large HazMat
• Natural Disaster

• Mass Casualty/Trauma

CBRNE Capability
MMRS - Local
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National Incident Management System (NIMS)
HSPD-5

• NIMS strengthens America's response capabilities
  by identifying and integrating core elements and
  best practices for all responders and incident
  managers.  
• Through a balance between flexibility and
  standardization, and use of common doctrine,
  terminology, concepts, principles, and processes,
  execution during a real incident will be
  consistent and seamless.  Responders will be able
  to focus more on response, instead of organizing
  the response, and teamwork and assignments among
  all authorities will be clearly enhanced.

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NIMS (contd -2)

• Incident Command System (ICS). NIMS outlines a
  standard incident management organization called
  ICS that establishes five functional
  areas--command, operations, planning, logistics,
  and finance/administration--for management of all
  major incidents.   To ensure further coordination
  and during incidents involving multiple
  jurisdictions or agencies, the principle of
  unified command has been universally incorporated
  into NIMS.

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NIMS (contd -3)

•  Preparedness.  Responder readiness to manage and
  conduct incident actions is significantly
  enhanced if professionals have worked together
  before an incident.  NIMS recognizes this and
  defines advance preparedness measures such as
  planning, training, exercises, qualification and
  certification, equipment acquisition and
  certification, and publication management.
   Preparedness also incorporates mitigation
  activities such as public education, enforcement
  of building standards and codes, and preventive
  measures to deter or lessen the loss of life or
  property.

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NIMS (contd -4)

• Communications and Information Management.
  Standardized communications during an incident
  are essential and NIMS prescribes interoperable
  communications systems for both incident and
  information management.  Responders and managers
  across all agencies and jurisdictions must have a
  common operating picture for a more efficient and
  effective incident response.  

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NIMS (contd -5)

• Joint Information System (JIS).  NIMS
  organizational measures further enhance the
  public communication effort.  The Joint
  Information System provides the public with
  timely and accurate incident information and
  unified public messages.  This system employs
  Joint Information Centers and brings incident
  communicators together during an incident to
  develop, coordinate, and deliver a unified
  message

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NIMS (contd -6)

• NIMS Integration Center (NIC).  To ensure that
  NIMS remains an accurate and effective management
  tool, the NIMS NIC will assess proposed changes
  to NIMS, capture and evaluate lessons learned,
  and employ best practices.  The NIC will
• provide strategic direction and oversight of the
  NIMS, supporting both routine maintenance and
  continuous refinement of the system and its
  components over the long term.  
• develop and facilitate national standards for
  NIMS education and training, first responder
  communications and equipment, typing of
  resources, qualification and credentialing of
  incident management and responder personnel, and
  standardization of equipment maintenance and
  resources.  

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NIMS (contd -7)

•  continue to use the collaborative process of
  Federal, state, tribal, local, multi-discipline
  and private authorities to assess prospective
  changes and assure continuity and accuracy.
• Federal Assistance requirement. HSPD-5 requires
  Federal departments and agencies to make adoption
  of the NIMS by State, Tribal, and local
  organizations a condition for Federal
  preparedness assistance beginning in FY 2005
  October 1, 2004.

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Interoperability SoR

• April 26, 2004
• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's
  Science and Technology Directorate today
  announced the release of the first comprehensive
  Statement of Requirements (SoR) document
  outlining future technology requirements for
  public safety wireless communications and
  interoperability.  The SoR can be found at
  www.safecomprogram.gov.

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Interoperability SoR - 2

• The SoR, developed under the SAFECOM Program,
  marks the first time the 50,000 public safety
  agencies have a document that defines future
  requirements for communicating and sharing
  information -- as authorized, when and where
  needed, and in a manner that allows for the most
  effective use of that information.  
• The SoR provides the public safety community with
  a shared vision and describes how first
  responders can use in-the-field information
  resources more efficiently when responding to a
  variety of emergency events.  The SoR's other
  purposes are to encourage the communications
  industry to better align its research and
  development efforts with public safety needs and
  to identify public safety operational issues when
  discussions regarding laws and regulations take
  place.

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Plume Modeling

• Eric J. Barron, Ph.D.Chairman of the Board on
  Atmospheric Sciences and Climate Member of the
  Committee on the Atmospheric Dispersion of
  Hazardous Material ReleasesNational Research
  CouncilThe National Academies
• June 2, 2003

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Plume Modeling Barron - 2

• Atmospheric scientists and emergency managers
  have long been concerned with tracking and
  predicting the atmospheric dispersal of hazardous
  agents that are accidentally released from
  industrial sites, energy facilities, and
  transport vehicles. Today, the terrorist threat
  carries with it the possible use of weapons of
  mass destruction, including the deliberate
  release of chemical / biological / nuclear
  (C/B/N) agents.

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Plume Modeling Barron - 3

• Our ability to track the dispersal of these
  agents has become a critical element of terrorism
  planning and response. Because it is impossible
  to anticipate all possible scenarios for airborne
  release of a C/B/N agent, and in many cases, the
  exact source location or nature may not be known
  initially, dispersion modeling systems must be
  capable of providing useful information even in
  the absence of some basic input information. This
  presents a tremendous technical challenge.

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Plume Modeling Barron - 4

• Our capacity to meet this challenge rests upon
  three interconnected elements
• 1) atmospheric dispersion models that predict
  the path and spread of the hazardous agents,
• 2) observations of the plume and of local
  meteorological conditions, and
• 3) effective communication and coordination among
  the relevant atmospheric science and emergency
  response communities.

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Plume Modeling Barron - 5

• Dispersion modeling systems range from the
  relatively simple to the highly complex, and they
  can potentially be used to assist emergency
  management personnel in the following stages of
  an event preparedness stage for predicting
  the outcome of possible C/B/N release
  scenarios. response stage for evaluating the
  hazard zone in the minutes to hours after an
  event occurs. recovery and analysis stage for
  assessing human health and environmental impacts
  in the days to months after the event occurs.

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Plume Modeling Barron - 6

• For each of these stages, different dispersion
  modeling capabilities are required. For
  preparedness activities (e.g., training for
  response to threats against specific events such
  as the Olympics, or specific targets such as a
  nuclear power plant), existing dispersion models
  appear to satisfy many of the needs of the
  emergency response community.
• Likewise, for post-event recovery and analysis
  (e.g., reconstructing the dispersal paths of
  radioactive material released from the Chernobyl
  reactor accident or assessing what communities
  were exposed to smoke plumes from the World Trade
  Center fires), existing models also seem to
  provide useful support.

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Plume Modeling Barron - 7

• However, in the case of immediate response to
  unanticipated emergency events, where
  fast-response models are required, the needs of
  emergency management do not seem to be well
  satisfied by existing capabilities. There is
  clearly room for improvement in the dispersion
  models currently in operational use.

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Plume Modeling
WALTER CHROBAK HEADQUARTERS PROGRAM
MANAGER NATIONAL ATMOSPHERIC RELEASE ADVISORY
CENTER (NARAC) OFFICE OF EMERGENCY
OPERATIONS NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
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Plume Modeling
In general, modeling is never precise enough to
draw definitive conclusions, and DOD did not have
accurate information on source term (such as the
quantity and purity - concentration - of the
agent) and meteorological conditions (such as
wind and weather patterns) essential to valid
modeling. In particular the models DOD selected
were not fully developed and validated for
long-range environmental fallout the source term
assumptions were not accurate the plume height
was underestimated the modeling only considered
the effects on health of a single bombing
field-testing at Dugway Proving Ground did not
realistically simulate the actual bombing
conditions and divergence in results among
models. GAO Highlights Preliminary Assessment
of DOD Plume Modeling for U.S. Troops' Exposure
to Chemical Agents June 2, 2003
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Plume Modeling
SO, WHEREARE WE? WHAT CAPABILITIES HAVE BEEN
DEVELOPED TO SUPPORT OPERATIONAL
REQUIREMENTS? NARAC, HPAC, AND A HOST OF OTHERS
.. BUT UNFORTUNATELY, MANY USERS OF SUCH
MODELS ARE COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF THOSE
ASSUMPTIONS AND CONSTRAINTS AND MISTAKENLY
BELIEVE THAT THE PRECISION ACHIEVABLE WITH
COMPUTERS EQUATES WITH ACCURACY Error
Propagation in Air Dispersion Modeling Milton
R. Beychok, Consulting Engineer AND GIGO STILL
APPLIES.
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Plume Modeling
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Geospatial One-Stop

• Geodata.gov is part of the Geospatial One-Stop
  E-Gov initiative providing access to geospatial
  data and information. For help use the Quick
  Start Guide.
• http//www.geodata.gov/gos

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Geospatial One-Stop - 2

• Data Categories
• Administrative and Political Boundaries
• Agriculture and Farming
• Atmosphere and Climatic
• Biology and Ecology
• Business and Economic
• Cadastral
• Cultural, Society, and Demographic
• Elevation and Derived Products

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Geospatial One-Stop - 3

• Environment and Conservation
• Geological and Geophysical
• Human Health and Disease
• Imagery and Base Maps
• Inland Water Resources
• Locations and Geodetic Networks
• Oceans and Estuaries
• Transportation Networks
• Utilities and Communication

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Training - EMI

• HAZUS Multi-Hazard/DMA 2000 Risk Assessment
• School EMI  Course Code E296  Delivery Type
  Resident  Course
• Length 2.0 day(s)
• Course Description This training focuses on
  HAZUS-driven risk assessment methodology, data
  requirements, and applications to assist local
  communities and other organizations in addressing
  their disaster-related risk assessment needs. The
  2-day EMI HAZUS-driven risk assessment course
  will involve technical presentations on risk
  assessment methodology and hands-on exercises
  using HAZUS-MH.

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Training EMI - 2

• The course will cover the following topicsâ022
  Risk assessment methodology and HAZUS-MH
  software Steps associated with Hazard
  Identification and Prioritization Key steps
  involved in inventory identification and
  enhancement Key steps involved in completing the
  hazard risk assessment and analysis Risk
  assessment outputs and their uses HAZUS-driven
  risk assessment methodology used for disaster
  scenarios and how HAZUS software can support
  these efforts. 
• Selection Criteria The audience for this course
  includes FEMA regional staff and state and local
  emergency management planners. 

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EM Challenge

• To apply the increasing capabilities of
  information technology tools to current and
  anticipated key functions in preparedness,
  response, recovery and mitigation
• In compliance with policies, directives,
  standards and requirements
• In a manner which enables institutionalization
  with minimal disruption

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EM Challenge - Revisited

• EM not trained to conduct strategic planning for
  information technology
• Push vs. Pull management environment
• Standards, functional requirements, culture
  (F/S/L/prof)
• Legacy systems
• Access power of IT dont over-power ongoing
  functions
• Ensure ISESS is a key partner in DHS information
  technology development and implementation
• DHS ST, IAIP, EPR/FEMA, International Programs

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CONTACTS

• Preparedness Division
• Program and System Development Branch Chief
• Gil Jamieson 202-646-4090
• MMRS Program Manager
• Dennis Atwood 202-646-2699
• dennis.atwood_at_dhs.gov
• Regional project officers (FEMA Preparedness
  Divisions)
• http//mmrs.fema.gov