Topic introduction

In looking at timings of emergencies/disasters, history shows that the levels of preparedness and response are optimum from Monday - Friday, between the hours of 7.00 am and 6.00 pm. This is because the majority of statutory emergency services/government departments (Federal/State/Local) and other peripheral community service groups are available and are usually located in their workplaces that are open Monday to Friday. Public holidays such as Christmas, Easter and special sporting events, which tend to be the major periods when the population, especially in tourist/recreation locations, are occasions when preparedness is less than optimum.

In addition to the problems presented by the timing of emergencies and that is the actual geographic location of the event. The location of an emergency will not only have a bearing on the response time and capabilities of the emergency services but could also present such problems as resource availability, transport problems, accessibility to the scene and the ability to sustain response efforts. Simply put, because something may happen there is an opportunity to initiate preventative and/or pre-impact activities, which may include warning and alerting, evacuation, etc. The length of time available and the geographical isolation will obviously influence the amount of pre-impact activity.

If something is about to happen locally, you might have some small amount of lead time to initiate pre-impact activity, but if something is about to happen in a remote location the focus will shift from preventative to contingent actions. Time and location will inhibit any attempts at prevention so it would be best to focus on doing those things that will minimise the effects of the event. Similarly if something is happening either locally or in a remote area it is too late for prevention, our efforts have to be directed towards minimising the effects of what is happening.

Then if something has happened it is too late for prevention of that event or even attempts to minimise the consequences. The consequences are with us, it has happened; we now have to focus on managing those consequences and the associated impact, post impact and recovery activities. To benefit from the experiences of emergencies we need to initiate prevention activities aimed at minimising the chances of the event re-occurring and/or enhance our planned contingency activities to mitigate the effects of the event if we cannot prevent it from occurring.