DISASTER MANAGEMENT MIDTERM EXAM REVIEW.

Question 1

What is a disaster?

Answer 1

A serious disruption to an affected area, involving widespread human,property, environmental and / or economic impacts, that exceed the ability of one or more affected communities to cope using their own resources

Question 2

Types of disaster?

Answer 2

There are two types of disasters;
1. Those caused by natural forces
2. Those caused by humans

Question 3

What are the effects of disasters ?

Answer 3

Disaster impacts may include loss of life, injury, disease and other negative effects on human physical, mental and social wellbeing, together with damage to property, destruction of assets, loss of services, social and economic disruption and environmental degradation.

Question 4

What is Disaster Management?

Answer 4

Disaster and Emergency Management is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks.It is a discipline that involves preparing for disaster before it occurs and disaster response (e.g.,emergency evacuation,quarantine, mass decontamination,

Question 5

Hazard triggers

Answer 5

*Ecological
*Accident
*Malfunction
*Planned Outage
*Intentional attack
*Negligence

Question 6

Consequences of hazards occurring

Answer 6

Hazards can have social, economic and environmental impacts on society. These include loss of life, injuries, and damage to infrastructure, businesses, and ecosystems. Examples of economic hazard impacts are the loss of property and infrastructure directly caused by an earthquake.

Consequence is the result of the interaction between exposure, vulnerability and capacity in a community Consequences are scored
between 1 (low) and 30 (high)

Question 7

What is an Emergency?

Answer 7

Emergency is a situation or an impending situation that constitutes a danger of major proportions that could result in serious harm to persons or substantial damage to property and that is caused by the forces of nature, a disease or other health risk, an accident or an act whether intentional or otherwise (Emergency Management and Civil ProtectionAct)

Question 8

Natural hazards can turn into?

Answer 8

• Rapid onset
• Progressive onset

Question 9

HIRA

Answer 9

Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

Question 10

Hazard Identification

Answer 10

Anything that may cause harm Contents:
* Developing Hazard Profiles
* Hazard List

Question 11

Comprehensive emergency management Framework

Answer 11

“It is an all-encompassing risk-based approach to emergency management that includes prevention,mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery measures ”

Ontario’s Emergency Management Glossary

Question 12

IMS pillar and their respective responsibilities

Answer 12

Coordination & Command: Coordination and command is the function responsible for overseeing, coordinating and directing the incident or incident-related support activities

Operations:
The role of the operations section is to meet current incident objectives and priorities stated in the IAP on behalf of coordination and command. The operations section:

At the site: Organizes, coordinates and supervises the tactical elements of an incident such as personnel or equipment
In an EOC: Takes on the tactical responsibilities and involves activities such as coordinating communications and providing situational awareness to and from the site

Planning:
Collects, confirms, analyzes and shares incident information gathered from incident responders. Internal communication is a key activity within the planning section. The planning section also prepares the IAP and develops contingency and long-term
plans.

Logistics:
Arranges and provides services and supports including personnel, supplies, facilities and other resources to an incident. For example, the logistics section may arrange transportation or source equipment such as pumps and sandbags.

Finance and administration section: Manages incident-specific finance and administration activities including payroll, vendor contracts and incident cost tracking.

Public information management section:
Develops and shares messages directly to the public and through the media. Tracks media reports including social media feeds and shares information with coordination and command. Incident responders under this section should connect directly with the community if required.

Question 13

What are Mass Fatality incidents

Answer 13

A mass fatality incident (MFI) occurs when the loss of human life is likely tooverwhelm available response resources, and requires significantcoordination between emergency management, law enforcement,healthcare responders, and the Office of the Chief Corone

Question 14

Objectives in Mass Fatality incidents?

Answer 14

Phase #1 – Initial response Always: multi-organizational andmulti-jurisdictional effort-involves community partners
First Priority: PRESERVATION OF LIFE

phase #2. Rights and needs of living;concerns, cares and desires of the living are met

1.Families – want
2.Communities or area where incident occurs
3.Survivors – besides medical care

3. phase#3 Meeting requirements of government investigations
   * Most incidents fall into two categories-criminal or civil litigation

Question 15

Factors impacting mass fatality response

Answer 15

Number of Deceased
Rate of Recovery
Condition of Human remains
Decomposition
Fragmentation
Commingling

Question 16

Identification of human remains(presumptive and confirmatory)

Answer 16

There are different presumptive and confirmatory tests used for each type of biological material found at a scene.
Identification is done by coroner’s office using two methods.
A. Presumptive:
Visual identification of deceased if visually recognizable.Personal effects, physical characteristics, tattoos and anthropological data

B.Confirmatory:Fingerprints Odontology Radiology DNA Forensic anthropology

Presumptive tests are quick, sensitive and are relatively specific to bodily fluids that give the analyst an idea of what might be present.

Confirmatory tests confirm what the biological sample is

Question 17

Personal effects vs loose items

Answer 17

Personal effects may include items that have monetary value or aid in the identification process and may include monies, financial papers, computers, purses, wallets, jewelry,eyeglasses, dentures, orthopedic appliances,clothing, photographs, luggage, and electronic equipment.*

Loose items include any nonhuman material that is personal in nature but not classified as personal effects, and may include loosepapers, clothing, and souvenirs.

Question 18

Sendai Framework

Answer 18

Was adopted at the Third UN World Conference on DRR in Sendai, Japan, on 18 March 2015

Basics of the agreement* a shift in focus from managing disasters to managing risks;
* a wider scope which includes risk of small- to large-scale, frequent and infrequent, sudden and slow-onset disasters, caused by natural or man-madehazards, as well as related environmental, technological and biological hazards and risks

• a more people-centered, all-hazards and multi-sectoral approach to DRR

Question 19

Associated and unassociated property

Answer 19

Associated items are thosefound on the remains (e.g.,jewelry), worn by the deceased(e.g., backpack attached to thebody or clothing on the body),or found within otherassociated items (e.g., walletfound in the pocket of thepants worn by the deceased)

Unassociated items are found nearthe bodies but cannot be directlyconnected to the bodies (e.g., abriefcase found two feet from abody).Unassociated items are typicallydocumented and numbered, notingtheir location on the scene.

Question 20

How victim’s can be identified (methods)?

Answer 20

1 – Scene examination
2 – Post-mortem or PM data: This can include:* Fingerprints* Odontology* DNA profiling* Physical indicationsNote: Visual identification is not considered to be accurate.
3 – Ante-mortem or AM data:
4 – Reconciliation.

Question 21

Open vs closed events

Answer 21

*A closed mass fatality event isone where the identities of all the deceased are known, and the identification process involves matching the identity with the body.

*In an open mass fatality event,the identity and the number of the missing and presumed dead is primarily unknown because there is no list or manifest.

Question 22

Field operations and types of personnel

Answer 22

Field operations (would include Forensic Officers for body recovery) include locating and documenting human remains. Only after proper documentation should the remains be recovered and transported to designated body processing sites or morgues.

Members of the field operations team may include
* archaeologists
* forensic anthropologists
* forensic pathologists
* forensic odontologists/dentists
* forensic investigators/photographers

Question 23

Primary Identifiers

Question 24

What is CBRNE?

Answer 24

• Chemical
• Biological
• Radiological
• Nuclear
• Explosives

Question 25

What is a CBRNE Event?

Answer 25

• An incident or event involving hazardous materials which pose a threat to public safety

Question 26

CHEMICALS: TIC’S & CWA’S

Answer 26

TIC’s : Toxic Industrial Chemicals (thousands ofchemicals used in industry which can kill you)

• CWA : Chemical Warfare Agents* Chemicals have an immediate reaction to the humanbody through the eyes, skin, lungs

Question 27

BIOLOGICAL

Answer 27

Biological agents do not have an immediate reaction on the human body

Enter the body through eyes or lungs

Can be liquids, solids or vapours

An incubation period of hours to days to weeks isrequired (think of the flu or SARS)

Often misdiagnosed by family doctors and if untreated, some can have a mortality rate of 90%

Question 28

HAZARD

Answer 28

“A phenomenon, substance, human activity or condition that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage, loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage.”

Question 29

The hazard must also have the potential to meet one ormore of the following criteria:

Answer 29

*People could be effected beyond the community’s capacity to respond.

*There could be significant damage or interruption of normal processes, such that affected communities must use extraordinary or emergency resources.

*A declaration of emergency or activation of the communityEmergency Control Group is possible.

Question 30

9 SUB-CATEGORIESOF HAZARDS

Answer 30

Agricultural & Food Emergency Environmental
Extraterrestrial
Hazardous Materials
Health
Public Safety
Structural
Supply & Distribution
Transportation

Question 31

Who can declare a emergency?

Answer 31

Only the head of council of a municipality (or their designate) and the Lieutenant Governor in Council or the Premier have the authority to declare an emergency

Question 32

NATURAL DISASTERS

Answer 32

A natural disaster is an act of nature of such magnitude as to create a catastrophic situation in which the day-to-day patterns of life are suddenly disrupted and people are plunged into helplessness and suffering, and, as a result, needfood, clothing, shelter, medical and nursing care and other necessities of life, and protection against unfavourable environmental factors and conditions.”

Guide to sanitation in natural disasters WHO (1971)

Question 33

Man-made Disasters

Answer 33

Man-made hazards are defined as those “induced entirely or predominantly by human activities and choices”. This term does not include the occurrence or risk of armed conflicts and other situations of social instability or tension which are subject to international humanitarian law and national legislation.
Technological hazards are normally considered a subset of man-made hazards.

(Disasters having an element of human intent or negligence)

Question 34

Technological hazards

Answer 34

are normally considered a subset of man-made hazards.Technological (non-natural) incidents include accidents at hazardous installations (e.g. accidental release or explosions at chemical or nuclear power plants), and accidents while hazardous substances are in transport (e.g. oil tankers or chemicals transported by trains, tankers or trucks).

Technological disasters often result in an unexpected and uncontrolled release of hazardous materials that have the potential to cause health problems. The severity and frequency of this type of disaster has increased

Question 35

Terrorism/Violence

Answer 35

The threat of terrorism has also increased due to the spread of technologies involving nuclear,biological, and chemical agents used to develop weapons of mass destruction and is a deliberate event

Question 36

CHEMICAL / BIOLOGICAL /RADIOLOGICAL / NUCLEAR/EXPLOSIVE

Answer 36

A chemical, biological, radiological,nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) event is an uncontrolled release of chemicals,biological agents or radioactive contamination into the environment or explosions that cause widespread damage. These incidents can be caused by accidents or by acts of terrorism

Question 37

What is the Ontario Incident Management System?

Answer 37

The Ontario Incident Management System (IMS) is designed to be aresponse system, but it can be used to manage all stages of anincident.

Question 38

IMS CORE PRINCIPLES & CONCEPTS

Answer 38

Communication
Coordination
Flexibility
Collaboration

Question 39

IMS Objectives

Answer 39

Preservation of life
Stabilize the Incident
Protect the Environment
Preserve Public Confidence

Question 40

Resilience defined

Answer 40

Resilience is the capacity of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to adapt to disturbances resultingfrom hazards by persevering, recuperating or changing to reach and maintain an acceptable level of functioning.Resilient capacity is built through a process of empowering citizens, responders, organizations, communities,governments, systems and society to share the responsibility to keep hazards from becoming disasters.

Emergency Management Ontario – The ability to resist, absorb,accommodate and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner.

UNDRR – The ability of a system, community or society expose to hazards to resist,absorb, accommodate to and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner, including through the preservation and restoration of its essential basic structures and functions

Question 41

Risk Assessment

Answer 41

Risk = Likelihood X Consequences

Question 42

Identifying the dead

Answer 42

The identification of the dead in a disaster is the responsibility of the Coroner. (Pathologist too depending)

Question 43

Post-Mortem Information

Answer 43

All human remains recovered from the scene are to be processed, examined and stored at a mortuary
* This mortuary may be an established mortuary or one which has been constructed temporarily for the operation.

The PM examination processes and methods include
* photography,
* ridgeology (fingerprinting)
* radiology,
* odontology,
* DNA sampling,
* postmortem examinations or autopsy procedures

Question 44

Coroner’s Office responsible for medical (legal) investigation

Answer 44

Includes human factor consideration (DNA, Toxicology,etc)
Responsible for:
documentation,examination, identification,disposition, and certification of all human remains and morgue operations

Examines and documents remains.
detailed information about deceased’s physical attributes, possible cause, manner and circumstances of death

Question 45

EM-DAT, the International Disaster Database

Answer 45

For a disaster to be entered into the database at least one of the following criteria must be fulfilled:
*Ten (10) or more people reported killed
*Hundred (100) or more people reported affected
*Declaration of a state of emergency
*Call for international assistance