Disaster Managment Flashcards
What is a disaster?
“A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources”
exceeds the community’s ability to care for it
Agroterrorism
the malicious attempt to disrupt or
destroy the agricultural industry and/or food supply system of a population through the malicious use of plant or animal pathogens to cause devastating disease in the agricultural sectors
What are the 4 phases of disaster managment?
- Mitigation
- Preparedness
- Response
- Recovery
Mitigation
Attempt to prevent hazards from developing into disasters altogether
OR…
To reduce the effects of disasters when they occur
Focuses on long-term measures
Can be part of recovery
Can be structural
Can be non-structural (procedural changes- i.e. changes in buliding codes or policy)
Preparedness
- Plans and preparations made to save lives and property, and to facilitate response operations.
- Provisions to ensure that all the resources/services needed to cope with a disaster can be rapidly mobilized and deployed-
Examples of Veterinary Preparedness
Emergency and evacuation plans
Unobstructed escape routes
Emergency lighting
Multiple exits
Accessible and adequate numbers of leashes and carriers for animal evacuation
Adequate animal transportation
Regular disaster/evacuation drills (invite local fire department)
Phone-tree with 24-hour contact numbers
Off-site emergency meeting place
Off-site temporary animal shelter
Alternative food and water sources in case of contamination
Identification on all animals at all times
Employees’ personal family disaster plan (so things at home are taken care of, and they will be available to help at the practice)
Inventory of hazardous materials (on-site and off-site copy)
Adequately insured
Response
Actions taken to provide emergency assistance, save lives, minimize property damage, and speed recovery. Static and mobile vet clinics Search and rescue operations -provision of emergency food and water Temporary shelters
Recovery
Actions taken to return to a normal or improved operating condition following a disaster
Reconstructing physical structures
Restoring emotional, social, economic, and physical wellbeing
May include continued veterinary care
Companion Animal Issues in Disasters
Failure of people to evacuate because of their pets
Animal abandonment
Logistics of care and sheltering of animals-
equipment, space, behavior concerns
Animal identification
Reuniting displaced animals with their owners
Adoption
Special considerations with LA Infectious Disease Outbreaks
Veterinary manpower
Carcass disposal from mass casualties
Animal identification and premise ID
Time from diagnosis to slaughter
Indemnity/insurance payments
Policy issues (vaccination vs. stamping out)
Environmental contamination (surface/groundwater and atmospheric pollution from carcass disposal)
CART
County Animal Response Team
Intended for use by local government and agencies to take immediate action in providing a means of care to minimize animal suffering in the event of a large scale disaster
Rapid response – local!
Utilizes local resources
Established relationships with local agencies (EM, sheriff, fire, Animal Control, Ag Ext)
Familiarity with territory and special considerations (special populations/features)
SART
State Animal Response Team
Interagency organizations dedicated to preparing, planning, responding, and recovering during animal emergencies
Public private partnership, joining governmental agencies with private goals
Train to facilitate a safe and efficient response to disasters on the local, county, state and federal level
Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams(VMAT)
Operate under the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)
Provide operational assistance to state animal health authorities
Must be requested by a state
Funded through the American Veterinary Medical Foundation
Does federal help come in?
usually the vets in the area have to request this unless this is a major disaster such as a hurricane
VMAT’s primary functions
Early Assessment Volunteer Teams
4-6 person teams, self sufficient and available upon request from the appropriate state authority. Deployments are 72 hours not including travel time. Teams will focus on assessing veterinary conditions & infrastructure, and gather verifiable data to enable state deployment of appropriate state resources.
Basic Treatment Volunteer Teams
4-6 person teams, self sufficient and available upon request by the appropriate state authority. Deployments are 5 days not including travel time. Teams provide primary field care to augment overwhelmed local capabilities, which could include establishment of a base-of-operations as a field staging area for state-based veterinary triage and veterinary medical care of displaced animals.
Training
Provide emergency-related education and training to state veterinary associations, professionals and colleges. Topics for 1-2 day training lectures and courses include: animal decontamination, disaster veterinary medicine and triage, hazmat awareness for veterinarians, critical incident stress management, leadership, risk communication, occupational safety. Training programs to start as a lecture format, developing into field exercises later
National Veterinary Response Team
Part of the Dept. of Health & Human Service’s National Disaster Medical System
Fully supported Federal program.
Professional expertise in veterinary medicine,
public health, and research
Private citizens who have been approved as intermittent federal employees and activated in the event of a disaster.
Assigned to designated regional teams which train in preparation for what might be experienced during a response
NVRT Responsibilities
Assessing the veterinary medical needs of the community
Medical treatment and stabilization of animals
Animal disease surveillance
Zoonotic disease surveillance and public health assessments
Technical assistance to assure food safety and water quality
Hazard mitigation
Care and support of animals certified as official
responders to a Disaster or emergency
Humane euthanasia
Biological and chemical terrorism surveillance
Animal decontamination
NAHERC
National Animal Health Emergency Response Corp
USDA’s Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS)
Established to respond to exotic disease outbreaks and other disasters which affect livestock, poultry, companion animals and wildlife.
Temporary USDA APHIS employee
US public heath service
Elite team of more than 6,500 public health professionals
Commissioned corps
One of the seven uniformed services ( not an armed service)
100+ veterinarians
Officers are dedicated to PH promotion, PH response, disease prevention, and PH science
Work in areas of disease control and prevention; biomedical research; regulation of food, drugs, and medical devices; mental health and drug abuse; and health care delivery.
Problems with Past Disasters
Communications issues ·non-interoperable radios
·no common communications plan ·no common terminology
Command and control problems
·no command post or lack of central post ·no coordination between agencies
·no common incident command structure
No standardized plan ·outdated or none
Training
·different agencies and jurisdictions trained differently with no common operating plan
CHAOS
National Response Framework
- Department of Homeland Security-effective March 2008
* establishes a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response.
Key Features of the National Response Framework
All-hazards approach
Lists all levels of government (local, tribal, state, and federal), private sector, and non- governmental organizations in a unified approach to emergency management
Builds on the National Incident Management System (NIMS) with its flexible, scalable, and adaptable coordinating structures
Aligns key roles and responsibilities across jurisdictions
Always in effect-can be partially of fully implemented
Best practices and procedures
National Incident Management System
Homeland Security Presidential Directive -5
Core set of concepts, principles, and terminology for incident command and multi- agency coordination
Mandates the use of the Incident Command System
NIMS Command and Management
Incident Command System
Multi-agency coordination system Public information system
Incident Command System
Standardized, on-scene, all-hazard, incident management
Uses standard terminology
Modular, flexible, and adaptable
·can collapse or expand to adjust to incident size/complexity
Multiple agency cooperation ·efficient and effective management ·multiple sites or jurisdictions
Top-down structure:
·only positions that are necessary will be filled
·each element will have a person in charge

ICS Span of Control
Based on the amount of individuals or resources one can supervise
Vital to effective incident management
1:5 is ideal
1:3 if you need to shrink response
1:7 if you need to expand response
ICS Structure
Five management functions: ·Incident command ·Logistics ·Operations- veterinarians primarily ·Planning- veterinarians ·Finance and administration
Examples of Incidents
Fire, both structural and wildland
Natural disasters
Human and animal disease outbreak
Search and rescue missions
Hazmat incidents
Criminal acts and crime scene investigation
Terrorist incidents, including WMDs
National special security events (Presidential
visits or the Super Bowl)
Other planned events (parades/demonstrations)
