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Saint Lucia's National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) is responsible for disaster preparedness and disaster response co-ordination.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2023) |
Saint Lucia's National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) is responsible for disaster preparedness and disaster response co-ordination.
Disaster Management, though called by numerous names over the years, has manifested itself constantly in Saint Lucia. As far back as June 10 – 20, 1979 Saint Lucia was host to the Caribbean Disaster Preparedness Seminar, where over one hundred and fifty delegates from the Caribbean, North and Latin America assembled to discuss the concerns of the day. The following year Hurricane Allen hit Saint Lucia.
A year later in 1991 Saint Lucia, together with fifteen other Caribbean States signed the Articles that created the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) Disaster Management in Saint Lucia is conducted on a voluntary basis and during an event NEMO is part of a larger network that comes into existence to respond to a disaster. There are various Ministries that are essential to a response action. There are also eighteen (18) District Committees that are composed similarly to the national committees, which are composed of representatives of various Ministries and Social Groups. For a response action the national personnel contact his/her local counterpart and together execute an action.
Provided NEMO with the power to commandeer resources during a state of emergency.
Consolidated and placed in law the actions of NEMO.
Authorized the National Emergency Response Plan for Saint Lucia.
Replaced Disaster Preparedness and Response Act of 2000.
The role of the National Emergency Management Organisation [NEMO] is to develop, test and implement adequate measures to protect the population of Saint Lucia from the physical, social, environmental and economic effects of both natural and man-made disasters.
Its responsibility is to ensure the efficient functioning of preparedness, prevention, mitigation and response actions.
The National Response Plans for Saint Lucia are all at various levels of approval. Once they have met the full approval process they shall be available to the public. The plans are all “stand alone” documents that may be activated to support hazard management plans. They are inter alia:
1. SOPs: General [Approved 1149/96] 2. SOPs: EOC [Approved 1149/96] 3. SOPs: Declaring a Disaster [Laws of Saint Lucia] 4. SOPs: National Shut Down 5. Telecommunications Procedures [Approved 1149/96] 6. Mass Crowd Events Guidelines
1. A Policy Framework on Disaster Management 2. Donations and Importation of Relief Supplies Policy [Part 1 approved 1149/96] 3. Emergency Shelter Management Policy [Approved 1149/96] 4. Emergency Housing Policy 5. Hazard Mitigation Policy 6. Mass Fatalities Policy 7. Mass Crowd Events Policies and Guidelines 8. Governmental Officers Security Travel Policy 9. Backup Policy 10. National Policy on Ambulance Operations 11. National Incident Management System [NIMS] Policy
1. Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis Guidelines 2. Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis Plan 3. Crisis Communication Guide 4. Media Plan for Disasters and Emergencies 5. Telecommunications Plan 6. Relief Distribution Plan 7. Shelter Management Program 8. National Plan for Transportation in Disasters 9. Welfare Emergency Management Support Plan 10. Stress Response Team Plan 11. Emergency Action Plan for Agricultural Pests And Diseases 12. Disaster Auxiliary Corps Guidelines 13. Hospitality Industry Crisis Management Plan 14. Model Plan for the District Disaster Committees
1. Hurricane Plan [Approved 1149/96] 2. Earthquake Plan 3. Volcanic Eruption Plan 4. Landslide Plan 5. Oil Spill Contingency Plan 6. Strategy on the Management of Used Oil 7. Hazardous Materials Plan 8. Hazard Mitigation Plan 9. Response Plan for Refugees and Displaced Persons 10. Maritime Search and Rescue Plan 11. Land Search and Rescue Plan 12. Drought Response Plan 13. Flood Response Plan 14. Fire Response Plan
1. GOSL Continuity of Operations Plan [COOP] 2. The Ministry of Works Plan 3. The Ministry of Health Plan 4. Private Sector Response Plan 5. Borderlais Prison Emergency Plan 6. GFL Charles Airport Emergency Plan 7. Hweanorra International Airport Emergency Plan 8. Seaports Contingency Plan 9. Guidelines for Debris Management in a Disaster 10. Ministries of External Affairs - Guidelines in case of Disasters 11. National Incident Management System [NIMS] Plan
1. Articles Establishing the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency [CDERA] 2. St George's Declaration of Principals 3. Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunication Resources for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations 4. United Nations Millennium Goals 5. Agreement Between Member States and Associate Members of The Association of Caribbean States for Regional Cooperation on Natural Disasters
1. The National Emergency Powers Act (5/1995) 2. The Disaster Preparedness & Response Act (13/2000)
In praise of Disaster Management in Saint Lucia, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has stated the following on its website.
"National Disaster Management is very active and well developed. Saint Lucia has achieved Disaster Management capabilities which other Caribbean countries can follow. Numerous agreements with the private sector, NGO's, Service Organizations, and neighbouring French Departments have been implemented. Health sector mitigation activities have begun and are expected to continue. St. Lucia has all possible disaster plans available and updated thanks to the National Emergency Management Office Saint Lucia [1]
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster. The only exception to the state's gubernatorial declaration requirement occurs when an emergency or disaster takes place on federal property or to a federal asset—for example, the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, or the Space Shuttle Columbia in the 2003 return-flight disaster.
The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) is an inter-regional supportive network of independent emergency units throughout the Caribbean region. Formed on September 1, 2005, as the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), it underwent a name change to CDEMA in September 2009.
An office of emergency management (OEM) is a local, municipal, tribal, state, federal/national, or international organization responsible for: planning for, responding to, and dealing with recovery efforts related to natural, manmade, technological, or otherwise hazardous disasters by planning and implementing large scale emergency response plans/procedures, coordinating emergency assets during a disaster, and providing logistical, administrative and financial support to a disaster response effort.
Emergency management is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actually focus on the management of emergencies; emergency management or disaster management can be understood as minor events with limited impacts and are managed through the day-to-day functions of a community. Instead, emergency management focuses on the management of disasters, which are events that produce more impacts than a community can handle on its own. The management of disasters tends to require some combination of activity from individuals and households, organizations, local, and/or higher levels of government. Although many different terminologies exist globally, the activities of emergency management can be generally categorized into preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery, although other terms such as disaster risk reduction and prevention are also common. The outcome of emergency management is to prevent disasters and where this is not possible, to reduce their harmful impacts.
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Disaster risk reduction aims to make disasters less likely to happen. The approach, also called DRR or disaster risk management, also aims to make disasters less damaging when they do occur. DRR aims to make communities stronger and better prepared to handle disasters. In technical terms, it aims to make them more resilient or less vulnerable. When DRR is successful, it makes communities less the vulnerable because it mitigates the effects of disasters. This means DRR can make risky events fewer and less severe. Climate change can increase climate hazards. So development efforts often consider DRR and climate change adaptation together.
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The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is an operating agency of the U.S. Public Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on preventing, preparing for, and responding to the adverse health effects of public health emergencies and disasters. Its functions include preparedness planning and response; building federal emergency medical operational capabilities; countermeasures research, advance development, and procurement; and grants to strengthen the capabilities of hospitals and health care systems in public health emergencies and medical disasters. The office provides federal support, including medical professionals through ASPR’s National Disaster Medical System, to augment state and local capabilities during an emergency or disaster.
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services is a California cabinet-level office responsible for overseeing and coordinating emergency preparedness, response, recovery and homeland security activities within the state. The agency was created by AB 38 (2008), superseding both the Office of Emergency Services (OES) and Office of Homeland Security (OHS).
Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-8, National Preparedness, describes the way United States Federal agencies will prepare for an incident. It requires Department of Homeland Security to coordinate with other Federal agencies and with State, local, and Tribal governments to develop a National Preparedness Goal with Emergency management. Congressional laws enacted, following the wake of 9/11, which resulted in new developments in the way security was assessed and addressed in the United States, to prevent and respond to threatened or actual domestic terrorist attacks, disasters, and other emergencies by requiring a national domestic all-hazards preparedness goal. HSPD 5, HSPD-7, HSPD-8, and HSPD-8 Annex 1 are directives that deal with the preparedness goals.
The Stephenson Disaster Management Institute at Louisiana State University is located in the Stephenson National Center for Security Research and Training at LSU.
The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013 is a law enacted by the 113th United States Congress. The Act amends the Public Health Service Act in order to extend, fund, and improve several programs designed to prepare the United States and health professionals in the event of a pandemic, epidemic, or biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear accident or attack. The Act clarifies the authority of different American officials, makes it easier to temporarily reassign personnel to respond to emergency situations, and alters the process for testing and producing medical countermeasures. The Act is focused on improving preparedness for any public health emergency.
Disaster preparedness in museums, galleries, libraries, archives and private collections, involves any actions taken to plan for, prevent, respond or recover from natural disasters and other events that can cause damage or loss to cultural property. 'Disasters' in this context may include large-scale natural events such as earthquakes, flooding or bushfire, as well as human-caused events such as theft and vandalism. Increasingly, anthropogenic climate change is a factor in cultural heritage disaster planning, due to rising sea levels, changes in rainfall patterns, warming average temperatures, and more frequent extreme weather events.
National Disaster Management Authority (India), abbreviated as NDMA, is an apex Body of Government of India, with a mandate to lay down policies for disaster management. NDMA was established through the Disaster Management Act enacted by the Government of India on 23 December 2005. NDMA is responsible for framing policies, laying down guidelines and best-practices for coordinating with the State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMA's) to ensure a holistic and distributed approach to disaster management.
Disaster management in India — policies, laws, routines, and courses-of-action to aid in the conservation and recovery of lives and property during a natural or man-made disaster. Disaster management plans are multi-layered, and are planned to address issues such as floods, hurricanes/cyclones, fire, mass failure of utilities (blackouts) and the rapid spread of disease (pandemic).
From a meteorological standpoint, India is especially vulnerable to natural disasters due to its unique location below the Himalayas as well as its geo-climatic conditions and varied landscapes; monsoons, subsequent landslides and floods, droughts, famine, wildfires, cyclones, and earthquakes are all experienced to varying degrees on the Subcontinent, in addition to areas of dense overpopulation being at greater risk for disease outbreak and sanitation concerns, in the event of a natural disaster.
Due to this vastness of the country, different regions are vulnerable to different natural disasters. For example, during monsoon season, it is the peninsular regions of South India that are generally most affected, as well as by cyclone or tsunami; the more temperate to arid states of western India risk severe drought, famine and/or wildfire during summer. The more remote, mountainous regions of the North, especially the Himalayan states, can experience devastating avalanches in winter, spring flooding and major landslides during wet periods. This is in addition to earthquakes which, in the mountains, bring the potential for increased devastation due to falling rocks, mudslides, and flash floods.