Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Phases of Disaster
Each type of disaster and its subsequent response effort—regardless of how, when,
or why it takes place—can be expected to consist of a number of phases that are
fairly consistent. The success of a community's response plan depends greatly on
the planner's understanding of these phases and how they are incorporated into the
overall disaster plan.
The initial phase of a disaster is the
warning
phase. It is during this phase that
emergency officials have the best opportunity to provide the public with disaster-
related information. It is also during this phase that an evacuation or shelter in
place, if necessary, will be initiated.
The second phase of a disaster is the
threat and impact
phase. This phase is typi-
cally followed by the
inventory
,
rescue
,
remedy
, and
restoration
phases.
Levels of Severity
Within each type of disaster, varying levels of severity will exist, each with its own
response requirements. There are three levels of disaster, and even the lowest level
can require the involvement of state and federal officials.
Level I Disaster—A localized multiple-casualty incident wherein local medi-
cal resources are available and adequate to provide for field medical treatment
and stabilization, including triage. The patients will be transported to the
appropriate medical facility for further diagnosis and treatment.
Level II Disaster—A multiple-casualty emergency where the large number of
casualties and/or lack of medical care facilities are such as to require multi-
jurisdictional medical mutual aid.
Level III Disaster—A mass-casualty emergency wherein local and regional
medical resources are exceeded. Deficiencies in medical supplies and person-
nel are such as to require assistance from state or federal agencies.
Why Plans Fail
Although many jurisdictions have adopted formal disaster plans, local governments
often fail to improve their plans, even after a major disaster has occurred. Local
governments also fail to adequately and effectively plan for disaster response. These
failures can often be attributed to lack of relevant experience with disaster response,
failure to study lessons learned, failure to commit to carrying out a disaster plan-
ning program, or performing the wrong kind of planning.
Many communities lack the experience to deal with disaster response because
their public officials are not involved in enough disasters to gain personal
