The National Risk Registers of Civil Emergencies - Essay Example

CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL RISK REGISTERS OF CIVIL EMERGENCIES Introduction The national risk register of the civil emergencies (NRR) is a document prepared in 2008. It is a reference document purposely made to help individual and organizations that need to better prepare for emergencies that are likely to come up. This document provides all the information concerning civil emergencies that people in the United Kingdom can face over the next couple of years, making it a very relevant document for any going concern organization and individuals. Summary This essay precisely summarizes all the information that is contained in the document and gives a critical review of the issues that have been handled. The writer has extracted then definition of civil emergencies from the civil contingencies act 2004 which gives a series of descriptions of civil emergency including ‘an event or a situation which threatens serious damage to the human welfare in a place in the UK,’ it is also given as ‘an event or situation that threatens a serious damage to the environment in any place in the UK,’ it can also be described as ‘ war, or terrorism that threatens serious damage to the security of the of the UK.’ The writer has stated that in both the NRA and NRR, the best way to determine the seriousness of any emergency and relies mainly on the likelihood of happening over the next five years and it consequences or the impact. This is very true as the impact determines the loss that UK is going to incur incasing of the emergency coming to pass. Civil emergencies According to the writer, civil emergencies are quite hard to predict, assessment is done in stages and the first one is identifying the risk. This is done through continuously consulting the government agencies that help identify a reasonable worst case of the emergencies. The assessment on the likelihood of an emergency happening is done in a very organized way, according to the writer; NRA looks into the data such as historical analysis of the situations and the numerical modeling. Scientific experts are also consulted for more accuracy on the assessment. The combination of analysis of historical happenings and the expert analysis is the most convenient way of handling the work. Another important aspect that the writer has explored is the way in which the impact or consequences of civil emergencies are accessed. NRA and NRR have been authority to do this part of the noble job, they consider factors which include the number or fatalities, illness or any injury on the people after the emergency, social disruption, herm on the economy, and the psychological that the emergency leaves on the people. This is a very intelligent way of assessment of the impact of an emergency but theirs is need for more in order to increase the accuracy of the due impact. The importance of risk assessment to the concerned cannot be underestimated, many organizations and individuals are in dire need to know what the highest risks are. This helps help them in proper preparation for any chances of emergency, therefore the provision of the information to the public is of high need. The writer has stated that, the information helps the readers to identify and visualize on the risk this is very true, it helps them be totally aware of them hence avoiding losses. Emergency Management It is a fact that emergencies are best managed by the local emergency responders and planners, the act has stipulated on the common procedure on planning and putting on duty the emergency planners and responders, who basically assess the risk that are likely to affect the area on which they are operating from. These local offers are totally given the responsibility to do everything concerning the assessment, planning and responding to the emergencies, this is a very good idea as they local employees are the ones who perfectly understand the occurrences and the likely impacts of the emergencies (The Civil Contingencies Act 2004). The preparation of the national government to act on the emergencies has also been mentioned by the writer this is very critical based on the need. The government departments are responsible for the coordination and the continuous oversight on the progress and management of the emergencies. The setting up websites to focus on the assessment and management of the emergencies is a fact that has stepped up the game of tackling the emergencies. The government has also set up strategies including the concept of operations this works effectively as it sets out flexible arrangements making it easy to both coordinate and respond to emergencies within the United Kingdom. Another very effective way that the writer has stated is the national resilience capabilities program this particular program has help in building of capabilities for emergencies this program has efficiency enabled the government to handle the emergencies with ease. Lastly the writer has stated the national strategic framework on community resilience, this also has had great impact on the emergency management through the resilience of individuals and the communities both before and after occurrence of the emergencies, and examples that the writer has given include the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which own their own resilience arrangements (The Civil Contingencies Act 2004). Main types of civil emergencies The writer has given a clear overview of the main types civil emergencies. Although not all the emergencies have the tendency of happening in United Kingdom for example occurrence of earthquakes and tsunamis as they are seen countries such as Japan they writer should have suggested some little measures to combat them as there is a probability of happening too thought they will have little impact. The risks are annually reviewed and according to the writer the risks given the highest priority in 2013 has not changed much from that of 2012. Severe wildfires are the only additional risk added in 2013. This means that the government has always kept on track as the number of new risks added is only one (The Civil Contingencies Act 2004). The risk that the writer has stated to have been given the highest priority, by taking into account both their occurrence and it impacts includes the pandemic influenza, coastal flooding, catastrophic terror attacks, and severe effusive volcanic eruptions (The Civil Contingencies Act 2004). The government and the entire community should not only prepare specifically to combat the above risks alone they should diversify into other risk as they can be highly catastrophic. Under natural hazards as part of the description of risks human diseases is considered as one of the risks to be prepared for and managed. Some of the diseases outlined by the writer are the pandemic influenza and other new and emerging infectious diseases, due to the fact that these diseases have been known and have attacked several times. The government of United Kingdom has learned lessons on how to curb and deal with the consequences in case of the attack. It is true that the government is cooperating with the international partner in preparing for such attacks. It is doing everything in possible to make sure that UK is highly prepared to prevent the spread of such diseases in case of an attack. This help in reducing the loss due to the consequences which include health, economic and social problems. The writer has stated that the government is preparing adversely by making sure that it maintains a stockpile of antiviral that is enough to treat about 50 percent of the entire population this is very important as it give the nation confidence in case of any attack. The government though should consider reducing the period that the supply of the pandemic specific vaccine by making sure that the laboratories that help identify the pandemic strain are well equipped and ready any time to reduce the time that the vaccine is made from 6 months to at least 2 months. The application of APAs is one of the positive steps that the government of UK has taken to reduce impacts of the pandemics (The Civil Contingencies Act 2004). It is important also that the writer noted the effort that the department of health has put in place to deal with any new and emerging infectious disease. It is also very important that the government has worked closely to strengthen the plans in the management of the influx of the British nationals that may come up diverse scenarios. The establishment of the commonwealth office website that provides relevant information on the pandemic influenza makes it very easy to get the needed information to enable management of the pandemic. In case of any break out of the pandemic travel advises are easily given to the people to avoid infections and spread of the pandemic (The Civil Contingencies Act 2004). Floods are also another major natural disaster that can have adverse effects on the lives of human beings. An example of the flood disaster that has attacked UK is the flood across England in the summer of 2007 and Aberdeenshire during the November of 2009. Both the coastal flooding and inland flooding have a lot of impacts on the lives of the residence and should be prepared in case of occurrence. The writer has mentioned the government plan on flood risk management. The programs mainly aim at reducing the likelihood of floods happening. This is very significant as we all know prevention is always better that cure. The local resilient forums have also been set up to assess the risk of development of the floods; the assessment should be reviewed continuously to ensure that no chance is left. Another important step taken is the development of the met office and environmental protection agency (SEPA). This has well managed floods forecasting to help in anticipation of any occurrence of floods. Volcanic hazards Volcanic hazards have also been mentioned by the writer as one of the risks, they are known to have dire consequences in case of occurrence in the UK. Volcanic eruptions depending on the volume of the gases that are released can disrupt the plans of the aviation department, this fact that can only be avoided by proper preparation on combat the consequences. Volcanic eruption hazards greatly affect the economy of the UK. The writer has identified the efforts of the government in establishing the international civil aviation organization that has established the international airways volcano watch, this consist of nine volcanic ash advisory centers (VAACs) located all around the world. The establishment of all these precaution centers helps a lot in the management of volcanic hazards. The Met Office has been given the responsibility to provide warnings in case of bad weather incomings. Positive results have been recorded by the continuous advisory updates on the Met Office website this increases the confidence that the people have on the readiness of the government and individuals in case of the risk occurrence. I concur with the writer that the early warning on extreme weather conditions issued by Met Office has greater confidence that a bad weather is expected in very few days. Severe wildfire as the writer has indicated in another risk to be assessed. It is true that wildfires are mainly caused by human activity that is either accidental or through careless mistakes. Chances of having casualties of death or injuries due to wildfires, they also have a great impact on the economy of any nation, they are known to damage infrastructure a lot and disrupt services offered to the people. Hence people are advised to handle fires carefully during the dry seasons to avoid mistakes that can cause wildfires (The Civil Contingencies Act 2004). Major Risks assed by Government Major accidents are also risks that have to be assessed, the government, devolved administration, industry, regulators and the emergency responders work very closely to reduce the chance of any incident. This is a great step to reducing the accident that can be avoided, regulations and punishments should be put in place to make people work carefully to avoid causing catastrophic accidents. Malicious attacks including the attacks on crowded places, infrastructure, transport, cyber security and the unconventional attacks are also risks that have to be assessed and precaution taken against their occurrence. The government should work on reducing these attacks as they are the most rampant in occurrence (The Civil Contingencies Act 2004). Conclusions The importance of taking precaution in case of any risk is very important management of these risks is required as this helps in reducing the impacts that they have in case of occurrences. The government of the UK and any other government that is taking of its legacy should consider putting in place proper risk register of civil emergencies program that will avert any risk and make people conscious and prepared for such occasions. References The Civil Contingencies Act 2004, section 35 "Explanatory Notes Civil Contingencies Act 2004". Summart and Background – Part 1: Local Arrangements for Civil Protection. Cabinet Office. 2004. Retrieved 13 August 201 The Civil Contingencies Act 2004: Risk, Resilience and the Law in the United Kingdom (372 Oxford University Press, 2006) Read More

The writer has stated that the government is preparing adversely by making sure that it maintains a stockpile of antiviral that is enough to treat about 50 percent of the entire population this is very important as it give the nation confidence in case of any attack. The government though should consider reducing the period that the supply of the pandemic specific vaccine by making sure that the laboratories that help identify the pandemic strain are well equipped and ready any time to reduce the time that the vaccine is made from 6 months to at least 2 months.

The application of APAs is one of the positive steps that the government of UK has taken to reduce impacts of the pandemics (The Civil Contingencies Act 2004). It is important also that the writer noted the effort that the department of health has put in place to deal with any new and emerging infectious disease. It is also very important that the government has worked closely to strengthen the plans in the management of the influx of the British nationals that may come up diverse scenarios. The establishment of the commonwealth office website that provides relevant information on the pandemic influenza makes it very easy to get the needed information to enable management of the pandemic.

In case of any break out of the pandemic travel advises are easily given to the people to avoid infections and spread of the pandemic (The Civil Contingencies Act 2004). Floods are also another major natural disaster that can have adverse effects on the lives of human beings. An example of the flood disaster that has attacked UK is the flood across England in the summer of 2007 and Aberdeenshire during the November of 2009. Both the coastal flooding and inland flooding have a lot of impacts on the lives of the residence and should be prepared in case of occurrence.

The writer has mentioned the government plan on flood risk management. The programs mainly aim at reducing the likelihood of floods happening. This is very significant as we all know prevention is always better that cure. The local resilient forums have also been set up to assess the risk of development of the floods; the assessment should be reviewed continuously to ensure that no chance is left. Another important step taken is the development of the met office and environmental protection agency (SEPA).

This has well managed floods forecasting to help in anticipation of any occurrence of floods. Volcanic hazards Volcanic hazards have also been mentioned by the writer as one of the risks, they are known to have dire consequences in case of occurrence in the UK. Volcanic eruptions depending on the volume of the gases that are released can disrupt the plans of the aviation department, this fact that can only be avoided by proper preparation on combat the consequences. Volcanic eruption hazards greatly affect the economy of the UK.

The writer has identified the efforts of the government in establishing the international civil aviation organization that has established the international airways volcano watch, this consist of nine volcanic ash advisory centers (VAACs) located all around the world. The establishment of all these precaution centers helps a lot in the management of volcanic hazards. The Met Office has been given the responsibility to provide warnings in case of bad weather incomings. Positive results have been recorded by the continuous advisory updates on the Met Office website this increases the confidence that the people have on the readiness of the government and individuals in case of the risk occurrence.

I concur with the writer that the early warning on extreme weather conditions issued by Met Office has greater confidence that a bad weather is expected in very few days. Severe wildfire as the writer has indicated in another risk to be assessed. It is true that wildfires are mainly caused by human activity that is either accidental or through careless mistakes. Chances of having casualties of death or injuries due to wildfires, they also have a great impact on the economy of any nation, they are known to damage infrastructure a lot and disrupt services offered to the people.

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