Emergency Operations M2S (Essay Sample)

Disaster Management Plan
Emergency Operations M2S
Introduction
Kenya is an African country lying on the east and borders the Indian Ocean. The country is commonly faced by several hazards year-in-year-out. Whenever hazards and emergencies become common, there is always the need to prepare an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) to address disasters whenever they take place (Tutton, 2009). This will help to save lives whenever the disaster occurs. Most of the African countries are faced by several hazards and disasters. However, such hazards can go for years unnoticed due to the low media coverage and inaccessibility of rural areas. However, the past few years have seen increased journalism activities which have led to the revelation of these disasters.
In Kenya, there are certain disasters and hazards that are significantly peculiar. It is necessary to conduct a study to unveil the major hazards faced and come up with a mitigation plan. Based on the media, this study will examine three major disasters recorded in Kenya over the last two years. In this paper I will propose an Emergency Response Plan to address three major disasters and hazards commonly witnessed in this country (Tutton, 2009). The three hazards discussed are: droughts and famine, flooding and cattle rustling. The mitigation plan for the three disasters will be useful for organizations like the Red Cross to address them and also help other regions or nations facing similar hazards.
Emergency Response Plan (ERP)
The three disasters to be covered in the plan for Kenya are droughts, cattle rustling and floods.
Droughts: Kenya usually experienced prolonged droughts because of its geographical positioning and increasing deforestation. The highly affected areas include the northern and north-eastern areas of the country. Prolonged droughts usually results in water scarcity for human beings and animals as well. This leads to animal's death and starvation (Tutton, 2009). Food also becomes scarce to the people. In 2009, it was estimated that the nomadic communities in northern parts of the country lost over three quarter of their livestock due to drought and lack of water.
Cattle Rustling: Kenya is a country of nomadic tribes living in the arid and semi-arid areas of the country. During the dry periods, animal rustling becomes common especially in the northern parts. To compensate for their dead animals, cattle theft and raids increases from the neighboring tribes (CNN, 2009). This has hence been a major problem in Kenya. Cattle rustling affect considerable number of tribes in the country thus making this the second major disaster faced.
Floods: Many researchers believe that floods in Kenya are ironical. Once the dry spell is over, the Kenyan communities become prone to floods after very long months of prolonged droughts. The rain seasons in the country usually comes with heavy flooding and torrents hence washing away homes and animals. Several people lose their lives every time due to floods in the country.
ERP Procedures
The best way to address the above disasters is to come up with a plan that solves them. There are several steps that can be taken whenever managing such kind of disasters. These include hazard analysis, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
Hazard Analysis: the first thing is to study and analyze the nature and intensity of the disaster. These three disasters are major problems and lead to loss of lives. Every year, the affected communities living in different areas in the country end up losing their cattle, homes, and even their lives. We can therefore define these disasters to be catastrophic due to the fact that they result in multiple fatalities as well as loss of lives. This understanding is necessary to know why interventions are mandatory.
Mitigation: Once a disaster has been known, it is necessary to come up with ways to mitigate it. These three Kenyan disasters can be solved through mitigation procedures. There are several measures that can be used in an attempt of mitigating disasters. Some of the approaches that can be used include employing economic system change and educating the people of ways to deal with these hazards. New methods f economic practices such as mining will reduce dependence on animals. Animals have been taking centre stage for these three disasters faced in Kenya. NGOs and other government projects can be employed to mitigate these disasters and by so doing save human lives. New attempts to improve peace and stability in the affected regions can be employed (Tutton, 2009).
Preparedness: When one is equally prepared, it becomes hard for a disaster to affect him. Flooding and drought are naturally occurring and can be addressed through efficient preparation. Whenever there have been a drought, it is the duty of the government and agencies like Red Cross to accumulate enough feeds for animals and people as well. It can also be wise to develop temporary points for watering to save the lives of many animals during the dry spells (Fred, 1983). Whenever there are floods, people and animals should be evacuated to reduce the damages caused. Since cattle rustling are man-made disasters, it is the duty of the Kenyan government to ensure all small arms have been confiscated and also tighten security in the affected areas (CNN, 2009).
Response: There are several responses that can successfully be undertaken by the communities faced by the disasters. During droughts, the government can purchase animals from the nomadic tribes before they drought is witnessed to reduce deaths. The government can also be supplying enough animal feeds to the worst affected regions during the time of the droughts (Howden, 2009). Whenever there are floods, it is duty of the Kenyan government to send the army to rescue the people and animals by using all means possible. Security details can also be sent to areas affected by cattle rustling. Medical services should also be improved during these periods.
Recovery: Because many tribes in the country depend much on their cattle, it is important to have recovery measures directed towards addressing the problems they face whenever these disasters occur. The government has to undertake appropriate measures of helping the communities to restock their animals after the die due to floods or droughts, or after they have been rustled (Fred, 1983). Long term approaches to these disasters can also be encouraged like having peace forums to reduce chances of cattle rustling and also build barriers to contain floods.
Priority of Hazards Faced in Kenya
Hazard

Magnitude

Frequency

Seasonal Pattern

Duration

Speed of Onset

Priority

 Droughts

 Catastrophic

 Highly Likely

 Occur Annually

 2-4 months

 More than 24 hours warning

 1

 Cattle Rustling

 Critical

 Highly Likely

 Frequently

 2-6 months

 Minimal-over 24 hours warning

 2

 Flooding

 Limited

 Highly Likely

 Annually

 1-2 months

 Minimal but expected after heavy rains

 3

Vulnerability
Drought affects the greatest majority of people in the country. Drought results in death of animals as well as loss of human food hence causing famine and starvation. This has been a major cause of deaths in the widely affected areas. As well, the disaster has the potential of causing potential loss of services to the people. Although infrastructure is not damaged by droughts, this country has very poor roadwork system hence...