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FIRE ASIA 2003
A Safe City in Motion

Presentation: Disaster Preparedness for Catastrophic Incidents

Summary
Using recent incidents (including the Kobe earthquake on January 17, 1995,
the fireworks plant explosion in Enschede, The Netherlands on May 13, 2000,
and the attack on the New York World Trade Center on September 11, 2001),
the presentation will illustrate the benefit of a comprehensive disaster
management program as described in NFPA Standard No. 1600. Such an
all-hazard, comprehensive plan can be applied to events caused by natural
forces, technological failures, and human activities.

The 13 elements of the document, ranging from hazard identification, to
operations and procedures, to public education, cover the critical phases of
preparedness, mitigation, response, continuity of operations, and recovery.

It will be shown that one of the crucial features in combating catastrophes is
the consideration of human factors and the need to gather and share
information before and during a crisis situation.

Any successful disaster management program must involve and coordinate all
governmental entities, disaster-relief organizations, emergency services,
business and industry, and the public at large.

Emergency and fire services are always the first to be called in a calamity,
and are perceived as the last line of defense for survival. Therefore, they
must broaden their focus and provide leadership for initiatives to protect
cities and communities.