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NOTICE:
TIEMS Transportation Safety and Security Workshop January 28-29th 2003
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Welcome to
the
Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management
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| January 2003
Volume 3 - Number 4 |
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Current events
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Communications in Crisis and Emergency Management
By Falah Al-Mahan
Paper AbstractCommunications is a vital aspect in the attainment of effectiveness in emergency management. In the past, there was a tendency to centralize emergency communications, and greater emphasis was placed on military concerns than on civilian needs. The utilization of emergency communications systems in the past showed that such systems could be disrupted or overloaded in times of crisis. This gave a rise to the concept that there is a need for redundancy in the development of effective emergency management communications. In addition, concerns were raised regarding the lack of interoperability among the communications systems of the different emergency-related agencies. These types of problems were seen in the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 in New York City and Washington DC. In the wake of these attacks, various proposals have been made regarding new ways to improve communications for emergency management. For example, the needs for developing redundant (back-up) communications systems were addressed by emergency management planning policies. There is also a need for the implementation of regional and national emergency communications systems, designed for improved interoperability. In addition, there is a need to develop the technology that would enable civilian-based emergency managers to connect to military communications systems. Other technological developments can further improve emergency communications in the future, such as the utilization of “virtual” emergency command centers and the use of laser communications technology. After discussing these proposals, the paper concludes with recommendations for how emergency management communications systems can be further improved in upcoming years. To Full Paper |