Shelter or Evacuation - Cabinet Office homepage

							Shelter or Evacuate?




           Alan Goodwin
         Deputy Chief Constable
   ACPO Emergency Procedures Committee
                 Introduction
• Risk Based Planning – National/Regional/Local
• Civil Contingencies Act 2004
  – Duty to produce Community Risk Register
  – Duty to plan and exercise accordingly
• Shelter and Evacuation as options
• Generic considerations
  – No Case Studies – valuable to workshop discussions
    National Risk Assessment
• “Mass” Evacuation
  – National advice or decision making involved
  – Highly unlikely due to risks involved
• Large Scale Evacuation
  – Regional/National support may be needed
  – E.g. Flooding, Transport/Utilities failure,
    industrial accidents, acts of terrorism.
              Local Planning
• Much already in place
  – COMAH, Sports venues, City/Town Centres
• Scaleable Flexibility
  – Generic planning capable of scaling up/down
• Quality Assurance
  – Interdependencies, conflicts, integration with
    neighbouring areas
  – Planning & Exercising regime
         Purpose of Evacuation
• “To move people and, where appropriate,
 other living creatures away from an actual or
 potential danger to a safer place.” (CCS Draft
 Guidance unpublished)




• Always the preferred option?
          Shelter or Evacuate?
• Often better to shelter in buildings in response to events.




• Challenges of Shelter
   –   Supporting dependent people in their homes.
   –   Maintenance of key services.
   –   Potential for spontaneous self-evacuation.
   –   Rational people doing irrational things.


• Decision for Gold Commander based on prevailing
  circumstances. Dynamic Risk Assessment.
          Shelter or Evacuate?
• Evacuation requires a well co-ordinated multi
  agency response.
• People require to leave their homes must be
  supported and reassured.
• Considerations:
   –   Where are they going to?
   –   How will we get them there?
   –   How long will they be there for?
   –   How will they and their homes be protected?
   –   How will we communicate with them and others affected
       by the evacuation?
• Plan before the Decision!
   Planning Considerations (1)
• Logistics
   – are the necessary resources available to deliver the
     plan? (e.g. are individual elements predicated upon the
     same police resources?)
   – Is there a reliance on military MACA? Is it realistic?
• Infrastructure
   – Is the necessary transport infrastructure still in place?
   – Are key communications channels still available?
• People and Places
   – Vulnerable people in communities
   – High risk premises – hospitals, prisons, schools.
   Planning Considerations (2)
• Command & Control Arrangements
   – Strategic Coordinating Group (“Gold”)
   – Role of Regional Government Office
   – Central Government arrangements (CONOPS)
• Mutual Aid Arrangements
   – Police - PNICC activation
   – Local Authorities - reciprocal resource sharing
• Role of Voluntary Sector
   – Transportation
   – Assistance at rest centres
   – Social and welfare support
• Media Strategy
   – Key Messages
   – Access to evacuees
            Legal Considerations
• Compulsory Evacuation?
  –   No Police Powers to order evacuation
  –   CC Act Emergency Powers? Unlikely (e.g. Triton)
  –   US experience – mandatory evacuation problematic
  –   Effective & persuasive media strategies essential.
• Local Authority Housing Duty?
  – Displaced people but for how long?
  – Relationship with outsourced housing providers?
• Animal Welfare?
  – Legislation relating to livestock, zoos and pets.
  – How DO we evacuate a family of giraffes?
             Warning & Informing
• Communication Strategies
   – Any decision to shelter or evacuate must be underpinned by a
     robust communication strategy.
   – People need to know what they need to do.
• Duty under CC Act 2004
   – Local responders must have arrangements in place to warn and
     inform the public in times of emergency.
   – Utilise Regional Media Emergency Forum. Links to Government
     News Network.
   – Consider mirroring RMEF at Local level.
   – Exercise communication plans in their own right.
• Role of Gold Command
   – Early delivery of communications strategy when considering
     shelter or evacuation.
                                        www.preparingforemergencies.gov.uk
                 Conclusion
• Cabinet Office Evacuation Guidance
  – Conferences/Booklets now
  – Guidance/Policy issues early Summer
  – Will incorporate issues discussed today
BUT
• Evacuation or Shelter is a Command Decision
  – Part of contingency planning wherever possible
  – Requires dynamic risk assessment as events
    unfold.
  – Consider short and long term impact of decisions.