Disaster Response Procedures When a disaster occurs, ANDMA under the Office of the President, has the mandate to coordinate and manage post-disaster response activities for the Government. However, the key government ministries must provide necessary assistance to DDP in accordance with their mandated roles and responsibilities. To be concise and for clarity the following are used in this guideline: i). the phrase assisting community refers to UN agencies, bilateral donors, NGOs, IFRC/ARCS, and the private sector that provide emergency relief assistance, and ii). the Office of the Provincial Governor has the authority and the responsibility for disaster response at the provincial level, iii). a disaster situation exists when the affected community, district, province or country can not cope with the hazard impact. Because there is no formal “National Disaster Management Plan” (NDMP) to provide response procedures, the following provides a brief guide for disaster response. Reporting Procedure Disaster Occurrence: The representative of the affected community (Alaqadari) directly informs either the nearest district administration office, or any government official, or NGO who then informs the Provincial Governor or his Deputy. Alternatively the Alaqadari informs the Provincial Authority directly if it is the fastest and the most effective route. The Provincial Governor informs the main government departments and the members of the assisting community that are represented in, and has responsibilities for, the affected province. The Governor must also inform the Director of DDP who informs the President’s Office. Government departments and including the Governor, directly inform their respective line ministry. The assisting community also reports directly to respective head offices. Post-Disaster Reporting: Official reporting of the emergency operations matters is provided daily by DDP, to the focal points of the key ministries and assisting community. Operational Procedure Damage, Needs and Capacity Assessments When information of a disaster is received, the Provincial Governor, or a designated official, carries out the following activities: • Activates and mobilizes a provincial disaster management committee (PDMC) consisting of government officials from the key ministries and the assisting community, to carry out an initial assessment of the extent of the damage and to identify needs for immediate relief. • Discuss the assessment report with the PDMC and determine the magnitude of the disaster, the level of response needed and who has the capacity to provide relief assistance. • Disseminate the assessment report to all relevant humanitarian partners. Provision of Disaster Relief From the assessment report, the capacity and level of response is determined by the provincial team in consultation with the DDP and where necessary the other key ministries. District level response: is when the disaster can be managed by the District Administrator through the mobilization of community level resources and using existing traditional coping mechanisms, including resources of other partners, such as NGOs, in the affected districts. The district team provides regular situation reports to the provincial governor. The Provincial and National authorities are on alert in case they need to assist. Recommendation: To quantify what level of damage and destruction to be managed by the affected district and community will require extensive consultation by key ministries and the assisting community. It is recommended that L1 be known as the level when the disaster can be managed at the District level. The Provincial and the National level need to be prepared in case assistance is required. Provincial level response: is when the resources at the provincial level are adequate to manage and coordinate the emergency operation and delivery of relief. Provincial level resources include all the stakeholders located and/or responsible for the province. This includes government departments and the assisting community with their human, materials, and financial resources. The operation procedures are: • When disaster situation is reported, the Provincial Governor activates and mobilizes a multi-disciplinary assessment team from the government, NGOs and UN agencies. • The Governor or his deputy sets up a “provincial disaster coordination team” that makes decision on the quantity, types of relief assistance, and who should be getting what, when and how, etc. • The Governor also establishes a team at the disaster site (depending on the scale and accessibility of the operation) to coordinate, manage and track the provision of relief and to provide daily situation reports. • Assisting NGOs, UN agencies and bilateral donors report directly to the Governor on all their relief operations. • The provincial team, through the Governor, provides daily situation report to the DDP head office in Kabul. • The National level response (government and international) is on standby to assist if needed. Recommendation: It is recommended that L2 be the level when the participation and resources of the Province is required to manage the disaster. The National level response is on standby to give assistance if needed. National level response: is when a large scale disaster overwhelms the coping capacity of the affected Districts and Provinces and assistance is needed from the National Authority and International Community (in-country or external). It is recommended that this level of response be known as L3. When this occurs the procedures to follow are: • The Director of DDP informs the President of the disaster situation. • The President on the advice of the Director of DDP declares that a disaster situation exists and requests for a national response and for international assistance. • The Director of DDP activates and chairs an inter-ministerial disaster management team to manage and coordinate operations at the national level. The team may be called the National Emergency Coordination Committee - NECC . • The DDP notifies the UN Humanitarian Coordinator and members of the assisting community immediately (within 48 hours of the event) if specialist international assistance is needed (medical specialists, mobile hospitals, search and rescue teams, etc). • The national army (ANA), ISAF and Coalition asked to be ready for rapid initial assessment of the extent of the destruction. The NECC coordinates and manages the following: • Establishes and manages the emergency operation center (EOC) to manage the field operations and to regularly inform the coordination committee of the emergency situation. • Mobilizes a team consisting of national (key ministry personnel and representatives of affected community) and selected members of the assisting community, to survey damage and assess needs and set-up and manage on-site coordination office. • Disseminate the damage and needs assessment report with emergency relief needs highlighted and organize a pledging meeting of the donor community. • Organizes and coordinates the key ministries and assisting community to mobilize needed emergency relief items and human resources. • Conduct daily combined coordination and information exchange meetings of key ministries and the assisting community. • Provide daily situation reports and press briefing, and keep track of the delivery of relief items. • Closes the emergency phase and hand over to the key ministries the long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction task. • Produce final report and conduct debriefing at the end of the emergency phase. The role of the military: Military personnel and assets are placed on readiness to be rapidly deployed to assist in emergency operations; particularly where accessibility, transportation, and communications are poor or does not exist and where rescue operations to save life is critical. When needed, military should be mobilized within 24 hours of the disaster occurring to carry out the following: • Provide military helicopter for initial assessment, search and rescue tasks and medical evacuation. • Deliver immediate life-saving medical teams, supplies and equipment. • Airlift relief items where there is no road access. • Transport teams to conduct survey of damage and assessment of needs. • Provide communications systems for contacts between on-site and HQ teams. An informal ‘willingness to assist’ exists between the ISAF, Government and UNAMA: that ISAF will assist with emergency response if it has access resources available to be deployed, it does not interfere with its priority tasks, it is allowed to operate outside its area of jurisdiction, and that the request is officially from the Afghanistan Government with UNAMA support.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 08:23:09 +0000
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