Emergency Management Plan For An Evacuation Shelter

Emergency Management Plan For An Evacuation Shelter
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Emergency Management Plan For An Evacuation Shelter
The Research Proposal
I. Problem Identification
Almost every year, different parts of the United States of America (USA) are hit by a storm or hurricane. For example, in 2005, a category five Hurricane Katrina caused deaths of about 1,833 people in Louisiana and Florida (Atkin, 2018). The storm displaced over 1 million individuals in the affected areas. During the hurricane, approximately 273,000 people sought refuge in evacuation shelters. Moreover, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sheltered about 114,000 individuals (Plyer, 2016). In 2017, a category four Hurricane Maria occurred in Puerto Rico, killing more than 3,000 people (Sanchez, 2018). During the same period, Hurricane Irma hit Barbuda and caused deaths of 129 individuals. The county government of Florida ordered about 6.5 million people to seek refuge somewhere safe. Around 77,000 individuals were saved since they were housing in 450 shelters. Hurricane Irma destroyed communication lines and damaged approximately 90% of the structures and buildings in Barbuda (Amadeo, 2019). Furthermore, about 60% of the population in the affected region were left homeless. For this reason, to address the problem of hurricanes and other disasters, setting up a homeless shelter is the most appropriate solution.
II. The solution to the problem
The most significant and sustainable solution to eradicate casualties when hurricanes occur is building homeless or evacuation shelters. Based on the above facts, every time that a hurricane occurs in the USA, some people must die, which is very sad. The storm kills helpless individuals and destroys properties worth millions. Despite all these disasters related to hurricane happening almost every year, the government and emergency agencies have not put enough effort into saving the lives of innocent Americans. Specifically, some people in the Caribbean live with fear since they do not know when a hurricane will occur and leave them miserable. They go through hard times due to the trauma caused by such natural disasters. Hurricanes change the lives of individuals completely since some of them develop mind or mental problems, particularly children who lose their parents. At this point, the significant issue is not knowing when the disaster will occur, but what people in the affected area will do to save their lives. Although the government monitors the climate and warns citizens when a storm is about to hit a specific region, some of the affected individuals do not have somewhere to go. For this reason, they ignore the warnings and prefer to stay at home rather than wandering in the streets haphazardly as if they are homeless. Besides, it is clear from the above facts about Hurricane Katrina, Irma, and Maria that many people who survive are the ones who seek refuge in evacuation shelters. Therefore, one of the most effective strategies to mitigate and prepare for natural disasters such as hurricanes is by erecting homeless shelters in areas that are hit by storm regularly.
III. Project Accomplishments
Evacuation shelters are convenient, safe places where affected individuals need to go to save their lives. The emergency agencies should work in close collaboration with other relevant stakeholders to take people to the homeless shelter when a disaster occurs. In particular, it is sad for the country to be losing its citizens every time a storm occurs. Despite weather patterns being uncontrollable, the best thing to do is to ensure that communities are safe. In essence, building homeless shelters in hurricane-prone areas can reduce the number of deaths when a disaster occurs. People will have somewhere to hide during hurricanes such that no one has to die. Evacuation shelters act as homes for displaced individuals during storms (Swamy, Kang, Batta, & Chung, 2017). Homeless shelters will be built with strong materials that are not easily destructible. Even if victims’ houses and other properties are damaged, the most significant thing is to save the lives of people. Disaster preparedness and mitigation are the only things that can reduce casualties during emergencies. If there are enough evacuation shelters in areas affected by hurricanes, many people will not die. Individuals will seek refuge in these structures, which are designed to withstand the wrath of Mother Nature. By building evacuation shelters, emergency agencies will respond quickly when a disaster occurs, and they will have an easy time to save the victims. The following are the supplies required in building a homeless shelter (Ready.gov, n.d.):
Food.
Water.
Battery power.
Local maps.
Garbage bags.
First aid kit.
Cellphone.
Infant formula, diapers, bottles, and wipes.
Sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows.
Fire extinguishers.
A safe for keeping important documents.
Personal hygiene products and feminine supplies.
Prescription medications.
Pet food.
Flashlight.
Wheelchairs.
Gas masks.
IV. Pre-Production Strategies
The primary objective is to set up a homeless shelter where people should go when hurricanes occur. Based on the scenarios of Hurricane Maria, Katrina, and Irma, which have happened in the recent past, it is clear that evacuation shelters save the lives of many individuals when disasters occur. The evacuation shelter should be well-equipped with the right materials so that it can be used to save individuals in the case of a biochemical attack. That is the reason why one of the requirements is gas masks. There should be a quarantine area where people who have inhaled the dangerous gas should be isolated before they receive specialized treatment from physicians. After the ...