Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Management Plan
Introduction
The Commonwealth of Virginia employs a very comprehensive set of procedures, plans, and directories that are designed to act as “mechanisms in a collective framework for the coordination of state support to impacted local governments and affected individuals and businesses.”[1] Every four years, the Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Operations Plan (The Plan) is sworn into action by the Governor of Virginia by means of Executive Order, Number Fifty (2012).[2] The main body of work for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management that governs Emergency Operations Planning consists of the following sections: Basic Plan and Appendices, Emergency Support Functions, Support Annexes, and Hazard-Specific Annexes.
The Plan
These sections are broken down into specific documents that address a multitude of different organizations, logistics, terms, and hazards that present themselves in times of emergency. The majority of the plan allocates resources in a way that defines specific duties for each organization listed in the framework. Review of the documents leads me to conclude that the following threats are anticipated to confront the Commonwealth: radiological, terrorism, hurricane, pandemic, hazardous materials, technological hazards, and earthquake.
Private Partnerships
Specifically, the Virginia Emergency Support Team (VEST), formerly the Virginia Emergency Response Team (VERT), interacts with the Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) to ensure proper training of all agency partners, which include local and state emergency managers, first responders, federal, private and non-profit entities, and residents of the Commonwealth.[3] Tasks such as homeland security strategy consulting, infrastructure analysis during disaster presence, and natural disaster emergency planning are being outsourced to private organizations like Booz Allen Hamilton through partnership programs.[4] The Virginia Department of Emergency Management’s Private Sector Liaison Program specifically focuses on cultivating strong relationships with private sector companies with the overall goal of providing mutual support and situational awareness in the arena of Emergency Management.[5]
Disaster Halo Effect
Virginia is most likely prone to the following scenario: A hurricane hits Virginia Beach, VA. As a result, power is lost to Virginia Beach and the surrounding areas. Next, flood waters render the bridge-tunnel system in Hampton Roads useless, cutting off transportation routes in the area. In my opinion, The Plan Virginia has in place is comprehensive enough to efficiently and effectively combat this halo effect disaster. No detail has been overlooked in The Plan.
Vulnerabilities
However, The Plan has a vulnerability in that there are regions of Virginia with key military bases that will follow protocol as dictated by Federal mandate. In particular, the Hampton Roads area is very susceptible to the overlapping of military/civilian governance. In the case where a military base is affected by a threat, the response will be prioritized, making the base the priority over the town. This presents a unique problem in that the resources available may be redirected based on the needs of the military, as opposed to the needs of the community.
Another vulnerability lies in the structure of the private partnership program. There seems to be too little incentive to ally a private business with the Commonwealth of Virginia in terms of Emergency Management. In most cases, the private organizations that are active in the program have been brought in based on need. There has been little voluntary participation from private companies. Along the same lines, organizations new to the arena are not joining the private partnership. The perception is that there is not a need since the organizations already vested have the roles covered.
References
- ↑ "COVEOP | Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM)". www.vaemergency.gov. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
- ↑ "Virginia Department of Emergency Management" (PDF). Executive Order #50. 15 January 2016.
- ↑ "EM Update: Issue #168 | Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM)". www.vaemergency.gov. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
- ↑ "Homeland Security Consulting | Booz Allen Hamilton". www.boozallen.com. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
- ↑ "Program Summary | Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM)". www.vaemergency.gov. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
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