Speedy response in crisis management

  BANGLADESH, with a population of 150 million, is one of the most disaster prone countries in the world. Over the last three decades, Bangladesh has invested in disaster management and has gained considerable ability to manage natural disasters, floods and cyclones in particular, in a better way. What about the capacity of the country in managing the emergency phase of industrial disasters, in particular infrastructure collapse and fire?
Fire accidents occur frequently
Fire causes huge loss of lives and properties every year. Although termed as 'fire accident,' most fires are far from being accidental. Indeed, most are preventable. Industrial units, particularly garments industry, cause the deadliest of the fires. Fire incidents in the country are increasing at an alarming rate. In 2004, 7,140 fire incidents occurred, causing damage to property worth more than Tk.200 crore (Source: National Plan for Disaster Management 2010-2015).
Incidents of infrastructure collapse are on the rise
The collapse on April 24 of Rana Plaza, an eight-story building, was the worst industrial disaster in the history of Bangladesh, killing over 1,100 garment workers and injuring over 1,600 others. Since 2006, over 1,800 people have been killed as a result of substandard safety conditions in Bangladesh factories. The Rana Plaza disaster followed fires at the Tazreen Fashion factory and Smart Fabrics on the periphery of Dhaka, leaving at least 117 dead and at least 200 injured.
Management of fires in factories has shown the strengths, weaknesses, limitations and challenges of key organisations and communities involved in responding to unexpected occurrences. Taking into account the risk and vulnerability of Bangladesh to earthquake, risk in garments factories and the existing emergency practices, the following points are placed to relevant institutions/authorities for appropriate strategies and actions in improving performance in emergencies.
It is the expectation of the people of Bangladesh that responsible authorities will act appropriately in line with the disaster management vision of the government. The vision is to reduce the risk of people, especially the poor and the disadvantaged, from the effects of natural, environmental and human induced hazards to a manageable and acceptable humanitarian level, and to have in place an efficient emergency response system capable of handling large scale disasters (National Plan for Disaster Management2010-2015).
Emergency response operations
This covers activities undertaken immediately before, during or after an event which help to reduce loss of life, illness or injury, property loss or damage, or damage to the environment. It may include, for example, planning, co-ordination and implementation of measures to lessen the effects of a disaster upon members of the public or to protect property of the state. (Source: National Plan for Disaster Management2010-2015).
Emergency assistance comprises the saving of lives and covering of the basic needs of the affected individuals/community. Emergency support operations may contain (a) rapid assessment of the situation and identification of the needs, (b) coverage of basic needs by providing drinking water, emergency medical assistance and shelter for victims, and (c) strengthening the coordina¬tion of search and rescue and relief efforts.
Readiness for a rapid response
a) It includes formulation of workable emergency plans, development of warning systems, maintenance of inventories and training of workforce. It may also include search and rescue measures as well as evacuation plans for areas that may be 'at risk' from a disaster;
b) Readiness encompasses those measures taken before a disaster, which are aimed at minimising loss of life, interference in critical services, and damage when the disaster occurs;
c) Prior to an emergency situation, the contingency plan provides the basis for identifying and further developing response capacity .The Contingency Plan is the basis of readiness and covers (1)analysis of the context, risk mapping and identification of likely emergency scenarios; (2) mapping of capacity, vulnerabilities, constraint and resources, and tangible/intangible assets; (3) identification of other external organisations' capacity, constraint and resources in the department/ministry/area/country/region.  
When an emergency occurs, the following actions are required; (a) activating the Contingency Plan as quickly as possible with proper commitment, resources and strength, (b) doing a quick preliminary analysis of the circumstances and available skills and resources (internal and external), (c) leading a first assessment and sketching what could be done at different levels, and developing a quick strategy and an action plan; (d) external and internal networking, collaboration, coordination with effective management and leadership .
Way out:
After starting an emergency response operation, the authorities need to formulate a way out. For a way out two major steps are (1) shutting down: a gradual reduction of activities resulting in a complete shut down (2) relinquish: a reassigning of required actions to a responsible organisation. Way out should be drawn up by setting a precise timeframe and deadline for closure activities based on context and standard procedures.
It is worth having guidelines for effective performance in emergency operations. The following could be consulted for a better readiness:(1)The Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief (2)The SPHERE Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards (asserting the right to life with dignity, and a comprehensive set of standards and  indicators (3) The Human Accountability Partnership (HAP) Principles of Accountability (4)Standing Orders on Disasters, (5)National Disaster Management Plan (6) The Disaster Management Act (6) Organizational Policy, Guidelines, Learning Documents and Good  Practices as appropriate .
Capacity of carrying out a comprehensive plan for managing emergencies is needed for averting disastrous consequences. General basics to be considered in all emergencies include pre-emergency groundwork and provisions for alerting, rescuing and evacuating affected people, handling fatalities, and for containing of the emergency. Political and administrative determination, effective policy formulation and coordinated implementation and participation of stakeholders are of great importance for avoiding risk and also for running speedy emergency operations effectively and proficiently.

The writer is Senior Programme Officer, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC),
Embassy of Switzerland , Bangladesh.
(Note: The views in the article are the writer's own. No link with his office.)