Disaster management (or emergency management) is the organization and management of resources and responsibilities to address all humanitarian aspects of emergencies - preparedness, response and recovery - in order to reduce the adverse effects of disasters.
If possible, emergency planning should aim to prevent emergencies and, if not possible, develop a good plan of action to mitigate the results and effects of any emergency. As time goes by, and more data is available, usually through the study of emergencies as they occur, a plan must evolve. The development of emergency plans is a cyclical process, common to many disciplines of risk management, such as Business Continuity and Security Risk Management, which are detailed below:
• Recognition or identification of risks
• Classification or risk assessment
• Response to significant risks
Tolerate
Try
• Transfer
• End up
• Control of resources
• Reaction planning
• Report and monitor risk performance
• Review of the risk management framework
There are several guidelines and publications on Emergency Planning, published by various professional organizations such as ASIS, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the International Association of Emergency Management (IAEM). There are very few specific standards of Emergency Management, and emergency management as a discipline tends to fall under business resilience standards.
In order to avoid or reduce significant losses to a business, emergency managers must work to identify and anticipate potential risks, hoping to reduce their likelihood of occurring. In the event of an emergency, managers must have a plan prepared to mitigate the effects of that emergency, as well as to ensure Business Continuity of critical operations after the incident. It is essential that an organization include procedures to determine whether an emergency situation has occurred and at what point an emergency management plan should be activated.