The Management of Floods in the United Kingdom - Case Study Example

FLOOD EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE UK Student’s Name: Code + Course name Professor’s name University City, State Date Introduction The National Flood Emergency Framework reveals the strategic approach of the UK Government towards planning and responding to floods from the sea, rivers, surface water, groundwater, reservoirs, and artificial canals and waterways. The 2007 floods witnessed in the UK necessitated the promotion of the framework to the report implementation stage. The structure outlines a strategic approach to the emergency planning and response of floods in the UK. In essence, the framework is a substantial resource for all stakeholders tasked with the responsibility of managing and responding to floods both at the local and national levels. The responder organizations and governmental agencies refer to the framework when responding and managing floods. This report examines the management of floods in the UK. The Purpose of the Framework One of the objectives of the framework is to ensure that all stakeholder agencies in flood management and response understand their roles in the management of floods. In the UK, the different stakeholder groups associated with flood management include the Environment Agency, the Internal Drainage Board, District Councils, Lead Local Flood Authorities, Water and Sewerage Companies, delivery bodies, and Highways Authorities. The framework also acts as a common reference point for all stakeholders in the event of a flooding emergency (DEFRA 2013). As a result, the framework provides a single document that contains all the key policies, guidance, and information required to manage the flood. The framework also outlines the limits for the emergency response of a flood. Moreover, it reiterates the massive role that the multi-agency approach plays towards responding to floods. Furthermore, the framework identifies the effective ways of developing resilience toward flooding events (Lumbroso & Vinet 2011). Apparently, developing the required resilience towards flooding events minimizes the impact of the events to the general public and other resources. Besides identifying the means of enhancing resilience, the framework also provides a foundation for the development and review of flood response plans developed by individual responders. Finally, the framework also endeavors to be a long-term asset and reference point to the management of flooding events in the country. Objectives of the Framework The framework targets to achieve the objectives of the UK Government in the management and response of flooding events (LGA 2013). The objectives are as follows: To alleviate suffering and protect human life, property, and the environment To use the earliest opportunity available in restoring disrupted services in a bid to support the continuity of daily activities To uphold the democratic process and the rule of law To respond to changes in alert levels with high levels of promptness To ensure that there is an integrated approach of developing response arrangements to flooding events by combining national equity and consistency with the local flexibility To ensure that it is possible to implement the response arrangements in a proportionate, sustainable, phased, and flexible manner To ensure that the response arrangements utilize the best scientific evidence To ensure that the response arrangements recline on the existing systems, processes, and services besides being adaptable to meet the varying needs of different flooding environments To ascertain that emergency responders and planners understand and accept the response arrangements To ascertain that the design of the response arrangements aims at enabling the earliest probable return to normality of the situation National Emergency Management in the UK The Civil Contingencies Act of 2004 defines an emergency as a series of events or situations that cause serious damage or threaten human welfare, security, or the environment in the UK (LGA 2013). The national emergency management identifies three phases in the management of all emergencies including flooding events. The phases include: a. The Pre-Planning or Preparation phase b. The Response Phase c. The Recovery Phase The preparation phase entails pre-planning for the flooding event by all stakeholders. The response phase entails mitigating the immediate occurrence of a flooding event. In essence, the response phase targets to prevent the situation from getting worse. The recovery phase is an elongated phase of activities such as rebuilding the damaged structures as well as the rehabilitation and restoration of the affected community. The response phase comprises both impact management and crisis management designed to prevent the community from suffering the adverse effects of the flooding event (CabinetOffice 2013). Under crisis management, the objective of the response arrangements is to prevent an imminent emergency. This includes other protective activities that mitigate the impacts of the flooding event, prevent further destruction and damage to property by the flooding emergency, as well as securing the scene to prevent additional fatalities (DEFRA 2014). The actions covered by crisis management also include the handling of the immediate impacts of the emergency such as disseminating public information, search and rescue missions, providing public health advice on pertinent issues such as the spread of waterborne diseases, and taking care of the victims and fatalities of the flooding event. In the event of flooding emergencies, crisis management can last for a few hours, days or months until the responsible stakeholders successfully handle the immediate effects of the emergency to the public. Crisis management continues to a point where the stakeholders are able to put the situation under control. As mentioned before, the management of floods also includes the management of its consequences (consequence management) (CabinetOffice 2013). Crisis management and consequence management run concurrently. The primary mission of consequence management is to identify the actions that would prevent the flooding event from escalating to worse levels. As a result, the stakeholders implement specific actions such as the management of wider consequences such as the restoration of the transport network, the provision of shelter to the displaced communities, and the restoration of other critical infrastructure such as electricity supplies. In the UK, the local response towards a flooding event signals the onset of the response. Since the UK classifies flooding events under emergencies, local responders and the emergency services are on the forefront towards dealing with the emergency with little input from the central government. In the event of a local flood, the UK Police plays a central role in coordinating the local response since floods pose a significant threat to the safety of the locals. In essence, local organizations play the primary role of planning and responding to flooding emergencies just like the other emergencies such as fire and earthquake. Local organizations have created Strategic Coordination Groups (SCGs) and Local Resilience Forums (LRFs) (DEFRA 2014). The action of the organizations is either individual or collective. As a result, it is the responsibility of public and private organizations to utilize the local forum in developing plans of maintaining business continuity and critical services in the event of a flooding emergency. The organizations are also responsible for managing the resultant consequences from the event. The Strategic Coordinating Group (SCG) ascertains the use of the multi-agency approach in responding to the emergency. The title given to the chair of the group is the Gold Commander. In the event of flooding emergencies, the chair of the group is either a Local Authority Chief Executive or a lead police. Placing local organizations on the forefront in the management of flooding events is in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. According to the principle, local decision-making is paramount in the management of local emergencies (CabinetOffice 2010). However, the level of the flooding emergency determines the inclusion of other responders and the central government. Handling the Flooding Emergency Prior to dealing with a flooding event, the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) has identified four classifications or levels of the emergency that determine the extent and scale of the response. In the event that the complexity or scale of the emergency reaches a specific level, it elicits the need for the intervention of central government. However, the Lead Government Department assigned to that role or in some instances, a devolved administration is responsible for the overall management of the response from the central government. Defra suffices to be the designated LGD that responds to floods in most cases. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) handles the recovery operations (DEFRA 2014). In a recent case involving a flooding emergency in the UK, the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) coordinated the response from the central government. The COBR gathered ministers, senior officials, and agency representatives to take part in making effective decisions regarding the proper course of action for dealing with the crisis and consequence management aspects of the flood. In the quest to ascertain the implementation of proper countermeasures to the emergency, the COBR also included specialist modeling and advice. Factors that determine the level of emergency of the flooding event in the UK include the impact of the flood on critical infrastructure, the number of flooded properties, the depth of flooding, and the media response. According to the CONOPS classification, there are three levels of emergency of the flooding event. These include catastrophic, serious, and significant (DEFRA 2014). A catastrophic flooding event results in the displacement of thousands of individuals thereby having a widespread effect to the UK population. The event also leads to the destruction of serious property. A serious flooding event also requires the coordination of different agencies and the central government because of its potential to have a prolonged and substantial impact on a significant proportion of the country. Flooding events that result in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of individuals fall under the serious level of emergency. A good example of such an event is a flood that affects several counties thereby posing a significant threat to the critical infrastructure of the counties (DEFRA 2014). Floods that fall under the significant emergency level displace several individuals and may threaten the critical infrastructure of several counties. Apart from the three main levels of flooding emergency, the CONOPS also includes the local level in its categorization to refer to local flooding events that result in small-scale evacuation and pose no risk to critical infrastructure. In most cases, flooding events spread over extensive areas thereby necessitating the establishment of a Response Coordinating Group (ResCG). The Resilience and Emergencies Division (RED) of the DCLG hosts the ResCG. Therefore, the ResCG is a communication tool that ensures the timely and accurate delivery of information to all stakeholders of the flood emergency management. The communication tool also ensures the joint worst-case scenario planning and risk assessment to deal with the flooding crisis and its consequences. The DCLG convenes the ResCG either as the sole initiative of the department or following a request from local responders to encompass all representatives from the different agencies, organizations, and departments. Even though the ResCG is a communication tool established by the DCLG in the event of a flooding emergency, the ResCG does not interfere in local control or command arrangements (DEFRA 2014). The identified risks form the basis of establishing the ResCG. Reporting the Flood’s Impact Apparently, the management of a flooding emergency also requires a proper reporting framework that provides relevant and timely information on the state of events on the ground. In the UK, Defra is responsible for reporting the impacts of the flooding emergency at the initial or response phase. However, it is the duty of the DCLG to report the impacts of the emergency during the recovery phase. In order to have the much required awareness of the situation to report the impacts, Defra and DCLG rely on the information availed by local authorities, the Environment Agency, central government departments, and infrastructure operators. For instance, in the event of river and coastal flooding, it is apparent that the Environment Agency has a good view of the affected infrastructure and property as well as the extent of flooding. As a result, it collects and avails such information to Defra and DCLG. The RED team also provides reports on the disruption of local services within the affected area. Multi-agency meetings also play a massive role in availing the required information (DEFRA 2014). Such comprehensive and coordinated reporting frameworks are pivotal in dealing with coastal flooding that has the greatest threat to the lives of individuals and surrounding property. Defra and the DCLG also require information on the immediate and less predictable surface water impacts. This also applies to groundwater impacts. In such cases, flooding occurs in the event of the overflowing of the aquifers. In such cases, local level responders, the RED team, and the Environment Agency join efforts to gain the first view of the degree of impact. In order to gain a clear understanding of the situation on the ground, local responders provide the much-needed information to Defra and the DCLG. The availability of such information enables the responsible agencies to identify the resources required to respond to the crisis and its consequences (DEFRA 2014). In order to have a clear understanding of the situation, top-level local authority that performs the role of the Lead Local Flood Authority are responsible for investigating such occurrences and collecting the initial data required in the future management of flooding emergencies emanating from surface and ground water. Major incidences necessitate the coordination of the COBR and several SCGs that source the required data from reports. However, the SCG chair that performs the role of the Gold Commander should confirm the authenticity of the data gathered from reports (DEFRA 2012). The fact that that responding to major incidences requires accurate data on the ground situation implies the use of multiple agencies by the UK when responding to such incidences. Defra is then responsible for collating reports on situational awareness in the response phase to provide a unified outlook of the flooding impacts. In essence, local responders relay information about the impacts of the flood such as destruction to houses, possible loss of lives and destruction to other property to the Environmental Agency area teams. Local responders also relay the information to the respective DCLG Resilience Advisor. The Resilience Advisor and the EA area teams then convey the information to Defra. Defra collates the information before reporting it during the response phase in the event that the response plan has not utilized the multi-agency approach. Recovering from the impacts of the flood is the underlying reason for collecting accurate data (DEFRA 2014). Collecting accurate data plays a pivotal role in enabling target funding especially in major flooding emergencies that involve the central government. The collected data should distinguish between the impact of the flood on businesses and homes. Rather than estimating the data, Defra ensures that the availed records reflect the real situation on the ground. In the 2013/14 flood incident witnessed in the UK, the target data covered several critical areas. To begin with, the agencies collected data on the total number of flooded homes. The stakeholders also collected data on the number of destroyed homes where inhabitants were unable to return at the end of the incidence. The stakeholders also collected data on the total number of flooded businesses. On the aspect of flooded businesses, the stakeholders also gathered data on the total number of destroyed businesses that were not in operation. The responses from local authorities and the central government are in accordance with the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004 (CCA) that provides the civil protection framework in the UK. According to the Act, the framework should have the potential of addressing challenges of the 21st century (LGA 2013). Apparently, flooding is one of the major challenges witnessed in the 21st century. As a result, the Act requires the central government and local authorities to establish a civil protection framework that addresses such challenges. The first part of the CCA advocates for emergency preparedness through the establishment of clear roles for the individuals, organizations, and agencies tasked with the responsibility of preparing for the crisis. Conclusion In the UK, the National Flood Emergency Framework accounts for flood emergency management. The framework outlines the strategic approach that responsible agencies should utilize in handling the crisis management and consequence management aspects of flooding emergencies. The flood emergency management includes different stakeholders such as the Strategic Coordination Groups (SCGs) and Local Resilience Forums. The Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBR) coordinates the response from the central government through Defra, a designated Lead Government Department (LGD). Defra employs the CONOPS classification system to determine the level of emergency after collating data from local responders and the Environment Agency located on the ground. Therefore, it is the responsibility of Defra to collate such data during the response phase and report the information. The response actions of Defra and other agencies are in accordance with the Civil Contingencies Act of 2004 (CCA) that requires local authorities and the central government to establish guidelines of dealing with emergencies in order to guarantee civil protection. Reference List CabinetOffice., 2010. UK Central Government Arrangements for Responding to an Emergency: An Overview. CabinetOffice., 2013. Responding to Emergencies: The UK Central Government Response Concept of Operations. DEFRA., 2012. Flood Rescue National Enhancement Project-Flood Rescue Concept of Operations. DEFRA., 2014. The National Flood Emergency Framework for England. DEFRA., 2016. The National Flood Emergency Framework for England. Food Resilience Portal. Available at: http://floodresilience.net/solutions/item/the-national-flood-emergency-framework-for-england Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)., 2013. The national flood emergency framework for England. Policy Paper. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-national-flood-emergency-framework-for-england Local Government Association (LGA)., 2013. Emergency Planning. Available at: http://www.local.gov.uk/flood-emergency-planning/-/journal_content/56/10180/3598793/ARTICLE Lumbroso, D., Stone, K. and Vinet, F., 2011. An assessment of flood emergency plans in England and Wales, France and the Netherlands. Natural hazards, 58(1), pp.341-363. Read More