Evacuations and shelter-in-place operations can serve as drivers and provide key data to inform FEMA’s Community Lifeline-related activities during the response to and recovery from a chemical incident.63 The Community Lifelines construct allows emergency managers to distinguish the highest priorities and most complex issues from other incident information and maximize the effectiveness of federally-supported, state-managed, and locally-executed response and recovery activities. The Lifelines enable the continuous operation of government and business functions that are critical to human health, safety, and/or economic security, and provide a comprehensive aid for decision-makers when reviewing impacts and prioritizing resources and tasks to achieve incident stabilization.
Many mass care and human services fall under the Food, Water, Shelter lifeline. For chemical releases that pose a threat to human and/or environmental health, the Health and Medical and/or Hazardous Material lifelines apply. Evacuation and sheltering fall under the Safety and Security lifeline, although aspects of evacuation and shelter-in-place protective actions may influence key information points under additional lifelines. For example, shelter-in-place due to a hazardous material spill may contribute key information into the Transportation, Health and Medical, and Hazardous Materials lifelines. Stabilization and/or re-establishment of lifeline services are key to effective and efficient response and eventual attainment of recovery outcomes.
Footnotes
63. Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2013). Key Response Factors and Considerations for the Aftermath of a Catastrophic Chemical Incident. P.1013. Print.