Shelter or Evacuate?

1

• Shelter or Evacuate?
• Alan Goodwin
• Deputy Chief Constable
• ACPO Emergency Procedures Committee

2
Introduction

• Risk Based Planning National/Regional/Local
• Civil Contingencies Act 2004
• Duty to produce Community Risk Register
• Duty to plan and exercise accordingly
• Shelter and Evacuation as options
• Generic considerations
• No Case Studies valuable to workshop discussions

3
National Risk Assessment

• Mass Evacuation
• National advice or decision making involved
• Highly unlikely due to risks involved
• Large Scale Evacuation
• Regional/National support may be needed
• E.g. Flooding, Transport/Utilities failure,
  industrial accidents, acts of terrorism.

4
Local Planning

• Much already in place
• COMAH, Sports venues, City/Town Centres
• Scaleable Flexibility
• Generic planning capable of scaling up/down
• Quality Assurance
• Interdependencies, conflicts, integration with
  neighbouring areas
• Planning Exercising regime

5
Purpose of Evacuation

• To move people and, where appropriate, other
  living creatures away from an actual or potential
  danger to a safer place. (CCS Draft Guidance
  unpublished)
• Always the preferred option?

6
Shelter or Evacuate?

• Often better to shelter in buildings in response
  to events.
• Challenges of Shelter
• Supporting dependent people in their homes.
• Maintenance of key services.
• Potential for spontaneous self-evacuation.
• Rational people doing irrational things.
• Decision for Gold Commander based on prevailing
  circumstances. Dynamic Risk Assessment.

7
Shelter or Evacuate?

• Evacuation requires a well co-ordinated multi
  agency response.
• People require to leave their homes must be
  supported and reassured.
• Considerations
• Where are they going to?
• How will we get them there?
• How long will they be there for?
• How will they and their homes be protected?
• How will we communicate with them and others
  affected by the evacuation?
• Plan before the Decision!

8
Planning Considerations (1)

• Logistics
• are the necessary resources available to deliver
  the plan? (e.g. are individual elements
  predicated upon the same police resources?)
• Is there a reliance on military MACA? Is it
  realistic?
• Infrastructure
• Is the necessary transport infrastructure still
  in place?
• Are key communications channels still available?
• People and Places
• Vulnerable people in communities
• High risk premises hospitals, prisons, schools.

9
Planning Considerations (2)

• Command Control Arrangements
• Strategic Coordinating Group (Gold)
• Role of Regional Government Office
• Central Government arrangements (CONOPS)
• Mutual Aid Arrangements
• Police - PNICC activation
• Local Authorities - reciprocal resource sharing
• Role of Voluntary Sector
• Transportation
• Assistance at rest centres
• Social and welfare support
• Media Strategy
• Key Messages
• Access to evacuees

10
Legal Considerations

• Compulsory Evacuation?
• No Police Powers to order evacuation
• CC Act Emergency Powers? Unlikely (e.g. Triton)
• US experience mandatory evacuation problematic
• Effective persuasive media strategies
  essential.
• Local Authority Housing Duty?
• Displaced people but for how long?
• Relationship with outsourced housing providers?
• Animal Welfare?
• Legislation relating to livestock, zoos and pets.
• How DO we evacuate a family of giraffes?

11
Warning Informing

• Communication Strategies
• Any decision to shelter or evacuate must be
  underpinned by a robust communication strategy.
• People need to know what they need to do.
• Duty under CC Act 2004
• Local responders must have arrangements in place
  to warn and inform the public in times of
  emergency.
• Utilise Regional Media Emergency Forum. Links to
  Government News Network.
• Consider mirroring RMEF at Local level.
• Exercise communication plans in their own right.
• Role of Gold Command
• Early delivery of communications strategy when
  considering shelter or evacuation.
• www.preparingforemergencies.gov.uk

12
Conclusion

• Cabinet Office Evacuation Guidance
• Conferences/Booklets now
• Guidance/Policy issues early Summer
• Will incorporate issues discussed today
• BUT
• Evacuation or Shelter is a Command Decision
• Part of contingency planning wherever possible
• Requires dynamic risk assessment as events
  unfold.
• Consider short and long term impact of decisions.