Be Ready for the Next Disaster - Page 4

4 D I SAS T E R R ECOVE RY TODAY.COM Affected Departments Many departments within a government entity will be affected by a disaster. Let’s identify some of the most likely. First responders to a disaster event are typically community safety departments such as police, fire, medical and public works. Police, fire and medical teams might conduct search and rescue operations, oversee evacuation measures, place sandbagging, supply security forces, provide emergency medical care and initiate road closures. Public works crews might also assist with emergency protective measures, and oversee repairs to roads, bridges and other government infrastructure. Facilities departments will be involved in many types of repairs. Parks and Recreation personnel will respond to damages to their affected properties. Departments of Health and Social Services may be involved in evacuations and establishing temporary shelters. The Information Technology (IT) department could be called upon to install emergency communication systems. Keep in mind that at the onset of an occurrence —whether man-made or natural — it won’t be immediately known if the event will develop into a large enough catastrophe warranting a presidential declaration and federal intervention. Department heads and supervisors will need to be able to differentiate between a manageable occurrence and one that has the potential to escalate. Once an occurrence does become a declared disaster, the likelihood of a community being able to obtain eligible funding in a timely manner will be contingent upon its ability to accurately and expeditiously document costs incurred for equipment use, rented equipment, labor, materials, contracts, etc., and if applicable, mutual aid and donated services. Accounting for Disaster-Related Costs It is important that the system a department utilizes to track work orders for labor, equipment usage and materials can differentiate between eligible disaster work and normal duties. These systems can range from simplified handwritten work orders and timecards to sophisticated computer software programs. Whichever system is implemented, it is very important to be able to track all disaster-related labor, equipment, materials, etc., by date, hours, locations and tasks performed. When a community is affected by an extraordinary disaster event, all work attributable to that event should be specifically identified. For instance, a special code can be assigned so all labor, equipment, materials, purchases and invoices, etc., that were utilized can “… there are standard operating procedures (SOPs) that local government departments can adopt and implement in preparation for a disaster.”