Preparedness and emergency planning
What is preparedness and emergency planning?
Preparedness and emergency planning aims to support vulnerable people and areas susceptible to flood damage. This implies active risk communication by increased public awareness and preparedness and emergency response via contingency planning.
Preparedness and emergency planning and FRAMES
Preparedness and response have been in competition with flood protection measures; this has resulted in low flood awareness among inhabitants in most NSR countries. This causes also problems for preparedness and emergency planning strategies.
The following pilot projects took preparedness and flood emergency actions:
- Alblasserwaard, Sloegebied (NL), Wesermarsch (DE) and Kent (UK) pilots aimed on integrating emergency response planning in flood risk management (and vice versa)
- Alblasserwaard, Reimerswaal, Slogebied (NL) and Wesermarsch (DE) pilots aimed to improve evacuation strategies (preventive evacuation, safe haven, shelters, vertical evacuation)
- British, Belgian, Alblasserwaard, Sloegebied (NL) and Wesermarsch (DE) pilots aimed to raise awareness for flood resilience measures.
How is preparedness and emergency planning linked to MLS?
The implementation of preparedness and emergency planning measures benefits the other layers of the MLS approach:
- Layer 2, spatial adaptation: community groups support spatial adaptation planning such as flood proof zoning and NFM
- Layer 3, preparedness and responset: raising flood risk awareness leads to capacity building among local community groups for flood preparedness and increases community resilience.
- Layer 3, resilient recovery: when flood preparedness measures are taken, it will lead to better flood recovery for communities.
Lessons learnt
For a full list of the main lessons learnt from the pilots working on preparedness and emergency response, please click here.
Relevant adaptive capacities
To accomplish actions successfully, certain capacities are more needed than others. More specifically: the combination of flood risk management strategies in response to climate change depends on the adaptation space and capacity of institutions (Berkhout, Hertin and Gann, 2006). Since institutions have the ability to stimulate the capacity of a society to adapt to climate change from the local to the national level (Gupta et al., 2010), stakeholders and organizations involved in FRAMES focused on the development of adaptive capacities at local and regional level.
The adaptive capacities that were employed and developed during the pilot projects working on preparedness and emergency response are shown in the spiderweb below. We will provide more detail for those capacities that significantly increased during the pilots.
- Diversity of measures: combine actions. Low flood risk awareness causes problems for preparedness and emergency planning strategies. By combining several preparedness and emergency planning actions, flood resilience will increase.
- Trust: creating trust is the first step towards success. In the FRAMES pilots, the local authorities built trust with local community groups involved in the projects such as citizens, schools, farmers and landowners.
- Access to information: raise awareness. Stakeholders who are not directly involved in flood risk management might also have low(er) risk awareness. By giving them access to information about the flood risk in their area, this awareness should increase. In FRAMES, new innovative approaches have been developed to raise awareness of many different types of stakeholders: specific information leaflets for farmers and landowners (Wesermarsch, UK), school programs (Belgium) and risk assessments for businesses (Alblasserwaard, Sloegebied area). Communication initiatives for the public included articles in newspapers and magazines, items for (local) television and radio, a stopmotion film about MLS and regional MLS flood risk management days.
- Capacity to improvise: by raising awareness about flood risks among citizens and other stakeholders, social capacity will also improve / increase
- Act according to plan: ensure leaflets, manuals and leaflets are clear enough so citizens can actually follow the advice given and be better prepared in case of a flooding event.
- Double loop learning: integrate the layers. In several pilots (Alblasserwaard and Sloe in the Netherlands, Wesermarsch in Germany) crisis management has been combined with flood protection and spatial planning. Risk analysis (flood scenarios) and spatial analysis about evacuation strategies, and shelter locations, has been combined with behavioural studies to develop new frames for evacuation planning. In short, provide new ways to improve local evacuation strategies
- Human resources: successful projects will increase knowledge. The FRAMES pilot projects generated new knowledge and increased social capacity are valuable resources ; both are expected to last beyond the lifetimes of the projects.
- Likewise, the collaboration improved between water, crisis management authorities and local community groups.
What tools were used in the preparedness and emergency planning pilots?
There are many tools that can be used to improve preparedness and emergency response. The FRAMES pilots have selected and successfully used the tools listed in the table below. More information can be found by clicking on the links provided, or by visiting the description of the pilots.
We also uploaded a full list of all tools used to improve the management of MLS.
| Name of tool | Main objective | Description |
| Workshops | Collect data from main stakeholders in the area | Workshop for and with the main stakeholders of the area are organized. Each stakeholder provides information/ knowledge based on their expertise responsibility in flood risk management: crisis management, water management, technical knowledge (flood scenarios) and so on. |
| Stakeholder analysis | Identify all stakeholders in the area | A stakeholder analysis will identify all actors along with their interests and potential issues who will have a role in MLS before engaging them in the process. |
| Surveys | Collect data regarding perceptions and awareness of stakeholders | Surveys collect data about the perceptions and level of awareness of inhabitants, stakeholders, policy makers and organisations about (perceived) flood risk, flood preparedness and flood recovery. |
| Interviews with stakeholders | Collect data from stakeholders in the area | Interviewing stakeholders can result in more specific insights on their knowledge, perceptions, views and opinions on specific flood risk measures. |
| Research by design approach | Collect data with emphasis on participation from the community | This approach aims at uniting flood-prone citizens, private stakeholders and local/supra-local public actors in roundtables in order to find cross-sectoral solutions to common challenges. |
| Community based approach / participation approach | Collect data with emphasis on participation from the community | Approach to include those (potentially) affected as key partners in developing strategies related to their assistance and protection. |
| Mobile app | Risk communication | A mobile application (app) can be used as a Flood Threat Warning App and for instance include full integration within the risk communication program of the region. The app could also include other identified natural risks of the area such as fires, droughts and extreme weather events. |
| KentView | Self-assessment | This tool helps to build MLS concepts into
business-as-usual in a number of teams including health and social care teams and more widely across the Sustainable Business and Communities team. |
| Vision and Action Plan | Use when developing adaptive plans for the future | Vision and action plans can be developed to climate/flood proof the area/region with specific spatial adaptation measures. |
| Risk label method | Impact assessment: map the risks of electricity assets | The Risk label method is a hazard-risk based approach used to analyse/map the risk of electricity assets in case of a flooding considering direct and indirect failure (cascading effects) of the medium-voltage network. Developed by Nelen & Schuurmans, a consultancy firm and results were discussed and validated during workshops with electricity gridexperts (Enduris, Evides, KPN and Delta) of the Flood Proof Electricity Grid pilot. |
| 3D viewer of flood scenarios | Impact assessment + communication tool | This impact assessment tool developed by the consultancy firm Nelen&Schuurmans as a risk communication tool to inhabitants and other stakeholders to share and discuss flood risk scenarios and evacuation routes. |
| 3D modelling of flood risk scenarios | Assessment of flood risk, evacuation routes and shelter locations | 3D modelling of flood risk scenarios to assess the flood risk of an area and look for the best evacuation routes and dry areas as possible shelter location to improve overall emergency planning |
| The Kent Strategic Health Asset Planning and Evaluation (SHAPE) Atlas | Map the socio-spatial flood risk of an area | "The 'Strategic Health Asset Planning and Evaluation', or SHAPE, is a web enabled, evidence based application that
info rms and supports the strategic planning of services and assets across a whole health economy. Its analytical and presentation features can help service commissioners to determine the service configuration that provides the best affordable access
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| The Story Map Cascade | Self-assessment tools for community resilience + dissemination + communication | The Story Map Cascade, developed by ESRI, is a type of website which aims to make rich layers of geographical information easily accessible and useful to both professionals and the wider public. As
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| Severe Weather Impacts Monitoring System (SWIMS) | Self-assessment tools for community resilience | The Severe Weather Impacts Monitoring System (SWIMS) allows Kent partners to collect data about how the services provided them are affected during severe weather events. This in turn will allow the identification of key areas and communities that are affected by flooding and other severe weather events and improve the management of those areas in line with MLS principles. It is a decision support and public tool
for public organizations in emergency planning events. SWIMS is available in the UK to local authorities through the Climate Ready programme (in partnership with the Environment Agency, Defra, LGA and Climate UK). |
| School programs to increase flood awareness | Self-assessment tools for community resilience + communication | Increase the flood risk awareness of students, teachers and parents by visiting schools and playing educational games with the students. |
| Climate Just | Aid in developing socially just responses to the impacts of flooding | Free web tool, developed by the World Health Organization, that considers the most recent scientific evidence on the health impacts of climate change. |
| KentView | Self-assessment | This tool helps to build MLS concepts into
business-as-usual in a number of teams including health and social care teams and more widely across the Sustainable Business and Communities team. |
| Evacuation traffic model | Impact assessment | |
| Cost-Benefit Analysis | Quantification of spatial measures | An economic technique applied to public decision−making that attempts to quantify the advantages (benefits) and disadvantages (costs) associated with, in this case, potential spatial measures. |
| GIS analysis of social characteristics | Exploration of different social vulnerability indicators | Explore the social (in)justice to floods through an analysis of the social characteristics of the exposed populations by using a GIS-analysis of the spatial distribution of the different social vulnerability indicators. |
| LIWO | Information on water and floods in the Netherlands | National information system Water and Floods (Landelijk Informatiesysteem Water en Overstromingen) consists of layers of maps.
LIWO was developed specifically for Dutch professionals in preparation for excess of water and floods. Developed by Watermanagementcentrum Nederland (WMCN). |
| Climate Change Risk and Impact Assessment (CCRiA) | Assessment of climate risk | A tool to better understand the impacts of climate change on key sectors and motivate action. To this end, the KCC has reviewed the existing UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA). |
| Vital Asset tool | Measuring (in)direct effects of floods on vital infrastructure | This method and tool supports professionals in determining direct and indirect effects of floods on certain vital infrastructure, social systems or the impact on an area as a whole. It can be combined with GIS modelling.
Developed by the RAAK Consortium (2017-2018): HZ University of Applied Sciences, Province of Zeeland, Reimerswaal, Safety region Zeeland, Rijkswaterstaat Zee & Delta, Waterschap Schelde¬stromen Deltares. |
| Critical Infrastructures: Relations and Consequences for Life and Environment (Circle) | Identification of cascade-effects of flood scenarios on critical infrastructure | The Circle tool, developed by Deltares, identifies cascade-effects of flood scenarios on critical infrastructure.
This tool can be used during collaborative modelling and workshops; a workshop guideline is freely available online |
| Social media | Communication and dissemination | To increase and improve the flood awareness and self-efficacy of citizens and organizations, social media channels are advised to be used: YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, local press (TV, newspaper, magazines, radio), websites, newsletters, brochures, leaflets, events and meetings. · |