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ICF International has experience assisting all levels
of government and the private sector in building strong
disaster response programs and
systems.
Emergency response involves those activities conducted
during and immediately following an emergency, such
as a hurricane, that are designed to minimize the effects
of the emergency and to limit the impact on the surrounding
community and environment.
ICF International also offers a range of recovery
services—from evaluating programs that lead
to greater efficiencies, to working with local government
during the recovery phase, to designing short- and long-term
redevelopment strategies. Recovery involves activities
that follow the immediate response to an incident and
continue until all of the communities' systems are returned
to normal, or near-normal, condition.
Long-term recovery begins with long-term planning
for recovery and redevelopment in a number of functional
areas of any community. Adequate housing in sufficient
quantity must be available to allow the people of a
community to return following a disaster.
People are
an essential ingredient for economic
development within
a community— people who are both the employees
who operate the businesses and the consumers who
buy the products and services.
Long-term recovery planning
must also include transportation and utility
infrastructure.
Energy, potable
water, and sewerage must all be
available to support community repopulation following
a disaster. Environmental
conditions must also be considered.
These factors and perhaps more must be addressed
in post-disaster long-term planning to mitigate
the devastation following a disaster and to prevent
or lessen the severity of another. |
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Our Services
ICF International's has supported national, state, and local
agencies in disaster response and recovery since 1984, as
illustrated in our Disaster
Time Line. Services range from supporting federal emergency
operations centers to helping communities design short- and
long-term housing and economic development strategies.
Emergency Operations
 An
efficient Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is a key
component of an effective comprehensive emergency management
program and is at the heart of any major response operation.
Ensuring your EOC is ready to perform this vital function
when you need it most requires careful planning of space configuration,
system requirements, staffing needs, standard procedure development,
and continuous EOC activation process testing and exercising.
An effective EOC needs to manage and analyze vast quantities
of data to provide decision makers with quick, reliable information.
ICF International has experience assisting all levels of government
and the private sector in building strong emergency operations
programs and systems. We help establish an EOC and develop
the procedures and plans used in the event of an activation,
and we provide the necessary technical and operational support
during an activation. ICF International designs, produces, and
revises the operating
procedures, forms, tracking logs, briefings, and contact lists
needed during an
activation.
We combine information management tools, such as Lotus Notes®,
with other software, including geographic information systems
(GIS) and the
Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations® (CAMEO®)
suite, to
provide real-time analysis of complex situations. We review
software and make
recommendations for maximizing the efficiency of EOC applications,
and we
develop and deliver training and exercises to ensure that
EOC procedures and plans will function smoothly.
During activations, ICF International supports event-specific
meetings and briefings; coordinates notifications of an activation;
provides technical and operational expertise; and prepares
contact lists, incident logs, and after-action reports. We
also design scenarios and training to inform new staff and
strengthen existing organizational capabilities regarding
full utilization of EOC resources.
 Logistics
Management
Critical to any disaster situation is an emergency manager's
ability to identify the resources needed at the site—i.e.,
the response team, equipment, and commodities—and transport
those resources to arrive at the right place and at the right
time.
ICF International staff has extensive experience in logistics
management. We have supported two U.S. federal logistics management
programs:
These logistics management tools can be adapted easily to
support your organization in response to many types of disasters.
Time-Phased Force and Deployment List
(TPFDL)
TPFDL, a logistics management and operational tool routinely
used by the U.S. military, has been endorsed and used by federal
response agencies in recent major disasters. The TPFDL facilitates
the simultaneous and orderly flow of critical response resources
to the disaster site in advance of and during a disaster.
It is a prioritized list of the most critical resource requirements
developed in advance of an event.
The coordinated delivery of those resources helps to mitigate
property damage and save lives. However, emergency managers
must identify those requirements for each potential disaster,
survey resource availability within their jurisdiction, and
then develop a priority list. ICF International can support your
organization in this critical planning process.
Movement Coordination Center System (MCCS)
MCCS is the single element in the U.S. federal response structure
responsible for coordinating the acquisition of transportation
services to move all response resources into, within, and
out of the disaster area. MCCS has three primary missions,
and ICF International can design and organize these capabilities
for your organization:
- Acquiring transportation services and orchestrating the
transportation flow of resources in and around the disaster
area using a prioritized list
- Continuously reporting on the movement of all transported
resources into, within, and out of the disaster area
- Monitoring the disaster's effect on transportation systems
and resolving routes or destination congestion issues
Community Rebuilding
 With
increased attention on terrorism, the security and safety
of communities in America and the people who live in them
are high priorities. Property owners or managers of affordable
housing are the key to ensuring that residents know what to
do in case of a federal emergency.
For more than 20 years, ICF International has provided emergency
management and community
development and housing services to private companies,
industry associations, and government agencies such as the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). For
affordable housing managers and owners, ICF International understands
that the level of security must be cost-effective, consistent
with the threat to the property, and compatible with how residents
relate to the property.
ICF International assists managers and owners in performing
security assessments to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities
to residents, especially the elderly. In designing security
strategies, ICF International considers costs while assuring
that residents understand the roles they play in securing
their homes. Because we understand how properties—particularly
assisted properties—are managed and financed, we can
provide recommendations that are compatible with the financial
structure of projects.
Emergency planning must prepare managers, owners, and residents
to take measures to deter or prevent a terrorist incident
or mitigate the trauma in the event of an incident. We develop
customized emergency plans to formalize a strategy for implementing
the recommended steps or activities. No security program is
complete until those responsible for its execution are trained
and allowed to demonstrate their proficiency in executing
the plan or program. ICF International conducts awareness training
for a property's staff, the residents, and the community's
emergency responders. We are particularly skilled and experienced
at developing and facilitating exercises to verify the capability
to respond to terrorism attacks.
Learn more about our comprehensive Community
Planning and Redevelopment expertise and disaster rebuilding projects, including The Road Home program.
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SELECTED PROJECTS |
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Emergency Operations
Logistics
Community Rebuilding
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DETAILS OF SELECTED PROJECTS |
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National Security Emergency
Preparedness (NSEP) for U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA)
ICF International is providing analytical and technical
support to the EPA's National Security Emergency
Preparedness (NSEP) program. Our support includes:
- providing on-site staff to operate and maintain
EPA's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Washington
D.C.
- reviewing and analyzing Executive Orders,
National Security Directives, Presidential Decision
Directives, and other NSEP-related documents
- updating EPA policy on NSEP, continuity of
operations (COOP), and continuity of government
(COG) planning and implementation
- developing and supporting training and exercises
on NSEP, COOP, and COG
Our team is cleared to Top Secret and is prepared
to support the EOC during a national security
emergency activation.
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Emergency Operations Center
Support
ICF International provided on-site technical and
logistical support to the EPA's National Incident
Coordination Team (NICT) and its headquarters'
EOC since its establishment in 1989 for the
Exxon Valdez disaster. ICF International has provided
on-site support during every EPA EOC activation
since1990—most
recently during the terrorist attacks of September
11, 2001. Our support also was provided for
Y2K; Hurricanes Andrew, Bonnie, and Georges;
the North Dakota floods; and the 1996 Summer
Olympic Games.
ICF International also provides non-emergency EOC
support, such as developing an integrated software
capability for EOC computer systems; developing
procedures for EOC functions, duties, and responsibilities
during activations; and developing and implementing
training programs to test the EOC systems and
procedures.
September 11, 2001, Terrorist
Attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon
Beginning on the afternoon of September 11,
2001, ICF International supported the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) Emergency Operations
Center (EOC) in coordinating its response to the
terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon. We supported the EPA in its collection
and monitoring of data on the environmental consequences
associated with the cleanup of both sites. ICF International also supported EPA's response to the
anthrax incidents as EPA worked to define a national
strategy for biological agent decontamination.
Health Command Center
for Georgia State Division of Public Health
(DPH)
For the Georgia State Division of Public Health
(DPH), ICF International created an emergency management
system and implementing procedures. These procedures
focus on the medical and public health issues
that arise in disasters, such as epidemiology,
shelter staffing, public health nurses, communications,
emergency management systems, persons with special
needs, and mutual aid agreements.
ICF International also provided DPH with the minimum
requirements for the establishment of a Health
Command Center (HCC), from which DPH would coordinate
medical and public health issues. The HCC was
piloted during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta
where ICF International provided on-site support.
TPFDL List for U.S. Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
ICF International staff supported the U.S. Federal
Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) effort to
build TPFDL "force modules"—deployment
packages composed of personnel, equipment, and
commodities that are deployed at specific times
and in a specific sequence. These force modules
will enable FEMA and other federal agencies to
respond to hurricane, earthquake, terrorist,
and other disaster events with the right resources
in a timely manner. ICF International interviewed
participants in recent disasters and reviewed
event data, after-action reports, and historical
files of disasters. Additionally, hurricane/earthquake
model scenarios were used to complement the historical
data and validate the findings from the interviews
and data collection.
Movement Coordination Center
(MCC) for U.S. Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Department of Transportation
ICF International staff supported efforts to provide technical assistance and
facilitation support to FEMA and the U.S. Department of Transportation in redefining
and improving the MCC process. ICF International examined the mission statement,
purpose, organization, structure, and roles and responsibilities of MCC representatives
and customers at the headquarters and in field operations levels. We also conducted
interviews and reviewed event data, after-action reports, and historical files
for efficiency improvements. |
Long-Term Recovery Planning Following
Hurricane Charley in
South Florida
In 2004 ICF International staff provided
housing expertise to the FEMA-funded Long Term
Recovery Planning initiatives in three South
Florida counties most severely impacted by Hurricane
Charley (Charlotte, Desoto, and Hardee). ICF International
staff worked with local government officials, local
housing program staff, nonprofits, service providers,
and builders to develop housing recovery strategies,
identify and develop housing project concepts,
and develop community consensus for collaborative
housing recovery initiatives. Examples of proposed
housing initiatives included homeowner rehabilitation
programs, strategies for elderly and
special needs supportive housing, acquisition/rehabilitation
programs, and comprehensive community development
initiatives that combine a range of housing,
employment, and economic development initiatives.
Oklahoma City Disaster Recovery Report
and Strategy Session
Parts of Oklahoma City sustained severe damage
from tornadoes in May 1999. Much of the damage
occurred in areas of the city with low-income
housing. The city had finished
addressing short-term emergency issues of health,
safety, and shelter, and was at the point where
it needed to address rebuilding and recovery
issues. ICF International completed
a Disaster Recovery Technical Assistance Assessment
report in November 1999. Oklahoma City requested
follow-up technical assistance to help it select
among several options for managing and supporting
the long-term recovery of these neighborhoods,
define a strategy and action plan for the city
to proceed with the recovery, determine potential
holes or gaps in the planning, and develop a
plan to address them. Following a one-day strategy
session with key city staff members, consultants
produced summary design concepts illustrating
options for the housing, open-space, and environmental
recovery in the neighborhoods, as well as a written
work plan.
Disaster Recovery for Arkadelphia,
Arkansas
Under ICF International's leadership, a team
designed a strategy and implementation plan to
restore a residential neighborhood and the traditional
downtown of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, after a severe
tornado. The plan focused on downtown commercial
development activities and recommended building
affordable housing adjacent to the downtown area
as an important economic development activity.
As a result of the recommendations, local builders
were convinced there was a profitable market for
new housing for people with lower incomes.
Rebuilding a Business Center
and Residential Area in Midwest City, Oklahoma
Severe tornadoes struck Oklahoma in 1999, devastating
many communities including Midwest City. The tornado
wiped out the city's motel district and severely
impacted a mixed income residential neighborhood,
threatening to undermine Midwest City's economy.
ICF International conducted an in-depth survey of
the hospitality and convention industry in Oklahoma
City and its environs that identified the need
for a regional meeting facility. We also examined
redevelopment options for the residential neighborhoods
and prepared a comprehensive housing market analysis
that provided data on construction costs, typical
incomes, and the size and extent of the low-income
housing gap in the community. As a result, Midwest
City developed contacts with the Federal Home
Loan Banking members in its region and completed
its first application for housing assistance.
The city decided to design a city-wide housing
program, with a special focus on assisting victims
of the tornado.
Disaster Recovery After Hurricane
Andrew in Florida
ICF International assisted Florida cities with the
development of a housing strategy, design of housing
and community development programs, and other
capacity-building initiatives to assure that homeowners
and tenants in the effected areas could obtain
suitable permanent housing quickly.
Flood Recovery and Control
in Grand Forks, North Dakota
In Grand Forks, North Dakota, ICF International
was involved from the beginning, helping to establish
an action plan and management structure for the
recovery; identify the personnel, space, and equipment
needed; and assess various forms of permanent
flood control proposed by the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers. Through our continued work with
the city, we helped assess the impact of the disaster
upon the business economy and municipal finances,
established financial management systems, and
assisted with the development of a recovery strategy
for its traditional downtown. By contributing
land-use planning support, urban design assistance,
and housing and economic development expertise,
we were able to help Grand Forks develop a housing
strategy and the design for both a housing and
a commercial rehabilitation program. We also helped
the City to develop a new downtown office building
that served as the linchpin to the city’s
recovery.
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