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D i s a st e r Co n t r o l a n d
Cr i s i s M a n ag e m en t
in
the
N
e
therlands
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I n t r o d u c t i o n
In a densely populated country such as the Netherlands, disasters
and serious accidents can have far-reaching consequences.Whether a disaster occurs in the form of a flood, traffic accident,
factory explosion or plane crash, it almost always involves human
victims. People may be injured or die, and their health may be
adversely affected over long periods. Also the loss of property may
lead to serious hardship.
Technically speaking, society is becoming increasing complex. In the
Netherlands, the road system is intensively used, many tunnels have
been built, and the construction of a railway for high-speed trains isin full progress. Complexity increases the chance of a serious acci-
dent occurring. However, there are more possibilities for effective
disaster control and risk management. Fortunately, more and more
attention is being paid to safety aspects. However, accidents and
disasters can never be prevented altogether. It is therefore necessary
to prepare for the worst. This applies not only to relief workers
deployed at a disaster site, but also to those who at various levels in
the government have administrative and organizational responsi-
bility for disaster control.
This brochure includes an outline of the system of disaster control
and crisis management in the Netherlands, supplemented by a
summary of recent developments. The content is intended for both
those who are professionally involved and interested outsiders. It is
based on the everyday practice of our emergency services, which are
basic to the system of disaster control and crisis management.
There then follows a succinct description of the organization of
disaster control, and a summary of the tasks of the various
departments. The last subject covered is the actual realization of
preparations for a disaster. Also the role of the Ministry of the
Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) is discussed.
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Da i l y a ss i s t an c e as t h e bas i s o f d i s a s t er co n t r o l
Although disasters and serious accidents do not occur frequently,when such an emergency situation arises, the reaction must be both
rapid and adequate. Dangerous situations take many forms, for
example, a sudden fog may lead to a serious, multiple collision on a
motorway; a cloud of poisonous smoke may find its way to a resi-
dential area after a fire has broken out in a chemical factory; or
chaos can result from large numbers of computers crashing simul-
taneously. Also serious riots, long-term strikes and hijackings - not
to mention war - can adversely affect the very foundations of society.
These cases are referred to as crises.
There is an important difference between a disaster and a crisis:
whereas a disaster is a large-scale physical incident, a crisis is
primarily a threatening or acutely adverse effect on the social
system, which negatively affects basic values and norms. In both
cases, the actions of relief workers and administrators must be both
adequate and professional. This brochure will cover the subject of
crisis management later on.
Contrary to some other countries, the Netherlands does not have a
separate executive organization for calamities. Putting fires out,
caring for victims and maintaining public order are part of the daily
tasks of such departments as the fire brigade, medical assistance
services and the police. These organizations are at the core of
disaster control. If necessary, other departments can be summoned
to provide assistance; for instance, the army can be called upon for
its helicopters or other materiel, or to supply specific knowledge and
personnel. Other organizations are also involved in disaster control,
such as rescue teams, water boards, the Red Cross, environmental
departments and other municipal en provincial services. In border
areas, foreign relief organizations can also provide assistance; for
this, our country has concluded agreements with Germany and
Belgium. In all cases it is important that the assistance is officially
requested. There are procedures and protocols in which the roles of
the municipality, the province and the state are laid down.
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The fact that disaster control can use these various services and
departments has big advantages. However, the intensive
cooperation between very different organizations demands a lot of
coordination, organizing power and effective understanding of one
anothers possibilities and idiosyncrasies. These are thereforeimportant points of attention. By implementing multidisciplinary
training courses and large-scale exercises, the government is
ensuring that relief workers can acquire the right kind of knowledge
and skills for the purpose, so that when such is needed, they can
carry out their tasks efficiently and effectively.
Bottlenecks still occur in actual practice, however, and this makes
the activation of emergency services less efficient and less flexible
than desired. By implementing national projects, the government isworking hard to improve the quality of disaster control. Better
harmonization between administrative and operational services is
also relevant in this context.
T h e co o r d i n a t ed u se o f emer g en cyse rv i ces
A disaster is an incident leading to a serious disturbance of
general safety, where the life and health of many persons and/or
large material interests are threatened, and where the
coordinated deployment of services and organizations of various
disciplines is required.
These words are taken from the Disaster and Serious
Accidents Act (WRZO, 1985).
The responsibility for disaster control primarily lies with the mayor
of the municipality where the disaster situation occurs. The mayor is
advised by a municipal policy team, which is made up of represen-
tatives from the operational emergency organizations of the fire
brigade and policy and medical services. Other services may also be
represented in this team. The mayor consults with all the services
involved and, if necessary, with other services.
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Many disasters are not limited to one municipality, and can be so
extensive that the capacity of the municipal services is inadequate.
In that case, the operational emergency services must organize
themselves in a larger context. This is called upscaling.
Such upscaling can occur both at a regional and at a provincial or
state level.
If a disaster affects more than one municipality, then each mayor
remains in charge of the administrative management of disaster
control within his or her own municipality. The mayors can agree
that one of them will act as coordinator for the disaster area, but
that mayor does not assume the competence of the other mayors.
In the case of a large-scale disaster, the Royal Commissioner can
give instructions to the mayors regarding the administrative and
operational management of disaster control.
Municipal
disaster staff
Mayors assembly
Municipal
disaster staff
Municipal
disaster staff
Municipal
disaster staff
Control
Province/Queens Commissioner
National Government
Coordinating
MayorMayor Mayor Mayor
Management
team
Operational
team
Press Centre
Regional
Coordination
Centre
National
Coordination
Centre
Provincial
Coordination
Centre
Municipal
Coordination
Centre
operational units
Operational
manager
Media
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The operational management of disaster control is the responsibility
of one official - in principle, the commander of the fire brigade.
The mayor, who has supreme command of disaster control, desig-
nates the operational commander, who then translates the policy
decisions into operational orders and coordinates the tasks of thevarious emergency organizations. These are first and foremost the
police, the fire brigade and the medical services. What are the tasks
and resources of these organizations?
T h e f i r e b r i g ad e: t h e k eyo r g a n i z a t i o n w i t h i n f i r e c o n t r o l
The tasks of the fire brigade comprise a lot more than just putting
fires out and rescuing people. The Fire Brigade Act (1985) describes
these various tasks. Even if there is no fire, the fire brigade still has
the task of limiting and controlling the risk to man and beast in the
case of accidents. If there is a danger of goods being damaged or
destroyed, the fire brigade can also render technical assistance.
However, the fire brigade is activated not only in a calamity:
together with other municipal services, it is an important partner in
the prevention, limitation and control of risks. This is done
according to the links in the safety chain. This chain comprises five
links.
The first (proactive) link is the attention paid to safety aspects of
the designs for large constructions, industrial sites, roads and
tunnels. The second (preventive) link concerns such aspects as the
materials that can prevent a disaster or limit its consequences.
The third (preparation) link is the preparation of actual actions if a
calamity arises, such as planning, exercise and the purchase of
materials. The fourth (intervention) link is the actual control of a
disaster, such as salvaging, extinguishing, detecting dangerous
substances, and protecting the environment. The fifth (follow-up)
nazorgrepressiepreparatiepreventiepro-actie
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link comprises the provision of care for victims and relief workers,
the restoration of normality, settling claims, and a deployment
evaluation in order to learn from the experience.
Eighty percent of fire department services within Dutch munici-palities are handled by volunteers. In addition, there is a regional
fire brigade, made up of some tens of fire department companies
with professional personnel for large-scale actions, divided over
various regions. Each company comprises two fire department
platoons and one support platoon, and has available heavy equip-
ment for extinguishing work and technical assistance.
If necessary, they can also make use of the materials stocked at the
Logistic Centre Zoetermeer, which is run by the Ministry of the
Interior. Preparations for disaster control is primarily the task ofregional fire brigades.
Although on paper the organization of the fire brigade service is
excellent, it has become evident in recent years that it is not yet
optimal. This is due to such factors as the heavy workload of the
volunteers involved with the fire brigade service.
Furthermore, municipalities are not yet giving enough priority to
disaster control, and not enough exercises are being organized.
The Fire Brigade Reinforcement Project (PVB) - an initiative of the
Ministry of the Interior and the Royal Netherlands Association of
Fire Brigades (KNBV) - is an attempt to improve this situation.
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F i r s t a i d , t r a n s p o r t b y a m b u l a n ce an dh o s p i t a l t r e at m en t s - l i n k s i n t h emed ica l ass i s tance cha in
When a disaster occurs, the first priority is of course to rescue the
victims. Then, their injuries must be medically attended to. The first
hour following a disaster - which is known as the golden hour - is
of decisive importance in this respect. First aid is usually
administered by ambulance personnel, who must get to the site as
quickly as possible.
Our country has network of ten trauma centres to help the victims
of serious accidents. Each of these centres can deploy a mobilemedical team made up of a specialized doctor and a specialized
nurse. Such a team can provide specialized assistance at an
accident site, supplementary to the relief provided by ambulance
personnel. Four of the trauma centres have a helicopter available for
the rapid transportation of serious casualties. This scheme is a pilot
project, and helicopters currently operate from Amsterdam,
Rotterdam, Nijmegen and Groningen.
First aid, transportation to a hospital or trauma centre, and the
subsequent treatment and revalidation of victims can be regarded
as separate links in one relief chain. In the past, it became apparent
that these links did not always interconnect smoothly. There are
various reasons for this, including financial and organizational
bottlenecks. For instance, when a large-scale accident occurs, the
emergency services which need to be involved may be based in
different regions. These services must then cooperate and inter-
connect in a flexible manner. However, this will not be easy if there
is no uniform organizational structure and if the available equip-
ment differs widely.
For this reason, recent years have seen the development of a
partnership of emergency organizations: the Medical Combination.
These Combinations are made up of:
a mobile medical team (a specialized doctor and a
specialized nurse);
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two ambulance team-members (driver and nurse) who do
not participate in the transportation of victims to hospital,
but who provide first aid on site;
a Rapid Deployment Group for Medical Assistance (SIGMA),
comprising eight volunteers (usually from the Dutch RedCross), who task is to support the mobile medical team and
the ambulance team; and
an executive from the medical region, who coordinates all
medical activities at the site and is assisted by a coordinator
for the transportation of the injured, who comes from the
Central Station for Ambulance Transportation (CPA).
Many enhancements in the organization of medical assistance
originate from the Project for Medical Assistance in Accidents andDisasters (GHOR). This project was the result of a survey of bottle-
necks in administrative, organizational, operational and financial
fields. Thanks to this project, there is now a clear view on the
desired solutions. Implementation of the reorganization is still in
progress.
T h e p o l i ce f o r ce i s a l so a p r i mar yp a r t n e r i n d i s a st e r co n t r o l
The police force has various tasks to perform when a disaster
occurs. Like the fire brigade, the police force is a part of the disaster
team. Other police tasks are the installation of a safety zone around
the disaster area, the maintenance of public order, and the
implementation of traffic measures. The National Police Services
Brigade has a facilitative function; for instance, it can deploy the
Disaster Identification Team and helicopter support.
At the beginning of the 1990s, the police force was restructured,
and the Netherlands was divided into police districts. For large-scale
activities, the brigades from neighbouring districts can be called
upon to provide assistance. The police can then form a Mobile
Unity Structure and call in military police platoons from other
districts.
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Cr i s i s management
Vandalism, riots, lock-outs, occupations, hijackings or assaults can
all pose threats that can disturb society to a greater or lesserdegree. However, also epidemics, environmental pollution or an
international energy crisis can threaten society. A crisis threat
requires (central) government to take measures to protect vital
interests. This involves, for example, the protection of legal order
and the maintenance of public order and safety.
The government, if possible together with the business world,
prepares for internal and external threats by developing scenarios
and adapting the organization to them. All departments involvedmust consider the measures that would be necessary if such a
scenario were to occur. The preparations include carrying out
exercises.
In a serious crisis, the usual procedures and normal lines of
decision-making may no longer be adequate. All departments must
then switch to an adapted structure, involving a Departmental
Coordination Centre (DCC). A DCC will become active if there is a
crisis in the field of one ministry. If a crisis affects the policy fields
of several departments, however, then stronger interdepartmental
coordination is required, and a National Coordination Centre (NCC)
must be activated (housed in the Ministry of the Interior).
A National Public Information Centre (NVC) may also be activated.
If the crisis is very complex, sweeping and far-reaching, the entire
Council of Ministers will be involved in the decision-making.
The Minister-President and the ministers concerned will then have
joint responsibility.
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H o w t h e N e t h er l a n d s i s a ct i v e l yp r e p ar i n g i t s el f f o r d i s a st er s
We have seen that the administrative responsibility for disaster
control resides primarily with municipal mayors, who can use theirown municipal services as well as regional operational services.
If necessary, they can also ask assistance from other partners.
Municipalities and regional services
Municipalities: 600
Fire brigade districts: 40
Medical districts: 26
Police districts: 25
The medical and police districts are practically identical. In the
future, the districts of fire departments, medical services and the
police will fully overlap.
The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (Ministry of
BZK) at the central government level has been charged with the
system responsibility for disaster control and crisis management.
This means that this ministry deals with the laws and regulations,
and makes available additional facilities for the tasks at provincial,
regional and municipal levels.
In our country, disaster control, fire services and medical assistance
for disasters and accidents have been arranged by law. There may be
developments necessitating an adaptation of the law, such as agree-
ments at the European level. For instance, the Ministry of BZK
together with two other ministries recently incorporated the so-called
Seveso II Directive into the Netherlands laws and regulations.
This guideline concerns environmental care, employee safety and
disaster control. Companies working with dangerous substances
must now keep the municipality and the regional fire brigade
informed more extensively, and municipal authorities have more
possibilities to inspect these companies.
Another change is that, in the future, disaster control plans will be
published. Such publications will fit in with a broader public infor-
mation campaign on disaster control.
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An example is the annual PO Box 51 public information campaign,
which explains why each year sirens throughout the Netherlands are
tested on the first Wednesday in June, and what one should do if the
sirens sound on another date.
Active preparations for a disaster or a crisis are not limited to
formulating a scenario or a disaster control plan: training, exercises
and the purchase of materials are also involved. Several training
institutions recently combined forces and founded a consortium to
provide training courses to anyone involved in disaster control or
crisis management. This consortium includes Bestuursacademie
Nederland (BAN), Crisis Onderzoek Team (COT) of the University of
Leiden, Nederlands Bureau Brandweerexamens (NBBe), Nederlands
Instituut voor Brandweer en Rampenbestrijding (Nibra), PolitieInstituut Openbare orde en Veiligheid (PIOV), and Stichting
Opleiding en Scholing Ambulance Hulpverlening (SOSA).
Tests will always be needed to establish whether plans work, which
is why exercises are the final step in effective preparations.
There are various types of exercises. Not only must operational
assistance and the correct use of available materials be tested, but -
since disaster control is often a matter of achieving the best form of
organization - much attention needs to be paid to multidisciplinary
and administrative exercises. Such exercises will not of course be
useful until the right agreements have been made at an
administrative level.
Naturally, the operational services must have high-quality
communications equipment available, so that the fire brigade,
police force and medical assistance services can quickly request
information from and communicate with each other. A pilot project
involving an integrated alarmcentre system (GMS) is currently
under way. This system is much more comprehensive than that
behind the Europe-wide alarm number (1-1-2) for alerting the fire
brigade, police or ambulance service. The future linking of various
databases will ensure that all necessary information can be directly
accessed.
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For communications between services, in one district a pilot project
involving large, advanced connection network (C2000) is in
progress. Once the network has proved itself, it will be implementedon a national scale.
Conc lus ion
The quality of relief in disasters remains a subject requiring much
care. At both the administrative and the executive level, everyoneinvolved in relief work must always be prepared for all possible
situations. The national government puts a lot of work into these
preparations, and makes additional facilities available. There are
specific training courses for all officials involved in disaster control
and crisis management at an administrative, public servant or
operator level. The disaster control plans must also be continuously
tested in actual practice by means of drills, and multidisciplinary
and administrative exercises.
The authorities at the municipal, provincial and national levels know
best which supplementary measures are necessary to ensure that
disaster control teams will function correctly in actual practice.
Furthermore, the local and regional levels can best judge how to
prevent disasters and limit risks. Early attention to safety and
prevention remains of the utmost importance.