The George Washington University Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management

What do we call Ourselves?

Hazards Risk Managers of

Course

Greg Shaw
GWU ICDRM
1
Background

2
 NRP and NIMS
Consequence Management - “Predominantly
an emergency management function and
included measures to protect public health and
safety, restore essential government services,
and provide emergency relief to governments,
businesses, and individuals affected by the
consequences of terrorism.”
NRP, December 2004.

3
 Dealing with Risk
“Risk management is fundamental to managing the
threat, while retaining our quality of life and living in
freedom. Risk management can guide our decision-
making as we examine how we can best organize to
prevent, protect against, respond and recover from an
attack.”

Secretary Chertoff. Address to business leaders at New York University. April 26, 2005

4
Emergency Management and Risk
“Emergency management is most simply
defined as the discipline dealing with risk and
risk avoidance.”
Chapter 1 of the FEMA Higher Education Project electronic text Emergency and
Risk Management Case Studies Text Book – Introduction to Crisis and Risk
Management Concepts (2004)

“In the simplest terms, emergency management

is the management of risk so that society can
live with environmental and technical hazards
and deal with the disasters that they cause.”
William Waugh, Living with Hazards Dealing with Disasters

5
 The Private Sector and Risk
Management

Widely recognized as a strategic function

Becoming an umbrella under which crisis

management and business continuity falls

C level responsibility

6
 Dealing with Risk
“What is required is that everyday
citizens develop both the maturity and
the willingness to invest in reasonable
measures to mitigate that risk.”

Stephen Flynn. America the Vulnerable

7
Hazards Risk Management

8
 Hazards
“Events or physical conditions that have the
potential to cause fatalities, injuries, property
damage, infrastructure damage, agricultural
loss, damage to the environment, interruption
of business, or other types of harm or loss. [i]”

Defining hazards this way connotes all hazards and does not
necessarily emphasize just natural, technological or human
induced (intentional/terrorist) events.

[i] FEMA. Multi Hazard Identification and Assessment. Washington, DC. 1997 .

9
 Risk
Risk is the product of probability (likelihood)
and consequences of an event. [ii]:

This definition implies that risk can be controlled by managing

probability (through mitigation and preparedness) and
consequences (through mitigation, preparedness, response and
recovery).

[ii]Ansell, J. and F. Wharton. 1992. Risk: Analysis, Assessment, and Management.

John Wiley & Sons. Chichester. p100.

10
 Manage
“To take charge or care of (control). [iii]”

[iii] Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary. Gramercy Books. New York,

NY. 1898 Edition.

11
 Hazards Risk Management
A continual process that provides a general
philosophy and a defined and iterative series of
component parts that be utilized to exercise a
level of control (management) over the risks
associated with the hazards facing a
community.

12
 Hazard Risk Management
Communicate and Consult

Establish the Identify the Analyze the Evaluate the Treat the
Context Risks Risks Risks Risks

Objectives Hazards analysis Review controls Evaluate risks Identify options

Stakeholders Likelihoods Rank Risks Select the best

Vulnerability responses
Criteria analysis Consequences Develop risk
Define key treatment plan
Level of risk
elements
Implement

Monitor and Review

13
Emergency Management Australia, 2002. Emergency Risk Management