Civil defense
Encyclopedia
American and British English spelling differences
One of the ways in which American English and British English differ is in spelling.-Historical origins:In the early 18th century, English spelling was not standardized. Differences became noticeable after the publishing of influential dictionaries...
) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatant
Non-combatant
Non-combatant is a term in the law of war describing civilians not taking a direct part in hostilities, as well as persons such as medical personnel and military chaplains who are regular soldiers but are protected because of their function as well as soldiers who are hors de combat ; that is, sick,...
s) from military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention
Hazard prevention
Hazard prevention refers to the prevention of risks. The first and most effective stage of hazard prevention and emergency management is the elimination of hazards...
, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is the immediate and rapid movement of people away from the threat or actual occurrence of a hazard. Examples range from the small scale evacuation of a building due to a bomb threat or fire to the large scale evacuation of a district because of a flood, bombardment or...
, and recovery. Programmes of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s and were implemented in many countries, but only became widespread in the USA after the threat of nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s was realized.
Since the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the focus of civil defense has largely shifted from military attack to emergencies and disasters in general. The new concept is described by a number of terms, each of which has its own specific shade of meaning, such as crisis management, emergency management
Emergency management
Emergency management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause events like disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the...
, emergency preparedness, contingency planning, emergency services, and civil protection.
In some countries, civil defence is seen as a key part of "total defense
Total Defence
Total Defence is the name of Singapore's comprehensive defence strategy, adapted from countries like Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria...
". For example in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, the Swedish word
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
totalförsvar refers to the commitment of a wide range of resources of the nation to its defence - including to civil protection.
History
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
or Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
as well as the [then] Soviet Bloc, and especially in the neutral countries, such as Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
during the 1950s and 1960s, many civil defense practices took place to prepare for the aftermath of a nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
, which seemed quite likely at that time. Such efforts were opposed by the Catholic Worker Movement
Catholic Worker Movement
The Catholic Worker Movement is a collection of autonomous communities of Catholics and their associates founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933. Its aim is to "live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ." One of its guiding principles is hospitality towards those on...
and by peace activists such as Ralph DiGia
Ralph DiGia
Ralph DiGia was a World War II conscientious objector, lifelong pacifist and social justice activist, and staffer for 52 years at the War Resisters League....
, on the grounds that these programs gave the public false confidence that they could survive a nuclear war.
There was never strong civil defense policy because it fundamentally violated the doctrine of "mutual assured destruction
Mutual assured destruction
Mutual Assured Destruction, or mutually assured destruction , is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy in which a full-scale use of high-yield weapons of mass destruction by two opposing sides would effectively result in the complete, utter and irrevocable annihilation of...
" (M.A.D.) by making provisions for survivors. Also, a fully fledged total defense would have been too expensive. Above all, compared to the power of destruction a defense would have been ineffective.
In the M.A.D. doctrine, there are not supposed to be any survivors for a civil defense system to assist (thus the acronym). Governments in the West sought to implement civil defense measures against nuclear war
Duck and cover
Duck and Cover was a suggested method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear weapon which the United States government taught to generations of United States school children from the early 1950s into the 1980s. This was supposed to protect them in the event of an unexpected nuclear...
in the face of popular apathy and scepticism. The civil defense has different sirens like the Federal Signal Thunderbolt siren
Thunderbolt Siren
The Thunderbolt siren is a discontinued electro-mechanical warning siren that was once manufactured in the United States by Federal Signal Corporation. The Thunderbolt siren consists of three major components: the blower, rotator and siren chopper. The blower, which is made up of a motor-driven...
to warn people of a coming attack.
Public Service Announcements including children's songs were created by government institutes and then distributed and released by radio stations to educate the public in case of nuclear attack.
During the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, civil defense was seen largely as defending against and recovering from an attack involving nuclear weapons. After the end of the Cold War, the focus moved from defense against nuclear war to defense against a terrorist attack possibly involving chemical or biological weapons; in the context of the United States this eventually led to the replacement of the United States civil defense
United States civil defense
United States civil defense refers to the use of civil defense in the history of the United States, which is the organized non-military effort to prepare Americans for military attack...
with the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(FEMA). After the September 11 attacks in 2001, in the United States the concept of civil defense has been revisited under the umbrella term of homeland security
Homeland security
Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...
and all-hazards emergency management.
In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the triangle CD logo continues to be widely used. The old US civil defense logo was used in the FEMA logo until recently and is hinted at in the United States Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol is a Congressionally chartered, federally supported, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force . CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded membership that includes people from all backgrounds, lifestyles, and...
logo. Created in 1939 by Charles Coiner of the N. W. Ayer Advertising Agency, it was used throughout World War II and the Cold War era. In 2006, the National Emergency Management Association—a U.S. organization made up of state emergency managers—"officially" retired the Civil Defense triangle logo, replacing it with a stylized EM (standing for Emergency management
Emergency management
Emergency management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause events like disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the...
).http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/01/washington/01civil.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. The name and logo, however, continue to be used by Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
State Civil Defense http://www.scd.hawaii.gov/ and Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense http://www.guamhs.org/main/.
The term "civil protection" is currently widely used within the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
to refer to government-approved systems and resources tasked with protecting the non combat population, primarily in the event of natural and technological disasters. In recent years there has been emphasis on preparedness for technological disasters resulting from terrorist attack. Within EU countries the term "crisis management" emphasises the political and security dimension rather than measures to satisfy the immediate needs of the population.
In Australia, civil defense is the responsibility of the volunteer-based State Emergency Service
State Emergency Service
A State Emergency Service is an Australian volunteer organisation that provides emergency help during and after declared disasters. The SES is also the primary or secondary agency for emergencies, such as storm damage,flood damage, building damage, traffic hazards and road crash rescue...
.
Importance
Relatively small investments in preparation can speed up recovery by months or years and thereby prevent millions of deaths by hunger, cold and disease. According to human capitalHuman capital
Human capitalis the stock of competencies, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is the attributes gained by a worker through education and experience...
theory in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, a country's population is more valuable than all of the land, factories and other assets that it possesses. People rebuild a country after its destruction, and it is therefore important for the economic security of a country that it protect its people. According to psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, it is important for people to feel like they are in control of their own destiny, and preparing for uncertainty via civil defense may help to achieve this. If the people are not in control, and the preparations ineffective, the government loses its credibility and the respect of its citizens.
In the United States, the federal civil defense program was authorized by statute and ran from 1951 to 1994. Originally authorized by Public Law 920 of the 81st Congress it was repealed by Public Law 93-337 in 1994. Small portions of that statutory scheme were incorporated into the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 100-707) which superseded in part, amended in part, and supplemented in part the Disaster Relief Act of 1974
Disaster Relief Act of 1974
The Disaster Relief Act of 1974 is a United States federal law that established the process of presidential disaster declarations. At one point, more than one hundred federal agencies were involved in handling disasters and emergencies...
(Public Law 93-288). In the portions of the civil defense statute incorporated into the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is a United States federal law designed to bring an orderly and systemic means of federal natural disaster assistance for state and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to aid citizens...
the primary modification was to use the term "Emergency Preparedness" wherever the term "Civil Defense" previously appeared in the statutory language.
An important concept initiated by President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
was the so-called "Crisis Relocation Program" administered as part of the federal civil defense program. That effort largely failed under President Ronald Reagan who continued the Carter initiative because of opposition from areas potentially hosting the relocated population. SEE Presidential Review Memorandum/NSC-32 http://www.fas.or/irp/offdocs/prm/prm32.pdf (September 30, 1977) and Presidential Decision Memorandum 42 http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/pd/pd41.pdf.
Threat assessment
Threats to civilians and civilian life include NBC (NuclearNuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
, Biological
Biological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
, and Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
) and others, like the more modern term CBRN
CBRN
CBRN is an initialism for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear. It is used to refer to situations in which any of these four hazards have presented themselves. The term CBRN is a replacement for the cold war term NBC , which had replaced the term ABC that was used in the fifties...
, Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear. Threat assessment involves studying each threat so that preventative measures can be built into civilian life.
Conventional
This would be conventional explosives. A blast shelter
Blast shelter
A blast shelter is a place where people can go to protect themselves from bomb blasts. It differs from a fallout shelter, in that its main purpose is to protect from shock waves and overpressure, instead of from radioactive precipitation, as a fallout shelter does...
designed to protect only from radiation and fallout, however, would be much more vulnerable to conventional explosives,also see fallout shelter
Fallout shelter
A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War....
.
Nuclear
Shelter intended to protect against nuclear blast effects would include thick concrete and other sturdy elements which are resistant to conventional explosives. The biggest threats from a nuclear attack are effects from the blast, fires and radiation. One of the most prepared countries for a nuclear attack is Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Almost every building in Switzerland has an abri (shelter) against the initial nuclear bomb and explosion followed by the fallout. Because of this, many people use it as a safe to protect valuables, photos, financial information and so on. Switzerland also has air-raid and nuclear raid sirens in every village.
Dirty Bomb
A "radiologically enhanced weapon," or "dirty bomb
Dirty bomb
A dirty bomb is a speculative radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. The purpose of the weapon is to contaminate the area around the explosion with radioactive material, hence the attribute "dirty"....
" uses an explosive to spread radioactive material. This is a theoretical risk, and such weapons have not been used by terrorists. Depending on the quantity of the radioactive material, the dangers may be mainly psychological. Toxic effects can be managed by standard hazmat
Dangerous goods
Dangerous goods are solids, liquids, or gases that can harm people, other living organisms, property, or the environment. They are often subject to chemical regulations. "HazMat teams" are personnel specially trained to handle dangerous goods...
techniques.
Biological
The threat here is primarily from disease-causing microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses.
Chemical
Various chemical agents are a threat such as nerve gas (VX
VX (nerve agent)
VX, IUPAC name O-ethyl S-[2-ethyl] methylphosphonothioate, is an extremely toxic substance whose only application is in chemical warfare as a nerve agent. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations in UN Resolution 687...
, Sarin
Sarin
Sarin, or GB, is an organophosphorus compound with the formula [2CHO]CH3PF. It is a colorless, odorless liquid, which is used as a chemical weapon. It has been classified as a weapon of mass destruction in UN Resolution 687...
, and so on.).
Mitigation
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s. It includes policy analysis, diplomacy, political measures, nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
and more military responses such as a National Missile Defense
National Missile Defense
National missile defense is a generic term for a type of missile defense intended to shield an entire country against incoming missiles, such as intercontinental ballistic missile or other ballistic missiles. Interception might be by anti-ballistic missiles or directed-energy weapons such as lasers...
and air defense artillery
Air Defense Artillery
The Air Defense Artillery branch descended from the Anti-Aircraft Artillery into a separate branch on 20 June 1968...
. In the case of counter-terrorism, mitigation would include diplomacy, intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
gathering and direct action against terrorist groups. Mitigation may also be reflected in long-term planning such as the design of the interstate highway system and the placement of military bases further away from populated areas.
Preparation
Preparation consists of building blast shelterBlast shelter
A blast shelter is a place where people can go to protect themselves from bomb blasts. It differs from a fallout shelter, in that its main purpose is to protect from shock waves and overpressure, instead of from radioactive precipitation, as a fallout shelter does...
s, and pre-positioning information, supplies and emergency infrastructure. For example, most larger cities in the U.S. now have underground emergency operations centers that can perform civil defense coordination. FEMA also has many underground facilities located near major railheads such as the one in Denton, Texas
Denton, Texas
The city of Denton is the county seat of Denton County, Texas in the United States. Its population was 119,454 according to the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eleventh largest city in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex...
and Mount Weather
Mount Weather
The Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center is a civilian command facility in Virginia, U.S. used as the center of operations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency...
, Virginia for the same purpose.
Other measures would include continuous government inventories of grain silos, the Strategic National Stockpile
Strategic National Stockpile
The Strategic National Stockpile is the United States' national repository of antibiotics, vaccines, chemical antidotes, antitoxins and other critical medical equipment and supplies...
, the uncapping of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is an emergency fuel storage of oil maintained by the United States Department of Energy.- United States :The US SPR is the largest emergency supply in the world with the current capacity to hold up to ....
, the dispersal of truck-transportable bridges, water purification, mobile refineries, mobile decontamination facilities, mobile general and special purpose disaster mortuary facilities such as Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team
Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team
A Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team or DMORT is a team of experts in the fields of victim identification and mortuary services. DMORTs are activated in response to large scale disasters in the United States to assist in the identification of deceased individuals and storage of the bodies...
(DMORT) and DMORT-WMD, and other aids such as temporary housing to speed civil recovery.
On an individual scale, one means of preparation for exposure to nuclear fallout
Nuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...
is to obtain potassium iodide
Potassium iodide
Potassium iodide is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula KI. This white salt is the most commercially significant iodide compound, with approximately 37,000 tons produced in 1985. It is less hygroscopic than sodium iodide, making it easier to work with...
(KI) tablets as a safety measure to protect the human thyroid
Thyroid
The thyroid gland or simply, the thyroid , in vertebrate anatomy, is one of the largest endocrine glands. The thyroid gland is found in the neck, below the thyroid cartilage...
gland from the uptake of dangerous radioactive iodine
Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
. Another measure is to cover the nose, mouth and eyes with a piece of cloth and sunglasses to protect against alpha particle
Alpha particle
Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium nucleus, which is classically produced in the process of alpha decay, but may be produced also in other ways and given the same name...
s, which are only an internal hazard.
To support and supplement efforts at national, regional and local level with regard to disaster prevention, the preparedness of those responsible for civil protection and the intervention in the event of disaster
- To establish a framework for effective and rapid cooperation between different civil protection services when mutual assistance is needed (police, fire service, healthcare service, public utilityPublic utilityA public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
provider, voluntary agencies). - To set up and implement training programs for intervention and coordination teams as well as assessment experts including joint courses and exchange systems.
- To enhance the coherence of actions undertaken at international level in the field of civil protection especially in the context of cooperation.
Preparing also includes sharing information:
- To contribute to the information of the public in view of increasing the level of self-protection of citizens
- To collect and disseminate validated emergency information
- To pool information on national civil protection capabilities, military and medical resources.
- To ensure efficient information sharing between the different authorities.
Response
Response consists first of warning civilians so they can enter Fallout ShelterFallout shelter
A fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War....
s and protect assets.
Staffing a response is always full of problems in a civil defense emergency. After an attack, conventional full-time emergency services are dramatically overloaded, with conventional fire fighting response times often exceeding several days. Some capability is maintained by local and state agencies, and an emergency reserve is provided by specialized military units, especially civil affairs
Civil Affairs
Civil Affairs is a term used by both the United Nations and by military institutions , but for different purposes in each case.-United Nations Civil Affairs:...
, Military Police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
, Judge Advocates and combat engineers.
However, the traditional response to massed attack on civilian population centers is to maintain a mass-trained force of volunteer emergency workers. Studies in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
showed that lightly trained (40 hours or less) civilians in organized teams can perform up to 95% of emergency activities when trained, liaised and supported by local government. In this plan, the populace rescues itself from most situations, and provides information to a central office to prioritize professional emergency services.
In the 1990s, this concept was revived by the Los Angeles Fire Department
Los Angeles Fire Department
The Los Angeles Fire Department is the agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the city of Los Angeles....
to cope with civil emergencies such as earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s. The program was widely adopted, providing standard terms for organization. In the U.S., this is now official federal policy, and it is implemented by community emergency response team
Community Emergency Response Team
In the United States a community emergency response team can refer to* one of five federal programs promoted under the umbrella organization Citizen Corps, which is funded in part by the Stafford Act;...
s, under the Department of Homeland Security, which certifies training programs by local governments, and registers "certified disaster service workers" who complete such training.
Recovery
Recovery consists of rebuilding damaged infrastructure, buildings and production. The recovery phase is the longest and ultimately most expensive phase. Once the immediate "crisis" has passed, cooperation fades away and recovery efforts are often politicized or seen as economic opportunities.Preparation for recovery can be very helpful. If mitigating resources are dispersed before the attack, cascades of social failures can be prevented. One hedge against bridge damage in riverine cities is to subsidize a "tourist ferry" that performs scenic cruises on the river. When a bridge is down, the ferry takes up the load.
Implementation
Some advocates believe that government should change building codes to require autonomous buildingAutonomous building
An autonomous building is a building designed to be operated independently from infrastructural support services such as the electric power grid, gas grid, municipal water systems, sewage treatment systems, storm drains, communication services, and in some cases, public roads.Advocates of...
s in order to reduce civil societies' dependence on complex, fragile networks of social services.
An example of a crucial need after a general nuclear attack would be the fuel required to transport every other item for recovery. However, oil refineries
Oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas...
are large, immobile, and probable targets. One proposal is to preposition truck-mounted fuel refineries near oil fields and bulk storage depots. Other critical infrastructure needs would include road and bridge repair, communications
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
, electric power, food production, and potable water.
Civil defense organizations
Civil Defense is also the name of a number of organizations around the world dedicated to protecting civilians from military attacks, as well as to providing rescue services after natural and human-made disasters alike.In a few countries such as Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
(see Singapore Civil Defence Force
Singapore Civil Defence Force
The Singapore Civil Defence Force is the main agency in charge of the provision of emergency services in Singapore during peacetime and emergency.A uniformed organisation under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the main role of SCDF is to provide...
), civil defense is essentially the same organization as the fire brigade. In most countries however, civil defense is a government-managed, volunteer-staffed organization, separate from the fire brigade and the ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
service.
As the threat of Cold War eased, a number of such civil defense organizations have been disbanded or mothballed (as in the case of the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States civil defense
United States civil defense
United States civil defense refers to the use of civil defense in the history of the United States, which is the organized non-military effort to prepare Americans for military attack...
), while others have changed their focuses into providing rescue services after natural disasters (as for the State Emergency Service
State Emergency Service
A State Emergency Service is an Australian volunteer organisation that provides emergency help during and after declared disasters. The SES is also the primary or secondary agency for emergencies, such as storm damage,flood damage, building damage, traffic hazards and road crash rescue...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
). However the ideals of Civil Defense have been brought back in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
under FEMA's Citizen Corps
Citizen Corps
Citizen Corps is a United States national service program under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security that seeks to mobilize the population of the country against threats to national security as well as to assist in the recovery after a disaster or terrorist attack...
and Community Emergency Response Team
Community Emergency Response Team
In the United States a community emergency response team can refer to* one of five federal programs promoted under the umbrella organization Citizen Corps, which is funded in part by the Stafford Act;...
(CERT).
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
the roles carried out by Civil Defence (note UK spelling) fall to voluntary groups such as RAYNET
RAYNET
The Radio Amateurs' Emergency Network, also known as RAYNET, is a British national voluntary communications service provided by amateur radio operators...
, Search and Rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
Teams and 4x4 Response
4x4 Response
4x4 Response is the UK based national organisation using 4x4 vehicles to offer support in adverse conditions, working with Voluntary Organisations and Emergency Services.-History:...
. In Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, the Civil Defence is still very much an active organisation and is occasionally called upon for its Auxiliary Fire Service
Auxiliary Fire Service
The Auxiliary Fire Service was first formed in 1938 in Great Britain as part of Civil Defence Air raid precautions. Its role was to supplement the work of brigades at local level. In this job it was hampered severely by the incompatibility of equipment used by these different brigades - most...
and ambulance/rescue services when emergencies such as flash flooding occur and require additional manpower. The organisation has units of trained firemen and medical responders based in key areas around the country.
By nation
- Civil defense in IsraelCivil defense in IsraelCivil defense in Israel deals with a variety of military and terrorist threats to the civilian population, which have included concealed bombs such as suicide bombings and car bombs, projectiles such as missiles, rockets and mortars, and hijacking of aircraft, buses and buildings...
- Civil defense in FinlandCivil defense in FinlandCivil defense in Finland is the responsibility of the Ministry of Interior under the Civil Defense Act of 1958. It is directed to provide civil defense to protect persons and property in wartime as well as in peacetime...
- Civil Defence IrelandCivil Defence IrelandCivil Defence Ireland is the national civil defence organisation of the Republic of Ireland. It is operated at local authority level in conjunction with the Department of Defence....
- Norwegian Civil DefenceNorwegian Civil DefenceNorwegian Civil Defence is the civil defence organization of Norway.The Norwegian Civil Defence sorts under the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning which again reports to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police....
- State Emergency ServiceState Emergency ServiceA State Emergency Service is an Australian volunteer organisation that provides emergency help during and after declared disasters. The SES is also the primary or secondary agency for emergencies, such as storm damage,flood damage, building damage, traffic hazards and road crash rescue...
- Australia
UK:
- Civil Defence CorpsCivil Defence CorpsThe Civil Defence Corps was a civilian volunteer organisation established in Great Britain in 1949 to take control in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. It was stood down in Great Britain in 1968...
- 4x4 Response4x4 Response4x4 Response is the UK based national organisation using 4x4 vehicles to offer support in adverse conditions, working with Voluntary Organisations and Emergency Services.-History:...
- UK's National Attack Warning SystemHANDELHANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
- Royal Observer CorpsRoyal Observer CorpsThe Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
US:
- Civil Air PatrolCivil Air PatrolCivil Air Patrol is a Congressionally chartered, federally supported, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force . CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded membership that includes people from all backgrounds, lifestyles, and...
- United States civil defenseUnited States civil defenseUnited States civil defense refers to the use of civil defense in the history of the United States, which is the organized non-military effort to prepare Americans for military attack...
- Comprehensive Emergency ManagementComprehensive Emergency ManagementComprehensive emergency management, as defined in various laws throughout the United States, is the preparation for and the carrying out of all emergency functions, other than functions for which the military forces are primarily responsible, to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from...
- CONELRADCONELRADCONELRAD was a method of emergency broadcasting to the public of the United States in the event of enemy attack during the Cold War. It was intended to serve two purposes; to prevent Soviet bombers from homing in on American cities by using radio or TV stations as beacons, and to provide...
- Duck and coverDuck and coverDuck and Cover was a suggested method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear weapon which the United States government taught to generations of United States school children from the early 1950s into the 1980s. This was supposed to protect them in the event of an unexpected nuclear...
See also
- Blast shelterBlast shelterA blast shelter is a place where people can go to protect themselves from bomb blasts. It differs from a fallout shelter, in that its main purpose is to protect from shock waves and overpressure, instead of from radioactive precipitation, as a fallout shelter does...
- Civil-defense Geiger countersCivil Defense Geiger CountersMost Civil Defense Geiger Counters and ion-chamber survey meters were issued by the governmental Civil Defense organizations in several countries from the 1950s in the midst of the Cold War in an effort to help prepare citizens for a nuclear attack...
- Civil defense sirenCivil defense sirenA civil defense siren is a mechanical or electronic device for generating sound to...
- Collective protectionCollective protectionCollective protection is used for group protection of personnel in a nuclear, biological or chemical event, .Collective protection is an important aspect of fixed site defense....
- Continuity of governmentContinuity of governmentContinuity of government is the principle of establishing defined procedures that allow a government to continue its essential operations in case of nuclear war or other catastrophic event....
- Emergency managementEmergency managementEmergency management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause events like disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the...
- Fallout shelterFallout shelterA fallout shelter is an enclosed space specially designed to protect occupants from radioactive debris or fallout resulting from a nuclear explosion. Many such shelters were constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War....
- Effects of nuclear explosions on human healthEffects of nuclear explosions on human healthThe medical effects of a nuclear blast upon humans can be put into four categories:*Initial stage -- the first 1–9 weeks, in which are the greatest number of deaths, with 90% due to thermal injury and/or blast effects and 10% due to super-lethal radiation exposure*Intermediate stage -- from 10–12...
- TransarmamentTransarmamentTransarmament is the partial or total replacement of armed forces with the physical and social infrastructure to support nonviolent resistance. According to an encyclopedia definition, transarmament is...
General:
- Nuclear warfareNuclear warfareNuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
- SurvivalismSurvivalismSurvivalism is a movement of individuals or groups who are actively preparing for future possible disruptions in local, regional, national, or international social or political order...
- Weapon of mass destruction
External links
- Large gallery of Bulgaria's Civil Defense Mechanization
- The UK Civil Defence Project - History & Photos
- National Civil Defence College, Nagpur INDIA link by Ajoy VU2JHM
- Special Event Amateur Ham Radio Station operated from Bangalore, INDIA
- Protezione Civile Italian Civil Defense
- Dublin Civil Defence Ireland
- SEBEV Search and Rescue (originally a Civil Defence team in the UK
- Civil Protection (Ministry of Interior, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
). - Civil Protection Villena - Spain
- Civil Defense Logo dies at 67, and Some Mourn its Passing, The New York Times, 1 December 2006 by David Dunlap.
- Cold War Era Civil Defense Museum – Features much historical information about Civil Defense history, its equipment and methods, and many historical photographs and posters.
- Annotated bibliography for civil defense from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
- The American Civil Defense Association
- Civil Defense Caves – Cold War community getaway in case of nuclear war located in Idaho
- Comprehensive Emergency Management Reference Material Repository
- Ready.gov - The official preparedness site of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- "Civil Defence" – A site with details of the UK's Civil Defence preparations, including those implemented during the Cold War such as the Burlington Central Government War HQ., at Corsham, Wiltshire.
- Emergency Planning in Lincolnshire
- The official Civil Defence site for the Republic of Ireland
- The official Civil Defense site of São Paulo State - Brazil
- Doctors for Disaster Preparedness
- Physicians for Civil Defense
- Dutch civil defense instructions in English
- Emergency Management Portal - online resources for emergency planners and managers
- The Norwegian Civil Defence