The complexity of disaster response demands an effective command system. The command system must facilitate the education and cooperation of the many people and groups involved in the evacuation and relief efforts including firefighters, healthcare workers and volunteer civilians. It must organize the many elements of disaster response including the distribution of the warning message, evacuation, short-term relief and the transition to long-term recovery. In addition, the needs of different areas hit by the tsunami will differ so the command system must extend from the international level down to the national and local levels.
  To deal with this complexity, we plan to adopt an Incident Command System (ICS) similar to that used by the US Coast Guard and other emergency response teams. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in its handbook on the National Incident Management System, has already detailed the structure and characteristics of an effective ICS. An ICS is an organizational template with a distinct hierarchy and appropriation of tasks that will be implemented by one main organization in Micronesia and one organization in Peru. In Peru, this organization is INDECI, which is a national organization of the central government whose main focus is national disaster emergency preparation and relief. Micronesia currently has no such organization; therefore, we propose that a US-Micronesia Agency be created for this purpose. Both INDECI and the US-Micronesia Agency are funded and receive instruction from the International Pacific Tsunami Center, which in turn receives money from grants by the UN. However, INDECI and the US-Micronesia Agency are also autonomous. Because the International Pacific Tsunami Center is not located in Micronesia and Peru, it trusts that the countries’ respective agencies will complete their appropriate duties.
  It is impossible for a single headquarters to monitor and direct all the disaster response that needs to take place in a timely manner. An Incident Command System is a much more efficient approach to emergency response, as it allows for the cooperation of many different organizations and teams under the common command of INDECI and the US-Micronesia Agency. There is a clear chain of command, yet each body, such as public service groups like firefighters and non-governmental organizations like the Red Cross, maintains a certain amount of autonomy to complete its job. This minimizes the delaying effects of a complicated bureaucracy. Another asset of the ICS is the flexibility of its structure. Depending on the scale of the disaster, more or fewer people can be called upon to help.
   INDECI and the US-Micronesia Agency are not designed to handle only tsunamis but rather a broad range of emergencies. The complexity of the structure varies depending on the size and scope of the emergency. The details provided in this description are only for the planning and event of a tsunami. If it is necessary in other cases, the subdivisions laid out here can be subdivided into subordinate units tailored to the specific response requirements of an incident. Likewise, if one body can handle the entire response, no further subdivision is necessary.

»Authorities within INDECI and the US-Micronesia Agency

  The ICS we would like implemented by INDECI and the US-Micronesia Agency is divided into five major areas: command, operations, planning, logistics, and finance and administration. These Local Directors are in charge of delegating responsibilities. They will establish the five sub-branches of the implemented ICS and will appoint Section Chiefs to lead these specific tasks. If there are smaller units working within these sections, unit leaders will be appointed to lead these units (for example, a unit of firefighters will have a head person of authority for each specific island). However, functional units should only be created to match the necessary tasks at hand; organizational units that are no longer required will be deactivated so as to save time and money.
   The International Pacific Tsunami Center sub-directors who handle relief and info communicate with the National Director of INDECI and the US-Micronesia Agency. This established chain of command creates a clear hierarchy so that there is no confusion as to who is in charge.
  The following sections mainly deal with the question of who will be in charge of the different tasks.

  This section’s objective is to manage operations at the site of the emergency in order to achieve the following:

• Communicating with all of the inhabitants in the area such that everyone knows that there is a tsunami (since realistically, education may not be enough): In the cities, media sources like television and radio will be used to issue additional warnings. In small Micronesian villages, where there are no forms of media, the local chief and a created body of traditional authority officials will announce the event of an impending tsunami and give simple instructions for evacuation by whatever means possible: having individuals go door-to-door, driving down the main road of town and making the announcement, etc. In specific “problem zones” of Peru where there is no media but there are no traditional authorities, a member from INDECI or the US Micronesia-Agency will come in from the cities to make the announcement. This is more practical than using the Peruvian police because few Peruvians have confidence in them.
• Shutting off hazardous electrical lines: The reasons and procedure for doing such action appears elsewhere in this plan. Workers at the power grid will shut down the areas that may be impacted within 15 minutes of the tsunami warning. Power will be restored once all broken power lines are fixed. Access to areas with broken power lines will be prohibited.
• Schools, hospitals, and other private facilities will know what to do in order to evacuate their children, patients, and other people. Evacuation transportation will be coordinated by the local ICS chief at the municipal level. The ICS chief for the municipality will ensure that every main facility in their domain has been notified of the warning and begun their evacuation process. Other local ICS personnel or ICS designated people working at the municipality's facilities will be responsible for their facility following their evacuation process. The ICS personnel are not only responsible for ensuring that the evacuation process is being carried out at their facility in a timely manner, but they are also responsible for getting to the evacuation site themselves.
• Save lives and property / establish control / keep the peace: We propose that INDECI and the US-Micronesia Agency create their own on-call task force for use during emergency situations. In Peru, the population holds a general distrust of the police, so they would not be helpful in completing this task. The INDECI task force, then, consists of firefighters and trained, INDECI-specific security members. In Micronesia, this task force consists of the national police, public safety officers¹ and the US-Micronesia Agency-specific security members. All task force members will be properly trained by INDECI and the US-Micronesia Agency.
• Safety: Once most of the people are safely evacuated to the evacuation camps, camp procedures will ensure their safety. The camps will be led by ICS personnel who are responsible for keeping identification of the evacuated, distributing food, and keeping safety and order at the camp sites. Food will already be stored enough for three days at these sites.
• Search and rescue: The INDECI and the US-Micronesia Agency task forces are responsible for this. In Micronesia, military will also be brought in from Guam.

  In general, the operations section would include groups such as firefighters, law enforcement, public health, public works, and emergency services. Furthermore, private individuals, companies, and nongovernmental organizations would fall under this category.
  The task forces must be specially trained for disaster response. Police are accustomed to enforcing peace, but emergency response requires a different approach that must be taught (M. Rideout, personal communication, September 30, 2005). Once the response teams are educated on what to expect, it is imperative that they perform regular drills. It is an easy mistake to fall into complacency when a disaster is not imminent. Regular drills ensure that there are no glitches in the response plans, and that disaster response teams are well prepared.

  This section’s responsibility is to collect, evaluate, and analyze tactical information relevant to emergency response. It records information on the current situation, predicts future problems and conditions, and keeps track of resources. Resources include personnel, teams, facilities, supplies, and major equipment available for disaster response. The Planning Section makes sure personnel are in the right locations with the necessary equipment. This unit should have a system of logging the location and status of all disaster response groups, and should keep a database of all available resources available for deployment.
  Specific responsibilities of the Planning Section include the following:

• Locating and organizing use of evacuation sites
• Maintaining supplies at evacuation sites
• Communicating with NGOs, other government officials, and other tsunami relief workers
• Knowledge of where transportation and people are located and to where they’re deployed

  These tasks are the responsibility of INDECI and US-Micronesia Agency Planning Section workers.

  This section is responsible for obtaining and providing for the needs of disaster relief. NGOs such as the Red Cross and other groups (missionaries in Micronesia, for example) will work under this section to provide relief. Disaster relief may include facilities, transportation, supplies, equipment maintenance and fueling, food service, communications, and medical services for incident personnel. Logistics can be divided into six subunits:

» Supply Unit:

» Facilities Unit:

» Ground Support Unit:

» Communications Unit:

» Food Unit:

» Medical Unit:

  This section is established when there is a need for financial, reimbursement, and/or administrative services. The Finance/Administration Section is in charge of monitoring sources of funds and tracking the financial burn rate, which allows incident command to forecast expenses and obtain more funds if necessary.
  The workers are INDECI and US-Micronesia Agency workers who have contact with the International Pacific Tsuanmi Center.

   1. U.S. Department of State. (March 2, 2002) Micronesia, Federated States of. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices Retrieved October 20, 2005 (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eap/8351.htm).