2.1. Many people engaged in planning for, and responding to, evacuations will be involved in only a small part of the overall picture. It is important that they know how their contribution fits into the overall response, and where their role interacts with the roles of others. This chapter sets out some of the basic principles of evacuation planning and response and suggests a structure within which people can place their own activities. It is not possible, however, to represent all aspects of evacuation in one model, so in using this chapter, planners should be aware that there may be other factors to be taken into account.

2.2. In particular, this guide deals with the evacuation process by separating out the individual functions involved. This allows organisations to see and understand where their services fit into the overall response, but can give the erroneous impression that everything will happen in an ordered sequence. The reality is that in many cases, functional areas will overlap and many responses will have to operate simultaneously. Plans should allow for, and responders be prepared for, critical pressures on time and a reasonable degree of chaos, especially in the early stages. Also, it is difficult to depict the web of inter-relationships which will exist between functions and between individual organisations. These relationships and the understandings and communication channels essential to their effective operation should be identified and agreed at the planning stage.

2.3. In considering the relationship between an emergency event and an associated evacuation, three observations can be made:

1. An evacuation is not a stand-alone incident. An evacuation only occurs because something else has happened, is happening or will happen. The nature and effects of the causative event will define the parameters of the evacuation (when, where, how big, how long etc).
2. An evacuation is not simply a sub-set of the response to the causative event. Whilst the parameters of an evacuation are defined by the causative event, most of the evacuation activities proceed independently of the direct response to the event (firefighting, chemical response, floodwater control etc), and involve a different set of responders and different co-ordination arrangements.
3. An evacuation is not a single unified activity. It is made up of many individual activities and groups of activities, undertaken by a wide range of organisations.

Evacuation is one facet of the response to an emergency situation. It will often occur simultaneously with other emergency response activities such as rescue, fire-fighting and decontamination.

2.4. Diagram A sets out a model for the structure of an evacuation. It is intended to represent the main division of functions and key relationships between them, but within each functional group there may be further breakdowns possible, with each sub-unit also requiring specific management and co-ordination arrangements.

2.5. An evacuation situation divides into four functional areas:

• The event.
• Warning and moving.
• Rest Centres.
• Resettlement, return and reconstruction.

2.6. The sorts of events which would give rise to an evacuation are discussed in Chapter 1. Such events are normally responded to by the emergency services or a public service organisation with particular responsibility for the occurrence. The objective of the core response to the event would be to bring the emergency situation to a safe conclusion. If responders consider that evacuation is necessary, their primary concern would be that people are moved from the danger zone. However, the event does define the parameters of the evacuation – what the limits of the danger zone are, who should be evacuated, for how long, and what problems are likely to be encountered by people returning after the evacuation.

2.7. The process of moving people out of a dangerous, or potentially dangerous, area to a place of safety is a complex and difficult one. It involves warning and informing people, identifying safe areas and providing some help for people to reach the safe areas. Often all this must be done at very short notice and in adverse conditions.

2.8. Rest Centres provide short-term shelter and other facilities for those evacuated. In them, evacuees would have access to appropriate physical necessities and welfare facilities and receive information on what was happening in the evacuation zone.

2.9. Most evacuations are short-lived and have no long-term consequences, and evacuees can return to their properties within hours. However, in some situations the evacuation may last overnight or for a few days, in which case it would be helpful to find evacuees more comfortable temporary accommodation than the Rest Centre. For some people, the evacuation may be permanent. This may be because physical damage is too great to be repaired, they may be unable to return to independent living or they may be unwilling to live with an ongoing risk. Where an event has caused damage or loss of life, an area may need to be made safe before people return. On their return, evacuees may need to clean and repair their properties. Essential services such as electricity may be disrupted. The evacuation and the event which caused it may have increased stress levels in the community, resulting in health and social problems.

2.10. Co-ordination is required within and between each of the four functional areas of the overall incident (event, warning and moving, Rest Centre and resettlement/ returning). Participation in co-ordination arrangements is the responsibility of all responders, and they should plan accordingly.

2.11. Each of the four functional areas will have its own co-ordination arrangements, led by an appropriate organisation. The lead organisation would be responsible for ensuring co-ordination of activities within the functional area, and would have a key role in participating in overall co-ordination arrangements. In general, co-ordination arrangements within phases, or functional areas, in a localised evacuation would be led by:

Event – the lead organisation for an emergency event would normally be the Police, although in certain circumstances the Fire Brigade or another public service organisation would take the lead in on-site management. Support would be provided by other emergency services, public service organisations and any commercial organisations involved in the event. In situations where an emergency response was not required, the lead may be taken by a government department or agency. In the absence of any immediately identifiable lead organisation, or after discussion with the Police, the local District Council Chief Executive may facilitate co-ordination.

Warning or moving – normally the Police would lead in this functional area. They would be supported by a range of organisations, including transport operators, press officers, the media, any organisations with manpower available to disseminate warnings, and organisations able to provide equipment or manpower needed to ensure a safe and speedy movement of people. In the case of a planned, non-emergency, evacuation the organisation with responsibility for planning the event would also co-ordinate warning and moving arrangements, although support from the emergency services and other organisations would be required to carry the evacuation through.

Rest Centres – Community HSS Trusts (including joint Acute and Community HSS Trusts, collectively referred to in this document as ‘Community Trusts’) would have overall lead responsibility for the delivery of welfare services to evacuees through the establishment of a Rest Centre and other associated arrangements. They would be supported by, among others, the emergency services, especially the Police, District Councils, other owners of Rest Centre premises (schools, churches etc), voluntary organisations and providers of practical support, such as caterers.

Resettlement, return and reconstruction – the Chief Executive of the District Council involved (or the Lead Chief Executive if more than one council area is affected), would normally co-ordinate multi-agency activities in the return and recovery phase, where an emergency had a detrimental effect on the community or environment. This would be in consultation with other relevant agencies and with the Police, who may have initial lead responsibility for co-ordinating the return of evacuees before agreeing with the Chief Executive when to hand over lead responsibility. The lead organisation would be supported by, among others, transport operators, press officers, the media, health and safety advisers, engineers, the utilities, infrastructure organisations, voluntary organisations and the Department of the Environment (DOE) Planning Service.

2.12. In addition to co-ordination within the different functional areas, there needs to be co-ordination between them, in order to ensure the smooth flow of information and to deal with any cross-functional problems which arise. This overall incident co-ordination would not interfere with the activities and co-ordination arrangements within functional areas, but would enable all organisations involved in the evacuation to:

• Share information which they have, and which is needed by others, without having to deal individually with organisations.
• Collate information for briefing senior officers, elected public representatives and the press.
• Share information on resource needs and availability, and agree mutual aid arrangements.
• Respond quickly to any changes in circumstances, such as escalation of the event, which may affect their areas of operation.
• Agree priorities, if it is not possible to carry out all desirable activities at the same time.
• Look ahead to identify likely problems and agree actions to prevent, or mitigate the effects of, them.

2.13. This overall incident co-ordination would normally be undertaken by the Police during an emergency. The Council Chief Executive would be kept informed of events and it is likely that at an agreed time the Chief Executive would take over overall co-ordination. In the case of an event which does not involve the Police in the response, and where there is no obvious lead organisation, the District Council Chief Executive would consider taking on the overall co-ordination role. The details of how this would be managed are set out in the protocol agreed between the Police and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives.

2.14. Almost all evacuations are localised events which would fall within the boundaries of a District Council or a small number of District Councils. Where two or more District Council areas are involved, a Lead Chief Executive will be agreed to undertake liaison with the Police and other organisations and to undertake an overall incident co-ordination role where appropriate.

2.15. In the rare event of a planned evacuation, overall co-ordination would be undertaken by the lead organisation for the event.

2.16. Very rarely, an incident may have such widespread or long-term implications, or an evacuation may be on such a scale, that central government becomes involved at strategic level. The activities undertaken by government departments or the Executive would be in addition to local response activities, although there would have to be very close liaison between the overall incident co-ordinator and any strategic co-ordination arrangements established at central government level.

2.17. The chapters on each of the functional areas include further information on co-ordination needs and the sort of information which needs to be shared between the functional areas.

2.18. In any incident involving the community, elected representatives will have a particular interest in the organisation of the response, including evacuation arrangements. Where Departments, or their agencies or NDPBs, are involved in the response, the relevant Ministers will wish, from an early stage, to be fully briefed on, and involved in, the situation. All organisations should therefore ensure that their plans include arrangements for briefing Ministers, the Executive, the Assembly and Assembly Committees as appropriate and for dealing with queries and requests from elected representatives.