On the following page I have address the diffferent aspects on disaster mangement. I have described the scenario in broad brush strokes. As each element is described a link is given to a page which addresses the issues raised. On each page are comments, or advice. This is joined by links to various other sites that broaden the coverage. In most cases I have not written a handbook unless specific advice cannot be found elsewhere (and links provided.)

It should be noted that what follows are my personal opinions and not the advice of my employers.

  My own background  is contingency planning for riots, stadium disasters and recently airport or aircraft disasters. However similar principals may be applied in almost all scenarios.

Please note that the advice was empirical tested in large exercises and proved during real incidents . I have cross referenced to other sites where a different perspective or the source material is available.

The terminology is English not American

In the United Kingdom the official guidelines states

"A major incident is any emergency that requires the implementation of special arrangements by one or more of the emergency services, the National Heath Service or the local authority (municipality) for:

1. the initial treatment, rescue and transport of a large number of casualties;

2. the involvement either directly or indirectly of large numbers of people;

3. the handling of a large number of enquiries likely to be generated both from the public and the news media, usually to the police;

4. the need for the large scale combined resources of two or more of the emergency services;

5. the mobilisation and organisation of the emergency services and supporting organisations, eg local authority, to cater for the threat of death, serious injury or homelessness to a large number of people."