4.7.1. Natural disasters can create emergency conditions that vary widely in scope, urgency and degree of damage and destruction. Plan for worst-case scenarios for those natural disasters that could occur on or near the installation. Specific natural disasters will differ in scope and effects. Therefore, response, recovery and mitigation actions will vary. A national- level response will be required to help Air Force installations recover from extensive natural disasters.
4.7.2. Natural disasters include earthquakes, extreme heat or cold, floods and flash floods, hurricanes or typhoons, landslides and mudflows, thunderstorms and lightning, tornadoes, straight-line winds (see Attachment 1 for definition), cyclones, tsunamis, volcanoes, wildland fires, avalanches, winter storms, and natural outbreaks of disease.
4.7.3. Installations use the ICC and EOC for C2 of resources when responding to and recovering from natural disasters. MAJCOMs may choose to deploy all or part of their DRF to support installations affected by natural disasters when requested and directed. Commanders must be able to maintain the primary installation mission, save lives, mitigate damage and restore mission-essential resources and infrastructure after a natural disaster. Base the level of response and actions on the magnitude of the disaster and degree of damage.
4.7.4. Natural Disaster Phases of Incident Management.
4.7.4.1. Prevention. Most natural disasters cannot be prevented. Vaccination of personnel or the use of mass prophylaxis may prevent the spread of naturally occurring disease to installation personnel. For other disasters, installations can only take measures aimed at mitigating the effects of natural disasters. These measures are addressed under preparedness or mitigation.
4.7.4.2. Preparation. Natural disaster preparedness includes any actions taken in anticipation of a natural disaster such as implementing the CEMP 10-2, Annex B and appropriate Appendices. Training and exercises are critical elements of natural disaster preparedness and should be emphasized at all levels. Commanders and staff agency chiefs must ensure procedures are developed for personnel notification, recall and accounting. They also must implement actions to protect resources and report injuries and damage. Units should integrate protective measures into the installation's overall preparations for a natural disaster. Examples of actions to take include implementing
weather advisories and warning notifications, initiating treatment activities during natural outbreaks of disease, preparing installation housing residents to evacuate and developing MAAs with local civil authorities. The EM information program makes an important contribution to preparedness by emphasizing actions that installation personnel can take on their own such as hardening, securing, dispersing and evacuation preparations.
4.7.4.3. Response. As with major accidents, natural disaster response has three overlapping phases: notification, response and evacuation.
4.7.4.3.1. The notification phase consists of actions taken in anticipation of a natural disaster. Actions may not be executable if a natural disaster occurs with little or no warning. During the notification phase, establish C2, notify the installation populace and response agencies, protect materials and facilities, consider sheltering or evacuating personnel, coordinate with civil authorities and begin collecting data for reports.
4.7.4.3.2. During response, maintain C2, assess damage, conduct fire fighting, conduct search and rescue, prevent illness and injury, care for casualties, establish cordons, protect property, restore utilities and communications and continue collecting data for reports.
4.7.4.3.3. Evacuation is defined in Attachment 1. Evacuation of aircraft before a hurricane often precedes the evacuation of installation personnel due to the arrangements that must be made at the receiving installation for the evacuating aircraft. People are also evacuated due to floods, forest fires and other natural disasters.
4.7.4.4. Recovery. The recovery phase for natural disasters consists of actions taken after emergency actions have been implemented and lifesaving actions have been completed. All installation agencies may be involved in installation recovery following natural disasters. Recovery efforts restore the area and operations to normal conditions. Recovery may involve dividing the installation into sectors and assigning each unit a sector for recovery actions if a natural disaster affects the entire installation. The EOC develops and implements a recovery plan that the Installation Commander approves. Desired outcomes of the recovery phase are to reestablish mission capability, prepare to handle personnel and claims actions, return to normal operations and provide necessary reports.
4.7.4.5. Mitigation. Natural disasters can create emergency conditions that vary widely in scope, urgency and degree of damage. Installations must establish procedures and identify or obtain material to protect their resources from susceptible threats. Installations should pre-plan to isolate or shut off utilities, fuel and electrical and water systems that are affected by the natural disaster on or near the installation.
4.7.5. Specific natural disaster responses will be required for the natural disasters listed in
paragraph 4.7.2. Natural disaster responses may be modified during expeditionary operations.
4.7.5.1. Consider the overall situation and threat when responding to natural disasters during expeditionary operations. Mission requirements and available resources will dictate procedures and priorities. Use the minimum resources possible to respond to the
natural disaster and its effects without impairing mission capability. See Attachment 1
for definitions of expeditionary operations and expeditionary units.
4.7.5.2. The Installation Commander decides whether to evacuate or to shelter-in-place. 4.7.5.3. Commanders of expeditionary operations must coordinate evacuation planning at the local, theater and DOS levels.
4.8. Contingency and Wartime Attack with Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear,