Planned and Implemented Actions by Exercises

On a global scale, natural and man-made disasters cause significant losses. For this reason, disaster risk reduction is a priority. This paper focuses on the exposure risk component during the occurrence and evacuation planning. There is a gap between the planned actions and their implementation during real emergency conditions. From the proposed reviewed literature different lacks emerge, including the evaluation of the risk reduction produced by each exercise or training actions. To build a bridge above this gap, it is necessary to design and experiment with training and exercises for putting into practice the planned evacuation procedures. A method is proposed to evaluate the exposure reduction by means of these actions. The literature distinguishes two main classes of actions: discussion-based, aimed at reviewing evacuation plans and procedures; and operation-based, aimed at simulating real experimentations with decision-making and people involved in a potential emergency situation. The expected outcome is to increase awareness of managers and users about the evacuation procedures for pursuing the final goal of exposure and therefore risk reduction. With increasing complexity and capabilities, exercises and training contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the planned actions. The paper is useful for risk managers and public decision-takers involved in the evacuation planning process to increase preparedness before an emergency event.