Editing Emergency (section)

==Managing an emergency==
[[File:Em cycle.png|right|thumb|A graphic representation of the four phases in emergency management.]]
{{main article|Emergency management}}
There are many emergency services protocols that apply in an emergency, which usually start with planning before an emergency occurs. One commonly used system for demonstrating the phases is shown here on the right.

The planning phase starts at '''preparedness''', where the agencies decide how to respond to a given incident or set of circumstances.  This should ideally include lines of command and control, and division of activities between agencies.  This avoids potentially negative situations such as three separate agencies all starting an official [[emergency shelter]] for victims of a disaster.

Following an emergency occurring, the agencies then move to a '''response''' phase, where they execute their plans, and may end up improvising some areas of their response (due to gaps in the planning phase, which are inevitable due to the individual nature of most incidents).

Agencies may then be involved in '''recovery''' following the incident, where they assist in the clear up from the incident, or help the people involved overcome their mental trauma.

The final phase in the circle is '''mitigation''', which involves taking steps to ensure no re-occurrence is possible, or putting additional plans in place to ensure less damage is done.  This should feed back into the preparedness stage, with updated plans in place to deal with future emergencies, thus completing the circle.