PRIORITIES OF RESCUE OR RELIEF OPERATIONS OF SEVERE DISASTERS.

When a disaster strikes, provincial governments and municipal authorities will always be the first to respond. In major or severe disasters, the state (NDMC) may be required to assist. Figure 6 shows the different levels of directives for the implementation of disaster management policy. However, the state (NDMC) may also be overwhelmed by severe disasters, and as a result, request federal assistance from international organizations such as INSARAG (International Search and Rescue Advisory Group) or the United Nations (UN).  Under such circumstances, the operational plans and guidelines of the various International response agencies that contribute to field operations will be considered when allocating responsibilities and priorities for response and recovery and reinstallation operations.

Figure 6: ‘Clause 1.2’ of the South Africa National Disaster Framework showing the Integrated Direction and Implementation of Policy based on different levels of impact at different levels of governance.

For example; International disaster and relief organizations follow established International guidelines for relief operations such as giving a detailed report of all possible dangers of the operation, limitations and dispatching a team of multi-disciplinary taskforces including specialist rescuers, doctors, paramedics, safety specialists, and volunteers. However, foreign relief organizations require that Member States, must give a primary role to their domestic support during the domestic response, and further utilize their capacity for relief operations, for example, the role of the military range from traditional medical and engineering support to often-needed aviation capabilities. The International Humanitarian Community and UN agencies specify to call on all local resources and only intervene when there are no other viable alternatives and with due regard for the sovereignty and leading role of local authorities in the affected State, as per the Oslo guidelines 2006.