7 FAM 1840
natural disasters
(CT:CON-848; 08-31-2018)
(Office of Origin: CA/OCS)
7 FAM 1841 summary
(CT:CON-142; 07-26-2006)
a. 12 FAH-1 Annex I provides a series of checklists regarding
assistance to U.S. citizens in a major disaster.
b. 7 FAM 1840
provides more detailed guidance about consular protection of nationals in the
event of a national disaster based on lessons learned from hurricanes,
earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, avalanches, typhoons, fires, and flash
floods.
c. See Crisis Management Lessons Learned on the CA/OCS
Intranet.
7 FAM 1842 PREDICTABILITY OF NATURAL
DISASTERS, preparedness AND USE OF THE CONSULAR INFORMATION PROGRAM
(CT:CON-848; 08-31-2018)
a. Posts should be familiar with the host countries
planning, alert response capabilities regarding natural disasters.
b. Many natural disasters are not predictable. Some,
like hurricanes, are seasonal.
c. Every year, Consular Affairs uses the Consular
Information Program Travel Advisories, Travel Alerts, and American Liaison
Network messages (see 7 FAM 000 Appendix A) and American Liaison Networks (see 7 FAM 070) to
remind citizens abroad of the coming of hurricane season. We have also issued
Travel Alerts and Travel Advisories in the wake of predictable and
unpredictable natural disaster. In addition, the CA Internet Page includes
links to preparedness information. In the event of a disaster, CA uses the CA
Internet Page to post information about the disaster.
7 FAM 1843 RESPONSIBILITY OF
GOVERNMENTS
(CT:CON-142; 07-26-2006)
a. Article 37 of the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations (VCCR) provides that If the relevant information is available to the
competent authorities of the receiving State, such authorities shall have the
duty: (a) in the case of the death of a national of the sending State, to
inform without delay the consular post in whose district the death occurred.
Bilateral consular conventions include similar provisions.
b. See Treaties in Force on the Department of State
Internet site, the bilateral consular conventions feature on the CA Internet
page and the Treaty feature on the CA/OCS Intranet. See also Consular Access
and Notification on the CA Internet page regarding the responsibilities for
foreign nationals in the United States, including notification in the event of
the death of foreign nationals.
c. While the VCCR does not include similar provisions
regarding injured nationals, as a matter of practice, countries often notify embassies
and consulates of sending States in the event of the hospitalization of one of
its nationals in the absence of a next-of-kin.
7 FAM 1844 DISASTER PLANNING SHOULD
TAKE PLACE ALL YEAR ROUND - HURRICANE LESSONS LEARNED
(CT:CON-848; 08-31-2018)
The following reflects lessons learned from recent
hurricane seasons, but may be helpful in planning for any natural disaster.
Posts abroad that were confronted with large scale evacuations in the wake of
hurricanes suggested the following:
(1) Disaster preparation should take place throughout
the entire year. The Chief of Mission, in addition to holding a town meeting
at the beginning of the season, may wish to hold an off-hurricane-season town
meeting to educate the community about hurricane preparedness.
(2) Chief of Mission authority and DOS evacuation
procedures must be clearly discussed in the off-season by the Emergency Action
Committee (EAC) and country team.
(3) The post may conduct this planning through the EAC
or a specific Hurricane Action Committee, in its year-round education effort,
will emphasize Chief of Mission authority, the "no double standard"
policy (see 7 FAM
050), and the standards for authorized and ordered departure.
(4) Post country team and EAC should include other
federal agencies assigned to post to standardize the evacuation process for the
various agencies at post prior to hurricane season. Areas of specific concern
are:
(a) Ticketing;
(b) Evacuation sites;
(c) Services provided upon arrival at evacuation sites;
(d) Per diem; and
(e) The ability to differentiate between critical and
non-critical employees.
(5) Post will conduct a hurricane evacuation exercises
periodically.
(6) EAC Decision Points, previously based entirely on
the hurricane's strength, size, speed, and predicted trajectory, should be
revised to better take into account airline and airport closure policies.
(7) Post will identify more Citizen Liaison Volunteers
on the larger islands and add Citizen Liaison Volunteers on the smaller
islands.
(8) Post, with consular officers and the Public
Affairs Officer working closely together, will review appropriate language and
the clearance process of travel alerts and American Liaison Network messages
with CA/OCS before the hurricane season.
(9) Have satellite phones ready in case all other
communications fail.
(10) Develop a communications strategy to reach the
U.S. citizen public and implement this program as soon as possible.
Communications with the public at large in a disaster environment can be very
difficult. How would you communicate if there was no electricity? (See 7 FAM 070 for
guidance about American Liaison Networks)
(11) As part of an overall communications campaign,
visit as many disaster shelters as possible.
(12) Evacuation teams should be prepared with Meals
Ready to Eat (MREs), water filters, and bottled water for themselves.
Evacuation teams should regularly check to ensure that items in the evacuation
kits have not gone past their expiration dates. Post generally do not have
such resources for potential private citizen evacuees and therefore CA/OCS
issues a travel alert periodically reminding citizens traveling or residing
abroad to make their own contingency plans for unforeseen disasters.
(13) Before arriving at the crisis scene, establish
contacts, to the extent possible, with airport personnel, disaster preparedness
offices, immigration, airlines, and with top-level government officials.
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For example:
Is there a curfew in the area which could make movement
of TDY or fly away team members difficult?
Does the consular district include a dependency of
another country requiring authorizing from the capital city of the parent
nation for actions by TDY or fly away team members?
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(14) Consider backcountry or military experience when
staffing evacuation teams. Such prior experience can prove essential, as
officers with this type of knowledge are prepared for the hardships of living
in extreme environments and can focus on the task at hand.
(15) Consider how long personnel can function
productively and safely under dangerous and unknown work conditions. Plan for
a follow on team to relieve the initial group of officers assisting with
evacuation. If possible, arrange a briefing between the first and second
evacuation teams to ensure the adequate transfer of on-the-ground knowledge.
(16) Have necessary documents and supplies ready to go
at a moment's notice. Supplies should include:
(a) Two-way radios;
(b) Promissory notes;
(c) Consular seals;
(d) Official letterhead;
(e) Travel letter templates;
(f) U.S. flags to display;
(g) Name and date stamps;
(h) Name/title tags; and
(i) Basic office supplies.
(17) Post should be aware of applicable regulations and
pre-arrange procedures with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding
handling undocumented U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Resident Aliens (LPRs),
or third country national dependents of U.S. citizens that may arrive at entry
points in the United States. This will facilitate quick processing and avoid
confusion.
7 FAM 1845 CONSULAR RESPONSE TO A
NATURAL DISASTER - tsunami lessons learned
(CT:CON-844; 08-28-2018)
The following are lessons learned from the 2004 Tsunami,
but will be helpful for posts confronting any large scale natural disaster:
(1) Get to the scene of the disaster as
quickly as possible with even more resources than you think you really need.
Realize that, unlike plane crashes and terrorist attacks, natural disasters
often affect a wide spread area and covering the entire disaster area will
require intensive coordination and resource management. If post has an active American
Liaison Network, rely on your Citizen Liaison Volunteers to cover areas you
cannot reach and to augment coverage in heavily affected areas.
(2) Ask For Help: a key lesson learned from
the 2004 Tsunami and the 2004-2005 Hurricanes was the importance of asking for
and receiving help for the consular section as quickly as possible.
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Note: Requests for consular additional help should
be made to the consular task force operation. The CA Task
Force Director will coordinate with CA/EX and CGFS. CA/EX has provided
CA/OCS/ACS Crisis Management with blanket travel orders for TDYers traveling
from Washington, DC. If we are sending officers from neighboring posts,
CA/EX either prepares the orders in Washington or reimburses the post. We
use whatever method gets people on the plane the fastest to get you the help
you need.
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(3) Mission-Wide Support: A large-scale
disaster requires a full mission-wide response. Consular teams cannot deploy
and function effectively without the simultaneous deployment of essential
mission-wide support.
(4) Additional locally employed staff (LE staff)
Support: If more officers are needed to respond to the disaster, more
locally employed staff (LE staff) will also be required. These LE Staff play
an integral role in ensuring that the ACS unit can maintain a high level of
citizens services. Using supplemental LE Staff who do not speak the local
language to perform routine functions in your American Citizen Services (ACS)
unit frees up local LE staff for work that requires language skills, geographic
familiarity or good contacts with host government personnel and local
institutions.
(5) Logistics and TDY: Understand the
Temporary Duty (TDY) process and the realities of international travel. Asking
for people today means they will probably arrive 2 days later, at best. Do not
wait for an acute need before requesting assistance. Ask before you think you
are going to really need it. If you are relying on a large number of TDY
staff, dedicate someone - preferably a skilled Office Management Specialist
(OMS)-- to take care of and track all necessary travel, hotel, and logistical
arrangements, much of which will change before the person arrives. For small
posts in particular, remember that you will not operate in a vacuum during a
crisis. The Department will also be monitoring the situation from the moment
the disaster strikes and trying to assess posts needs.
(6) Coordination with Management Section:
Consular sections should coordinate closely with post Management sections
regarding equipment needs for TDY and fly away teams, including, but not
limited to, embassy vehicles or rented vehicles; magnetic U.S. flags on car
doors, etc.
(7) Divide work responsibilities and assign clear
roles among your staff and make sure everyone knows who does what.
Designating a "hospital officer, "database manager,"
"volunteer coordinator," and "correspondence manager" helps
volunteers and new staff know who to turn to with specific questions.
7 FAM 1846 EARTHQUAKES
(CT:CON-848; 08-31-2018)
a. The Office of Foreign Buildings Operations
publication Earthquake Preparedness at U.S. Foreign Service Posts provides
guidance useful in post planning which CA also utilizes when we include language
in Country Specific Information about individual countries which a higher risk
of earthquake activity.
b. The CA Internet page natural disasters site provides
useful links to FEMA, CDC, U.S. Geological Survey and Red Cross material about
earthquake preparedness and disaster response.
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See
FEMA Earthquakes
FEMA Earthquakes Safety Checklist Planning
FEMA Earthquakes for Kids and Teachers
CDC Earthquakes
U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program
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c. U.S. and foreign embassies and consulates also have
post web page material with links to local information about earthquakes and
include earthquake preparedness discussions in EAC meeting and American Liaison
Network briefings.
d. Foreign governments also have useful earthquake
sites to which posts may wish to link their post web pages.
7 FAM 1847 through 1849 UNASSIGNED