UNDAC FIELD MISSION IN MAS
Ronald Christiaans
The UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) is an international network of professionals. Within hours after a large disaster occurs, their teams are being deployed anywhere around the world to assess the damage and necessities and coordinate the activities of responding organizations. UNDAC quite often organizes large simulations to make sure their teams are up for the task when required. In this simulation, the teams deploy in a fictional country, named MAS. In reality, the teams are working from a training terrain in the UK. In this post, you can read more about the course of this field simulation.
The government of Mas asked the international community for assistance due to a storm. Because of the Request for Assistance (RfA), UNDAC is alerted and a UNDAC team is composed. It’s a small team of 4 members, but it will be reinforced with colleagues from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, experts that are part of the (international) Relief teams, and local experts. And we have an OCHA IMO (Information Management Officer) on board to support the team. Decided is that the team will meet in a hotel in Portsmouth before flying into Mas. There we can divide the team roles, do some team building and analyze the situation in the country. Looking at the IMO side of the mission, the UNDAC mission software is ‘activated’, there is a mission list on the Humanitarian ID made available and the VOSOCC (Virtual On-Site Operational Coordination Centre) is operational as well. Information is already collected and made available for all humanitarian organizations that will be present to support the Government of Mas in dealing with this emergency. Because #coordinationsaveslifes….
What can we expect after arriving in Mas? After two hurricane missions, I already know what we can expect. And that is that we have to expect that it will be different. No mission is the same…. So we have to be flexible and we have to adapt to the situation. But we are self-sufficient and ready for everything. I even bought a new stretcher to sleep on. What I however forgot, is to check if this stretcher would fit in my suitcase. And nope, it didn’t so during the mission I’m going to rely on my good old camping mattress…. Hopefully my ‘not so young anymore’ body can coop with that….
The team has arrived safely in Portsmouth. The assembly point is the Ibis hotel in the center of the city. Portsmouth is the Logistical Hub since it’s close to the area that is hit by the storm. After dropping our equipment in our hotel room, we went for a meal and a get to know each other in a local Public House. It’s always interesting to hear who is who. Although the team is small, there is a lot of experience and expertise present. Based on the expertise we have available, team tasks were divided. The MapAction team is responsible for the mapping part of the mission. Besides that, they were asked to pick up the role of advisor to the UNDAC team. MapAction has a lot of experience in emergency missions and can help in the process of collecting the right information because they are in the middle of the information visualization.
The most important thing is that we agreed on a working structure on the forehand. The reality will tell us how we are going to work within this structure. For sure it is going to be busy and stressful but together we are going to deal with that. Of course, we discussed the Human Factor of this mission. Important is to laugh now and then…. Humour is a critical success factor in having a successful team. And we promised each other to take care of each other. No buddy system since the team is so small, but a team system.
The leadership style will be ‘swarming’. This means that the UNDAC members will be responsible for their function and can do what is necessary to be successful. As a Team Leader, I will monitor and facilitate them. And if needed I will step into the hierarchical role of Team Leader. During the team briefings, and between these meetings, we will coordinate the processes with each other. Important is that there is room for reflection. Are we doing the right thing? Do we have to change something? We have to be critical in a positive way toward each other.
On the first day of the mission. The team left early in the morning for the airport. After arrival in Mas, the team had to go through customs and the security check. Besides losing some food, this went pretty well. Two of us were already busy with the Reception and Departure Centre. While I discussed/negotiated with the airport manager how to organize our transport to the location where we were supposed to set up the OSOCC (On-Site Operational Coordination Centre). The first hour was used to get ourselves organized and to start collecting information. The colleagues of MapAction were already busy drawing the first essential maps. Everyone started doing their thing and first contacts with representatives of the National Authority were made. And then the meetings started, with the international teams, with the National Authority, with the UN Resident Coordinator, and so on.
After a quiet night shift in the office, the first team members arrived back in the OSOCC at around 6. The morning was reserved for meetings and assessments. In the course of the day, because the weather was getting worse, there was a landslide at one of the exercise sites. This caused more than 25 casualties, amongst them some colleagues. Some of them faced some serious injuries, but all survived. There were some learning points as well. If you develop workflow documents, don’t forget to include the UN Resident Coordinator. Not doing that, sort of pisses him off….. (Forgive me my language). The other one was organizing three meetings within two hours. The result was no participants in the last meeting and therefore a postponed meeting with only a few participants. Because of the postponed meeting, the second UNDAC team brief was postponed as well. Instead of 9 in the evening, it was held at 10…. A sort of just before going to bed meeting. But it was a good meeting. We looked back at the day and the progress we made. What was nice to be able to announce, was the fact that we would get more capacity on Thursday. Liaison officers from the USAR side, the EMT side, and the logistical side are going to reinforce the UNDAC team. This means that we will have better access to the information they have available. And that makes the information management position of the UNDAC team stronger. What also helped in this process was the visualization of the emergency. It makes us able to serve the Humanitarians in the field and therefore coordinate in a better way. Because, again, #coordinationsaveslifes. We also discussed the Human factor in the team. How is everyone doing, are we a happy team? After the round the table, everyone said that they like the things they do and that they are happy. And that makes the team leader a happy person as well. The fact that we had a combined KFC and Domino’s dinner, may have helped create this happy feeling. Anyway, after sharing the sleeping instructions, slowly most of the team members went to bed.
After a quiet night, at around 7 the team was ready to go again. The focus for today, if the scenario allows us, is to go out in the field. And of course, there are the meetings, there is the reporting, the troubleshooting, and dealing with the unexpected. And the unexpected started at 8 a.m. In one of the IDP camps, there was a fire reported. The National Authority requested all international organizations, including UNDAC, to participate in a coordination meeting at 9 o’clock. So a delegation of the UNDAC team went to the IDP camp. After arrival, the security situation was not clear. Therefore we weren’t allowed to enter the camp. Only after an hour, we could enter the IDP camp. The International organizations went in, did a swift assessment, and participated in the coordination meeting. UNDAC facilitated the international organizations and the National Authority by supporting the assessments and collecting the data. And this event was more or less the final event of the day and the mission. We returned to the OSOCC office and finalized the work we started.
As a student, it is quite often possible to participate in these sorts of events. Often, this means that you are playing different roles of emergency actors such as the LEMA (local emergency management authority), acting organizations, or a victim of the disaster. Excited to join? Join our student community, where we occasionally will be sharing these sorts of fun opportunities to experience the humanitarian working field.