Portsmouth students participate in three-day disaster simulation course

The Crisis and Disaster Management MSc students have been taking part in a three-day hands-on simulation involving staff and students from all over the University.

Graduates of the course go on to work in areas such as disaster relief and crisis communication.

The training exercise was run in conjunction with Hampshire Fire & Rescue Service, HART hazardous response teams of the ambulance service, 12 Regiment Royal Artillery, and the Serve On International Response Team, with disaster mapping experts from MapAction and Medicins Sans Frontieres.

The participants had to respond to a scenario where there had been an earthquake in a region that has a history of political conflict and deteriorating infrastructure, with existing humanitarian concerns.

The exercise focused on initial disaster response, assessing damage, using urban search and rescue techniques, dealing with the casualties, and demands of the impacted population.

The initial focus of the exercise was assessing the impact of an earthquake affecting Portsmouth and Hayling Island, with the operational HQ based at the University’s Institute of Marine Sciences. On the second day, the simulation then shifted to Fort Widley, which Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service have developed into a training centre for urban search and rescue.

The idea was to allow the students to practise creating disaster event response plans, which involve travelling to the areas where help is needed, assessing priority needs, and reviewing their actions after the event.

The 140 participants played various roles, those who had an active role in responding to the emergency; controllers, who set up and managed the exercise, and evaluators who provided feedback on the exercise. Media and Performing Arts students were also involved, playing the part of injured civilians, refugees and members of the media.

The students also had to contend with thieves, kidnappers and terrorists as they struggled to stabilise the situation. All of the activities were filmed by Film and Media staff and students, who will be making a documentary about the exercise.

At dawn on day three, the group moved to the Army base on Thorney Island, where the exercise involved an attack on a refugee camp. Drama students playing the roles of refugees were subjected to a simulated shoot-out between the Army and terrorists attacking the camp.

There was no respite, as the entire simulation took place over a three-day period, with students at the HQ working on a rota, through the night, to keep track of the disaster activities.

Naomi Morris, the training exercise manager, had just returned to the UK from helping to lead a team working in international response, most recently in Nepal, said: “The Portsmouth disaster exercise was an intense and exciting few days that allowed participants to be exposed to similar situations seen in the deployments I have completed in several disaster zones over the past 15 years, from conflict zones to natural disasters.

“Disaster simulation exercises provide a learning platform for national and international response agencies, with our students playing key roles. Exercises are invaluable for improving skills, inter-agency coordination and integrating research with practical needs, improving disaster response deployments. We have provided our students with a very valuable experience and have also assisted our partners for the exercise with their training.”

Dr Richard Teeuw, principal lecturer in applied geoinformatics, who manages the Crisis and Disaster Management MSc said: “The course is designed to give students a good grounding in emergency management and disaster response, with a strong cross-faculty and inter-agency approach, as demonstrated by this exercise.

“I’m glad we have been able to provide our students with hands-on experience they should improve their response in real disaster situations.”