Interesting question. I can see some rationale in the case of plans
against terrorist attacks. At a very simple level, if a plan states that
in case of attack, the emergency route will be X, then X becomes an
obvious secondary target.
But regarding natural hazards, I would have thought that the better a
disaster response plan is known, the more effective it will be. I'm
reminded of Vancouver, where roads designated as emergency routes in
case of a major earthquake are clearly signposted along their length.
Regards
Roger Musson
British Geological Survey
West Mains Road
Edinburgh EH9 3LA
tel: +44 (0)131-650-0205
fax: +44 (0)131-667-1877
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Natural hazards and disasters
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
> Of John Twigg
> Sent: 23 July 2008 11:06
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: freedom of (emergency planning) information
>
> I thought it would be interesting to start a debate on this issue.
>
> Under the UK's Freedom of Information Act, which came into
> force in 2005, reasons for exempting official information
> from the act's requirements include safeguarding national
> security, but it is not clear how far this extends to
> emergency planning in general. In the London Borough of
> Camden, though, disaster response plans are kept secret 'as
> the release of these could endanger public safety'.
>
> There are lots of ethical, legal and institutional questions
> to be debated about transparency and secrecy in emergency
> planning - it's not a simple issue. It would be interesting
> to hear the views and experiences of other members of the group.
>
>
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