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78-545: These structures are generally known as civil protection , civil defence , civil safety, civil defense corps and are all concerned with the management of emergency situations. The ICDO federates the national structures established by States for this purpose with the aim of favoring cooperation and mutual solidarity between them. The International Civil Defence Organization was founded in 1931. It has 60 member states , 16 observer states and 23 affiliated members. In 1931, retired Surgeon General Dr. Georges Saint-Paul founded

156-523: A diminishing returns trend. Contrary to the largely noncommittal approach taken in NATO , with its stops and starts in civil defense depending on the whims of each newly elected government, the military strategy in the comparatively more ideologically consistent USSR held that, amongst other things, a winnable nuclear war was possible. To this effect the Soviets planned to minimize, as far as possible,

234-852: A Member State. Subsequently, the Constitution was registered in 1975 at the United Nations Secretariat in New York in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter and published in the United Nations Treaty Series. The preamble to the Constitution defines the aims of the Organization and reads as follows: “To intensify and co-ordinate worldwide the development and improvement of the Organization, methods and technical means of preventing and mitigating

312-699: A brochure published by the American civil protection administration on protection against atomic weapons. To this end, an international conference was held in Berlin in 1954 on “The Problem of Protecting Civilian Populations in Time of War through the Creation and Recognition of Neutralized Zones and Open Cities”. This meeting was later to be known in the ICDO chronology as the 1st World Conference on Civil Defence. Following

390-590: A case of war) from throughout the USSR to join the Chernobyl task force and formed on the basis of the Kyiv Civil Defense Brigade. The task force performed some high-risk tasks including, with the failure of their robotic machinery, the manual removal of highly- radioactive debris. Many of their personnel were later decorated with medals for their work at containing the release of radiation into

468-445: A country's population is more valuable than all of the land, factories and other assets that it possesses. People rebuild a country after its destruction, and it is therefore important for the economic security of a country that it protect its people. According to psychology , it is important for people to feel as though they are in control of their own destiny, and preparing for uncertainty via civil defense may help to achieve this. In

546-628: A designated area/building and required to monitor the fall of incendiary bombs and pass on news of any fires that had broken out to the NFS. They could deal with an individual magnesium alloy ("Elektron") incendiary bomb by dousing it with buckets of sand or water or by smothering. Additionally, 'Gas Decontamination Teams' kitted out with gas-tight and waterproof protective clothing were to deal with any gas attacks . They were trained to decontaminate buildings, roads, rail and other material that had been contaminated by liquid or jelly gases. Little progress

624-552: A key part of defense in general. For example, total defence refers to the commitment of a wide range of national resources to defense, including the protection of all aspects of civilian life. The advent of civil defense was stimulated by the experience of the bombing of civilian areas during the First World War . The bombing of the United Kingdom began on 19 January 1915 when German zeppelins dropped bombs on

702-560: A model civil defense structure for the U.S. Called the "Blue Book" by civil defense professionals in reference to its solid blue cover, it was the template for legislation and organization for the next 40 years. Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the Cold War civil defense effort was the educational effort made or promoted by the government. In Duck and Cover , Bert the Turtle advocated that children " duck and cover " when they "see

780-628: A nuclear attack are effects from the blast, fires and radiation. One of the most prepared countries for a nuclear attack is Switzerland . Almost every building in Switzerland has an abri (shelter) against the initial nuclear bomb and explosion followed by the fall-out. Because of this, many people use it as a safe to protect valuables, photos, financial information and so on. Switzerland also has air-raid and nuclear-raid sirens in every village. A "radiologically enhanced weapon", or " dirty bomb ", uses an explosive to spread radioactive material. This

858-630: A significant investment in civil and military defense, British civilian losses during the Blitz were higher than in most strategic bombing campaigns throughout the war. For example, there were 14,000-20,000 UK civilian fatalities during the Battle of Britain, a relatively high number considering that the Luftwaffe dropped only an estimated 30,000 tons of ordinance during the battle. Granted, this resulting 0.47-0.67 civilian fatalities per ton of bombs dropped

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936-534: A wide brief for assisting in large scale civil emergencies such as flood, earthquake, invasion, or civil disorder. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, in the United States the concept of civil defense has been revisited under the umbrella term of homeland security and all-hazards emergency management. In Europe , the triangle CD logo continues to be widely used. Created in 1939 by Charles Coiner of

1014-430: Is a theoretical risk, and such weapons have not been used by terrorists. Depending on the quantity of the radioactive material, the dangers may be mainly psychological. Toxic effects can be managed by standard hazmat techniques. The threat here is primarily from disease-causing microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses. Various chemical agents are a threat, such as nerve gas ( VX , Sarin , and so on.). Mitigation

1092-597: Is currently widely used within the European Union to refer to government-approved systems and resources tasked with protecting the non-combat population, primarily in the event of natural and technological disasters. For example, the EU's humanitarian aid policy director on the Ebola Crisis, Florika Fink-Hooijer , said that civil protection requires "not just more resources, but first and foremost better governance of

1170-540: Is the backbone of the Organization. Indeed, headed by a Secretary General, this body is responsible for the implementation of the decisions of the General Assembly and the Executive Council. The International Civil Defence Organization (ICDO) is an intergovernmental Organization whose objective is to contribute to the development by States of structures ensuring the protection and assistance of

1248-456: Is the process of actively preventing war or the release of nuclear weapons . It includes policy analysis, diplomacy, political measures, nuclear disarmament and more military responses such as a National Missile Defense and air defense artillery . In the case of counter-terrorism, mitigation would include diplomacy, intelligence gathering and direct action against terrorist groups. Mitigation may also be reflected in long-term planning such as

1326-428: Is the responsibility of the volunteer-based State Emergency Service . In most former Soviet countries civil defense is the responsibility of governmental ministries, such as Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations . Relatively small investments in preparation can speed up recovery by months or years and thereby prevent millions of deaths by hunger, cold and disease. According to human capital theory in economics ,

1404-536: Is the supreme body; it comprises 60 Member States, 16 Observers and 23 Affiliate Members and is headed by a President. It meets at least every 2 years. The Executive Council, the secular arm of the Organization, is currently made up of 25 members whose mandate is renewable every four years. It is overseen by a president. It meets every year in ordinary sessions and as many times as necessary in extraordinary sessions. The Permanent Secretariat, based in Geneva, Switzerland,

1482-425: Is to obtain potassium iodide (KI) tablets as a safety measure to protect the human thyroid gland from the uptake of dangerous radioactive iodine . Another measure is to cover the nose, mouth and eyes with a piece of cloth and sunglasses to protect against alpha particles , which are only an internal hazard. To support and supplement efforts at national, regional and local level with regard to disaster prevention,

1560-660: The Air Force . The Coast Guard Auxiliary performs a similar role in support of the U.S. Coast Guard . Like the Civil Air Patrol, the Coast Guard Auxiliary was established in the run up to World War II. Auxiliarists were sometimes armed during the war, and extensively participated in port security operations. After the war, the Auxiliary shifted its focus to promoting boating safety and assisting

1638-592: The Air Raid Precautions Committee (ARP) was established in 1924 to investigate ways for ensuring the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids . The Committee produced figures estimating that in London there would be 9,000 casualties in the first two days and then a continuing rate of 17,500 casualties a week. These rates were thought conservative. It was believed that there would be "total chaos and panic" and hysterical neurosis as

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1716-750: The Civil Defence Service , was established by the Home Office in 1935. Its remit included the pre-existing ARP as well as wardens, firemen (initially the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) and latterly the National Fire Service (NFS)), fire watchers, rescue, first aid post, stretcher party and industry. Over 1.9 million people served within the CD; nearly 2,400 died from enemy action. The organization of civil defense

1794-552: The Disaster Relief Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-288). In the portions of the civil defense statute incorporated into the Stafford Act, the primary modification was to use the term "Emergency Preparedness" wherever the term "Civil Defence" had previously appeared in the statutory language. An important concept initiated by President Jimmy Carter was the so-called "Crisis Relocation Program" administered as part of

1872-590: The Great Yarmouth area, killing six people. German bombing operations of the First World War were surprisingly effective, especially after the Gotha bombers surpassed the zeppelins. The most devastating raids inflicted 121 casualties for each ton of bombs dropped; this figure was then used as a basis for predictions. After the war, attention was turned toward civil defense in the event of war, and

1950-575: The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that as many as 97% of the victims of any armed conflict are civilians. Frightened by the prospect of future wars and aware of what doctors owe to peace, he campaigned for the Red Cross to cover not only ambulances and hospitals in the future, but also for certain places, demarcated in advance, declared and marked on maps where children, the elderly and women could take refuge from

2028-854: The United States , the Office of Civilian Defense was established in May 1941 to coordinate civilian defense efforts. It coordinated with the Department of the Army and established similar groups to the British ARP. One of these groups that still exists today is the Civil Air Patrol , which was originally created as a civilian auxiliary to the Army . The CAP was created on December 1, 1941, with

2106-563: The United States , the sheer power of nuclear weapons and the perceived likelihood of such an attack precipitated a greater response than had yet been required of civil defense. Civil defense, previously considered an important and commonsense step, became divisive and controversial in the charged atmosphere of the Cold War . In 1950, the National Security Resources Board created a 162-page document outlining

2184-526: The flash ." Booklets such as Survival Under Atomic Attack , Fallout Protection and Nuclear War Survival Skills were also commonplace. The transcribed radio program Stars for Defense combined hit music with civil defense advice. Government institutes created public service announcements including children's songs and distributed them to radio stations to educate the public in case of nuclear attack. The US President Kennedy (1961–63) launched an ambitious effort to install fallout shelters throughout

2262-621: The 2nd International Symposium on Radiological Protection, the representatives of the ICDO Member States, meeting in a Constituent Assembly, adopted the text of the present Constitution which gives it the status of an Intergovernmental Organization under the same name. This Constitution is in fact an international Convention binding on the High Contracting Parties and subsequently on each country which, by depositing its instruments of ratification, has acceded to it as

2340-597: The Agreement signed on 10 March 1976 between the Swiss Federal Council and the ICDO regulated the legal status of the Organization in Switzerland. In Article 52 the text stipulates that the new Constitution would enter into force when 10 States had become parties to it. So it was not until 1972, at the Organization’s first General Assembly held in Geneva from 1 to 3 March, that it entered into force with

2418-557: The Association “Les Lieux de Genève” in Paris . It was an association dedicated to the protection of civilians and historic monuments in armed conflict situations. It was a revolutionary idea. Until that time, no one had thought about the collateral damage caused to civilians in armed conflicts. Focusing on the protection of the civilian population was an avant-garde idea. Over time, war would increasingly impact civilian life. Indeed,

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2496-517: The Coast Guard in performing search and rescue and marine safety and environmental protection. In the United States a federal civil defense program existed under Public Law 920 of the 81st Congress, as amended, from 1951 to 1994. That statutory scheme was made so-called all-hazards by Public Law 103–160 in 1993 and largely repealed by Public Law 103–337 in 1994. Parts now appear in Title VI of

2574-608: The LoN was based, was an ideal location for the Association, close to the diplomatic missions based in Geneva at the time. Since 1976, ICDO has established its offices in the Parc Chuit, at 10-12, Chemin de Surville in Petit-Lancy. In order to achieve its objectives, this Organization has put in place a strategy and a mechanism that is consistent on three levels, namely structural, operational and functional. The General Assembly

2652-638: The Municipality of Lausanne in Switzerland welcomed this practical action and, in collaboration with the Permanent Secretariat of the “Lieux de Genève”, drew up detailed plans for the Organization and construction of a place of refuge for the population of Lausanne. In addition, the Permanent Secretariat continued its work on the Organization of local civil protection services, industrial protection and, among other things, it adapted, in French,

2730-544: The N. W. Ayer Advertising Agency, it was used throughout World War II and the Cold War era. In the U.S., 2006 saw the retirement of the old triangle logo, to be replaced with a stylised EM (for emergency management ). A reference to the old CD logo (without the red CD letters) can be seen above the eagle's head in the FEMA seal. The name and logo continue to be used by Hawaii State Civil Defense and Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense. The term "civil protection"

2808-683: The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 100-107 [1988 as amended]. The term EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS was largely codified by that repeal and amendment. See 42 USC Sections 5101 and following. In most of the states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , such as the United States , the United Kingdom and West Germany , as well as the Soviet Bloc , and especially in

2886-492: The United States, the federal civil defense program was authorized by statute and ran from 1951 to 1994. Originally authorized by Public Law 920 of the 81st Congress, it was repealed by Public Law 93–337 in 1994. Small portions of that statutory scheme were incorporated into the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 100–707) which partly superseded in part, partly amended, and partly supplemented

2964-409: The United States. These shelters would not protect against the blast and heat effects of nuclear weapons, but would provide some protection against the radiation effects that would last for weeks and even affect areas distant from a nuclear explosion. In order for most of these preparations to be effective, there had to be some degree of warning. In 1951, CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation)

3042-573: The bombing and gas. Today, these areas are called human corridors. Surgeon-General Georges Saint-Paul who by his generous initiative acquired the right to the title of "benefactor of humanity", unfortunately succumbed on 7 April 1937 to angina pectoris at his château de Rassay in Genillé in Indre-et-Loire France. Despite the death of General Saint-Paul, his friends and loyal collaborators continued to fight for his ideas. In 1946,

3120-498: The consequences of all kinds of accidents, disasters and calamities. Although the Organization has evolved since 1937 in Geneva, a Headquarters Agreement between the Swiss Federal Council and the International Civil Defence Organization, concluded on 10 March 1976 and entered into force on 16 March 1976, regulates its legal status, thus confirming its establishment in Geneva, Switzerland. In

3198-496: The consequences of natural disasters in times of peace, or of the use of weapons in times of conflict.” The Constitution effectively came into force on 1 March 1972 at the first General Assembly of its Member States. Subsequently, the ICDO Constitution was registered in 1975 at the United Nations Secretariat in New York in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter and published in the United Nations Treaty Series. Finally,

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3276-682: The convening of the Geneva Diplomatic Conference in 1949, where delegates and experts from over 60 countries drew up the new conventions known as the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. General Saint-Paul’s idea found some international legal realization in the Convention relating to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, the so-called Fourth Geneva Convention. In 1949, after the signing of

3354-402: The councillors had decided that hydrogen bombs meant that there could be no recovery from a nuclear attack. The British government opposed such a move and held a provocative Civil Defence exercise on the streets of Coventry which Labour council members protested against. The government also decided to implement its own committee at the city's cost until the council reinstituted its committee. In

3432-707: The crisis, the British Government decided to make these a permanent feature, with a standard design of precast concrete trench lining. They also decided to issue the Anderson shelter free to poorer households and to provide steel props to create shelters in suitable basements. During the Second World War , the ARP was responsible for the issuing of gas masks , pre-fabricated air-raid shelters (such as Anderson shelters , as well as Morrison shelters ),

3510-426: The design of the interstate highway system and the placement of military bases further away from populated areas. Preparation consists of building blast shelters and pre-positioning information, supplies, and emergency infrastructure. For example, most larger cities in the U.S. now have underground emergency operations centers that can perform civil defense coordination. FEMA also has many underground facilities for

3588-672: The early years, the offices of the International Committee of the Lieux de Genève were located at 10 avenue Blanc and then moved to the Château Banquet, rue de Lausanne, when the latter was rented in 1939. It is a place with lots of history. Built in 1650, the castle was called Château Rozet. In 1712, the castle was bought by Etienne Banquet, and became Château Banquet. The Château, close to the Palais des Nations, where

3666-443: The effects of nuclear weapon strikes on its territory, and therefore spent considerably more thought on civil defense preparations than in U.S., with defense plans that have been assessed to be far more effective than those in the U.S. Soviet Civil Defense Troops played the main role in the massive disaster relief operation following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident . Defense Troop reservists were officially mobilized (as in

3744-476: The end of the Cold War , the focus of civil defense has largely shifted from responding to military attack to dealing with emergencies and disasters in general. The new concept is characterised by a number of terms, each of which has its own specific shade of meaning, such as crisis management , emergency management , emergency preparedness , contingency planning , civil contingency , civil aid and civil protection . Some countries treat civil defense as

3822-400: The environment , with a number of the 56 deaths from the accident being Civil defense troops. In Western countries, strong civil defense policies were never properly implemented, because it was fundamentally at odds with the doctrine of " mutual assured destruction " (MAD) by making provisions for survivors. It was also considered that a full-fledged total defense would have not been worth

3900-471: The evolution that had taken place over the first 50 years between General Saint-Paul's "Lieux de Genève" and today's International Civil Defence Organization, we can see that the notion of protection of civilians in times of war has been extended to the protection and security of populations in general, thanks to the intensification, coordination and planning, at an international level, of the methods, means and technologies for preventing, combating and alleviating

3978-954: The federal civil defense program. That effort largely lapsed under President Ronald Reagan, who discontinued the Carter initiative because of opposition from areas potentially hosting the relocated population. Threats to civilians and civilian life include NBC ( Nuclear , Biological , and Chemical warfare ) and others, like the more modern term CBRN (Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear). Threat assessment involves studying each threat so that preventative measures can be built into civilian life. Refers to conventional explosives. A blast shelter designed to protect only from radiation and fallout would be much more vulnerable to conventional explosives. See also fallout shelter . Shelter intended to protect against nuclear blast effects would include thick concrete and other sturdy elements which are resistant to conventional explosives. The biggest threats from

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4056-423: The filing of instruments of ratification or accession by the following 22 countries: Argentina, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Finland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Liberia, Monaco, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Syria, Thailand, United Arab Republic, Vietnam, Yugoslavia. In parallel with the legal and statutory development of the Organization and its contribution to

4134-550: The financial crisis of the mid-1960s. Its neighbors, however, remained committed to Civil Defence, namely the Isle of Man Civil Defence Corps and Civil Defence Ireland (Republic of Ireland). In the United States, the various civil defense agencies were replaced with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1979. In 2002 this became part of the Department of Homeland Security . The focus

4212-463: The formulation of the new Humanitarian Law, its leaders worked tirelessly to promote techniques and knowledge in prevention, preparedness and response. As part of the promotion of techniques and knowledge, ICDO organized numerous conferences, exhibitions and seminars which have made it a platform for exchange where civil protection professionals from both industrialized and developing countries share knowledge and experience. At this point, if we summarize

4290-450: The four diplomatic Geneva Conventions, the Lieux de Genève turned their attention to the practical implementation of refuge areas for the protection of non-combatants. It was during this jubilee year, 1951, that Milan Bodi, Deputy Secretary General, was called to succeed Henri George, who died on 6 May 1951, after a short illness, at the age of 77. Mr. Bodi was Secretary General of ICDO from 1951 to 1986. The new Secretary General took over

4368-429: The late 1950s early 1960s, it was estimated that approximately 27 million US citizens would have been saved with civil defense education. At the time, however, the cost of a full-scale civil defense program was regarded as less effective in cost-benefit analysis than a ballistic missile defense ( Nike Zeus ) system, and as the Soviet adversary was increasing their nuclear stockpile , the efficacy of both would follow

4446-437: The leadership of the Association in the middle of the Korean War, a war which, just a few months later, highlighted the limits of the implementation of the International Agreements. And this marks the beginning of the second phase of the activity of the «Lieux de Genève» Association. The aim was to study the practical implementation of the evacuation and the advance planning of the places where the evacuees would be housed. In 1951,

4524-412: The main civil defense mission of search and rescue. The CAP also sank two Axis submarines and provided aerial reconnaissance for Allied and neutral merchant ships. In 1946, the Civil Air Patrol was barred from combat by Public Law 79-476 . The CAP then received its current mission: search and rescue for downed aircraft. When the Air Force was created, in 1947, the Civil Air Patrol became the auxiliary of

4602-412: The mayor of St. Gallen, Mr. Anderegg, a member of the Swiss Federal Parliament , presented a postulate based on the humanitarian work of Henri Dunant , founder of the Red Cross , and on the actions undertaken at the instigation of the “Les Lieux de Genève” . He asked the Swiss government to examine the problem of the neutralization of cities, areas and regions in the event of war. This was followed by

4680-401: The neutral countries, such as Switzerland and in Sweden during the 1950s and 1960s, many civil defense practices took place to prepare for the aftermath of a nuclear war , which seemed quite likely at that time. In the United Kingdom , the Civil Defence Service was disbanded in 1945, followed by the ARP in 1946. With the onset of the growing tensions between East and West , the service

4758-400: The people of London would try to flee the city. To control the population harsh measures were proposed: bringing London under almost military control, and physically cordoning off the city with 120,000 troops to force people back to work. A different government department proposed setting up camps for refugees for a few days before sending them back to London. A special government department,

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4836-477: The population and the safeguarding of property and the environment against natural or man-made disasters, protection of the critical national assets and infrastructure. Strategic partners participating in ICDO activities can provide humanitarian assistance to countries in need. Civil protection Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants ) from human-made and natural disasters . It uses

4914-438: The principles of emergency management : prevention , mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation and recovery. Programs of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s and were implemented in some countries during the 1930s as the threat of war and aerial bombardment grew. Civil-defense structures became widespread after authorities recognised the threats posed by nuclear weapons . Since

4992-453: The resolutions adopted by the Berlin congressmen, the International Association proceeded to make many countries aware of the principle of preparing places of refuge in collaboration with national civil protection institutions. In July 1956, the “Bulletin d'information des Lieux de Genève“ was entitled PROTECTION CIVILE and its editorial heralded the transformation of the Association with the development of national civil Defence Organizations in

5070-423: The resources that are available including better synergies between humanitarian aid and civil protection". In recent years there has been emphasis on preparedness for technological disasters resulting from terrorist attack. Within EU countries the term "crisis-management" emphasizes the political and security dimension rather than measures to satisfy the immediate needs of the population. In Australia, civil defense

5148-694: The same purpose located near major railheads such as the ones in Denton, Texas and Mount Weather , Virginia. Other measures would include continual government inventories of grain silos, the Strategic National Stockpile , the uncapping of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve , the dispersal of lorry-transportable bridges, water purification, mobile refineries, mobile de-contamination facilities, mobile general and special purpose disaster mortuary facilities such as Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) and DMORT-WMD , and other aids such as temporary housing to speed civil recovery. On an individual scale, one means of preparation for exposure to nuclear fallout

5226-477: The spot medical assistance. The expected stream of information that would be generated during an attack was handled by 'Report and Control' teams. A local headquarters would have an ARP controller who would direct rescue, first aid and decontamination teams to the scenes of reported bombing. If local services were deemed insufficient to deal with the incident then the controller could request assistance from surrounding boroughs . Fire Guards were responsible for

5304-445: The upkeep of local public shelters, and the maintenance of the blackout . The ARP also helped rescue people after air raids and other attacks, and some women became ARP Ambulance Attendants whose job was to help administer first aid to casualties, search for survivors, and in many grim instances, help recover bodies, sometimes those of their own colleagues. As the war progressed, the military effectiveness of Germany's aerial bombardment

5382-525: The various countries. Following this, the Association des Lieux de Genève profoundly modified its structure at the General Assembly of 10 January 1958, by creating a true International Committee, thus renouncing its title whose local consonance often led to confusion. In the same vein, it extended its tasks beyond the evacuation of civilians to include all protective measures and provided for the involvement of national civil protection bodies, which would be granted rights and duties. In 1966, in Monaco, following

5460-425: The very large expense. For whatever reason, the public saw efforts at civil defense as fundamentally ineffective against the powerful destructive forces of nuclear weapons, and therefore a waste of time and money, although detailed scientific research programs did underlie the much-mocked government civil defense pamphlets of the 1950s and 1960s. The Civil Defence Corps was stood down in Great Britain in 1968 due to

5538-445: Was a Corps Authority, as were most county boroughs in England and Wales and large burghs in Scotland . Each division was divided into several sections, including the Headquarters, Intelligence and Operations, Scientific and Reconnaissance, Warden & Rescue, Ambulance and First Aid and Welfare. In 1954 Coventry City Council caused international controversy when it announced plans to disband its Civil Defence committee because

5616-412: Was established. Under the system, a few primary stations would be alerted of an emergency and would broadcast an alert. All broadcast stations throughout the country would be constantly listening to an upstream station and repeat the message, thus passing it from station to station. In a once classified US war game analysis, looking at varying levels of war escalation, warning and pre-emptive attacks in

5694-479: Was lower than the earlier 121 casualties per ton prediction. However, in comparison, Allied strategic bombing of Germany during the war proved slightly less lethal than what was observed in the UK, with an estimated 400,000-600,000 German civilian fatalities for approximately 1.35 million tons of bombs dropped on Germany, an estimated resulting rate therefore of 0.30-0.44 civilian fatalities per ton of bombs dropped. In

5772-548: Was made over the issue of air-raid shelters , because of the apparently irreconcilable conflict between the need to send the public underground for shelter and the need to keep them above ground for protection against gas attacks. In February 1936 the Home Secretary appointed a technical Committee on Structural Precautions against Air Attack. During the Munich crisis , local authorities dug trenches to provide shelter. After

5850-477: Was revived in 1949 as the Civil Defence Corps . As a civilian volunteer organization, it was tasked to take control in the aftermath of a major national emergency, principally envisaged as being a Cold War nuclear attack . Although under the authority of the Home Office , with a centralized administrative establishment, the corps was administered locally by Corps Authorities. In general every county

5928-413: Was shifted from nuclear war to an "all-hazards" approach of comprehensive emergency management . Natural disasters and the emergence of new threats such as terrorism have caused attention to be focused away from traditional civil defense and into new forms of civil protection such as emergency management and homeland security . Many countries maintain a national Civil Defence Corps, usually having

6006-740: Was the responsibility of the local authority. Volunteers were ascribed to different units depending on experience or training. Each local civil defense service was divided into several sections. Wardens were responsible for local reconnaissance and reporting, and leadership, organization, guidance and control of the general public. Wardens would also advise survivors of the locations of rest and food centers, and other welfare facilities. Rescue Parties were required to assess and then access bombed-out buildings and retrieve injured or dead people. In addition they would turn off gas , electricity and water supplies , and repair or pull down unsteady buildings. Medical services, including First Aid Parties, provided on

6084-726: Was very limited. Thanks to the Luftwaffe's shifting aims, the strength of British air defenses, the use of early warning radar in combination with the Royal Observer Corps , and the life-saving actions of local civil defense units, the aerial "Blitz" during the Battle of Britain failed to break the morale of the British people, destroy the Royal Air Force or significantly hinder British industrial production. Despite

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