Worksheet 4: Emergency Risk Assessment

Task 1. Identify hazards that might affect your institution

Select hazards to assess from column 1 in the table “Emergency risk assessment” in Worksheet 4. You might begin with five hazards of greatest concern, but try to review all hazards that could cause serious harm or great loss to collections. If a hazard is not listed, add it to the bottom of the list.

Determine whether your institution is exposed to the hazard and record your answer (“Yes” or “No”) in column 2. Enter “Yes” if there is a chance that the hazard could affect your institution. In some cases, you may not be exposed to the hazard due to your geographic location (for example, earthquake, storm surge or wildland fire). Hazard maps may be available online or in your community to help with your answers.

Task 2. Analyze the risk associated with each hazard

Select the most appropriate frequency category from the list below for each hazard. Enter the one-word answer in column 3.

• Often (every 1 to 10 years)
• Occasionally (every 10 to 100 years)
• Seldom (once every 100 to 1,000 years)
• Rarely (once every 1,000 to 10,000 years)
• Almost never (once in over 10,000 years)

Estimate the frequency by considering past incidents in your institution, past experiences of nearby institutions, historical patterns and statistics, or the location of your institution on hazard maps that indicate return periods. If your answer lies at the boundary between two categories, choose the category that seems most likely.

Select the appropriate level of consequence from the list below that best describes the consequences of each hazard. For risks that could affect collections or other heritage assets, use the average loss of heritage value your institution would experience. In cases where collections are not likely to be affected, but people or operations are at risk, consider the impact of the hazard on your ability to function as an institution, from functioning almost normally to having to close completely. Enter the one-word answer in column 4.

• Catastrophic (10% to 100% loss)
• Significant (1% to 10% loss)
• Moderate (0.1% to 1% loss)
• Minor (0.01% to 0.1% loss)
• Trace (less than 0.01% loss)

Loss of value is assessed across the entire collection, not in terms of individual objects. For example, a catastrophic loss means a total loss of 10% to 100% of all objects in a collection or of the entire heritage building. When categorizing the consequences, distinguish emergencies that have localized effects (for example, water leaks) from those that can cause massive damage (for example, flooding). Also, consider whether your building can withstand the hazard and thus protect your collections. If the building itself has heritage value, consider the extent to which it can withstand damage from the hazard. For health and safety hazards, consider the degree of possible injury when selecting a consequences category.

Task 3. Evaluate emergency risks to identify priorities

For each hazard, determine the risk category and whether you need an immediate response procedure by using Table 10 in the Emergency Response Planning Manual. Find the cell that corresponds to the column for “Frequency” and the row for “Consequences.” Record the “Risk category” name (catastrophic, extreme, high, medium or low) in column 5. Use the table “Emergency risk summary chart” in Worksheet 4 to create a convenient summary of the risks and their categories.

Next, decide whether you should add an immediate response procedure to your emergency plan for the hazard. Enter “Yes” in column 6 if an immediate response procedure is essential or recommended in Table 10 of the Emergency Response Planning Manual. Enter “No” if a procedure is not necessary. When the immediate response procedure is optional, you can base your decision on factors like the following:

• Could people’s health and safety be affected?
• Are buildings maintained to a high standard?
• Will a structured response to frequent but minor incidents benefit your institution?