A. Introduction

This case study is fiction, but readers may find much that is familiar. Broadly similar institutional frameworks for emergency preparedness are found in many countries. Also, similar management and organizational problems occur frequently in most disasters, wherever they happen. This case study draws upon a compilation of experiences and lessons from many different countries. Organizational structures have been combined or adjusted, tasks and responsibilities switched around, timings altered, and linking material invented. Any resemblance between events or conditions described here and the situation in an actual emergency in any country is therefore accidental.