Comparison Study between FEMA453 and the Shelter Guidance of Korea

Approximately 20,000 emergency shelters are currently available in South Korea. Owing to the increase in North Korean threats and the frequency of earthquakes, emergency evacuation facilities are receiving increasing attention from both the public and professionals. However, most of these facilities have been built without appropriate structural design, owing to a lack of requirements. Underground facilities have certain areas where people can listen to radio broadcasts. This means that emergency shelters can provide administrative support and protection, but they do not guarantee citizens’ safety against threats. Moreover, numbers of citizens will congregate at shelters when a state of emergency is declared. However, if the shelters cannot play their roles of protection properly, mass casualty incidents can be expected at the shelters. A comparative study was conducted between FEMA and shelter guidance in Korea. Problems in the domestic emergency manual were noted, and improvement methods were proposed by analyzing FEMA.