FIM FRAME: a method for assessing and improving emergency plans for floods

Over the past decade Europe has been hit by a number of severe flood events. Reviews of recent large flood events in England and France have indicated that there is room for improvement in the emergency planning for floods. Methods that can be used for the systematic assessment and improvement of emergency plans are extensively documented in readily available literature. However, those that do exist are often limited to appraising the content of the plans rather than the process that the plan should guide. This paper describes research to develop a systematic method for assessing and improving emergency plans, which is called the FIM FRAME method. The development of the method was informed by research carried out with stakeholders in France, the Netherlands and England, as well as an appraisal of available tools that can be used to develop and improve plans, and an analysis of a selection of flood emergency plans from the three countries. One of the fundamental requirements of the FIM FRAME method was that it should be able to be applied by the relevant stakeholders to a range of emergency plans that mainly focus on flooding. The method comprises a series of steps (known as Appraise, Tackle and Implement) that can assist stakeholders with assessing and improving emergency plans. The method was piloted in the three countries and then refined following feedback from end users. This paper describes the development of the FIM FRAME method and its application in three case studies affected by different types of floods.