Disaster Preparedness Manual

for Commonwealth Agencies

National Archives of Australia

2000
© Commonwealth of Australia 20070

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by
any process without prior written permission from the National Archives of Australia. Requests and inquiries
concerning reproduction and rights should be directed to the Publications Manager, National Archives of Australia,
PO Box 7425, Canberra Mail Centre ACT 2610, Australia.
Contents

1. Introduction 5
1.1 Planning for disaster 5
1.2 Disaster preparedness is a component of high-quality recordkeeping 5
1.3 Whose responsibility: agencies or Archives? 6
1.4 What records are covered in this manual? 6
1.5 Awareness: disasters and emergencies do happen 6

2. Preparation 7
2.1 Emergency Committee 7
2.2 Identification and assessment of threats 8
2.3 Emergency response team 9
2.4 Equipment and materials 9
2.5 Identify priorities for salvage 10
2.6 Computer systems requirements 11
2.7 Disaster preparedness networks 11

3. Response 11
3.1 Emergency contact lists 11
3.2 Layout plans 12
3.3 Immediate response - safety and assessment 12
3.4 Short-term response - stabilising the area and the records 13
3.5 Survey 13
3.6 Briefing the response team 14
3.7 Planning 14

4. Recovery: Techniques for working with records 15

4.1 Preparing the work area 15
4.2 Removing records 16
4.3 Drying the records 18
Figure 4.4 Drying bound volumes by standing upright 19

5. After the disaster 22

5.1 Cleaning up a disaster site 22
5.2 Reshelving treated records 22
5.3 Reporting 22

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Further reading 23

Appendix A - Categories of emergency contact information 23

Appendix B - Emergency contacts 24

Appendix C - Conservators 25

Appendix D - Equipment and materials 25

Appendix E - Priority records 25

Appendix F - Layout plans 26

Appendix G - Hazardous chemical list 26

Appendix H - Damage list 26

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1. Introduction

1.1 Planning for disaster

This manual offers a step-by-step process for preparing a Disaster Preparedness

Plan for protecting and recovering records held by Commonwealth government
agencies. It enables agencies to assess the vulnerability of their records vis-à-vis
various types of disaster, and to create a plan that can be easily reviewed and
updated. It includes appendixes with forms for preparing the lists invariably
required in a disaster: emergency contacts, equipment and materials, priority
records, layout plans and hazardous chemical lists.

As you proceed through this manual you will become increasingly aware of the
need for your agency to prepare for a disaster. This will certainly be the case if you
have experienced an emergency in your workplace.

The disaster preparedness plan described here should complement and be

integrated with other emergency plans covered by specialised arrangements and
regulations. In particular, most agencies will have arranged for building security,
fire precautions, fire extinguishing systems, electricity, gas and water regulations
and safety procedures, chemical hazards, laboratory procedures, structural
requirements, first aid and data protection.

1.2 Disaster preparedness is a component of high-quality recordkeeping

In 1996 Standards Australia released Australian Standard AS 4390-1996, Records

Management. While the Standard is a voluntary code, it sets out the responsibilities
and strategies of high-quality records management systems, including action
relating to disaster management and preparedness.

AS 4390, Part 6: Storage recommends a structured approach to selecting an

appropriate storage option. This approach should include '.an assessment of the
characteristics of storage facilities and associated services (internal or external)'.

Part 6, Clause 5.2 lists particular characteristics that should be considered in a

storage assessment, including potential external hazards (fire, explosion, inpact)
and the location or site (floodplain, storm water, earthquakes).

Clause 5.6, specifies that disaster preparedness should feature in any assessment
and provides an example of a model disaster response plan.

Clause 6.1.2, recommends that organisations identify and manage appropriately

'vital' records (eg records required during an emergency or disaster or used to re-
establish functions after a emergency or disaster).

The National Archives endorses the use of AS 4390 for all Commonwealth agencies
and recommends that AS 4390 is followed when addressing disaster management
issues. It is essential that senior management incorporate disaster preparedness
National Archives of Australia Enter Report Title Here – Month Year

into their organisation's recordkeeping system and fully support the disaster
preparedness plan.

1.3 Whose responsibility: agencies or Archives?

In general, it is the responsibility of each agency to develop its own preparations to

avoid or respond to emergency events. Preparations include procedures,
equipment, materials and training. It is the responsibility of the National Archives
to provide technical advice and assistance relating to protection, salvage and
preservation of records. It is not the responsibility of the Archives to provide advice
on security and safety matters.

1.4 What records are covered in this manual?

In order to prepare an effective disaster preparedness plan, you will need to be

aware of the types of records your agency is creating. This manual emphasises
paper-based records. Despite the increasing reliance on electronic records in doing
government business, 95 per cent of the National Archives' holdings and 88 per
cent of agency records transferred to the Archives are in paper formats.

The focus on paper records does not imply that other record types, particularly
those in electronic formats, are unimportant. Rather, paper records are more likely
than electronic records to be affected by a disaster because they are less likely to be
protected by offsite back-up procedures. However, the general principles are the
same no matter what formats are involved.

1.5 Awareness: disasters and emergencies do happen

An excellent way of approaching disaster preparedness is to study previous

disasters. The intention is not to be critical after the event, but to assess whether or
not the disaster is likely to recur and to learn from the experiences of others.

Major disasters affecting agency records occur infrequently and are unpredictable.
The Katherine flood of 1998 was the last event causing major loss of agency records.
Disaster recovery procedures carried out after the flood saved many valuable
records.

Emergencies affecting agency records occur more frequently but may not be
reported. These events are usually caused by water leaking from air conditioners,
water fountains or automatic dishwashers, or fire as a result of electrical faults. If
the procedures outlined in this Manual are followed, any Agency can anticipate a
high recovery rate for their records. Records completely consumed by fire, of
course, can not be recovered.

2. Preparation
In preparing for a disaster or emergency, there are five broad planning activities

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your agency will need to undertake:

• establish an Emergency Committee

• identify and assess potential threats
• establish an Emergency Response Team
• gather equipment and material
• identify priorities for record salvage.

2.1 Emergency Committee

Your agency will probably continue to function during an emergency, however, the
response to the event will require special action, including planning and allocating
people from other resources. Since the emergency response will differ significantly
from normal operations, the best way to prepare is to establish a special committee
to manage the emergency's special requirements. The special committee will only
be effective if it is already fully functioning before an emergency takes place.

Role of the Committee

The Emergency Committee should be responsible to your agency's director for
preparing a Disaster Preparedness Plan and for managing an integrated response
and recovery to each emergency.

Composition
The members of the committee should include:

• Control Centre Coordinator

• Facilities/Security Manager
• Records Manager
• Administration/Public Relations
• Systems/IT Manager
• OH&S Representative.

Responsibilities
The Emergency Committee has three general areas of responsibility:

• to ensure the safety of people who are likely to be affected by the emergency
• to ensure the safety and security of records
• to ensure the protection and preservation of buildings, equipment and other
Commonwealth property.

2.2 Identification and assessment of threats

An effective emergency response depends on identifying the threats most likely to

cause damage to your agency's facilities and assessing the degree of risk. A threat

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assessment can be made by following these four steps:

• Identify all possible threats, ie fire, flood, water leak, vandalism.

• Establish the probability of each threat, ie is a water leak more probable than
a fire?

• Determine the possible and likely consequences of each type of threat.

• What effect would the most probable threats have on your collection?

Potential threats fall into the following general categories:

Natural hazards
• cyclone and tidal surge
• windstorm
• lightning strike
• rain, hail, sleet
• flooding
• bushfire, fire in adjacent buildings
• earthquake and landslide

Criminal or terrorist attack

• vandalism
• theft
• arson
• bombing and bomb hoax
• demonstrations
• sabotage
• terrorist attack

Industrial accidents
• fire
• explosion
• chemical or fuel spillage
• gas leaks
• falling object damage

System failure
• energy failure and computer failure
• sewer/stormwater/drainage failure
• leaks in roofs
• sprinkler malfunction
• structural failure

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2.3 Emergency response team

After identifying potential threats, the Emergency Committee should establish a

team or teams of volunteer staff from each section of the agency to take part in
salvaging records. All response team members must be accessible by telephone for
after hours call-out.

Each team must have a leader and deputy. Teams should have no more than six to
eight members and include management, technical, administrative and operational
staff. Teams will need to be trained in response and recovery techniques and have
good knowledge of preventive measures. Teams will need to meet at least once a
year and be informed of changes in the Disaster Preparedness Plan. (You may use
the form in Appendix B to record emergency response team contact telephone
numbers.)

2.4 Equipment and materials

To ensure efficient recovery of records it is essential that you have appropriate

equipment and materials readily available. Agencies should purchase the following
equipment and materials for a disaster kit:

Table 1: Materials for a disaster kit

paper towels mops, buckets blank newsprint polyethylene plastic
roll of

sponges freezer paper plastic garbage bins extension cords

labels paper, pencils plastic bin liners rubber gloves

scissors, tape plastic string, pegs pliers torches

clipboards plastic tubing electric fans

absorbent cloths surgical type gloves

plastic paper clips

These items should be stored near the main entrance and be easily accessible to
emergency response teams. (You may use the form in Appendix D to record
equipment and materials.)

Large and/or expensive items may be purchased or hired when required. These

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items are likely to include:

Table 2: Large and/or expensive items for disasters

plastic crates archive boxes blotting paper portable pump
dehumidifier folding tables portable generator wooden pallets
large fans walkie-talkies wet/dry vacuum portable lighting
cleaner

2.5 Identify priorities for salvage

To assist in the efficient recovery of records it is essential that agencies are aware of
and identify the following categories of records.

Vital records
Vital records are those deemed essential to reconstruct and continue operations of
the agency and to protect its organisational, legal and financial interests. Generally,
only 2-3 per cent of an agency's records are vital records. A vital record, it must be
remembered, is not necessarily one with long-term value; it may only have short-
term value, eg lists of people currently entitled to pensions.

General records
General records may included the following:

• permanent value general correspondence of central offices or central boards,

committees, etc
• easily identifiable items or small groups of items of historical or artistic
interest, eg plans or drawings
• diaries and personal papers of ministers
• records of personal interest, eg naturalisation records, crew and passenger
lists
• control records, eg indexes, registers, etc.
• Vulnerable records

These include magnetic tapes, photographic prints and films.

2.6 Computer systems requirements

It is essential that your agency's computer system programs are backed up on a
regular basis. Your IT Section should be able to provide you with it's back-up
schedule for inclusion in your plan. If your IT Section is not on site, it may not be
necessary to include this information in your plan.

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2.7 Disaster preparedness networks
Once your agency has started to prepare a Disaster Preparedness Plan it is a good
idea to coordinate with other agencies that have offices in your building or in
adjacent buildings. In this way a network for cooperation in times of disaster can be
established between your agency and others. One example of this might be for
agencies in adjacent buildings to have off-site storage agreements for back-up
tapes.

3. Response
In the event of an emergency or disaster, safety and planning are the key
components of a successful emergency response. Your response will rely on two
types of information: lists of emergency contacts and layout plans of your agency's
building(s).

3.1 Emergency contact lists

• Each agency should complete and maintain a list for each of the following
categories:
• contact staff - state office (this should include someone with the financial
delegation to hire large amounts of equipment if necessary)
• contact staff - central office
• external emergency services
• external sources of expertise and equipment
• conservators

• Appendix A lists the types of contacts to be included in each category.

• These lists can be maintained using the forms in Appendix B of this manual.
• Lists should be kept up-to-date, with changes or new information added as it
becomes available.
• Lists should be checked for completeness and accuracy every six months and
updated as necessary.
• Copies of lists which have been changed should be forwarded to the national
office every six months.
• The list of national office contacts should be included and be updated as
necessary.

3.2 Layout plans

It is essential for response team workers to have access to small-scale plans of each
building. These plans should show the layout of records shelving, indicating the
location of priority records. The locations of special danger areas, fire extinguishers,
main electricity switches, water main shut-off valve and exits should be clearly
marked (see Figure 3.1). The layout plans should be attached to Appendix E of this
manual.

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Figure 3.1: Example of a building layout plan

3.3 Immediate response - safety and assessment

An overriding aim of the emergency response is to ensure minimal risk to staff.

You should observe the following safety precautions:

• Do not permit entry to the site until the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) has been
given permission by the appropriate emergency services.

• Assess potential dangers and, if possible, secure before proceeding.

• If there is water lying on the floor, check that there are no concealed hazards
and slippery surfaces.

• Ensure that team members do not go beyond the part of the disaster site
where they are working without the permission of the OIC.

There may be a sewerage contamination problem - in this case it is not safe to send
any unprotected, untrained staff in. You should have the name of a company who
specialises in biological hazard clean up on your Emergency Contacts List.

Identify the source of the disaster - this may or may not be obvious. Water leaking
through a false ceiling may not be coming from your immediate area. A burst
sprinkler head will be instantly recognisable.

Contact the Emergency Committee. They should instruct someone to start

contacting the necessary people on your Emergency Contacts List.

3.4 Short-term response - stabilising the area and the records

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A small group should enter first to determine response requirements- prevent
groups of unnecessary people getting in just to have a look, and do not allow over
eager volunteers to start pulling material off the shelves straight away.

If the disaster is still under way, the first step is to stop the source of the problem.
This may be as simple as putting a bucket underneath a leaking pipe, then getting
the water turned off.

Records in areas that have not been affected directly by the disaster need to be
protected during the recovery. Shelving can be draped with plastic to avoid water
on the floor splashing up onto records placed on lower shelves.

Start documenting the disaster - use a video or still camera, a dictaphone or a note
pad. One or two disposable cameras equipped with flashes can be kept with the
disaster stores for this purpose.

Once the source of the disaster is stopped and the situation stabilised, assessment
of the damage can commence.

3.5 Survey

The aim is to gather the specific information needed to plan an appropriate

response. Information should be recorded in both note and photographic form.
Your survey should include specific assessments of the following:

• structural damage
• atmospheric conditions
• damage to shelving
• availability of building services
• are working areas affected
• are any storage areas affected
• records involved and/or at risk

Is it a small (eg <100 items), medium (eg 100 to 1000 items) or large disaster (eg
>1000 items)? Do you need to consider freezing some material, or can you manage
air-drying for all of the material? What types of records are affected - all paper
based, or a mixture?

3.6 Briefing the response team

From the results of your survey, members of the Emergency Response Team must
be briefed on the circumstances of the emergency, the work required, and
communications and emergency procedures. Jobs should be rotated between
members at regular intervals and there should be a 10-minute break every hour.

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3.7 Planning

Once the required response has been decided upon, planning the full recovery
begins. This should begin as soon as possible, preferably before entry to the
affected areas is allowed.

The aim is to decide the immediate actions needed to ensure that records are
protected from further damage, stabilised (pending treatment) in the simplest
available way and to work out priorities and requirements of equipment, materials
and people. Prompt action is important, but it is essential that it be based on an
integrated plan.

Aspects to be considered

• emergency contacts - who or what else will you need to call on, will you
need conservation advice

• vital records - are any affected and what do they need, do you need security
cleared staff to handle the records

• work areas - how big will it need to be, where is it, is it secure, or will you
need extra security

• transfer of affected records - how will you do it, do you have trolleys, do
you need to hire an air-conditioned van for transport off site,

• Equipment and materials - what do you need to hire, what can you borrow,
how will you get it, what do you already have?

A lot of these questions will have been answered in your Plan. The Emergency
Committee should have an idea of what to get and where to get it.

4. Recovery: Techniques for working with records

Any recovery techniques implemented by staff must be centred on protecting
records from further damage, stabilising the records and bringing them back to a
useable condition.

At this point, after surveying the extent of the damage, you may decide to contract
a disaster recovery company to do the salvage and recovery for you. These contacts
should be in your Plan. Their response time will depend on their current workload,
so you should not rely entirely on this option.

If you decide to proceed for yourself, read on.

4.1 Preparing the work area

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Once the extent of the disaster has been established, a recovery area needs to be
prepared. One team of people should be allocated to setting up the recovery area
while other teams are doing simultaneous jobs.

The location of this area should already be identified in your plan. If it is at a

different site, a refrigerated, or at least air-conditioned, van should be employed to
prevent wet material from warming up and encouraging mould growth.

Trestle tables will need to be set up in the area, covered with plastic (to stop them
soaking up moisture), then butchers paper to help absorb moisture out of the
material being salvaged. The area should ideally have air conditioning, or at least
good air circulation. This can be achieved by using fans, dehumidifiers and (if the
weather is fine) opening the windows. Extra heating should NOT be employed as
warm, moist air encourages mould growth.

Have the materials you will need for the salvage operation from the Disaster Store
brought to the area. Set up the tables, being sure there is enough space between the
tables for people and trolleys to move. String up drying lines, cover tables, and
prepare interleaving paper.

If your material has been exposed to mud, it would be a good idea to have access to
clean running water. Under the supervision of a conservator, this can be used to
clean built up mud off the outside of damaged records. If conservation help is not
available, leave the material dirty, and brush off the dirt once it is dry. Dirty folders
and boxes can be transcribed later and thrown away.

One part of the area should be set aside to remove dried material to, before it is
sorted and reshelved. This area should be kept dry with another dehumidifier to
prevent moist air from the recovery area moving into the dry area. Alternatively, a
separate resorting area in another part of the building can be set up.

4.2 Removing records

At the same time as the drying area is being set up, another team should be at the
disaster site securing the area and making removal of the effected records easier.
They should have removed any standing water by vacuuming or mopping, picked
up any loose material on the floor (recording its location) that may get walked on,
safely installed a dehumidifier to get the area drying and made sure staff access is
safe and easy.

Once the records are accessible and the drying area is set up, removal of the records
can begin. If untrained staff are to be employed for the packing and salvage of
records, on-site conservation advice should be sought to aid workers in a successful
removal of records.

Remove priority material first. You should know which material falls into this
category from having previously assessed the collection as part of your plan

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preparation. Some material that can be replaced may not need to be salvaged at all,
eg diazo microform copies, in-print book titles, copies of computer tapes. A full list
of material being thrown away should be made to enable it to be fully replaced.

• Remove wet records. Work from the top shelves first and work down to
prevent the shelves becoming top heavy and falling over.

• Keep boxed records in their boxes until they are in the drying area.

• Use trolleys to move the records, as wet records will be heavy.

• Keep a record of all the material moved by listing record number ranges, the
shelf they came from and where they were moved.

• If material is not boxed already, for example books or registry files, pack
them into plastic crates, spine side down:

Figure 4.1: Packing wet records in plastic crates

• Labels or other identifiers that have become loose should be attached to the
material to avoid losing it. Place the label inside the cover, or if it is lost,
pencil the location or other information onto a new piece of paper and pack
that with the item.

• Do not attempt to straighten crumpled pages at this point. Pack the open
books or files 'as is', avoiding crushing them.

• Burnt or charred material can be temporarily wrapped for transportation in

strong paper, or a disposable file cover/manila folder to protect the highly
fragile paper. Burnt and wet material should also be given suppor. Freezing
burnt material should be considered, as thet will require an involved and
time consuming salvage operation.

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 • Do not pack records into the crates tightly, as the wet paper may start to
mesh together under pressure.

If there is too much material to air-dry (see previous Survey section) all paper
material can be packed and prepared for freezing. Each book/file/bundle should
be wrapped with freezer paper so that material doesn't freeze into solid blocks. It
should be packed into plastic crates as described above, palletised and sent to a
frozen food store. Alternatively, a freezer truck hired for on-site storage. (These
resources should have been identified in your plan preparation).

Figure 4.2 Preparing wet records for freezing

Many disaster recovery manuals and instructions recommend the use of vacuum
freeze driers. This is an expensive, limited alternative in Australia and should be
considered only after all other salvage choices have been exhausted. Material that
has been frozen can be vacuum freeze dried at a later date, so air-drying and
freezing should be first choices.

4.3 Drying the records

Once the drying area has been set up, and the records removal has begun from the
affected area, the drying process can begin.

Please note that if untrained staff are being used for this stage of the operation,
professional conservation advice should be sought to begin the process correctly
and safely.

Files

Lay files on the prepared tabletops in a single layer with enough room between
each file to open the cover and give access to the pages. Do not try to separate
individual pages while they are still wet. Place interleaving paper at several places
throughout the file to begin absorbing moisture out of the file. Once the pages have
started to dry out, they can be carefully separated to expose further wet pages, and
the interleaving paper replaced with dry paper in a different place in the file. Keep
freeing up the drying pages, and replacing the interleaving paper until the files are
dry. This will take hours, so be patient.

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• Remove metal file fasteners as you encounter them, as they may start to rust
before the file is dry.

• Plastic sleeves on the files should be cut open to allow drying of the
contents.

• If there are photographs on the files, do not separate them from the files, as
it is too easy to lose intellectual control over them. Seek advice and dry them
in situ.

• Once the paper under the files starts to get wet, it should be pulled out and
replaced. All wet paper and interleaving paper should be removed from the
drying area regularly so that it doesn't contribute to the raised moisture
levels in the air.

• Small items like pamphlets or booklets may be hung along a fold on a

clothesline:

Figure 4.3 Hanging small items

Books
If the books are only partially wet, and the covers are still strong, books can be
stood on end with the covers opened and pages fanned out. These should be
checked regularly to be sure the covers are not starting to slump, or the text blocks
pulling out of the covers. Several books may be placed in a circle, cover-to-cover,
with the spines in the middle and the covers pegged together with clothes pegs to
form a stronger structure

Figure 4.4 Drying bound volumes by standing upright

Volumes that are too wet to stand should be dried flat, with interleaving paper
placed every 5 to 10 pages. As the paper gets wet, it should be replaced, and
positioned between different pages in the book. The interleaving paper should not
increase the thickness of the volume by more than one third, as it will stress the
weakened spine of the book.

Thick wet covers should be isolated from the rest of the book block with sheets of

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plastic placed inside the covers. This will stop moisture from the cardboard
transferring to the pages.

Books on coated paper should either be frozen immediately, or every page

interleaved and fanned out. The coating used to makes these glossy books forms a
glue-like substance when they are wet, and the pages will stick together
irreversibly if allowed to dry in contact with each other.

Figure 4.4 Drying bound volumes by standing upright

Photographic materials
There are many different historical photographic processes, some of which will not
survive a water-induced disaster at all. The most common processes found in
current agency collections though will survive if treated correctly - modern black
and white and colour prints and negatives will survive. Once again, you should
seek professional conservation advice before beginning any salvage work.

Photographic prints and negatives need extra time spent on them, compared to
books and files. If you cannot spare this time during the initial recovery phase, the
best idea is to get wet photographic material transferred into tubs of cold, clean
water. This will stop the emulsions drying out and the photos sticking together.
The photos can stay like this for up to 48 hours, but then need to be separated and
dried individually.

If the photos can not be attended to in this time, they should be frozen in small
bundles straight after removal from the disaster area. A freezing process that is
very fast, such as blast freezing, should be employed. Once you have to time to
spend on the photos they can be thawed in manageable lots and air-dried.
To air-dry photos, remove them from their enclosures, but keep the enclosures with
the photos, or transcribe information on the enclosures to a new piece of paper.
Photos can be dried flat on tabletops, or if they have borders, they may be pegged
by the borders onto a clothesline. This will stop water pooling on the surface and
causing drying rings.

The emulsion of a wet photograph is very fragile. Never wipe the emulsion side of
a wet photograph.

Movie film should be sent to a film-processing laboratory for professional washing

and drying. A contact for this service should be in your Plan. If the film is wet, it

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should be packed in cold clean water for transportation to the lab. Often, if the film
has been stored correctly, the outside of the film can may be wet, but the contents
quite dry. Check each roll before deciding on a procedure.

Glass plate negatives and glass lantern slides should never be frozen. They should
be air-dried as soon as possible, according to professional advice.

Microforms
It is possible that any microforms that have been affected by the disaster can be
replaced. Your plan should include contact details for suppliers of commercially
available microfilm titles. If the microforms have been produced by your agency,
hopefully, the silver halide masters have been stored in a separate location from the
diazo copies, and one set will not have been affected by the disaster. If this is the
case, damaged copies can be listed, discarded and replaced later. Master sets will
need to be sent to a film-reprocessing lab to be cleaned and dried. If they are wet,
they should be packaged in containers of cold clean water and sent for
reprocessing.

Because most microforms are a light-sensitive emulsion on a film base, they should
be salvaged as for photographs and negatives.

Magnetic media
Magnetic formats (like microforms) may have copies housed elsewhere. The
existence of any copies should be checked before salvage is attempted.

Magnetic media should be air-dried as soon as possible. If the material is soaked

from the disaster, but cannot be dried within 24 hours, it should be immersed in
clean cold water, until it can be dried. It should not be frozen or freeze-dried.

Reel-to-reel tapes should be left on their reels. If the reel has flanges, these can be
gently separated from the reel with small wedges to enable airflow between the reel
and the flange to prevent the tape sticking to the flange. If there are no flanges and
the tape is only wound onto the hub, great care needs to be taken when handling
the reel to ensure it doesn't collapse sideways off the hub. Always handle the reel
vertically, and hang the reel by the hub to air-dry. If the tape is evenly wound, with
no loose bits of tape poking out of the reel, the edges of the reel can be blotted with
a lint-free cloth.

If you are lucky enough to have access to a tape cleaning machine, the partially
dried reels can be run through this machine, over the cleaning tissues, but not the
blades.

Audio and video cassettes should be removed from their cases. As with cine film,
the cassette itself may not be wet. If it is, the tape should be removed from the
cassette and treated as for reel-to-reel tape.

Floppy disks can be air-dried in their jackets if they are just damp on the outside,

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but if the water has penetrated the jacket, remove the disk itself from the jacket, air-
dry it, then place it in a new jacket and copy it ASAP.

All magnetic media that has been through a disaster should be copied as soon as it
is dry. Inherent deterioration of the media will probably have been worsened by the
disaster, so the potential life span will have shortened. Any copying of floppy disks
should be done on an expendable hard drive, as it is likely to be damaged by the
copying process.

5. After the disaster

5.1 Cleaning up a disaster site

The aim is to return the site to its normal condition as soon as possible. Material
should not be returned to the area until the risk of a repeat disaster is removed, the
area has been thoroughly cleaned and dried, all repair work is completed and all
shelving checked for stability and usefulness.

Clean-up measures include the following:

• washing down dirty shelving, walls and floors

• using fans and dehumidifiers to dry the area and circulate air to avoid
mould growth

• carrying out regular temperature and relative humidity checks, and not
returning material to the area until the temperature and relative humidity
have stabilised at acceptable levels for at least a week - wet concrete will
take longer than expected to dry out, particularly under any remaining floor
covering, shelving units and in stagnant corners.

5.2 Reshelving treated records

The aim is to return treated records to the rehabilitated disaster site. This is a good
time to consider improving the shelving arrangement. The material may well take
up more space than previously as there will have been swelling of the material as a
result of being wet. Extra space may need to be found.

Temperature and relative humidity should be checked regularly for at least 12

months in case the records or the room was not sufficiently dry when the room was
reoccupied. They may give off more moisture, which could result in mould growth.

If it hasn't already been done, archived material should either be given new boxes,
or be boxed for the first time. Current files could be given new file covers if the
legibility of information has been affected.

Orders should be made for replacement books, microforms etc.

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National Archives of Australia Enter Report Title Here – Month Year

5.3 Reporting
Reporting is a significant component of the response to a disaster. You should try
to keep an adequate record of the emergency so that improvements can be made to
prevent similar emergencies occurring in the future, or to make the response to any
subsequent ones more efficient.

Agencies should maintain a register of significant emergencies, consisting of a sheet

for each occurrence, recording the following information as applicable:

• date/time/duration
• location
• nature
• cause
• a description of the effect on:
o people (ie staff and visitors)
o records
o business function
o buildings
o other property

• a description of how the occurrence was dealt with

• and recommendations for future incidents and changes to the Disaster
Recovery Plan.

Thank you notes should be sent out to all businesses and departments that
provided resources and assistance during the recovery.

Further reading
Australian Archives, Technical Training, Scheme Disaster Preparedness and
Disaster Recovery, AGPS, 1994.

CAVAL Ltd, Disaster in Libraries, CAVAL Ltd, Camberwell, 1988

CAVAL Ltd, Lessons from Leningrad! A Simulated Disaster, Briefing Notes,

CAVAL Ltd, Camberwell.

Conservation On Line web site http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/ This website

contains a section on Disaster Preparedness and Recovery with extensive and up-to-
date information on disasters and dealing with them.

National Library of Australia web site

http://www.nla.gov.au/policy/disaster.html has their full Disaster Preparedness
plan available for viewing.

Appendix A - Categories of emergency contact information

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Staff - State Office

• State Director
• Fire Wardens
• Security Officer
• Emergency Committee
• Section Heads
• National Archives

Staff - National Office

• Director-General
• Assistant Directors-General
• Directors
• Assistant Directors

External emergency services

• Fire Brigade
• Ambulance
• Australian Federal Police
• State or Territory police
• Building maintenance company
• State Emergency Service
• Water and sewerage
• Electricity
• Security service company
• Air conditioning maintenance company
• Lift service

External expertise and equipment

• Equipment hire
• Refrigerated vans
• Freezing facilities
• Blast freezer
• Freezer storage
• Fumigation facilities
• Photographic laboratory
• Pest control
• Transport services
• Other organisations that can supply special assistance

Appendix B - Emergency contacts

This should include the Emergency Committee, the Emergency Response Team,
Central Office and Emergency Services.

Table 3: Emergency contacts

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National Archives of Australia Enter Report Title Here – Month Year

Emergency Name and Title Address Phone Phone

Responsibility/
Expertise B/H A/H

Appendix C - Conservators

Table 4: Conservators

Expertise Name and Title Institution/Address Phone Phone

B/H A/H

Appendix D - Equipment and materials

Table 5: Equipment and materials

Item Location Quantity

Appendix E - Priority records

Table 6: Priority records

Item Location Quantity

Appendix F - Layout plans

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Make a folder containing the layout plans of your building(s). Keep these with your
other emergency lists.

Appendix G - Hazardous chemical list

Table 7: Hazardous chemical list

Name Location Quantity Hazard

data sheet

(yes/no)

Appendix H - Damage list

Table 8: Damage list

Date Location Item Crate number Condition Treatment

number

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