Disasters affect millions of people each year on a personal, business, local community or national level. The golden rule for successful disaster management at all levels is to increase awareness, develop actions plans and practice them. Waiting for a disaster to take place is not the right time to plan. Communicating and building relationships with those around you, whether they contribute actively to the plan or are dependent on it, will have the most significant and positive affect in determining your resiliency throughout an event. Below are 10 actions to keep in mind when planning to mitigate disaster and resources to help prepare.
Related Capabilities
A joint venture between CDM Smith and Jacobs Engineering Group, the CCPRS team provides aid in the wake of major disasters to state and local governments. Disaster (Emergency) management is a comprehensive approach dealing with all four phases of disasters:
ResponseResponse is defined as the actions taken to decrease mortality and morbidity, and to prevent further property damage when the hazard occurs. Response is putting preparedness plans into action. Response activities may include
RecoveryRecovery is defined as the actions taken to return to normal following an event.
Prevention/MitigationPrevention/Mitigation is defined as “sustained actions that decrease the risk of a hazard (probability of occurrence) of a hazard, or to reduce the potential negative consequences suffered by people and/or property.” It can involve such actions as:
PreparednessPreparedness takes the form of plans or procedures designed to minimize physical and property damage when an event occurs.These activities ensure that when a disaster strikes, disaster (emergency) managers will be able to provide the best response possible. The essential elements include:
Preparedness is a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating and taking corrective action. Training and exercising plans is the cornerstone of preparedness, which focuses on readiness to respond to all hazards, incidents and emergencies. Training and emergency preparedness plans increase a community’s ability to respond when a disaster occurs. Typical preparedness measures include developing mutual aid agreements and memorandums of understanding, training for both response personnel and concerned citizens, conducting disaster exercises to reinforce training and test capabilities, and presenting all-hazards education campaigns. |