How equipped are you to handle a disaster. You may choose to ask what really is a disaster .A disaster may be classified as a hazard that affects a number of individuals in a community. It can be natural or a civil emergency that does substantial damage or impair a community be it specific, large or small. Some of these disasters that can impact school and home are flooding, storms, hurricanes, earthquake, lightning .fire, riots and other civil disturbances.
Basic preparedness is everyone’s business and should include
- Getting informed on disasters that are likely to takes place such as hurricane, storm and flood. For civil disturbance get a feel of what maybe ailing groups and the likelihood of a civil disturbance taking place.
- Have an emergency plan and a check list of members to account for
- Assemble disaster supplies kit
- Define an assemble area to meet that is safe ( in and out door)
- Have some meanings of identifying disaster supplies such as food , first aid , and bedding
- Be Prepared for specific hazard, such as electrical outage
- Define an alternate assemble area in case the major one is unreachable.
- Practice and maintain the plan
For most disasters individuals should know and follow the specified response regarded as the appropriate response. Every household and members of organization should know or be acquainted with the universal response procedures which includes
- Evacuation
- Safe area
- Shelter
- Lock down
- Drop and hold
Before a disaster we should plan ahead so that everyone knows what to do during and after a real disaster. Research has shown that students and community members perform much better when they feel safe in the school and in the community in which they reside, the economy booms if the citizens feel safe. Being prepared for a disaster is one way of increasing people’s sense of security.
Benefits of being prepared for a disaster
- Ensures the safety and well being of family and community members.
- Preserve and maintain physical structures of a home or institution
- Promotes an awareness of the natural or civil disasters and safety procedures for individuals to follow
It should be noted that Rome was not built in a day and that everything takes time. So disaster preparedness is long term and ongoing. Teams should be set up to handle disaster planning. Individuals should be given specific responsibilities in the home or within the organization. All individuals should work together in the effort to coordinate the activities in order that every aspect of the plan is implemented and run smoothly.
Individuals who will be affected in a disaster must know the correct response when a disaster strikes. An alarm system must be in place to alert that a hazard is taking place. There must be an Individuals responsible to do a head count to see that no one is unaccounted for .Affected persons must be acquainted with the escape routes to follow and know where the assemble area and alternate assemble areas are. The best way to ensure that these go smoothly is to have drill practices so as to reduce wide spread panic.
There should be a list of telephone contact numbers for supporting agencies and individuals at hand to get emergency assistance. These should include: the Disaster Preparedness Office, Fire Department, Police, Hospitals, Road and Works, Health department, Red Cross, Emergency evacuation team, and in case of an organization the Head Office for that organization.
Some rules responsibilities delegation:
- Incident Command-Person in charge or the overall operational management,
- Safety Official- This individual ensures and monitors the safety of occupants
- Media Liaison – Develop a relationship with media and gives accurate information on the state of affairs.
- Planning Intelligence Coordinator-Assist Incident command officer in collection of data and continued planning.
- Facilities Coordinator-Responsible to ensure all utilities are assessed and shut down if necessary
- Accounting Officer- Does analysis of the situation accounts for members release.
- First Aid Coordinator-Identifies and obtain first aid supplies and organize first assistant.
- Injury Coordinator- seeks out the injury and get them first aid
- Food Coordinator- Identifying food and water sources and organizes the distribution.
- Intervention and Counseling Coordinator- Provides access to first aid psychological help and seek counseling for the traumatized.
- Communication Coordinator- establishes a communication centre so as to give and get information during the emergency
- Administration Coordinator- Responsible for overall documentation and records.
No disaster planning is complete without recovery planning. There must be a time line set for recovery. Measures must be put in place for stress management as well as for grief and trauma. Some individuals may require physical and financial help this is where government agencies and the other outside agencies will come in to give aid. The emergency management coordinator should do a needs assessment so individuals’ needs may be met.
