When it comes to staying safe in the face of potential disasters, emergency preparedness is key. But what does that mean exactly? This comprehensive guide will explain the meaning of preparedness, the steps you can take to ensure your safety before, during, and after an emergency or natural disaster, and how to best prepare for a variety of situations. Emergency preparedness is a set of research-based actions taken as precautionary measures in the face of potential disasters. It is an important quality for achieving goals and for avoiding and mitigating negative outcomes.
Preparedness refers to the steps you take to ensure that you are safe before, during, and after an emergency or natural disaster. Emergency preparedness is the first step in emergency management and can be subdivided into two phases: mitigation and direct preparation. Mitigation involves taking steps to reduce the impact of a disaster before it occurs, such as building stronger structures or creating evacuation plans. Direct preparation involves taking steps to prepare for a disaster once it has occurred, such as stocking up on supplies or creating a communication plan.
The Red Cross and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide additional information on emergency preparedness for vulnerable family members, such as the elderly, children, people with disabilities, and pets. The CDC website contains information on disease surveillance programs, emergency preparedness for health facilities, and training in risk communication and trauma management. National Preparedness leads the nation's efforts to improve preparedness through a comprehensive cycle of planning, organizing and equipping, training, exercise, evaluation and improvement planning. In the United States, before Hurricane Katrina, preparedness was largely considered the responsibility of first responders and other emergency services. Now, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), individuals, families, businesses, religious and community groups, profitable groups, schools and academia, the media, and all levels of government must play an active role in preparedness efforts.
Military personnel involved in emergency preparedness usually include National Guard units as well as members of the various branches of the armed forces from nearby bases or facilities. National Protection and Preparedness (NPP) coordinates activities related to preparedness and protection across FEMA including grants, planning, training, exercises, individual and community preparedness evaluations lessons learned continuity and coordination of the region of the National capital. The main dam safety activities related to the rehabilitation of landfill tunnels and gates; the improvement of monitoring instruments and management system; the preparation of an emergency preparedness plan, operation and maintenance plan; instrumentation plan; and installation of a flood forecasting system. An important aspect of the relationship between public health and emergency preparedness is the question of ethics. In real practice these stages or phases overlap; emergency preparedness is a continuous set of activities rather than an ultimate goal. FEMA provides state and local governments with funding for preparedness programs in the form of non-disaster-related grants to improve the capacity of state and local emergency responders to prevent respond to and recover from a terrorist incident involving weapons of mass destruction involving chemical biological radiological products nuclear and explosive devices cyber attacks. In the field of public health training programs and communication networks specific to CDC and Food & Drug Administration (FDA) help ensure emergency preparedness. The United States Red Cross and CDC have teamed up to offer a three-step emergency preparedness program for households.
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