What is a Community Emergency?

A community emergency refers to a significant event that

affects a large portion of a community, including its
people, property, infrastructure, economic stability, and
environment. Some examples of this would be the
following:
• Major fires
• Calamities like typhoons and earthquakes
• Terrorism
• Nuclear event
• Pandemics
 Community-based Preparedness
• Disaster Management – must be practiced in order
for people to learn how to respond to emergencies
properly.

• Disaster Recovery – is the planned and coordinated

process of supporting disaster affected communities
in reconstruction of the environment, physical
infrastructure and restoration of emotional, social,
economic and physical welfare of the population.
 Why should we prepare for a disaster?

• Disaster preparedness is everyone's business.

• To know how to respond to a possible threat,

the community needs to be organized and
prepared with the correct information and
tools to be effective.
 Disaster Plan - Family

1. Know the natural or man-made hazards that could

affect your community, and seek advice on how to best
prepare for or mitigate these hazards.

2. Talk to your household about potential hazards or

emergencies, how they should respond to them, and
what they would need to do if they had to evacuate.
3. Plan how your household would stay in contact with
each other if separated. Identify two meeting places.
One should be near your home in case of a fire, and the
other should be away from home -at a neighbor or
family member, in case you cannot return home.

4. Choose a friend or relative who lives outside of your

area for family members to call and say they are okay.

5. Draw a floor plan of your home and mark-out escape

routes from each room
6. Post emergency telephone numbers by the
telephone and teach children how and when to use
them.
7. Make sure everyone in the household knows how to
shut off gas, water and electricity at the main switches.
Consult with your local utility companies if you have
any questions.
8. Also, include neighbors with special needs into your
plan (the elderly and disabled, etc.)
9. To reduce the economic impact of disasters on your household or
property:
a. Review property insurance policies regularly. Make sure they are
current and meet your needs (type of coverage, amount of coverage,
and hazard covered, e.g. flood, hurricane, earthquake).
b. Protect your household's financial well-being before disaster
strikes - review life insurance policies, and consider saving money in
an 'emergency' savings account that could be used in times of crisis.
Also, always keep a small amount of cash available as ATMs and
banks may not be available directly after a disaster.
c. Ensure that health insurance policies are current and meet your
requirements.
Disaster Supply Kit
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND