Disaster Response and Recovery, 3rd Edition

13Enhancing Disaster Resilience: Preparedness, Improvisation, Spontaneous Planning, Leadership, and Professionalism

STARTING POINT

Pretest to assess your knowledge of how to enhance disaster resilience. Determine where you need to concentrate your effort.

What You’ll Learn in This Chapter

• The need for preparedness and methods for acquiring resources.
• Why EOCs must be established before disasters occur.
• The importance of hazard and vulnerability assessments.
• The components of an emergency operations plan (EOP).
• The benefit of training and types of exercises.
• Ways to promote community education.
• The value of improvisation and spontaneous planning.
• Principles of leadership.

After Studying This Chapter, You’ll Be Able To

• Apply the concept of preparedness and identify needed resources.
• Understand how to establish and set up an EOC.
• Determine who can help you assess hazards and vulnerability.
• Analyze the benefit and limitations of planning, training and exercises.
• Recognize how disaster education can strengthen your community.
• Explain why departing from plans and SOPs could be advantageous.
• Illustrate the importance of professionalism.

Goals and Outcomes

• Propose ways to increase preparedness in your community.
• Write grants and manage budgets.
• Design and operate an EOC.
• Formulate a hazard and vulnerability assessment.
• Create an EOP.
• Propose training and exercise programs for your community.
• Prepare the public for disasters.
• Plan ways to improvise when the situation requires ...